Complaining..Do you or Don't you?

hollydolly

hollydolly

SF VIP
Location
London England
Are you the type of person who will complain about things if they don't come up to your expectations. If you get shoddy service in a shop or a restaurant, or if you have a problem with the local services would you complain to your relevant council or equivalent.? Would you make a complaint if your food was not up to standard in a restaurant for example

..or are you the type of person who would rather just forget about it and let it go?

I am struggling here..I went into a shop the other day and they had a couple of rails of items reduced in price. The staff member who served me announced that ''we don't give receipts for sale items'' ..and rung up zero on the till and gave me my change . This is a well known shop, and I watched as he said the same to other customers. I'm sure that is illegal..and I'm wondering whether to make a complaint to their head office.

Would you..?.
 

That sounds illegal to me! I would check into that.

I sometimes complain and have done so a few times to Morrison's head office via email, and got replies by phone calls.
 
Usually, people that don't ring up a sale but give you change, are pocketing the money after you leave. No receipt, no record for store. Just saying maybe. Use to happen in grocery stores a lot before cameras were installed.
 

That's what I thought Pappy.. . There doesn't seem to be any cameras in the store it's only a small store not a department store but still part of a chain .. and so I think that's probably what the sales assistant is doing
 
Pappy said:
Usually, people that don't ring up a sale but give you change, are pocketing the money after you leave. No receipt, no record for store. Just saying maybe. Use to happen in grocery stores a lot before cameras were installed.
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hollydolly said:
That's what I thought Pappy.. . There doesn't seem to be any cameras in the store it's only a small store not a department store but still part of a chain .. and so I think that's probably what the sales assistant is doing
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Find the manager of the store and have him stand next to you and the cashier to see if this happens when he is present. Sounds like stealing to me.
 
I'm a newbie here so I probably should keep my mouth shut. But, if you say anything, how will you prove YOU paid for it without a receipt? It will be your word against his unless I'm misunderstanding something here, and if so, I apologize. Just a thought.
 
hollydolly said:
Are you the type of person who will complain about things if they don't come up to your expectations. If you get shoddy service in a shop or a restaurant, or if you have a problem with the local services would you complain to your relevant council or equivalent.? Would you make a complaint if your food was not up to standard in a restaurant for example

..or are you the type of person who would rather just forget about it and let it go?

I am struggling here..I went into a shop the other day and they had a couple of rails of items reduced in price. The staff member who served me announced that ''we don't give receipts for sale items'' ..and rung up zero on the till and gave me my change . This is a well known shop, and I watched as he said the same to other customers. I'm sure that is illegal..and I'm wondering whether to make a complaint to their head office.

Would you..?.
Click to expand...

Most of the time I complain, I live near a very large flea market, the vendors are required to charge sales tax and give receipts, most do not, this is illegal.

I will not complain if I think an employee will get into trouble unjustifiably.
 
AprilSun said:
I'm a newbie here so I probably should keep my mouth shut. But, if you say anything, how will you prove YOU paid for it without a receipt? It will be your word against his unless I'm misunderstanding something here, and if so, I apologize. Just a thought.
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No need to keep your mouth shut! :) If it is brought to the manager's attention he/she might start paying attention. The stock does have to tally with the receipts, right?
 
AprilSun said:
I'm a newbie here so I probably should keep my mouth shut. But, if you say anything, how will you prove YOU paid for it without a receipt? It will be your word against his unless I'm misunderstanding something here, and if so, I apologize. Just a thought.
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No aprilsun..you're entitled to post your opinion . When he was taking the money he was saying Sale items are non returnable and we don't give receipts for them'' I couldn't hang around too long in the shop without arousing some suspicion but I did hang around pretending to look at other stock long enough to hear him say it to two other customers who'd taken the reduced items to the counter and both said..ok that's fine, no problem.'' But I do believe in my heart he is stealing (as you say ken)

There was no onsite manager in the store..he was alone as far as I could see..

