I regularly come across problems with pricing and scanning issues at Coles.
They had Cadburys Drinking Chocolate 225g with a “2 For $4.00” special ticket a couple of weeks ago and when I checked my receipt, I had been charged the normal price of $3.20 each so I went to the service counter. The staff member did not bother checking the sign and refunded me $4.00.
Next time I bought another 2 cans at the same store and the same thing happened but when I bought 2 cans from a different store and I was charged full price, the staff member retrieved the ticket which was for a special that had ended a few days previously, so she refunded me $4.40.
So some 6 cans for $2.00 total. Bargain due to Coles incompetence.
They also had a lot of packs of I & J Frozen Lobster Tails at that time marked down by 60% from the normal price of $28.00 a pack so I bought one. I was charged full price so I went to the service counter and got a full refund as an employee had failed to properly mask the original barcode with the markdown barcode.
The bottom line is if you fail to check your receipts, you will get ripped off but if you are vigilant, Coles and Woollies will only rip themselves off.
Of course the incompetence is not confined to pricing and scanning issues.
At another Coles store last week, I witnesses an employee squatting down in front of the refrigerated vegatable display refilling the holders with brown paper bags for loose mushrooms.
He had opened 2 plastic bags, removed the paper bags and put them down on the dirty floor mat whilst he fiddled with getting them into the holders.
Yesterday at our local Coles, all the sliced Coles multigrain bread had either muffin topped badly or had huge “v” shaped recesses in the sides.
The totally disinterested employee said that the new baker had over proofed the dough and the day before, they had no baker.
When I asked her to run a block loaf throught the slicer, she claimed that it would end up the same and that she had already cleaned the slicer.
I bought the loaf unsliced and successfully sliced it at home, whilst the sliced loaves were not fit for sale, let alone at full price.
Absolutely disgraceful.
