davis_square | Porter Square Star Market: Buying Meat? Check Your Receipt!

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Porter Square Star Market: Buying Meat? Check Your Receipt!

So, who else here has Star tried to rip off -- or succeed in ripping off?

Today when I dropped by, there was a circular advertising $1.79/lb for boneless chicken breasts and thighs. I got to the meat aisle, and sure enough there were packages of boneless skinless chicken breasts and packages of boneless skinless chicken thighs marked right on them, with those regular printed sale stickers: regular price, $2.89/lb, sale price $1.79/lb. So I picked up four.

They rang up at the register as $2.89/lb. When I objected, the cashier argued with me. She told me that if I had a problem, I had to take it to the Customer Service desk. Which, it being after 10pm, was closed. I insisted and she called over a more senior employee, who looked that the package, and agreed, yes, the sale price was $1.79. He agreed to refund me the amount charged, and then sell me the chicken at the correct price. After about 20 minutes of farting around and waiting for another cashier's register to become available (?!), he issued the refund and rang them through again.

And this time, they came up various prices from $3.11/lb to $3.97/lb. My bill, which should have been on the order of $15 was $29.98.

At this point, a still more senior employee came over and issued me another refund, and at this point, disgusted, I left without the chicken.

That sale ended today. It was a week-long sale. Now I'm wondering: how many people paid $2.89/lb for that chicken which was advertised and labeled $1.79/lb? $1.79/lb is a pretty good deal on boneless skinless chicken! That's probably why it was on the front of the circular, above the fold. How many people showed up specifically for that chicken at that price and were charged more, and didn't notice? Or didn't notice till they got home and decided they didn't have the time or energy to do anything about it?

So I figured I'd ask here. Did anybody else experience this?

Because this isn't the first time for me at that store, when I've bought meat on sale. And from something one of the staff said, I gather it's not the first time for a lot of people.

ETA: I'm surprised that the usually well-informed denizens of Davis Square are unfamiliar with the enforcement of this law. The above described behavior is actually quite seriously illegal, and there's an entire little branch of the government for dealing with enforcement of it. There's Comm of MA law M.G.L. Chapter 24, Section 184 B, C, D and E which covers this. Enforcement is left up to the individual towns. Each town has "Department of Weights and Measures" to do that.

The Porter Square Star Market is in Cambridge. Here is the web page for the City of Cambridge Weights and Measures Department. Even more pertinently, here's the complaint form. Note that "scanner errors" is on the pulldown list.

(Should this come up for you closer to home, here's Somerville's. They don't have a form, but they have a phone number and email address. Here's Medford's Weights and Measures Dept page. Medford has a form. Why doesn't Somerville have a form? Boston's Weights and Measures Dept. Arlington's "Sealer of Weights and Measures".)

I assure you, I filed a complaint before I posted this, and had a voice mail from the appropriate official before most of you saw and responded to this.

Here's the problem: because the sale ended at midnight, the inspector -- who told me he would be headed over there today -- can't reproduce the error. He might find that the same problem exists with some other item, but he can't prove that, all last week, Star was advertising one price then charging another.

So I turn to you: anybody have a receipt for the $2.89 price and an actual pack of the chicken, still in the packaging, still with the price label on, showing the $1.79 price?

Because it seems to me if we can come up with that, we have adequate legal proof (civil cases are to "preponderance of evidence" NOT "beyond a reasonable doubt"!) for a finding that Star defrauded all customers who bought that chicken.

And the fine is $100 per item.

This isn't merely unfortunate, or frustrating. It's illegal and it's unconscionable. There are people in our community -- frankly, the ones most likely to be drawn in by a sale, and most likely to buy in quantity when offered a sale! -- who can't afford an additional $10, or $20, or $50. That comes right out their food budget.

Or put another way, while I don't suppose it's a huge number, how many, do you think, of the people who were burned by this paid with an EBT card, i.e. food stamps? Were on WIC?

(Before anyone says, "Well, the poor people are all up at Market Basket anyway": Today Market Basket's sale price on boneless skinless chicken breast is $1.99/lb: $0.20 more per pound that Star's advertised sale price. So, actually, the poor people might very well have gone to Star to take advantage of that sale.)

And if this is problem is not specific to Porter Square? If it afflicts all Star Markets? Star is the only grocery store in East Boston, one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the area. I work not far from that Star, and when I drop in to pick something up, a majority of people ahead of me in line are using EBT cards.

