GRIPES

[Bruce Tuncks]

Apparently elite cyclists go to Europe to practice cos the european motorists have some respect for cyclists. In Australia and the US, I reckon the odd 4wd driver gets road rage on seeing a cyclist.

We always insisted that our kids ride their bikes on the footpath. Even before it was legal.

[Bruce Tuncks]

I hasten to add that the kids were told that ladies with shopping etc always had the right-of-way on the footpath.

 

[old man emu]

20 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

the odd 4wd driver gets road rage on seeing

The odd sedan/coupe driver gets road rage on seeing a caravan with a 4WD in front of it.

[facthunter]

Motorcyclists call them all "TIN TOPS" and none of them see  you.   Nev

[willedoo]

2 hours ago, facthunter said:

Motorcyclists call them all "TIN TOPS" and none of them see  you.   Nev

They could help the situation by wearing a high-vis jacket, but for a lot of motorcyclists that's just not 'cool'. A lot ride dark bikes wearing dark clothing and helmets while all the time complaining about car drivers not seeing them. They're their own worst enemy. Thankfully not all are like that. Many are smart and responsible riders and know things like how to keep out of car drivers blind spots.

[facthunter]

My wife was wearing it all in tassie when a car with attached trailer just pulled out in front of her. Nev

[willedoo]

A motorcyclist can't expand themselves to the dimensions of a car, so the best they can do is make themselves as visible as possible. Some car drivers are obviously inattentive but the fact remains that motorcycles are difficult to see for all motorists. Car drivers with motorcycle riding experience probably tend to be more aware of motorcycles on the road.

[old man emu]

Chronic Gripe: Supermarkets which fail to indicate the price of goods on the shelves. Knowing the price of a product is a major influencer of the purchasing decision, or do supermarkets rely on people not caring about price until they get home and see how much they have spent on what is likely to be and impulse purchase.

[facthunter]

More difficult to see when you are NOT looking for them.  Nev

[willedoo]

2 hours ago, old man emu said:

Chronic Gripe: Supermarkets which fail to indicate the price of goods on the shelves. Knowing the price of a product is a major influencer of the purchasing decision, or do supermarkets rely on people not caring about price until they get home and see how much they have spent on what is likely to be and impulse purchase.

Where I live it's getting increasingly worse. Coles used to be the worst offender but Woolies is rapidly catching up. If you mention it to the floor managers, they look at you like you have three heads and go straight into denial mode. I'd estimate 10 to 15% of items don't have price tags, sometimes more.

[spacesailor]

" Price Check " please .

Just has hard , ' to read ' small printed. Low mounted tags . ( your glasses fall down ).

Without your magnifying glass .

spacesailor

 

 

Edited January 23 by spacesailor
A little more !

[onetrack]

I have a policy of not purchasing anything that doesn't have a price tag on it. If they're too lazy to price it, I'm not going to bother with giving them my money, I'll give it to someone else.

 

The same applies with the websites that treat you like a mushroom and keep their pricing a classified secret - and you have to "enquire with them" as regards the price.

Sorry, you internet store Neanderthals, I only deal with stores that give me their pricing on the spot - not in 7 days time after I've had to initiate a major inquiry in their system.

 

Edited January 23 by onetrack

[spacesailor]

My daughter now uses her phone to capture those specials  .

so after the checkout puts the higher price in, she shows the

'' advertised price " tag .

Then asks for that , " free if charged More policy " .

that really upsets the checkout person .

spacesailor

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Good on her.. I worked for Coles Myer when Coles brought barcode scanners in en masse. They had a policy of giving it for free is the price was not found on the system or it was more than the shelf advertised price. Guess why they don't put the prices on the shelves anymore.

 

I worked for the business that was one of the discount department stores and as an IT person, I did a shop visit once to see how things worked behind he scenes. The state manager who was escorting us took us to one of the flagship stores. He was moaning how the store staff survey the local competition (chains and independents) and if they find prices cheaper than theirs, they update the prices only for that store in the back office. However, there had been a few times that the prices was inadvertently marked down to, $1.99 when it should have been $19.99.

 

I suggested why don't they put a check in the system that if the local mark down is greater than a threshold - say 50% - then it would get them to confirm the markdown. I suggested the check could even scale so the lower the original price of the item, the higher the threshold %. The idea was immediately dismissed as they do too many of them a day and re-keying each price would waste time. He obviously hadn't got the idea that it would be only a handful where the price was likely keyed in error. But, as the day wore on and we visited more and more shops, I somehow got the idea this bloke couldn't grasp too much as others on the tour would suggest improvements that were easily dismissed.

