Lunch Break Dilemma

ArrowFlyer86

ArrowFlyer86

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Went to a pizza place today for a slice and a soda and got short changed by $1.

Normally I wouldn't notice but I just happened to be sorta zoning out watching him count the change back, and I saw a very deliberate action of putting $1 back in the drawer after pulling it out.

While he was handing me the money I pointed out that it was a dollar short; didn't even have to count it, I'd watched him count it. It took him about a half second of feigning surprise but then agreed and claimed he couldn't open the drawer without his manager, who wouldn't be back for a while.

I asked if when the next customer came in and the drawer opens, could he refund the dollar. Nope! Needs manager.
Said I'd wait.... Ate my pizza, and then lo-and-behold, 15 mins later he lets me know manager called and won't be back in today. Sorry about the dollar.

That's when I noticed there's a tip jar that on the counter was nearly empty except for coins and a nice, crisp $1 bill.

I'll tell you what I did, but first, I'm curious what would you do?

(also, it goes without saying, it's obviously NOT about the dollar... it's about the dishonesty)
 
I would probably have let is go since all our actions are returned to us, good or bad. However, my wife would ask for the manager's phone number and, if that was not provided, ask who owns the establishment. She would escalate up the chain of command until she would find where the buck stops. Then she would address how the employee's actions are harmful to the company and suggest proper 're-education' for the offender all while on speaker phone so all parties concerned are listening. She has a hard time of letting things go if principles are violated. I have witnessed her doing this on many occasions. Often, it has resulted in a job offer from upper management. A friggin pit bull, she is.
 
I am almost ashamed* to say I have pulled a dollar out of the tip jar before.

The workers at Papa Johns keep reminding me of the tip jar, so one time I finally did it and pulled a dollar bill out. As I pulled it out I reminded the workers that tips are for exceptional service, not normal job duty.

And they still remind me of the tip jar when I pick up a pizza.

* Like I said, almost ashamed...
 
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Call or email the owner. If they can't be reached. Leave a review commending service and food, but how employees are dishonest thieves.

If an employee is short changing customers, imagine what they're taking from the owner. The owner ought to know.
 
Zeldman said:
I am almost ashamed* to say I have pulled a dollar out of the tip jar before.

The workers at Papa Johns keep reminding me of the tip jar, so one time I finally did it and pulled a dollar bill out. As I pulled it out I reminded the workers that tips are for exceptional service, not normal jog duty.

And they still remind me of the tip jar when I pick up a pizza.

* Like I said, almost ashamed...
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I'd be more ashamed admitting you're eating Papa John's. Probably not many places in Grants to get a proper pie though.
 
Suggest to the cashier that you can call the PD non-emergency number to make a police report just to document it. See if that causes the register to open. Petty? Yeah. But if it’s about the principle. If not, carry on.
 
In the end I told the guy I know it was intentional as were the excuses, and that I'll be back in this week to talk to the manager. There was no response just an unhappy glare.
Am I going to follow through with it? Probably not. Maybe. I don't know. I'll probably forget about it by tomorrow. It's $1. We'll see how motivated I am. But I do think he deserves to at least sweat a little since he intentionally stole from me. I obviously will not be back there to buy food.

robin ardoin said:
I would probably have let is go since all our actions are returned to us, good or bad. However, my wife would ask for the manager's phone number and, if that was not provided, ask who owns the establishment. She would escalate up the chain of command until she would find where the buck stops. Then she would address how the employee's actions are harmful to the company and suggest proper 're-education' for the offender all while on speaker phone so all parties concerned are listening. She has a hard time of letting things go if principles are violated. I have witnessed her doing this on many occasions. Often, it has resulted in a job offer from upper management. A friggin pit bull, she is.
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My friend's wife is pretty fire + brimstone about principles. Though she usually has no qualms about taking the low-road.
If she thought someone was taking money from her, I think there's a fair chance she'd go to the Exxon next door, fill a jug up with kerosene, and burn the pizza place to the ground.
 
Zeldman said:
I have not found any proper place to eat anything in Grants, that is why I live in Gallup... :yesnod:
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Dammit. That's right. I stayed in Grants but went through Gallup. Once. 15 years ago.
 
Many years ago, when round steak was a dollar a pound:

New employee at a large chain grocery store, chatted us up, as I bought a nice steak. He mentioned the price of the steak, I handed him a $20 dollar bill. He rang up less, gave me a dollar more than the change I was owed, and bagged the steak and receipt.

I went to the managers office, related what happened, he asked for the receipt and looked at the steak price.

I left the store, but next time in, stopped and asked how the steak deal turned out.

Employee fired on the spot, he had been transferred to this store for reported similar transactions, and that was his first day on the job. And last.

Manager said keep the dollar, it was small pay for honesty.
 
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geezer said:
New employee at a larg3 chain grocery store, chatted us up, as I bought a nice steak. Mentioned the price of the steak, I handed him a $20 dollar bill. He rang up less, gave me a dollar more than the change I was owed, and bagged the steak and receipt.

I went to the managers office, related what happened, he asked for the receipt and looked at the steak price.