Is that Star Market doing this too? Because I personally know people in East Boston who have literally not eaten for a week to feed their kids at the end of the month, waiting for the next check to come in. And the thought that those people are being ripped off this way makes my blood freeze with rage. This is literal taking food from the mouths of children stuff.

It's infuriating to me that the Porter Square Star's little accidentally-on-purpose fraud habit is so well known to the community that a lot of us have stopped shopping there. They are literally getting away with theft, by spreading it out among a large number of people, so no one person is out so much that they're motivated to make much of a stink.

Well I'm planning on making a stink about this. I'd ask you to join me in making as much stink as you can.

Yes, try to get your money back if you can, try to catch the errors before they happen, complain to management, and get your free items if you can.

But even if they DO make it right with you: REPORT THEM. EVERY SINGLE TIME. Because if the scanner is coming up with the wrong price, that means everyone behind you in line is going to get ripped off too, and not all those people will be in a position -- of time, of energy, of liberty, of knowing their rights -- to demand satisfaction before they leave the store, even if they notice. Which Star is banking that they won't.

This has to end.

The Weights and Measures Departments rely on consumer complaints to drive enforcement. So please -- please! -- file complaints every single time you catch Star's scanners doing this.

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I totally didn't notice...but yup, I got charged $2.89/lb for the prominently signed $1.79/lb chicken.

I've added to the OP. Do you still have the package of chicken, with the $1.79 price sticker?

You need actual chicken? Alas, it got turned into tasty food and eaten.

Do you still have the package and the receipt? That's probably good enough.

Edited 2014-03-28 22:14 (UTC)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dzm/13475266815/ pretty clearly shows the sale price on the package, but it wrong on the receipt (first item). But, the first couple of columns, specifically including the month, seem to have gotten rubbed off.

I think the chicken can be missing if you still have the package. The inspector ("sealer?"), James Cassidy, said a legible photo of the package and corresponding receipt would be helpful. You can email them in directly to him as attachments: jcassidy@cambridgema.gov with a note explaining what you're emailing.

I filled in the complaint form from the OP with the Flickr link.

This hasn't happened to me -- but only because I try my very best to avoid the Porter Sq Shaw's/Star and go to the Union Sq Market Basket whenever at all possible.

I hate the Porter Sq Star Market...but it's devilishly convenient.

You should go complain to the store manager. And emphasize not only that you were charged the wrong price but the clerk was obnoxious and you had a lot of trouble getting the situation rectified. The manager clearly has some problem staff people in addition to whatever is wrong with their register system.

And if you do that he/she may give you a credit or something useful.

Also talk to the Cambridge Consumers Council (http://www.cambridgema.gov/consumercouncil.aspx)

It's not problem staff. They're trained to do that. Every Shaw/Star I've ever been in had the same problems with misleading labeling and things ringing up at the wrong price, and the same kind of resistance to fixing it, across multiple states. This is chain-wide policy.

Also, if things ring up incorrectly, they are supposed to refund you the difference for all items and give you one of the items free. It's a federal law. (So one of those packs of chicken should have been free and then you should have paid $1.79/lb for each of the other three). I had this happen to me a few weeks ago when sausage (or something) was on sale by one get one free and two other items also rang up wrong. I had to go to customer service to get it corrected and then wasted 10 minutes arguing with the girl there that it's one of each item that rings up wrong free, not one item total (so one of each of the three things that were wrong). In the end she had to call a supervisor, and still explained it wrong on the phone and didn't get it correct til I told her exactly what to say to the supervisor, who then confirmed I was correct. It was a huge PITA. on the plus side, my 4.5 year old did not lose her Sh*t while waiting that long.

Also, if things ring up incorrectly, they are supposed to refund you the difference for all items and give you one of the items free. It's a federal law.

Fascinating! Do you happent to have a cite for that? I'm not finding it: all the references I am finding for "Get One Free Laws" are state-specific. I know in MA law, it's a a $100 per item fine to the store; not sure about getting one free. See the revised OP for information on enforcement.

