Woolworths shopper's 'sneaky' find on supermarket shelf has everyone talking – is this legal?
- Replies 33
Previously, we wrote a story about how a shopper discovered a 'hidden catch' behind a supposedly 'special' item at Coles.
Now, it seems that a similar situation has happened again. And this time, it was a Woolworths customer who took to social media to air their annoyance.
Sharing on the popular forum website Reddit, a Woolies shopper uploaded a photo of the supposedly 'special' tag of Barilla Pesto Alla Genovese Sauce on the supermarket shelf. It indicated that the sauce's price had dropped from $5 to $4.25.
However, after taking a closer look, the shopper decided to check the original price behind the yellow tag, and they were surprised to see that it was $4, not $5, as written on the discount tag.
'Why do Woolies do this?' asked the frustrated customer.
A Woolworths customer's photo of a 'sneaky' discovery sparked anger online. Credit: Reddit/Baileyjk01.
The shopper's post gained a lot of attention very quickly on social media, and several users commented that they also found the disparity to be incredibly infuriating.
One user wrote, 'So sneaky. How many people would miss this too?' with plenty of others agreeing with him.
Meanwhile, a second suggested that this could be reported to authorities as 'fraud', with a third suggesting, 'If it's the same product, that's illegal and grounds for some serious fines.'
However, much to the shopper's surprise, not everyone on the forum stood behind them during the pricing incident. Most users said this was not Woolies trying to 'scam' their customers but simply a pricing error made by a (probably overworked) staff member.
'Woolies are not trying to scam you out of 25c at the risk of significant fines. Someone didn't change the base label when there was a price increase recently, and this is the result,' one user wrote in the comments.
Another agreed and added, 'These stores are woefully understaffed, and someone has to go around and replace those labels personally, often hundreds in a single shift, all the while they keep changing.'
'In this case, an item had a price increase and then went on sale before the old ticket was changed,' he went on to say.
Someone who claimed to be an employee from Woolworths also came forward and said, 'This is 100% a mistake from a single person who has missed a ticket when putting a new batch on the shelves.'
Then, they explained that workers are usually 'under the pump' because only two or three people handle the pricing and ticketing jobs, along with payroll, compliance, and cash management duties.
''This is definitely more of a result of cutting hours and saving wages than Woolworths trying to pull illegal scams,' they said.
Social media users are shocked by Woolworths' new digital price tags. Credit: Reddit/swfnbc.
This incident comes after reports that Woolworths had installed new digital price tags in a few of its locations, which sparked conflicting responses on social media.
A number of people have expressed their approval of the move, noting that it is user-friendly, effective, and responsible for the environment.
Others, on the other hand, are worried that with these digital tags, prices could change more easily and more often, and may even be used to track customers' shopping habits.
The new digital tags could also mean that shoppers could no longer 'check' the original price of an item that is supposedly on special.
What are your thoughts, folks? Do you also have a habit of checking the 'old' price behind the special tags at supermarkets?
Now, it seems that a similar situation has happened again. And this time, it was a Woolworths customer who took to social media to air their annoyance.
Sharing on the popular forum website Reddit, a Woolies shopper uploaded a photo of the supposedly 'special' tag of Barilla Pesto Alla Genovese Sauce on the supermarket shelf. It indicated that the sauce's price had dropped from $5 to $4.25.
However, after taking a closer look, the shopper decided to check the original price behind the yellow tag, and they were surprised to see that it was $4, not $5, as written on the discount tag.
'Why do Woolies do this?' asked the frustrated customer.
A Woolworths customer's photo of a 'sneaky' discovery sparked anger online. Credit: Reddit/Baileyjk01.
The shopper's post gained a lot of attention very quickly on social media, and several users commented that they also found the disparity to be incredibly infuriating.
One user wrote, 'So sneaky. How many people would miss this too?' with plenty of others agreeing with him.
Meanwhile, a second suggested that this could be reported to authorities as 'fraud', with a third suggesting, 'If it's the same product, that's illegal and grounds for some serious fines.'
However, much to the shopper's surprise, not everyone on the forum stood behind them during the pricing incident. Most users said this was not Woolies trying to 'scam' their customers but simply a pricing error made by a (probably overworked) staff member.
'Woolies are not trying to scam you out of 25c at the risk of significant fines. Someone didn't change the base label when there was a price increase recently, and this is the result,' one user wrote in the comments.
Another agreed and added, 'These stores are woefully understaffed, and someone has to go around and replace those labels personally, often hundreds in a single shift, all the while they keep changing.'
'In this case, an item had a price increase and then went on sale before the old ticket was changed,' he went on to say.
Someone who claimed to be an employee from Woolworths also came forward and said, 'This is 100% a mistake from a single person who has missed a ticket when putting a new batch on the shelves.'
Then, they explained that workers are usually 'under the pump' because only two or three people handle the pricing and ticketing jobs, along with payroll, compliance, and cash management duties.
''This is definitely more of a result of cutting hours and saving wages than Woolworths trying to pull illegal scams,' they said.
Social media users are shocked by Woolworths' new digital price tags. Credit: Reddit/swfnbc.
This incident comes after reports that Woolworths had installed new digital price tags in a few of its locations, which sparked conflicting responses on social media.
A number of people have expressed their approval of the move, noting that it is user-friendly, effective, and responsible for the environment.
Others, on the other hand, are worried that with these digital tags, prices could change more easily and more often, and may even be used to track customers' shopping habits.
The new digital tags could also mean that shoppers could no longer 'check' the original price of an item that is supposedly on special.
What are your thoughts, folks? Do you also have a habit of checking the 'old' price behind the special tags at supermarkets?
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