Thursday, August 02, 2007

Latest Report on My Deli Obsession

Those who have been following the saga know I'm a little obsessed with the cash-handling at the deli where I get my breakfast every day. I guess I have an excuse, since it is often the only time I spend cash all day. The latest news is that the deli recently raised their prices: the coffee and bagel that used to cost me $2.60 now cost.... well, I'm not really sure how much they cost. At first it seemed like they cost $2.79. But then the next day they cost $2.89. Then they cost $3.00!
Now before you think I am actually living in Zimbabwe, I should point out that after paying $3.00 one day, I was charged $2.79 again, and then one day the cashier gave me a quarter back from $3, so she really only charged me $2.75. After about a week or so, I started to notice a trend-- at first I thought one of the cash registers was programmed differently and was therefore ringing up the same item at a different price. But it turns out that it's actually the cashiers themselves. One of them always charges me $3.00. The other one always charges me $2.79. Eventually I suppose I will confront them about the discrepancy, but I haven't had the energy to do it lately, and I haven't wanted to be late for work! So in the meantime, of course I keep an eye on who's working which register and try to go to the one who charges less!
Just one more little strategy to keep my net worth growing as fast as possible....

6 comments:

SMB said...

Okay, that would just drive me nuts. If the cashier that charges you $3 charges every customer a little more than she should--well, nice little racket she has going on there. I wonder if it's time for a letter/phone call to the manager?

Anonymous said...

I was thinking of you yesterday when I purchased a bagel and handed them $2.00 instead of the $2.02 that rung up. (I was thinking, madame x would not approve!)

I know you must love your morning bagel and bananaman routine, but what about the idea of developing alternate routines that don't require spending money? One of the things about big cities that makes me kind of sad is that in order to feel engaged with the environment and people around you, money is often required (not completely true, but a lot of people feel this way and live accordingly). We need more real public gathering spaces, where individuals can go to be around other people while they eat their own inexpensive bagels brought from home.

Anonymous said...

Something similar happens to me when I drop by the Au Bon Pain near my work place. Each person charges you different even the manager whom sometimes has to handle the registers charges you differently. I stopped going there completely as there are days my fav. cashier is behind the salads counter.

mapgirl said...

All you have to do is one day when they charge you $3, tell them that it's usually $2.75 and see what they say.

Dawn said...

Why not get a receipt for each transaction and then you have proof of date and charge and possibly even the cashier number.
Evidence is always good.

SavingDiva said...

I would just always have $3 ready. I'm too lazy to deal with the argument over some change. When you do get the change, you should save it in a giant piggy bank...I used to have a Coke bottle one when I was little.