 

So, I couldn't be arsed arguing with him.. that company employed someone without the ability to conceptualise in a position like that - well, they deserved it,

[willedoo]

There's a set cycle of reduced specials pricing. If you see something on special, you can take a photo of the price tag and from the information on it, figure out when they will be discounted again.

[old man emu]

Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have all signed up to the Scanning Code of Practice. This is a policy that means when an item scans at a higher price than the advertised standard shelf price, or if on sale, the yellow ticketed "sale" price, you get the item for free!

 

Application of the Code is voluntary, and each company can set out how it will apply it. For example, if you bought three boxes of laundry powder and they went through at a higher price than advertised (in the catalogue or on the shelf ticket) they will give you the first one free, but charge the correct price for the other two. Seems fair enough to me.

 

Here's something to do next time you are in one of the Big Three.  The supermarkets which participate in the code display signs telling customers that they are participants. See if you can find such a sign  as you enter the store, or at the checkout. I bet that if you do find one it will have hen's teeth covered with rocking horse poo on it.

 

Despite what some supermarkets might tell you, it is not necessary for the customer to have paid for the goods or to have left the store to be entitled to receive the first item free of charge. 

Customers can complain to a supervisor or the store manager if staff refuse to comply with the code. If the store does not comply with the code, a customer can take their complaint to the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) on 1800 738245.

 

Here's a link to the IGA Code of Practice: https://www.iga.com.au/iga-code-of-practice-scanning-code/ (IGA stores are independent and your local might not be a signatory. I've only got a refund of the difference at my local one.)

Here's the Coles policy: https://www.coles.com.au/help/products-offers/products-scanning-incorrectly

Here's the ALDI policy: https://help.aldi.com.au/s/article/What-is-the-ALDI-policy-on-items-that-have-been-incorrectly-scanned-Are-they-free

 

Using the same search wording that got me to the above three, I could not find the Woolworths policy on a Woolworths official site.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Thx Ome etc. I always thought that the supermarkets were bound by legislation to display the price on the shelf. This is not so huh?

[spenaroo]

On 18/01/2024 at 12:08 AM, octave said:

 

I have no gripes because I am a white middle-class male. Unless you have extreme financial pressures or extreme health conditions (my health is not great)  then for f*** ske just enjoy your life and stop whinging, (my wife is interstate so there are no constraints on my drinking)  To me people who whinge are losers except in some extreme cases. You are alive you have a family, STOP F***ING WHINGING. 

Im 32....
not middle aged yet, so ill Gripe away

mostly about housing, and already struggling with arthritis

[old man emu]

19 minutes ago, spenaroo said:

already struggling with arthritis

And here's me at more than twice that age getting concerned about the early stages of arthritis in my finger joints.

[onetrack]

I think Billy Connolly has the best take as regards complaining about getting old. He reckons it's a nasty surprise waiting to get sprung on you, and it catches you out, finding out suddenly you can no longer do the things with ease, that you did as a younger person.

 

https://startsat60.com/media/news/billy-connolly-reflects-on-the-weird-process-of-getting-older

 

Arthritis is a horrible complaint and I trust they find some way to cure it soon. SWMBO suffers from it, it affects a very sizeable percentage of the population, and I once was in partnership with a bloke whose wife was wheelchair-bound with arthritis. 

I did see the other day they have found an improved method for treating Parkinsons, and they now have a simple blood test that can tell you whether you're going to get Alzheimers in 10-15 years.

But I don't know what's worse, suddenly being overcome with Alzheimers, or being told that you'll have it in 15 years time.

[facthunter]

I think it's always better to know regarding thing s like arthritis. Nev

[spenaroo]

Yeah,
basically been told its there - but too mild to treat.
its not going to get any better. so need to keep moving and de-sensitize the body to the pain

[old man emu]

7 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

I always thought that the supermarkets were bound by legislation to display the price on the shelf. This is not so huh?

The Unit Pricing Code makes the display of a unit price mandatory. The Trade Practices (Industry Codes – Unit Pricing) Regulations 2009 came into effect on 1 July 2009.  The Unit Pricing Code makes the display of a unit price mandatory for store-based grocery retailers who sell the minimum range of food-based grocery items, have floor space greater than 1000 square metres dedicated to the display of grocery items, and have retail premises used primarily for the sale of food-based grocery items. 

[red750]

This pisses  me off. Shops, particularly furniture chains like A-Mart and Freedom, who advertise "Every thing is on sale." Of course it is or they would be out of business. What they mean is "Every thing is price reduced."

[Marty_d]

"On sale" has the implied meaning that the price is reduced.