Just here to rant. My poor brother witnessed as I got a little sassy with a poor young girl at a gas station to get me a 16 oz. iced coffee beverage. I have this little gas station I've been going to a couple of times to get my iced coffee at, mostly because I don't drink real coffee so quality is not an issue. Most importantly, I discovered this iced coffee to be only about $1.05 give or take a penny. Perfect! I just like the boost and I associate it with hard work, since college days when my roommate and I would get one in the morning together to prepare for a long day of studying and hard work. Since then it has gotten me in the sit and work mindset. I digress... I look around the machine and notice that they are out of the usual cups they have, and replaced them with foam cups of a smaller size (12 oz). So, I'm smart, I realize I want to get the most for my money as usual and get the 16 oz foam cups that are located next to the hot coffee machine, this would be the same as the size I purchased previously. I go to the counter and tell the young lady there I have an iced coffee. She rings me up and says $1.56 or some odd amount. I ask are the iced coffees that much now, because just a week earlier they were around $1. She lets me know they charge based on the cup. Which sounds RIDICULOUS! I'm sorry, but the only options for cups are all made of the same materials. I let her know the normal iced coffee cups were not present and she insists they still charged based on whatever cup you use. I am agitated and my poor brother is thinking "why is this such a big deal?" I let her know it's fine I will bring my receipt from last time because I know it was only about $1. I got so upset I nearly forgot my receipt walking out. When I go back to get it, she informs me that it says no where near the cups that those are $1 cups. I let her know I don't know about the cups, but the last time I purchased a 16 oz iced coffee it had been ~$1. I go on to say don't worry about it I will just bring the receipt from last time because I am too poor to pay a whole $0.50 more for iced coffee out of a machine from a gas station. I understand she is just doing her job and all. I sort of feel bad if she was new. At the same time that is why I didn't make a big deal of it and paid what she presented and asked for the receipt. So, I'm hoping there wasn't some sudden price hike. But who knows. Comparison to the old receipt shows she did ring it up different from the previous purchases I made at the same location. The earlier receipts just say iced coffee, her's said something about the cup size. Makes no sense... augh. Can't they standardized the register somehow and pricing so there isn't all this madness. Luckily I was just strolling through, I can't imagine if it had been a morning and I were on my way to work. Then there may have been a worse outcome... Anyone have similar stories of price changes that drove them nearly mad? Maybe I am blowing this out of proportion entirely....
Wow, were you just having bad day in general or was something else bothering you? I have never gotten this upset about a price change, especially .50 and when it was really because of the different cup, but maybe I'm just easy going. I'm sure if you wanted you could talk to the manager or owner and they would probably give you the .50 back but I think it would be more hassle than it is worth.
I don't get too excited about a price change. I do get annoyed at Walmart over their sudden price changes, but only because they up the price in the register long before they change it on the shelf. So it isn't so much the higher price as it is the fact that it rang up a couple dollars more then the tag on the shelf says.
Similar to dconklin, I'm peeved whenever shops especially supermarkets and marts change their prices back to the original after a sales period or promotion but forget to remove the previous price tags on the shelves resulting in you being confronted with a higher price than you were prepared to pay for something. I just feel that shop owners or the management should actively remove such "over-dued" price tags once a promotional period is over to prevent misleading customers. I would be fine if the price increase is just a few cents, but it often amounts to almost 2 dollars which I'm often not willing to pay. I usually just reject the item whenever I'm informed of a price change without prior knowledge or warning. It just irritates me and I sometimes see it as a dirty way of cheating customers! But that's really my personal opinion..
I wish that the prices on the Walmart website were a little more stable. I've seen an item at one price, come back the next day with my debit card loaded and the price had already gone up. It's like they have an impulsive child setting the prices on the website because they are constantly changing. If you see something on sale on Walmart.com and you like the price, you should grab it, because if you pause like I did, it will go back up to the regular price before you know it.
I think price hikes are normal especially when the economy is taking a nose dive. I noticed most of the things that were sold at a discounted price a few months ago has increased in price. I understand how you feel, but a .50 increase over a week on iced coffee is a little pricey, I would like to think .05-.10 would be an okay increase in a week.
Price hikes at the movie theater bother me because it seems they go up every month. And when they have those deal days like a matinee on a Tuesday for $6? They never tell anyone lol. I also hate getting those letters from Con Edison or Verizon or the Cable Company saying that they're going up on my bill by like $1 or $2. I'm like well..."could you atleast send me a mug with that price increase?"
I think the increase in price is due to low sales, so they have to try and recoup the rest by a price hike. It puts a toll on the customers, but that's the only way the businesses can survive. I noticed grocery items are also getting a price hike. I'm not sure if there's anything the consumer can do to keep this from happening. Milk was up about .50 cents since the last time I bought it. I'm aware that the economy isn't stable, and I guess this is what we have to deal with as customers.
Why doesn't our pay check increase as frequently as these price hikes? That's what I want to know. All these nickel and dime increases add up to a big chunk of change.
Because the boss of you at work has to give you a raise himself. Or has to get clearance from his boss to give you a raise. And bosses are more stingy with raises now more than ever. With this economy and lack of jobs, they know that no one will dare quit a job these days.
Sometimes all the little things add up and can get really overwhelming. Sounds like that's what happened to you. (((HUGS)))
Price hikes in general get to me, like bread going from 3.00 to 5.00. When reports are, that there is little inflation. Really. What is it then?
True ,every year it costs more just to live and get by, but the amount that people earn doesn't rise to meet that amount, which is why so many people are homeless or struggling to pay their rent. Every little price increase is a little less money that you have to live on. I'm sorry that happened to you. If you get that coffee a couple of times a week, then that's a few extra dollars a month that you have to pay now. That sucks. You might have to start making iced coffee at home.
First of all, if you go there that often to get iced coffee, she should recognize you. Second, since she was more than likely aware that the other cups were out, she should have asked you if you had iced coffee or hot coffee. She could have easily checked the contents, and she could have easily voided the sale and charged the correct amount for hot coffee. On the flip side, the cup probably does cost more and she could have apologized, explained that she had to charge more, and asked if you still wanted it.
Sometimes you'll see some employees ring you up for a lower price. This is especially true if you go in there often and they know who you are. When you start seeing new faces, things can change. They shouldn't, but it happens. I would definitely take the receipt back and show them where it was $1 and maybe they'll give you back the extra fifty cents they charged you.