I left the store, but next time in, stopped and asked how the steak deal turned out.

Employee fired on the spot, he had been transferred to this store for reported similar transactions, and that was his first day on the job. And last.
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The guy underbilled you? I wonder what his end-game was there, aside from dicking over the chain he worked for.
 
$17 dollar steak $4 change, receipt was $10. Net too much cash in drawer, 20 minus 4 equals 16, and only $10 rung up, so $6 excess dollars in the drawer to be bagged when a partner comes through his line.

The manager said there was much more than $6 in his drawer when cashed out. The store received $10 for a $17 steak. He also alerted another male cashier to be ready to back him up if there was a disturbance.
 
geezer said:
$17 dollar steak $4 change, receipt was $10. Net too much cash in drawer, 20 minus 4 equals 16, and only $10 rung up, so $6 excess dollars in the drawer to be bagged when a partner comes through his line.

The manager said there was much more than $6 in his drawer when cashed out. The store received $10 for a $17 steak. He also alerted another male cashier to be ready to back him up if there was a disturbance.
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Oh I see what you're saying. I thought he just rung up the steak for $16 and charged you $16 when it should have been 17.

That makes sense!
 
I would grab the whole tip jar, a couple bags of Doritos from the counter, refill my 44oz drink from the fountain and got in my car and drove away.:p

But really - If I thought is was intentional, I would write an IOU on a piece of paper and make him sign and date it. If he refused to that, I'd take the buck out of the tip jar and say 'thank you', and leave.

edit to add, if a confrontation occurs such that there's a memory of me as a customer, I'm not going back to that place again for a long time. I'm not interested in a '5 second rule' burger patty, or one that's been wiped on the fry cooks heine.
 
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ArrowFlyer86 said:
Said I'd wait.... Ate my pizza, and then lo-and-behold, 15 mins later he lets me know manager called and won't be back in today. Sorry about the dollar.
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“I’m not leaving (or letting anyone else order, by blocking this counter) till you pay me the money you owe me. I don’t care if it comes from the register, or your pocket - but pay up or we can let law enforcement decide after I call them in 2 minutes “
 
I would give him the option of me calling the police or him giving me the dollar. If he chooses to rob me, even for just a dollar, the police will be involved.

Then I would never return again as long as he is working there.

Bringing the police will probably alert the owner to his deeds if he’s dumb enough not to just give you the buck. It’s not the amount, it’s the point. I’m not going to walk away from someone that bold faded robbed me without doing something about it. And I’m going to tell every customer that comes in why I’m waiting for the police to come.
 
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The pizza must have been bad... Taking it out on the guy behind the counter when it's the guy making the pizza that owes you the dollar!
 
For a dollar? Personally, I would try to forget about it. I mean, we are talking about a dollar here. I hope road rage isn't an option.
 
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Racerx said:
Dammit. That's right. I stayed in Grants but went through Gallup. Once. 15 years ago.
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You oughtta stay in Gallup next time. We have 3 McDonalds, 2 Popeyes Fried Chicken and 3 Taco Bells now. Plus one Hilton Garden Inn.!! :yesnod:
 
I would take the buck out of the tip jar and report it to the manager. My husband would call the police. I would not let it go. I don't need the dollar, but the next customer might. I know that graft like this has been going on forever, but it seems like it's a lot more prevalent because society has given up shaming misbehavior. Shame is good. People were a lot nicer to each other back in the day when they were capable of being ashamed. It's probably ****ing into the wind nowadays but I'm not willing to give up the fight.
 
Short changing customers is easy and happens all the time. Having worked fast food in the way back …. After the employee “claimed “ the manager wasn’t returning, I would have called the number typically posted of the owner and let the know the situation.
 
judypilot said:
...I would not let it go...
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It's interesting how direct opinions and anecdotes of women in this thread might indicate women might be more principled than men
:) I guess that shouldn't be surprising.

I would have somehow contacted the manager/owner. The issue is trivial. The character flaw is not.

robin ardoin said:
...my wife...has a hard time of letting things go if principles are violated...
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Your wife and my mom were cut from the same cloth. Take in this story as an example. In the late 70s, my mom receives a phone call in the middle of the day from a young girl explaining how she got in trouble at school, she was very sorry, and it wouldn't happen again. This girl was asked by an administrator of her school to call home and explain something she had done. The girl dialed a phone number one digit off of her home number (our number) and had pretended to have a conversation with her mom. My mom would not let this go. My mom spent the rest of the day calling every school in the area asking if they had asked a child to call home. After like six hours, she found the school/girl and her ruse was revealed. Ironically, my sister and this girl a couple years later went to the same school, became good friends, and remain in touch to this day.
 
I think I'd get the slice and soda from Costco and pay electronically.
 
You guys haven't asked the most important question...how was pizza? :)

I had the ticket guy at a city parking lot in Albany short me a dollar on the way out once. It was an easy catch, as the day rate was always the same, so I'd always get the same change back. There were people behind me in line. I just said "I think you owe me a dollar". He looked at the line behind me, took a dollar out of the register and handed it to me, and said "like you'd miss a dollar." I didn't report it to anyone, just gave a heads up to the people I knew that used the garage. In a year they replaced the manual booth with an automatic machine. Some people think people steal a buck or two because they're poor. I kinda think some people are poor because they are dishonest.

