I recently visited a nearby Bio Store to buy the above pink lentils. There was a self-service counter, and I filled my paper bag with about 1.3 kilos (all that you can see above).
The charming lady who runs the shop is very chatty, and over recent times we've got to know each other quite well.
When she weighed my bag, she asked me for €3.20. I was about to hand over the money when I thought it didn't seem quite right; I had not long ago bought a similar sized bag of lentils in a Villeneuve sur Lot superstore, and it had cost over €10.
"Are you sure that's right?" I asked her. She looked at me oddly and asked if I thought it too much.
"No" I replied "Too little".
She weighed my bag a second time, and confirmed that the price was right. We then had a long conversation about how people view the value of the Euro and the Franc so very differently. I capitulated, paid my €3.20, and left feeling content. I should add that she has a strange accounting system which involves a weighing machine and a small calculator.
Once back in the Compact Royce, I recounted the tale to Lady Magnon who seemed as confused as myself. It still didn't seem right.
At home I weighed my bag and confirmed that it was indeed 1.3 kilos. I think the nice lady charged me for .3 kilos, and ignored the other 1 kilo. The filled bag should probably have cost me about €12.
So, do I go back again and set things right, or do I sit back, knowing that I tried to correct her, and count myself lucky? I have never been untruthful about such things, and therefore have a natural instinct to do the former. I'm uncertain.
Obviously you don't feel right about it. In such cases I have found it best to follow instinct and return, help find and correct a calculation that is putting the shop to a regular disadvantage. If that fails, I fear the waters are deeper than can be measured on a misread bean balance.
ReplyDeleteIt also worries me that if she continues to make such simple mistakes, the shop might well close down, and there isn't another like it within about 40 kms.
DeleteWhich i why you will go back and sort it out with her. Little shops are like those rare pants and birds in the environment whose habitat has been destroyed by big robust introduced species. A little TLC will make you feel better! :)
DeleteI think it's already decided.
DeleteIf it were I the pirate in my soul would be laughing with gay abandon but being as it's not a massive Leach o market but a local store with a face then the other side of me would win and I would return once more to but it right....but only the once as the pirate in me would allow no more... But the choice and decision be yours Cro, do what's right for you.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that you're asking the question means you want to go back. If it was Tesco's you'd managed to do it to I'd give you a high five (and I don't like high fives) and laugh but with a little shop it's different.
ReplyDeleteWatch it Kev; I'm a shareholder!
DeleteGo back
ReplyDeleteShe'll return the favour
I'd definitely go back. I've gone back to small shops before when I've realised that they've given me change for a £20 instead of a £10 or undercharged me and it's always been genuinely appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOn occasions when I haven't been able to go back for some reason, or have found money in the street or at a self service till and not been able to return it to someone, I make a donation to a charity instead.
I think I'd have the same thoughts, there's too many small shops been put out of business by Tesco and their ilk, as you point out, if the lady is making this error repeatedly, it's a sure shortcut to bankruptcy, and I believe the shop would be far greater miss than the few euros.
ReplyDeleteOf course it may be that she's a particularly stealthy supercriminal who's cornered the lentil market and is pushing the price down for some nefarious purpose of her own...
ReplyDeleteOh that it were thus!
DeleteMy guess is that she input the rate for a lesser lentil in that the amount she charged you sounds right for ordinary lentils. They sound like an exotic type of lentil you were buying if you expected to pay so much. Or else the first shop over-charged you.
ReplyDeleteThings like this, which are regarded as 'exotic' in France, are always over-priced. I used to buy huge bags in England for £5.
DeleteYou'll go back. I know you will. And you'll feel better for it.
ReplyDeleteUpdate us please ufter you go back.
ReplyDeleteI will.
DeleteIt will continue to bother you until you do something about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm such a goody-goody Cro so, I'd go back to sort it out. It sound's as if you are going to do just that. I just think that the shop probably doesn't make ' loads 'a money '. I remember finding 10p in a public swimming pool locker and I gave that back to reception ….. pathetic, I know. XXXX
ReplyDeleteI shall return on Friday.
DeleteI know people that would not let this bother them, however, good, honest people cannot let this go.
ReplyDeleteGive it one more try, with your very logical conclusion after testing your theory at home.
ReplyDeleteI agree you should try to get to the bottom of it, especially since you know and like the lady and the shop is small. If it had been a big national store, and I had already tried to rectify the situation, I'd let it go, but small businesses with friendly people.....different story.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%.
DeleteIf you're going to continue to do business with her you should let her know what you think happened.
ReplyDeleteIf the retailer was a supermarket then I would walk away with a smile.
ReplyDeleteThe small shop keeper needs to be told of her error and you don't need your conscience to be troubled - do you ?
I'd go back as otherwise I'd fret about it and spoil my lentil enjoyment. Bet you do too Cro, I always think , what goes around comes around. If it had happened in Tesco I probably wouldn't have felt the same though ;)
ReplyDeleteTwiggy
Go back. Who knows? She might have done a quick recalculation after you left and realized you were right. It's so important to keep the small shopkeepers in business, and you'll feel better each time you enter the store.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure she later realised that she made a mistake. I'll go back and make a joke about it all.
DeleteI'd have to go back. I had something similar happen at a shop near me that makes lovely candles. Every year they hold their annual seconds sale where they sell candles that don't quite measure up to their highest quality. I stocked up on some tapers, and didn't think the price was right, seemed too low, but thought perhaps I had estimated wrong, as I ended up getting several different sizes and each had a different price. Thankfully, they gave me the receipt (she used a similar method of calculating to the woman in your shop), and when I got home and looked at it, I saw the mistake. Decimal point in the wrong place, so I figured out what it should have been and returned with receipt and money in hand, explaining what happened.
ReplyDeleteThey were grateful, my conscience was clear, and that was that.
I've now decided what I shall do. Rather than making a special trip, I'll settle the matter when I next visit.
DeleteThis is the second time I've seen someone reference pink lentils! I'd never heard of them before! As to the dilemma.. I would just let them know next time you're in and offer to pay! See if they decided to accept it, hehe..
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, I found your blog through a fellow blogger, and just wanted to stop by and say hi! It would totally make my day if you did the same, or better yet, keep in touch! <3 - www.domesticgeekgirl.com
Welcome Gingi.... I'll certainly pop by.
Deletewell Cro,I finally got 5 mins to drop by some of you lovely people...I would go back,her livelihood depends on you all and perhaps she has made this mistake with others and no profits for this little store..I know you will go and tell her as you are honorable.
ReplyDeleteIm going for browny points. This week i called a customer and informed them that they had paid me twice for the same invoice - Aud 6578 x 2. How they didnt miss it im not sure as it was gone for almost a month over the Christmas season while i was on leave and catching up with recs. As a small contracting business they sure appreciated my call and will hopefully tighten up their systems. So yeah, i agree that going back may be the lesson she needs to fix her methods. Business might just get a little more profitable.
ReplyDelete