Anyway I think I will call their head office tomorrow and get clarification
 
Just tell the store manager what is going on. They have ways to find out if they are stealing. Back in the 60s, when I was working in a grocery store, several cashiers thought this was a great way to make a few extra bucks. They would always, sooner or later, get caught with their hand in the till.
:mad:
 
Ameriscot said:
No need to keep your mouth shut! :) If it is brought to the manager's attention he/she might start paying attention. The stock does have to tally with the receipts, right?
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I guess I'm too distrustful. My kids laugh at me all the time saying, "Mom, you don't trust anybody". I was just thinking, if it was my me knowing my luck, he would deny it and accuse me of stealing even though the receipts have to be tallied with the stock. I wouldn't have a receipt. That's why I would have walked out without making the purchase. I just couldn't trust him. :)
 
RED FLAG! SIRENS BLARING!

Hi, Holly. Hate to tell you, but you’ve been tricked. I see Pappy and others beat me to it. But shoulds like you suspect something is not right.

hollydolly said:
From what I could see he was only doing this with people who were paying by cash..
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Bingo.

This is a trick cashiers/sales people use to pocket the cash. Often it’s done if they suspect they’re going to be fired or if they’re getting ready to quit. They play the percentages - most people won't question it or suspect something is "off". Sometimes the manager is in on the scam and they split the money, but usually not. Another trick is to say the register is broken/malfunctioning and they’re ‘waiting on the repair person’ but they will take the money for the item and pretend they’re writing down sales on a piece of paper.

Please…take the time to notify the owner/manager RIGHT AWAY. This person needs to be arrested and prosecuted. It's the same as taking cash from the register and putting into their pocket - in fact that's exactly what is happening.

I always insist on getting a receipt….sale or no sale. In one case I walked out without buying anything, and called their corporate office the same day to report the scam. What if you had been stopped in the parking lot by security and asked to prove that you paid? What if you wanted to return the item?

Now, to answer your question about complaining…..if I feel a situation merits a complaint I won’t hesitate to do so. I really try to take a deep breath, assess what happened, and then take action if warranted. Stores make mistakes, cashiers can be rude or incompetent, restaurant food is sometimes not as it should be.

But there is no doubt in my mind that the person in that store was lying to you and pocketed the money.
 
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Well, I'm going to call their head office tomorrow and just ask them if it's right that receipts are not given on sale items..and then if as I suspect and as you all seem to agree with me...that it's not right, then I will mention that he also stated that the reduced items are non -returnable and see what they say.

I did consider speaking to the manager but since I've read your post AC, I have to consider now the possibility that the Manager could potentially be in on the scam too...so it's probably more prudent to speak to their HO..I'll let you all know the outcome !!
 
I used to have people handling cash registers when I was a young dept manager. If they ring up the register it would show no sale. No manager would allow anyone to have multiple no sales without a damn good reason. I would say the boss is not paying taxes collected or declaring the income. I would call the head office and speak with a manager (not the store though).
 
Holly, if I lived in same town (and I know that's a stretch...;)) I'd go in, make a cash purchase and somehow we'd get it on video. BUSTED!

One of our local news stations does stings like that.

A friend's daughter used to work in retail loss prevention/security and the stories she could tell. Employee theft is incredible and it drives up the cost of merchandise. :mad:
 
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I would contact the owner/manage and ask them about their policy, if they are not in on the scam, then they would appreciate knowing an employee was stealing from them. I have bought no-return items before and always got a receipt. Honestly, I wouldn't want to walk out of a store without one. Even if it was a cheap item, I could be arrested for theft if I had no proof of purchase.
 
I almost never complain. Life is complicated enough, I don't need any more excitement. I'm probably too laid back. Oh well. :rolleyes:

Although, I must say, if I actually got the green weenie on some deal...I would take no prisoners.
 
Unless it affects me personally, I don't complain or blow the whistle. I used to go to a hairdresser and he only took cash, even though every other business on the street had debit and credit card options. I suspected he may have been cheating on his taxes, but didn't report him, although someone else might have as his shop eventually disappeared.
 
This is not a case of complaining. This is reporting an act that is dishonest at some level. The question is, at what level.

I would report this in writing using a statutory declaration and keep a copy with any written response you receive.
You may need to follow up.
 
I agree that this is not complaining. It's actually reporting what is most likely employee theft. Owner should send in a "mystery shopper"/decoy and that person should pay cash and see what happens. There is something shady going on, and they shouldn't be tipped off in advance.
 
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