Price Chopper at Brimley/Huntingwood, Toronto, Ontario,Canada, now closed but not forgotten
There is a marked difference between a company policy and their practice. Companies love to post their policies touting their honesty. Fair enough, but more importantly, when a customer wishes to exercise the policy, does the store truly stand behind the propaganda? Today I am happy to say that Price Chopper Canada, part of the Sobey’s chain, did uphold their Scanner Price Accuracy Code, at the cost of $4.99CAD, or the price of a 500 sheet of paper napkins. I thank Price Chopper Canada for their honesty.
The Retail Council of Canada’s Scanner Price Accuracy Code has been around for a very long time. For me I noticed it when retailers began not ticketing each and every item, relying on a shelf sticker instead. Once removed from the shelf, the consumer had no way of knowing the price of the product. The Scanner Price Accuracy Code somewhat mitigated this negative. If the price at the checkout differed from the price at the shelf, for products under $10CAD the customer would receive the item at no charge. This Scanner Price Accuracy Code is a voluntary code.
The purpose of the Code is to:
- Visibly demonstrate retailer commitment to scanner price accuracy;
- Provide retailers with a consistent national framework for dealing with scanner price accuracy issues; and
- Provide the retail industry with a mechanism for consumer redress in scanner price accuracy cases, to be managed by the industry through an industry committee.
In my case I wished to purchase a package of 500 sheet paper napkins, priced on the shelf at $4.50. This was, coincidentally the same price at the 250 sheet package. No matter, I took the package to the cashier, who scanned it at $4.99CAD. I pointed out the error. She left her cash, walked to the shelf, and verified my price. She said it was an old sale price. I purchased the paper napkin package at $4.50CAD, followed by a refund of $4.50CAD. She said that Price Chopper requires the double transaction.
More valuable than a free pack of 500 sheets of paper napkin was the verification of the Scanner Price Accuracy Code. Retailers who honour it in theory and in practice will always be held in higher esteem than those that do not.
