Talk about your demons versus angels.
There I was this afternoon, grocery shopping at Safeway. Leisurely picking up this and that, enjoying my "staycation" this week and not careening through the aisles like the crazed woman I normally am.
Soymilk, bananas, coffee, cereal. Check. A little hair dye to cover my "sparklies?" Sure, why not. How about these Crest 3D white strips to bleach any wine and coffee stains? I wince at the $40 price tag, on sale from $60 mind you, but then I envision a blinding-white Jessica Simpson smile and throw the box in my basket. I could use a little tune-up.
I pay for everything, return to my car and am ready to put the petal to the metal when it suddenly hits me: my bill was $40. This can't be right because the Crest product alone was $40. I turn off the engine, pull out the receipt and sure enough, the checker charged me twice for the hair dye, a measly $6.99, and didn't charge me for the whitening strips. Since both boxes were of a similar size and color, she probably thought they were the same product and, to save time, just scanned one box twice.
You know where this is going, don't you?
The angel on my right shoulder told me to return to the checker and point out her oversight. It's the right thing to do was the winged one's gentle reminder. But the demon on my left shoulder was providing an equally tempting argument.
Save yourself the $40, his hot breath whispered in my ear. It ain't exactly chump change--at least not to any member of the 99% club. And Safeway is a huge conglomerate that overcharges anyway--don't be a schmuck!
Then to my surprise, a third entity chimed in, an entity that a dutiful child of any age will instantly recognize: Mother.
That's not how I raised you, I heard her admonishment from the heavens. You march in there right now and pay for that product, you hear me young lady? NOW.
And so I did. Much to the surprise of the phelmy-voiced three-pack-a-day checker, whose jaw hit the ground when I pointed out her mistake. "And you came back?" she asked in disbelief. "Wow."
That was it. No thanks. No gratitude. Not even a smile. Just "wow," coupled with a look on her face that told me she thought I was a total idiot. Plus her request for the extra $40 plus tax.
Wow indeed. But at least my Jessica Simpson pearly whites won't be stained with guilt: Mom took care of that.
There I was this afternoon, grocery shopping at Safeway. Leisurely picking up this and that, enjoying my "staycation" this week and not careening through the aisles like the crazed woman I normally am.
Soymilk, bananas, coffee, cereal. Check. A little hair dye to cover my "sparklies?" Sure, why not. How about these Crest 3D white strips to bleach any wine and coffee stains? I wince at the $40 price tag, on sale from $60 mind you, but then I envision a blinding-white Jessica Simpson smile and throw the box in my basket. I could use a little tune-up.
I pay for everything, return to my car and am ready to put the petal to the metal when it suddenly hits me: my bill was $40. This can't be right because the Crest product alone was $40. I turn off the engine, pull out the receipt and sure enough, the checker charged me twice for the hair dye, a measly $6.99, and didn't charge me for the whitening strips. Since both boxes were of a similar size and color, she probably thought they were the same product and, to save time, just scanned one box twice.
You know where this is going, don't you?
The angel on my right shoulder told me to return to the checker and point out her oversight. It's the right thing to do was the winged one's gentle reminder. But the demon on my left shoulder was providing an equally tempting argument.
Save yourself the $40, his hot breath whispered in my ear. It ain't exactly chump change--at least not to any member of the 99% club. And Safeway is a huge conglomerate that overcharges anyway--don't be a schmuck!
Then to my surprise, a third entity chimed in, an entity that a dutiful child of any age will instantly recognize: Mother.
That's not how I raised you, I heard her admonishment from the heavens. You march in there right now and pay for that product, you hear me young lady? NOW.
And so I did. Much to the surprise of the phelmy-voiced three-pack-a-day checker, whose jaw hit the ground when I pointed out her mistake. "And you came back?" she asked in disbelief. "Wow."
That was it. No thanks. No gratitude. Not even a smile. Just "wow," coupled with a look on her face that told me she thought I was a total idiot. Plus her request for the extra $40 plus tax.
Wow indeed. But at least my Jessica Simpson pearly whites won't be stained with guilt: Mom took care of that.
1 comment:
I haven't had them not charge me for something, but more than once I've had them give me more change back than I was supposed to get-and a few times more money than I had handed them in the first place..could I use the extra money? Yes, but I feel better being honest and returning it than the feeling extra money would ever give me.
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