Here you go (in case you still wanted it and didn't find it:)

202 CMR 7.07

"7:07 Lowest Price Requirements
(1) If there is a discrepancy between the advertised price, the sticker price, the scanner
price, or the display price and the checkout price on any grocery item, a food store or
food department shall charge a consumer the lowest price, regardless of the pricing
system employed by the food store or food department.
(2) In the case of food stores or food departments utilizing a consumer price scanner
system, if the checkout price or scanner price is not the lowest price or does not
reflect any qualifying discount, the seller:
a. Shall not charge the consumer for one unit of the grocery item, if the price is
$10 or less;
b. Shall charge the consumer the lowest price less $10 for one unit of the grocery
item, if the lowest price is more than $10; and
c. Shall charge the consumer the lowest price for any additional units of the
grocery item"

source: http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/docs/dos/202cmr-7.pdf

Awesome, thanks!

This is on a little poster next to every register at most grocery stores I've been to around here, too.

Yep, it's a fairly new law -- the one that allows grocery stores not to put sales stickers on every item in the store. At Shaw/Star, you will see a sign at the register that explains this:

Edited 2014-03-29 14:10 (UTC)

Sweet! Thanks! (Man, I should actually read these things.)

You can (and probably should) report this to the AG's office (I think it's that office that handles this sort of thing).

Generally, I've known that shops like this make these mistakes on the regular so I watch the screen as things are being written up -- catching it before paying at least gives me the opportunity to just walk out of the store with all the unpaid for stuff left on the belt.

Should we start a petition to encourage wegmans to just take over the whole plaza?

You can (and probably should) report this to the AG's office (I think it's that office that handles this sort of thing).

See the revised OP.

Should we start a petition to encourage wegmans to just take over the whole plaza?

I don't have an opinion about Wegmans yet -- the grand opening of the one in Newton is this weekend, and I'm looking forward to checking them out soon -- but I'd love a Hannaford's. I've been using the Hannaford's in Waltham, and they are sooooo much better in every way than Star. They very rarely have scanner errors, and when they do, all their cashiers are empowered to fix it on the spot so there's no wait. The store is cleaner, the prices lower, the staff more helpful, and their registers and counters better staffed so the lines are pretty much non-existant. Like, they've abandoned the "take a number" system at the deli, because even when there is a mob of customers, the line is too fast and too tiny to bother, because they have an army of deli workers and a profusion of slicing machines.

Oh, and they prominently post on sale signs the date the sale lasts to, e.g. "THIS PRICE HELD TO MAY 15". So you can plan.

I want a Hannaford's in my neighborhood somewhat desperately. Even understanding that the prices might have to be higher to compensate for the higher rents in this town.

I did not end up in this mess, but that's partly because I avoid that Star and mostly use Stop & Shop now. And one of the biggest reasons is that incorrect prices happened so often there. I don't know what their problem is.

The problem is that they're making money hand over fist with their little "error", so they have no reason to change. I've revised the OP, and it now has the link for where to complain to law enforcement. Should you venture to try Star again, and get ripped off at the scanner, please report them.

Argh, how frustrating! One other avenue of complaint: every receipt has a survey link on it (as far as I recall -- I've been using them to repeatedly complain about the removal of the self-checkout lanes). I have no idea how much attention they pay to the comments, but at least it's another possible way to get through to someone higher up.

I've updated the OP. This isn't a private matter between me and the store; the store is violating the law, and it's a job for law enforcement. There's a link now to the online complaint form with the relevant enforcement body in Cambridge. Should you find yourself in this situation with Star (or any business doing likewise), please use it.

They've got to great strides to spruce Star/Shaws up in the past six months, but as they say, You Can't Fix Stupid.

I've found that if I go there after 9pm or so, most of the employees just couldn't care less, and I inevitably get things double-charged, scanned incorrectly, etc. And yes, they'll argue with you if you question it.

The last time I went there in the evening, my cashier was too busy gossiping (in a language I couldn't identify) with her bagger to bother with the long line of people at her register. Multiple people abandoned their groceries and left.

Was it really necessary to add "in a language I couldn't identify" to this post? What does it add, besides a hint of xenophobia?

Er... because it was literally a language I couldn't identify. I could have said "they were speaking French while pointing to customers and laughing", or "they looked like they were making fun of customers in Spanish", but since it was a language I wasn't familiar with (but could take an educated guess and say it was Ethiopian/Amharic), I said as much.

When employees are clearly gossiping/mocking their customers in a foreign language, mentioning it isn't 'xenophobia', it's 'annoyance'.

I agree that it's annoying when employees are apparently ignoring customers in favour of personal conversations. But I don't think that the language that the conversation is held in is relevant, whether you can identify it or not. (And if you didn't know what she was saying, how do you know she was making fun of her customers?)

