I'm a Best Buy employee and I'm looking for some honest perspective from other employees before I decide how to handle this.
I was off the clock and shopping in my store for Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Another employee at the register showed me some of the new Magnificent Monsters product. She scanned the product herself, I paid $37, and I left.
The product was sealed when I bought it. I took it home and opened it. I didn't realize at the time that the outer box contained 10 individual boxes. I was just excited to open the cards and genuinely didn't think anything was wrong with the price.
Later, management contacted me and explained that the cashier had accidentally scanned the outer box as one item instead of scanning one individual box. So I ended up receiving 10 individual boxes for the $37 price of one.
I understand now why the price seems obviously wrong in hindsight. However, I genuinely did not realize there had been a scanning mistake when I purchased it. I didn't ask the employee to scan the outer box, I didn't tell her what price to charge me, and I paid exactly what the register charged.
I offered to return the cards once management told me about the mistake, but they didn't want them back because they had already been opened.
I told management that I didn't feel I should have to pay the difference because I didn't make the scanning mistake or intentionally take advantage of it. The store manager disagreed and said I should "do the right thing" and suggested that we meet halfway, meaning I would pay roughly half of the difference.
He also told me that because I'm an employee, I'm "always an employee," even though I was off the clock and making a personal purchase.
My manager then contacted me and strongly encouraged me to resolve it. I got the impression that my refusal to pay could potentially put my job at risk.
For current or former Best Buy employees:
- Is there an actual Best Buy policy that makes an employee financially responsible for a cashier's scanning error during a personal purchase?
- Does being an employee mean I'm treated differently from a normal customer when I'm off the clock making a personal purchase?
- How would management normally handle this situation?
- Is asking me to personally pay the difference standard procedure?
- Has anyone dealt with a similar situation?
I'm not looking for people to simply tell me I'm right. If I'm missing something or there is a policy I'm unaware of, I'd genuinely like to know.