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...to expect M & S Staff to be scrupulously honest?

(10 Posts)
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lefthanded Sun 09-Mar-14 19:30:19

I bought a few items from M & S Food Hall just as they were closing - the total came to £13.05 and I gave the assistant a £20 note. She asked me if I had the odd 5p - I checked and found that I only had 10p so I gave that to her. She gave me back a £5 note, ONE £1 coin and ONE 5p coin. She did not count the change back to me, but instead she just dumped it in my hand with the receipt and turned to the next customer.

I am not a naturally suspicious person, but this just didn't feel right - so after a quick bit of mental arithmetic I kept the change in my hand and called the assistant back and said "This isn't the right change". Immediately she said "Oh - did I give you £1 short?" Now I hadn't mentioned that the discrepancy was £1, yet she immediately knew what was wrong. Can't have been a mistake can it?

Am I being unreasonable to expect Marks and Spencer staff to be better than that?

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absent Sun 09-Mar-14 19:42:51

Probably incompetent rather than dishonest – but who knows? These days they rely heavily on what the till tells them rather than doing sums in their heads.

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rosesarered Sun 09-Mar-14 19:48:06

Not unreasonable at all, we should expect staff in shops to be honest.However I'm not sure if this was dishonesty because it seems obvious that it must have been £1, it could have been £1 too much or £1 short.She knew she had given you a £5 note, and the 5p coin, so it only leaves £1 coins.I sound like Sherlock Holmes here, but you get the drift?Actually these days I think it's more imcompetence and general not being able to add up than thievery, so we should all count our change [I know I always do.]

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Ana Sun 09-Mar-14 19:52:19

I agree. She was hardly going to pocket that £1 was she?

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jinglbellsfrocks Sun 09-Mar-14 19:53:07

I think she probably had a vague feeling in the back of her mind that she had made the mistake, but probably at the end of a busy day did n't bother to give it enough thought. She wouldn't benefit from an extra pound in her till. Someone else would do the cashing up.

Careless due to being humanly tired I would think.

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granjura Sun 09-Mar-14 20:31:07

Exactly what I was going to say, jingle. I volunteer for a charity shop, and it has happened to me, when I think 'did I get this right?'- so she probably though she might have got it wrong, but was not sure, and was too tired or embarrassed to check.

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Deedaa Sun 09-Mar-14 21:46:15

All the tills in M&S are covered by very efficient CCTV which , if necessary, can show in minute detail exactly what is happening with the money. The uniforms are designed without pockets so it is quite hard to take cash on or off the shop floor and they are not taught to count the change back as the till tells them how much it is.

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petra Mon 10-Mar-14 08:42:10

No pockets. Reminds me of my days as a roulette dealer. You had to show your hands to the inspector as well.

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glammanana Mon 10-Mar-14 10:06:34

It sounds to me a case of the end of a busy day and getting the sums wrong when rounding the change to the nearest £,easy to do and I have done it myself on occassion.

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Nonnie Mon 10-Mar-14 10:57:47

I think it is very unusual these days for them to ask for the odd 5p. I have stopped offering it in shops as generally the assistants don't understand. They seem to totally rely on telling the till how much has been tendered and giving back the amount the till tells them to.

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