Anyway, if it was a local place and the pizza was good, and it's one of those where the owner is there from time to time, I'd maybe try to give them a heads up. I've never met a small business owner that liked thieves. If it was a chain, I'd only bother with the manager if it was the only thing close by.

One nice thing about this area is that there are lots of local mom and pop pizza places. There are a couple of chains, but I think their only business is people traveling through, or kids that like xyz chain, or just for having something different once in a while.
 
robin ardoin said:
I would probably have let is go since all our actions are returned to us, good or bad. However, my wife would ask for the manager's phone number and, if that was not provided, ask who owns the establishment. She would escalate up the chain of command until she would find where the buck stops. Then she would address how the employee's actions are harmful to the company and suggest proper 're-education' for the offender all while on speaker phone so all parties concerned are listening. She has a hard time of letting things go if principles are violated. I have witnessed her doing this on many occasions. Often, it has resulted in a job offer from upper management. A friggin pit bull, she is.
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Here's the problem with letting it go. It was "just" a dollar... to you. How many other people does he do that to? And you letting it go is, in a manner of speaking, approving of the behavior.

As for "all our actions are returned to us", your action here is being okay that someone stole from you. So does that mean you want someone else to be okay when you steal from them? :confused2:
 
Racerx said:
Call or email the owner. If they can't be reached. Leave a review commending service and food, but how employees are dishonest thieves.

If an employee is short changing customers, imagine what they're taking from the owner. The owner ought to know.
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Yeah. If you can’t reach the manager/owner, there’s almost always a corporate customer service contact.

I’ve reported issues at least once, maybe twice. Typically I got phone calls from the manager within a few hours. We’d talk, and there was always, “What can I do to make it right?”

The one I remember specifically was stopping at a place while traveling and wasn’t looking to get anything out of him, I just wanted to let him know so it wouldn’t happen to anyone else. I told the manager there was close to zero chance we’d ever stop there again. He mailed me a bunch of buy-one-get-one coupons that I gave away to someone that would use them.
 
Another interesting scam…

Walmart. Had the cheap Mexican hot sauce I like and can only find there… about $2/bottle, bought six.

Rang up, self check out… was interrupted by a guy wearing a Walmart smock, did I want this cheap $3ish Christmas trinket. No thanks, he walks away.

Total my purchase, it was near $18… hmmm, was expecting $12ish.

I double check the items, make sure I squeezed the thingy six times not seven. First thing I notice is my hot sauce is closer to three bucks a bottle, not two, oopsie, it checks… but wait… there are seven items. Hmmm.

It’s a “store merch” something for near the same price as hot sauce but not exactly.

What the? No doubt that interruption wound up in that trinket getting scanned somehow!

I simply clicked remove from cart, paid and left. Was gonna bring it up, but gawd what mess that woulda meant. Bugs me… only a fluke I caught it, wonder if I’ve been scammed before?
 
Sometimes the theft is linked to the return systems. When I had some consulting customers that did retail, that was one of the favorite targets. With the item, they charge someone else for it, then they return it and get the cash or credit. Another is they'll offer a customer a refund for something that they're really not entitled to, usually for a cash sale, but only give back part of the money. Or, someone brings in a return, and the employee figures out a way to skim part of that.

I think I remember a ski center that had a problem where once in a while for a cash sale the agent would refund the ticket right after sale, keep the cash, and instead issue a complimentary pass to the customer that they obtained through some other mechanism. It was pretty slick in that it didn't leave an obvious paper trail, but the accounting folks figured it out as part of their regular systems checks.

I don't know, but would guess all of this is part of the reason why stores like self checkout, it makes theft from employees a little harder, and why stores hate both cash refunds and credit card splits. I am pretty sure that most places where stores claim shoplifting theft to be a problem it's really the employees that are responsible for most of the theft.
 
Tools said:
wonder if I’ve been scammed before?
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At WalMart? Certainly you have. I've noticed several times while using self-checkout that items scanned for more than they were marked. I've never noticed anything scanning for less. Random mistakes would happen in both directions, so I don't think it's a mistake.

Albany Tom said:
but would guess all of this is part of the reason why stores like self checkout, it makes theft from employees a little harder,
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Yes, and it makes theft from customers easier. When scanning a bunch of items, it's easy to miss something scanning fifty cents or a buck higher, and even if I do notice I might not take the time to wait for an employee to resolve it.
 
Racerx said:
You say deal. They say loss leader.
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Damn right! And a founder who defends the deal to the death!

"""
Craig Jelenik, Sinegal's successor as CEO, revealed in 2018 that he approached Sinegal in 2013 about raising the price of the hot dog combo to $1.75, saying, "Jim, we can't [continue to] sell this hot dog for a buck fifty. We are losing our rear ends." According to Jelinek, Sinegal replied, "If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out." [Instead of raising the price]. Jelinek instead decided to switch from Coca-Cola products to Pepsi products to keep the combo at $1.50.
"""
 
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