Supermarket responds after Reddit user’s warning about self-checkout overcharge — ‘Was annoyed that the total amount due on my supermarket purchase did not equate to the individual items I purchased.’

7news.com.au Woolworths shopper sparks frenzy with wild self-serve register overcharge claim

‘Was annoyed that the amount due on my Woolies purchase did not equate to the individual items I purchased.’

Supermarket responds after Reddit user’s warning about self-checkout overcharge — ‘Was annoyed that the total amount due on my supermarket purchase did not equate to the individual items I purchased.’::‘Was annoyed that the amount due on my Woolies purchase did not equate to the individual items I purchased.’

82 comments

So it was resolved instore to their even better benefit, AND the person still went and posted a false story to shame and blame them?

People are fucking weird.
- Even if it was a one-time glitch that was resolved in-store, it implies that the prices shown on-screen aren’t necessarily the same prices used internally to compute the total.
  
  That could merit a heads-up post for people to double-check their totals, though not the suggestion of anything more nefarious.
  
  Things misscan all the time, they are using a hot topic to make an agenda.
  
  They could have spun it as a good story with the ending they got, but they choose to focus on a technical glitch that occurs with human cashiers as well.
- That's still a major software bug. What a POS.
  
  It is indeed a Point of Sale, albeit a shitty one
  
  Not major if it only impacts the price shown on the itemized price screen of clearance mangos in one store and the total price charged is correct.
- Is this news?
  
  It certainly doesn't belong in /technology, right?
- What's even worse is 7News published the story.
- instore
  
  Not a word, my dude.
  
  In-store is, and language is fluid. If you understood what I meant we succeeded in communicating, anything else is you just trying to be better than someone else.
  
  Is gofuckyourself a word?
  
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/in-store?q=in-store
“We’ve looked into this transaction and can confirm that the total of $17.90 was correct, however the mango price of 80 cents each that appeared on the screen was incorrect due to a technical error — they were on clearance for $1.90 each,” the Woolworths spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au.

“We understand why this customer was concerned and we apologise for the confusion caused. Our team resolved this with the customer in-store, providing the mangoes free of charge.

Seems pretty straightforward and had a good resolution.
- But, what kind of software do they have that uses one price source for the unit pricing display and another source for calculating the total? It seems that it is destined to create more problems like this one.
  
  POS software is right up there with vehicle infotainment systems when it comes to reliability and usability. They get the dregs of the programming world because decent coders have a way better selection of companies to work for.
  
  IDK, that seems like a really reasonable question tbh.
  
  I imagine there's code to do something like currency conversion or maybe rewards points calculation so the displayed amount is not actually the number used for the final total
- Seems pretty straightforward and had a good resolution.
  
  Well, except for when the Redditor went home and spread ~~lies~~ technically factual statements presented in a misleading manner and omitting key details with the apparent goal of damaging the reputation of the store despite being treated with kindness and fairness by the manager.
  
  Lies? What lies? They went home and said “I found this situation annoying.” How is that a lie?…
- 7news is like that for ya. Lots of petty drama news.
- But I want to be outraged
  
  🫂
I’ve come to realise at least half of the stuff posted on Reddit these days, especially more so on the popular subs, are all designed to make you angry.

It’s things like posting incorrect info in the title, posting a comic / image that’s been deliberately designed to get you angry, someone really wanting their 5 minutes of fame like this guy, or some post from some bigot.

It’s so tiring. Have started to notice it on Lemmy too.
- Ragebait had become the new tactic to generate engagement for a while now.
  
  Hopefully people will soon catch on and become fed up with it because I am sure this tactic has been one of the biggest contributing factors in polarizing people against each other and making politics so toxic.
  
  Facebook has started to do that and... it's fucking annoying that it works. Lots of bullshit demonising trans people pushed to me 10+ times a day.
- The news aggregator communities tend to post the clickbait titles verbatim because it's generally frowned upon to editorialize them. However a few users do put a proper heading or a short summary in the post body which I appreciate.
  
  We have our share of drama llamas here as you know, but we also have pictures of [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
  
  If you follow [email protected] and [email protected] you will see my picture posts of various cityscapes.
  
  Lastly, beehaw.org is a bit closed off from some instances but their server is a bit more chill outside of their politics community.
Drama seeker article on drama seeker redditor
What a garbage article. I assume this is a bit reporting, otherwise please don't post crap like this from bad news sources.
This is just how it works in the US and Canada, though.

$1.50 scanned.

Your total is $1.65.

Would you like to make a donation to a children's charity?

$1

$2

$5

(other)

Please select a tip percentage:

18%

20%

25%

100%

(other)
- They want a tip at self-serve? That's ridiculous!
  
  I’ve never seen a tip prompt at the self-serve.
  
  They're making a joke.
Tempest in a teapot.

Did they call someone over when they saw the discrepancy? Because, you know, mistakes happen.

I frequently have something not scan, or not come up right. There's a button for help, there's always someone right there anyway, hell, had a clerk walk up and help when he noticed I hit the wrong button. They pay attention.

"I was annoyed"... That a system misreported something? If I was annoyed every time that happened I'd never not be annoyed.

What's with this sudden "self checkout rage bait" this week? Who's pushing what agenda?
- Did they call someone over when they saw the discrepancy? Because, you know, mistakes happen.
  
  Not in software. The software is doing exactly what it was programmed to do.
  
  So no software has ever glitched before and output a wrong result? What world do you live in?
Ignoring the price discount on the mangos, the answer here is sales tax, right? Because otherwise it would be $15.70. It's a bad design that tax amounts don't show up on the itemized screen (but probably on the final screen after that).

Tell me if anyone knows for sure, otherwise I'm going to assume that's the issue...

EDIT: Thank you folks, asked and answered! Then, I'm back to being very confused...
- Only the US adds sales tax after the original price, everywhere else it's included in the price on the shelf.
  
  Not just the US, Canada is like this too.
- Itemized prices should already include tax.
  
  Total will also include tax.
  
  But receipts will outline how much of the total was tax.
  
  Source: am Australian
- Doesn't Australia include the tax in the listed price of the item instead of adding it at the end?
  
  Yes it does
  
  Every country except the US and Canada does this
- Does Australia charge tax on groceries?
  
  Depends on what it is.
  
  But most raw food is tax free
The last 4 scanned items listed on screen but “5” items scanned. I’d dare say the fifth items that isn’t shown on screen accounts for the difference?
- According to the article the mangos were on sale for a higher price than what showed up on the screen, it totaled them correct but there was a mistake with it saying .80 cents per mango. They gave them the mangos for free apparently and apologized. Same thing would have happened whether or not it was a self checkout or a person, the item was entered incorrectly into the system.
  
  Always verify what you are buying.
- There's 2 mangoes.
We are living in the future!
Got to give it to the Somali Pirates... That's some next level marketing:

"This appears to be an isolated incident at our MacArthur Metro store, involving the clearance price of a batch of our Calypso Mangoes."

82 comments