HUH4

Episode 1

The first episode was at the cheese counter. I picked up some Wensleydale and put it in my trolley. Then I noticed a much larger half-wheel of the same cheese which was unpriced. I asked for the assistant (staff#1) to weigh and price it for me.

“Sorry I can’t- I don’t know the code for it”. I joked that “it’s all the computer’s fault” and in the meantime she said she doesn’t usually work on the cheese counter and can we return in five minutes?

Meanwhile another staff member (staff#2) appeared and we explained the cheese can’t be weighed and priced because staff#1 didn’t have the code. The new person instructed staff#1 to place the cheese on the scales and read the code off the price label standing up by the cheese. I laughed and said “So the number was on the back of the label after all? I bet you’ll remember that!”.

Scowls all round.

Then I noticed that the price per kilo that came up on the scales was different to the price on the weighed cheese! Yes, using the same code my cheese was cheaper by weight than all the already-weighed-and-priced cheeses that are the same! I told both the staff this and staff#2 stomped off angrily.

Episode 2

We wanted half a cooked chicken. We thought we’d go up to the counter, select a cooked chicken, and that would be it.

When we got to the counter, staff#1 was there and scowling. There also was almost no food! I asked if they’d had a busy day and if this was normal. She said they’d sold everything they had out and they had nothing round the back left to cook!

We bought two chicken legs and left. The reception was frosty.

Episode 3

I took advantage of two beer offers. The first was 4-for-3. Who doesn’t like free beer? Four beers in the trolley.

A little later I was looking at the reductions shelf and they had another beer I like and this was available as a buy-3-get-the-4th-free deal. Great! I put four in my trolley.

At the checkout all went smoothly and I paid. I checked my receipt and there’s some mysterious line “ews-4for3” and a discount.

I looked for my buy-3-get-4th-free discount and couldn’t see it. Just this one beer discount.

I asked the girl on checkout who quizzed me a bit more then sent me to customer services.

Customer services girl (staff#3) started off visibly annoyed and when I explained scanned my beer. “It’s not on offer”.

“Well, it is.”, say I.

She phones someone and describes the beer in detail including it he colours of the bottle. She tells me the woman on the other end of the phone(staff#4) is in the beer section now and can’t find it.

I explain that the beer isn’t in the beer section but I am ignored.

After a lengthy search the phone conversation is over and I am told there is no offer.

I leave my trolley, beer, and receipt. I walk to the shelf and take three photos of the offer, amply demonstrating its authenticity.

I return and staff#3 is serving someone else. Meanwhile staff#4 has arrived behind the CS counter.

She asks from a distant till if she can help. I say I didn’t receive a discount. She tells me I must move to where she is stood. I point at my beer and receipt still standing by the till beside me. This is seemingly enough to convince staff#4 to move tills.

I explain. “I was just down the beer aisle and there is no offer” she jeers. I explain that she was looking in the wrong place and that I’d told staff#3 this but was ignored.

I showed her the photographs of the shelf, the beer, the offer.

She refunds the discount to my card. But as she is doing so she spots the mysterious “ews ” discount line on the receipt and suddenly she’s shouting that I’ve had my discount already after all! She doesn’t quite cancel my refund in time and it goes through!

She is indignant but I explain I have two four-bottles-of-beer offers and that was the other one.

She grumpily gives me my receipt and the deed is done.

Epilogue

In the car my girlfriend and I mull over the beer event. She points out that the discount next to the mysterious “ews” line on my bill is £4. No beer I had was £4. So maybe this was discount for BOTH offers? But that’s not possible as one beer was £2 and the other £2.25. £4 discount isn’t possible with these numbers.

We ponder that we’ve done nothing wrong and we genuinely have no idea what’s happened, such is the clarity of the receipt.

We don’t know if we over or underpaid, despite having an itemised receipt.