Okay, next time someone's clearly pointing to customers and talking to another employee in another language so that they can't be understood while mocking customers, I'll just tell people it was pig latin, because I have to be so politically correct on the DSLJ forum that I can't even mention that people speak other languages than English.

You weren't there. I was. Stop trying to make this into My Problem.

"Scanned incorrectly" is in a different legal category than "shirty/stupid employees". It's illegal, and there's something we can -- and should -- do about it when it happens. I've updated the OP with details.

I got overcharged at Star *all the time*.

I got sick of getting refunds and filing complaints, so I just stopped going there.

Thanks for updating your post....i knew some of this but not all of it. (and i was clearly wrong, it's a state law not a federal law, but the law itself is posted on a big sign behind the person standing at the customer service desk at that Star Market; it's also posted at all the registers at Trader Joe's, I've noticed).

Thanks for doing this. I don't shop there (because the regular prices annoy me, not because I have ever noticed being overcharged for something on sale, and I *do* pay attention to the things that are signed as on sale.) So, I can't help in this instance, but I am really glad that other people care about the people behind them in line who may *not* be paying attention not getting ripped off.

I had not realized until this thread that the law requires them to fix it by providing one item for free, rather than just by selling the thing at the right price in the end. And that asking for that item for free does not just benefit *me* but punishes the store so that they have a vested interest in their scanning system not continuing to screw up.

But I am confused about *when* that recourse is supposed to happen. Do they need to provide the correct price for future items, *and* credit me for one free item, if the item scans wrong and I call them on it immediately, *before* my transaction is complete? Or is it only if they total up the receipt and I pay for it first and then say "losers, this was on sale and you charged me too much for it, see here on the receipt! see here on the sign! That's illegal and here is what you have to do about it"

I feel like they ought to get a chance to correct it before getting dinged -- in other words, it seems to me like they haven't actually charged me the wrong price until they hit "finish" and take my money.

If I tell them immediately, and they delete the item and try again until they can get it to display the right price, have they done their job and don't owe me a free whatever-rang-up-wrong?

Alternately, if I don't tell them immediately but wait to make sure they don't fix it on their own, and then tell them after the transaction is fully rung up and paid for that they did it wrong, then do they owe me a free whatever-rang-up-wrong?

On the one hand, I want them to have a real incentive to make their scanning system not cheat people, and realistically if the software scanner did it wrong it's not like the cashier is actually going to notice when they finish completing the transaction. On the other hand, it seems weird that they can't make temporary mistakes that are not "software did not register sale item" and are "person keyed in manual code wrong" without being able to fix those mistakes before they finish the transaction.

But I am confused about *when* that recourse is supposed to happen. Do they need to provide the correct price for future items, *and* credit me for one free item, if the item scans wrong and I call them on it immediately, *before* my transaction is complete? Or is it only if they total up the receipt and I pay for it first and then say "losers, this was on sale and you charged me too much for it, see here on the receipt! see here on the sign! That's illegal and here is what you have to do about it"

According to the law (see photo of sign below!), the moment the price comes up wrong on the scanner, you are entitled to this recourse.

I feel like they ought to get a chance to correct it before getting dinged -- in other words, it seems to me like they haven't actually charged me the wrong price until they hit "finish" and take my money.

But the crime isn't just actually charging the wrong price. It's trying to sneak one by the customer in the first place. It's putting customers in the position of having to take their time and effort to argue for what they should expect by right before the law all along. That's why there are these very strict laws about honesty in pricing.

The technical term for advertising one price and then when the buyer tries to complete the transaction at that price, are told they can't buy that thing at that price, they can only buy something else at a higher price -- that's "bait and switch". It's illegal because luring someone into your store under false pretenses is itself a wrong. This is a very close cousin to bait and switch: they're advertising one price to lure customers into the store, and then tricking them into paying more.

If I tell them immediately, and they delete the item and try again until they can get it to display the right price, have they done their job and don't owe me a free whatever-rang-up-wrong?

Probably not. If the problem is that the scanner doesn't recognize sale prices, that's not an error on the cashier's part; just because they override the price in the database manually just for your purchase doesn't mean anything is fixed.

If anything, it most likely means that they've bought your silence so they can go on and scam the next people in line. I mean, is the result of this manual correction that a manager is called over and notified there's a critical problem with the prices in the database which needs to be fixed immediately? No? Well.

