It's not coming out of your pocket, so why do you care?

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      PresidentClinton on 20/12/2012 - 12:35

      +1

      Being well off enough to pay these prices is besides the point. If we were averaging $120 000 a year instead of $60 000 (hypothetically), should we be paying $40 movie tickets? I dont think so.

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        ThadtheChad on 20/12/2012 - 15:49

        Precisely. Moreover, it tends to add up quite fast. Being a "technophile" means either of two things, you get stuff from overseas/best deals onshore (thank you Ozb)… or you pay the exorbitant prices set by the (flawed IMO)laissez faire type system.

        The situation in places like Perth is further exacerbated by this sort of BS. You have a very large(potentially) unskilled labour population earning $100K+ resulting in the entire "market" prices getting artificially elevated. People with more "normal" wages get royally fked over because of this (e.g. me).

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    jason101 on 21/12/2012 - 00:21

    I agree 100%, business will price at the highest and best price achievable for their product or service - and why shouldn't they, if people are prepared to pay the price, then that is the correct price for that good or service.

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      ThadtheChad on 21/12/2012 - 00:40

      +1

      Fair enough… but then they shouldn't whinge and try to use "patriotism" and (e.g. numerous "support Australian retailers" campaigns).

      That said, an unregulated market only works in an environment where there is complete isolation from external forces and/or in an ideal world (where there is perfect competition and no collusion to artificially drive up prices). With globalisation and fairly reliable courier and shipping services (into the country; as outbound postage is highway robbery) only an agile and pragmatic business will survive and rest will perish. You can clearly see that here in Australia. The younger, more Internet-savvy folk have taken to buying things from overseas (e.g. Amazon) while the older, uninformed people who seem to have a misplaced sense of loyalty to the anachronistic retails like HN, EB, Dick Smith, Myers etc. As the years pass by, the local retailer would be absolutely f-ed… proper f-ed.

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  DealzEddy123 on 20/12/2012 - 13:25

  they're not being petty, they're just doing their job. (and they also don't care what you think)

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  unifex on 20/12/2012 - 17:01

  Maybe because they are good employees and do what the company wants because they exhibit that increasingly rare attribute of ethics? I think they should be congratulated for doing what is right by the company (who pays them).

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    PresidentClinton on 20/12/2012 - 18:23

    -3

    Believes that corporations behave ethically at all times. What a laugh

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      unifex on 20/12/2012 - 23:35

      +2

      Said nothing about the "corporation" was talking about the individual.

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  KingstonTheNotSoWise on 20/12/2012 - 21:41

  +9

  Customers like you are the reason why some people hate their jobs so much and feel the need to be "rude" (which usually they aren't but in customers definition "I didn't get what I wanted, wah wah wah"), I can't believe how fraking stupid your comment is. If a staff member doesn't follow policies set by owners/CEOs/managers then what point is there in hiring them in the first place? If I were a business owner/manager and I caught a staff member not following policy, even if they cost my business 1 fraking cent. I would fire the crap out of them. Why? Because I paid them to do something they clearly cannot do, I may as well just do the job myself.

  As for the "It's not coming out of your pocket, so why do you care?" comment, it's their job to care, if they get fired will you pay their bills for the next few months while they look for a job? Where I work, things are worse, if you make a mistake you pay for it, with money from your pocket. E.g. if you accidently hit the wrong digit on an eftpos machine and a customer walks away paying $10 for a $20 item, that's $10 out of your pocket, 1/2 hour work gone, unless you can contact the customer somehow. Customers need to start pulling their fingers out their arse and start realising that the guy or girl behind the counter or providing a service is a worker just the same as you and not just some robot who can automatically just find a job instantly if they lose their current 1. Sure it's only 0.19c but you just said it yourself, it's only 0.19c, so STFU, accept they couldn't do it because it's their policy. I know where I work sometimes the policies are just plain stupid or illogical, but when head office wants something done their way you need to do it their way and until THEY realise it's wrong. It's sadly the only way.

  I've had situations where I've bought certain meals from McDonalds and gone back the next day to get the same meal and got told that they could only do it at a certain time. And I was all like in my head "Oh no, my world is ending, some guy is trying to do what he's paid to do, god help me what will I ever do. I will starve to death now because someone is following a silly policy, I wish they would break the rules, I do not care if they get fired" is what I would have probably said if I was you but I instead ordered another meal. I know, I know…it was extremely difficult to ask for something else to eat but I did it!

  As for the dumpling situation that's a different matter altogether, their advertising department obviously advertised this and should honour it unless there were terms and conditions listed on the voucher which judging by your comment you probably didn't read, right?

  If you don't like policies you may as well just stop working, buying stuff, stop living all together actually.

  Oh I might also add that some people need to stop assuming prices that a business buys their stuff for. Like saying IT stores probably make a profit of $599 on a $600 laptop sale.

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    [Deactivated] on 21/12/2012 - 01:25

    I actually read all that. I will now STFU (had to think about that one for a moment).

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  rinco on 20/12/2012 - 22:14

  -4

  I dislike:
  1. the original post
  2. every response
  3. any response to this comment that is not a bargain

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    [Deactivated] on 21/12/2012 - 01:20

    Here's a response you'll like: suppositories are going cheap right now at Chemist Warehouse. Please report back on how you go.

