HALIFAX — With the high price of food, consumers expect an error-free experience at the grocery counter, but mistakes do occur. A total of 67 % of consumers have seen a mistake on their receipt at least once in the last year, according to a new report by Dalhousie University’s Agri-food Analytics Lab that examines how retailers handled customer complaints about such errors over the past year.
The cross-country survey of 5,525 respondents took place in early March 2023 and covered the last 12 months. Reports of receipt errors, damaged food products and recalled food products were gathered during the effort, which was assisted by online survey outfit Caddle. The survey also looked at how consumers dealt with the issue and how they felt grocery stores responded.
The number of respondents reporting receipt errors (67 % catching at least one in the past year) was “more than expected,” according to the researchers. The most common mistake was that the price at the till was not the same price displayed on the shelf. While 78.5 percent of respondents said the wrong price was showing at the cash register, 35.3 percent of respondents said a daily discount was not applied. A total of 31.4 percent of respondents claimed that the cashier accidentally scanned an item too many times.
A total of 67 % of respondents said they check their receipts for mistakes on their way out of the store, while the rest do it at home. However, not all Canadians are in the habit of checking receipts for mistakes — 3.3 % never do, according ot the survey. A total of 49.5 percent of respondents always check their receipts for mistakes. As for frequency of mistakes, 79.2 percent of respondents claim that they find no mistakes on their receipts, at least 10 percent of the time. A total of 15.2 percent will find at least one mistake on their receipt, 25 percent of the time.
Most Canadians will report errors to their grocers: 84 % complain after noticing a mistake on their receipt. Of those who did not complain, 39.4 % felt it was not worth the money. A total of 31.1 % felt they did not have the time. As for how satisfied they were with grocers’ treatment of complaints, most respondents have been satisfied.
A total of 64.2 % of Canadians have purchased a damaged product and noticed it when they got home. Of those respondents, a total of 50.4 % returned the product with their receipt, 33.2 % threw out the product, 10.7 % consumed the product regardless.
A total of 70 % of respondents have purchased at least one recalled product in the past. Of that group, 57 % were able to return their products with a receipt and a total of 40.1% were able to return their product without a receipt. In 2.9 percent of cases, the grocer refused to take the product back.
A total of 87.1 % were either satisfied or very satisfied with how grocers treated their complaint or error on receipts, a very satisfactory level, according to the researchers. And 20.6 % of Canadians believed they saved at least $50 a year when reporting mistakes to their grocer.
“This report provides us with an interesting glimpse of how consumers and grocers react to issues and problems, while food prices are increasing at record levels,” Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, said. “Despite concerns about food prices, it is clear most Canadians are pleased with how complaints and problems are addressed by grocers. Consumers need all the help they can get,” Charlebois added.