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On the one hand, I want them to have a real incentive to make their scanning system not cheat people, and realistically if the software scanner did it wrong it's not like the cashier is actually going to notice when they finish completing the transaction. On the other hand, it seems weird that they can't make temporary mistakes that are not "software did not register sale item" and are "person keyed in manual code wrong" without being able to fix those mistakes before they finish the transaction.

There's nothing temporary about "software did not register sale item". If it came up wrong for you, it's coming up wrong for everyone. Databases and software don't fix their own errors. If someone with the authority to change the price in the database doesn't do so, or if there's something wrong with the physical scanner such that it can't read a ticket (which is NOT what I think is happening here -- the sale part of the ticket didn't have a barcode that I saw, and no machine-readable parts), that will persist indefinitely. It's basically permanent until fixed. That is part of why there is so little tolerance for these hijinks in the law.

In the law as written, "person keyed in manual code wrong" isn't included. They don't have to give you a concession if the cashier enters some other product. That's a (presumably) honest error, and it results in the wrong item (with its (presumably) correct price) coming up, not the wrong price. They do get to manually correct that for free. Because it is a temporary error.

if it helps, that free item? It isn't punishment for the store. It's meant as incentive to the consumer to monitor the store's prices. It's a reward for you. And enlightened stores see it as a thank you gift: if you find a pricing error in their scanner database and bring it to their attention, you just provided them with valuable QA which allows them to protect themselves from the real punishment. Which is the $100 per item fine the can be assessed by the Dept of Weights and Measures. More enlightened stores have an official policy of gratitude because you just did them a serious favor.

Do I think Star employees will see it that way and behave that way? No, history doesn't suggest they will.

Edited 2014-03-29 17:47 (UTC)

It helps at least as much to think of it as rapidly-accumulating punishment to the store, honestly - each time they price the bananas wrong they are going to be subject to a risk of giving them away for free until they catch it and fix the scanner database. Thinking of it as setting up the system so that they fix the systematic problem as soon as possible because a) the store is punished each time it happens and b) consumers have a good incentive to make them do it makes me much more inclined to reference the law and insist upon it.

Thank you for clarifying it.

I'm thinking of printing out this entire post and comments and bringing the printout to the store manager during normal business hours.

Do please wait until after their upcoming surprise inspection.

Sure, I can hold off for a while, if you give me some idea when it's OK to do this.

Will do. Currently hoping it's Monday.

I had a similar problem with avocados at Shaw's at 1065 Comm Ave. When I went to customer service, she refunded me the difference. I pointed to the sign at checkout that has the text of the law. I pointed at it and said, "Doesn't this sign say I get the item for free?" She shrugged and was totally unhelpful. I went back to work, filed a complaint with the AG, called the store manager, and got my money back. But yes this kind of stuff happens all the time, at lots of different stores. Shaw's/Star seems to have the worst reputation though.

For the record, I found out about the "fix it and first item free" rule when it happened to me at the Whole Foods in Fresh Pond, and they fixed the scan problem by doing that without my even asking. I was curious, so looked it up later. So, a positive piece of anecdata for them.

I would encourage people to complain. I used to shop there regularly a long time ago when I lived two blocks away on Elm and didn't have a car. It was just too easy to get off the T and stop at the store that was directly on my path home. I expect they get a lot of business that way from folks who live within walking distance and use the Porter Square T stop. It is essentially a captive audience, which is probably why they seem to not care about customer opinion. Nowadays I have a car and can shop where I like, and I do not shop there even though I go to the hardware store, Henry Bear's Park and Michael's.

I just sent the thread link to the consumer reporter Hank Philippi Ryan at WHDH. Perhaps some publicity would be a good incentive to Star to fix the problems.

I just sent the link to this thread to WHDH's consumer reporter Hank Philippi Ryan. Perhaps some publicity would be an incentive to Star to fix these problems.

Thanks to this post, I noticed and reported some violations at the Allston Star Market to the Boston Weights & Measures department. (Missing price tags, scanner unable to retrieve prices for items.) I got a nice email back listing some violations they found -- including lack of the required maintenance log of the scanners! Pretty bold; I'm glad they're getting fined.

By the way, the state Weights & Measures phone number posted on the scanner didn't work from my cell phone for some reason. Boston Weights & Measures said the message would just be forwarded to them anyhow, so best to call the city's dept. directly if you have any trouble with the state line. (For Boston, that's 617-635-5328.)

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Porter Square Star Market: Buying Meat? Check Your Receipt!

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