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  ProspectiveDarkness on 20/12/2012 - 22:15

  +3

  What scabby expriences have you had?

  I find this laughable. The only 'scabby' part of your experience was you.

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  [Deactivated] on 21/12/2012 - 01:08

  +1

  Short answer to OP's question: because we're not all self-optimising droids, that's why.

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  minniethemoocher on 21/12/2012 - 12:51

  +3

  I am surprised how many people are being hard on the OP. As a fellow Ozbargainer I sometimes use price match policies or coupons to get things at a discounted price, and it can be a quite unpleasant experience to deal with employees with terrible attitudes. The number of employees who don't want to honour policies or coupons because they don't agree with them is amazing. I am taking about big companies like Officeworks, Harvey Norman and Woolworths. I worked in retail for years and always honoured my employers policies no matter how difficult it could be sometimes, and with a smile.
  I do agree that you have to be a stickler for rules though. You can't risk your job because the customer wantes to save a couple of dollars.
  A few years ago I had a customer who really messed me around starting to get realy annoyed, a fellow employee pulled me aside and told me to stop stressing after all I was getting paid regardless!

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    Tal_Shiar on 21/12/2012 - 18:19

    +3

    The difference between you and OP is you can see both sides of the debate and have an informed opinion!

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  anabol on 21/12/2012 - 12:53

  -1

  well…there are lots of possible reasons:
  - they are taped and get fined for not following the procedure
  - they are assholes
  - they are not assholes,but they hate you,because you don't have to work for 15$/hr and they use some "power" they got to make themselves feel better

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    cwongtech on 21/12/2012 - 13:59

    +3

    1) You never know if the customer is actually mystery shopper/troll sent by management that is higher than your store manager, to gauge your responses, your service, and the way you respond to normal or ridiculous requests to pricematch/use a blatantly fake voucher/use a legit voucher.

    2) No they are not assholes, they are doing their job. Make sure you aren't a douche to them and I'm sure they will reciprocate your attitude.

    3) What…? If someone wants power, they'll become a state transit revenue protection 'officer' (and then you'll be like, "hey I bought the cheapest ticket and you caught me, but it's not your money, so why do you care?"), or a dodgey cop who makes sure there's no cameras around.

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    [Deactivated] on 21/12/2012 - 14:55

    …they hate you,because you don't have to work for 15$/hr and they use some "power" they got to make themselves feel better

    There a couple of possible reasons for your post:
    - You are not a psychologist.
    - Your experience of your fellow woman/man is not quite as positive as mine.

    And just a quick note: this is Astwayia, and in Astwayia we put the dollar sign before the number, and we say arseholes (there is no ass involved).

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    Tal_Shiar on 21/12/2012 - 18:21

    +1

    Can't help but wonder if anabol is OP too lol

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  auna on 23/12/2012 - 00:31

  It really depends. Common sense dictates that if it benefits the business in the long run the check out operator should do it. An example would be completing the transaction if the customer is 50 cents short. The operator would judge the transaction and guage whether it is in the businesses best interest to just complete the transaction. This is in terms of profit they would make by doing it and long term satisfaction for the customer.

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    cwongtech on 23/12/2012 - 03:37

    An example would be completing the transaction if the customer is 50 cents short.

    Well I'm always 30c short for a Mcdonalds soft serve…?

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    eug on 23/12/2012 - 04:52

    I think it depends on the type of business and what their profit margins are. It could make more sense not to care too much about penny pinchers who insist the business will fail without their patronage, when they only shop there when there's a big discount on something - i.e. the "me" mentality. That's why the groupon/scoopon business model won't suit everyone - the wrong type of customer could be attracted to the business, resulting in a loss-leading overload by bargain hunters and relatively few money-making repeat customers.

    And before people go up in arms about that, obviously not everyone and everything is like that. There are many situations where a small gesture like accepting a slightly-expired coupon will earn the business some goodwill - I've experienced that myself. Just remember that there are people out there who only care about their own money and will insist others give them a discount when they wouldn't themselves, if they swapped shoes with the business owner.

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  wog_ta on 24/12/2012 - 23:42

  +5

  Having worked on and off in retail for 4-ish years all i will say is be kind to the people in retail, unless you have worked in retail you can not even begin to understand some of the shit we put up with both verbal and at times physical abuse. I have seen it all; spitting, yelling, death threats, pushing, nudging, punching, throwing hot coffee, trying to defecate on the floor… and the list goes on.

  On a slightly different note in my case if a customer has been friendly and courteous to me I will genuinely do everything that I can to look after them IF I CAN (most particularly price matching). When I get one of those good customers I guess I kind of bond with them, have a good laugh and have them leave the store feeling happy and I guess more importantly to me I feel happy with my actions (as odd as that sounds). I do work mostly in higher end electronics so yes I do need to spend more time with a customer on average but regardless of what they are buying its all the same to me.

  A big part of this I think comes down to where you work and the culture that is present. Either way this boxing day please be nice to the people behind the counter, they are just trying to get through the day :)

  *'It's not coming out of your pocket, so why do you care?'
  ** Its called having pride in your work and doing a job properly!

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    Tal_Shiar on 25/12/2012 - 04:11

    On a slightly different note in my case if a customer has been friendly and courteous to me I will genuinely do everything that I can to look after them IF I CAN

    this!!

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