Lucky Keeps the Penny (or Pennies)
I just got back from Lucky (formerly Albertsons), the only grocery store I’ve been to that uses self-checkout. Why a grocery shopper would opt to do the work themselves (unpaid) while replacing a paid checker who is now out of a job is beyond me. I’m sure Lucky loves not having to pay those checkers, and certainly doesn’t mind making you do the work. But I digress.
So my boss at ADP told me yesterday that Clementine tangerines were on sale for $5.99 at Lucky. That’s a savings of $2 over the Safeway price, so I went over to make the purchase. When the time came to receive my change of a penny, the checker said sincerely and with feeling “Thank You.” I guess she meant “Thank you for the penny.” Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want the penny, but is the first time that a cashier at a major corporate enterprise has not offered to give me the change owed, even if it was just a penny.
There are two conclusions that can be drawn from this. 1) I was dealing with a renegade cashier who took it upon herself to take her till out of balance and not offer me my change, or 2) Lucky has instituted a policy of not offering change if it’s a penny, or two pennies, or some other insignificant amount. Over tens of thousands of transactions this can add up, not to a lot of money, but something that adds to the bottom line. If this is official Lucky policy, however, I would rather the collect my pennies and give them to charity, rather than keeping them. The self-checkout already makes Lucky look like a low-end, miserly, bottom-feeding grocery store. They don’t need this additional help.