Tesco's mis-labeling prices scam

[sand1]

Shopping cart full, an extra few hundred baht on one item wouldn't be noticed except in a small percentage of cases likely when the shopper has returned home and dosn't want the hassle.

I got charged an extra 800 baht this week on one electric item and last week 900. wouldn't say anything but the cusomer service girl wouldn't give me back my money the same day and without realising i understood thai while laughing and smiling at me in thai called me a white less than s-h*it. it wasn't sh*it but something worse that i don't want to be teaching people. I understand it must be a tiring job.

Anyway smallthing nevermind but best check the price for the items over 500 baht after checkout.

If you check back the next week the wrong price on the items still remain unchanged which is the part that wants attention.

[DawnHRD]

Did you speak to a supervisor/the manager? Especially after being insulted in that way?

[VincentD]

Hmmm. Interested to know why you say 'wrong' price on an item, as all the tags are scanned into the till. I can understand if items with a different code are misplaced on the shelf with a different price tag, so this has led me into the habit of checking if the numbers that accompany the printed barcode correspond to the posted price. There are also random cardreaders inside the store itself where you can scan the code yourself just to check.

Not been to the Lotus at Hua Hin yet, but would assume the ones in Bangers are similar?

No doubt it's not the girl's error, but it was not correct for her to make rude comments. Unfortunately goes to show how far and fast the society is degenerating. Would to a certain extent agree with Dawn's comment about having a word with a supervisor, not that it would really achieve anything. Probably just some nodding of heads and 'Ka! Ka! Ka!' just to pacify you. Even the supervisor might have a laugh later. A polite reply (in Thai) with a smile - just to show that you understood every word but are not outwardly upset - would have embarrassed her in front of her colleagues and would have achieved the desired result.

Best thing, don't shop at Lotus, or any of the big supermarket chains. Support your local electrical goods shop instead. Through personal experience, places like Lotus sell you the goods, then wash their hands of it if something doesn't work and you have to return it. They just point to the warranty and ask you to sort it out. They will grudgingly do it, but it will 'take time'.The small shops do not do that and normally take pains to give you decent after-sales service. This is especially so if you're in the provinces - what took me a week to get done in Bangkok (repair to an exercise machine bought at a certain supermarket chain) took three months for it to get done outside Bangkok, though the same chain.

[DawnHRD]

I think you could be right, Vincent, that the item was placed near to a wrong ticket. A few months back, Tesco had 15kg bags of Smartheart brand dry dog food on special offer (almost half price). Not our usual brand (too expensive), but at that price it was worth getting! I bought one & came back the next day to buy some more. The next day I got to the till & they rang up the full price. I questioned it & was taken back to the shelf, which was full of stock. In tiny print, on the ticket, was the fact it was only for one flavour, not the others. OK, I'll take that flavour. They only had one bag on display. Any more in the stockroom? No. So, did they take down the ticket, as it clearly applied to stock they no longer had? Nope. It was left there under all of the bags that it didn't apply to, whether deliberately to snare those who don't check their bills, or through laziness, I don't know. But I would definitely reiterate the warning - check your bills at the counter.

[Roel]

I bought a DVD/CD player there lately. They tried hard to convince me that my pick (1,990 Baht) was no good if I wanted to watch copy DVD's. It would only allow me to watch original DVD's. Since there were so many copies in Thailand I'd better buy a more expensive one (5,000 Baht) that would show copies was their sound advice.
Despite their professional advice I bought the cheap one and it is playing copy DVD's just fine.
Nice try though. I guess the salespeople get commission on their sales and this system surely makes them push you into purchasing the more expensive items.

[VincentD]

Yes, the sales people do indeed get commission on their sales. Do they know the product? Not necessarily, as 1. they usually can't afford one on their salary, and 2. they're basically trying to convince people to buy them while looking out for shoplifters, not playing with the equipment. The only time I've actually seen them do this is when a sale is made and it needs to be checked for functionality.

What is even more interesting is that a lot of these supermarket chains rent out space to other retailers, so many of the products being sold are not directly related to that particular chain. If there is a problem with this particular type of product they tell you the chain is not involved, contact the retailer in question, thank you very much.

Be wary, especially if you're purchasing upcountry.

[buksida]

Interesting and a little concerning, mrs Buksi frequently spends entire afternoons in there depriving mr Buksi of his hard earned cash by giving it to mr Tesco. The bill is often long enough to reach China so taking a second glance at it maybe a good idea however you'd have to remember the original prices of each item as labelled which may extend the shopping spree by several hours!

[Terry]

Regarding pricing - especially electrical stuff.

The other major stakeholder in Market Village, Home Pro, is an absolute rip off.

I needed 6 ceiling fans for my restaurant.

At Home Pro, they were 'on offer' reduced to THB 1600 from 2600 each. A bargain if ever you saw one - EXCEPT

Cross the road to Big Chiang (Cant remember exact spelling), and guess what - Same fans, Same make and model number THB 950 each

Got a discount for 6 at a total price of THB5500.

One unit was faulty - took it back and they replaced with no question.

Also - if they do not have what you want in stock, they will order and get -usually within 7 days.

There's a moral there somewhere

[buksida]

On the subject of Tesco why do they still insist on enforcing those archaic alcohol sales restriction times when no other stores bother? I couldn't even buy a bottle of wine because it was 2.37pm

My friend at Halex however sold me a cask of the stuff and didn't give a hoot what time it was!

[STEVE G]

I always wondered about that; if you go to the wholesalers you can spend half an hour loading booze onto your pick-up at anytime of the day with no problem at all.

[PeteC]

I've asked a farang manager in Carrefour here about this, he said it's because they and Tesco are big, and being watched constantly by the anti booze brigade.

They will still sell to you during the restricted hours but you have to buy at least 2 cases of beer or 2 bottles of wine/spirits. In this way you're classified as a merchant buying for an establishment, even if you are not. The law doesn't state they have to ask for confirmation or ID. And honestly, the law is aimed at the Thai's and not many that aren't merchants will be buying that quantity all at once. Pete

[Big Boy]

Wow! and I thought Tesco was the same everywhere. Obviously they don't have the Price Promise in Thailand that we enjoy here in the UK. Basically, if they charge you the wrong price, you get the item free, plus half the price difference back.

Certainly makes it well worth checking your bill in the UK - we've often got our money back

[Nereus]

I got charged an extra 800 baht this week on one electric item and last week 900. wouldn't say anything but the cusomer service girl wouldn't give me back my money the same day and without realising i understood thai while laughing and smiling at me in thai called me a white less than s-h*it. it wasn't sh*it but something worse that i don't want to be teaching people. I understand it must be a tiring job.

So why did you not do us all a favour and take your complaint, and the insult, to the top management? I see many older farang couples shopping in Tesco, and I am willing to bet that they do not speak Thai, myself included. There is no place for crap like you have described, and if true, the perpetrator should have been bought before managment.

In my experience of that shop, what you encountered is about par for the course in there. Between the ridiculous music they insist on playing, and the igorant staff restocking shelves and blocking the aisle in the process, to the absolutely stupid check out counters that do not have a moving belt, added to their high prices, I am surprised anyone goes in there. If it was not for the convience of the car parking area, I know I would not bother.

And as pointed out in another post, Homepro are in the same league, and you will encounter the same attitude in there, along with their high prices. TIT indeed!