local supermarkets sanctioned for price trickery

[ryberg]

That's according to the articles (in Spanish) here and here. The culprits are Aurrera, San Francisco and (perhaps most notably) the always pleasant Soriana. Apparently Profeco was receiving complaints, followed up on them, and discovered a pattern of prices shown on the shelves being lower than prices actually charged at the registers. The first article says fines could be as high as a million pesos.

Perhaps another reminder to check your bills...

Steve

[claudiadeplaya]

Thank you Steve that is so good to know, I never check my bill

[Heather]

I never do, either...but most of the time, there are no prices on the shelves at all. It's very frustrating to get that "shock" at the register while watching something rung up.

[Mitch_NuToPlaya]

Mental note from our visit to Playa last week, is it me or are Walmart prices high? Mostly prices for clothes, other stuff (alcohol) seemed ok.
How do other stores compare (Mega, etc..). Never made it anywhere else.
Thanks,

Mitch

[laurab]

It happened to me at Soriana's last year. The price said 99 something, then AFTER I payd I realized the total was too high and realized the price was more than double!!!! I went back to the shelf and it did say, on the bottom one, written very very small, that 99 was only if I bought 3 or more of the same. I went back to the girl that charged me, told her that was FRAUD and to give me my money back or I'd call Profeco right away. She gave me cash in 2 seconds . never went back to soriana's. same thing happens in City Club

[Peterm]

Good to hear you stood up for yourself. Still, if you want someone to complain to - ask for the store manager not an assistant manager or other supervisor.

That person on the checkout likely gets a lot of grief for errors and omissions in the store that he/she has no control over. They don´t deserve punishment for corporate policies or poor store management.

[Playadicta]

You know the price switching happens here in the US too. I catch something almost every time I go to my local 'superstore' where they advertise one price on the shelf and then ring up the item at the non-sale price. They dont give any hassle about correcting it when you point it out, but you have to pay attention. And think of all the dough they make on that.

[roni]

¿What do I do all day?: Victory smells like lavender water.

This is a story of a woman who recently did successful self-advocacy at the Chedraui in Merida.

Profeco was part of the conversation between the checker and the supervisor.

[ryberg]

Originally Posted by roni

¿What do I do all day?: Victory smells like lavender water.

This is a story of a woman who recently did successful self-advocacy at the Chedraui in Merida.

Profeco was part of the conversation between the checker and the supervisor.

Good for her. Great story.

Steve

[jwp0077]

My wife audits every receipt – she hates being overcharged for anything.
A number of years ago - maybe 15 – before there was a Wal Mart in Cancun - she went to the San Francisco market in SM 26 to purchase 4 cans of Calahua cream of coconut . After paying she noticed the receipt showed she was charged 2 pesos more than the shelf price. She went back in – she spoke no Spanish – no one in the store spoke English. Within minutes a huddle of about 12 clerks had formed in the canned food aisle, it seemed like each clerk had to hold and read the receipt and verify the shelf price sticker. Pretty soon they were all nodding and saying “Si”. She emerged from the store smiling. She gave the 8 pesos to the bag boy.

[ryberg]

Originally Posted by jwp0077

My wife audits every receipt – she hates being overcharged for anything....

Let's get our wives together.

Originally Posted by jwp0077

She gave the 8 pesos to the bag boy.

Steve

[laurab]

yes, I know it's not her fault and I did tell her, and I did ask for a manager. frankly, managers are never around when things like these happen. So the option is you give me my money back right away or I'm calling profeco right now.
I'm sorry for employees, really I am, but I'm not going to wait around for 2 hours for the manager to show up. Plus, we also get a lot of grief at the hotel when guests are upset about things that don't depend from the hotel (weather, delay in flight, ripped off by taxi etc etc etc), so I understand that sometimes you just have to vent.

Originally Posted by Peterm

Good to hear you stood up for yourself. Still, if you want someone to complain to - ask for the store manager not an assistant manager or other supervisor.

That person on the checkout likely gets a lot of grief for errors and omissions in the store that he/she has no control over. They don´t deserve punishment for corporate policies or poor store management.

[ANDY]

We pretty much shop at all the big supermarkets and the price hike happens at them all, usually a complaint gets the shoulder shrug so now i do the price checking before i go to the checkout, saves money , time and me getting into a bad temper

[diogeron]

When I was down this winter, there was an article in Por Esto about Chedraui being accused of the same. In fact, I went to buy a bottle of wine and having just read the article that morning, I paid attention to the price (there was one) on the rack in front of the wine. When I got to the checkout, it rang up at 230 pesos instead of the 78 pesos on the price at the display. It took me 20 minutes and four people to get it settled. Of course, someone who speaks Spanish a lot better than I may have resolved it quicker, but I'm sure that I communicated the basics well enough so that they knew the issue.

I also said to the manager who resolved the issue, "You know that at least 30% of the wines have no price on them." He just looked at me like, "So, what's your point?" Say what you will about Sam's Club, but at least they have prices on the wines.

Originally Posted by ryberg

That's according to the articles (in Spanish) here and here. The culprits are Aurrera, San Francisco and (perhaps most notably) the always pleasant Soriana. Apparently Profeco was receiving complaints, followed up on them, and discovered a pattern of prices shown on the shelves being lower than prices actually charged at the registers. The first article says fines could be as high as a million pesos.

Perhaps another reminder to check your bills...

Steve

[JEZ]

Originally Posted by laurab

It happened to me at Soriana's last year. The price said 99 something, then AFTER I payd I realized the total was too high and realized the price was more than double!!!! I went back to the shelf and it did say, on the bottom one, written very very small, that 99 was only if I bought 3 or more of the same. I went back to the girl that charged me, told her that was FRAUD and to give me my money back or I'd call Profeco right away. She gave me cash in 2 seconds . never went back to soriana's. same thing happens in City Club

I never go to either of those stores. They are soooo far away!