Jun 22 2008
Grocery Shopping: Watch For Fresh Produce Errors
A simple way to save money on groceries is to watch the register when checking out. Did you know that you may accidentally be charged more money? Price errors are not all that common, but they aren’t rare either.
Although you are encouraged to watch your whole order being run up, that isn’t always possible for some people, especially parents grocery shopping with children. What you will want to do is keep a close on the fresh produce. Produce is where you will find the best chance of price mistakes and errors.
Fresh produce, aside from a few items, does not come with a barcode. This means that the cashier must enter in the item by hand. Unfortunately, this does leave room for error.
Are there two types of cucumbers in the store, one being on sale and the other not? Is the cashier new and not familiar with all produce codes? There are a number of factors that can result in a price error, an error that can end up costing you money.
Very good advice. I always stare at the screen while the cashier is ringing it in. I don’t know how they keep all those produce codes straight so I agree that it’s a place where they can err considering some fruits and vegetables are rather exotic and can be much pricier than domestic types.