All I have to say is this: Managing information systems in retail is probably one of the most complex yet undermanned things I've ever dealt with.
In retail, margins are notoriously thin. For this reason, not a lot of money can be spent managing the burgeoning information systems, especially if they are corporate and nationwide. There are many errors. The reason the clerks didn't check the errors is likely because they already knew about them. If an error is found, it doesn't mean it will be corrected. Corrections take time. A lot of time, and when you are constantly adding and adjusting things to your system, you just go with the flow. This is not to say corrections aren't made, it's that they are often missed because there could be so many of them.
Human error plays a large part in these systems. I've worked in a large corporate bookstore chain that would often key in improper prices, and they would do other things such as categorize a novel as a finance title, or a biography as new age. It doesn't mean they're being malicious, it could be that they are either dumb or overworked. Although there could very well be something amiss, on purpose, I don't think this is the case for most retail operations because things are right out in the open: there is a list price and there is a charged price.
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Originally Posted by warrrreagl
As for the suggestion that the Target Customer Service girl looked up the CD's correct price on her terminal, doesn't that actually support my position that it's a scam? How can the terminals show one price and the scanners show another if they're both scanning the same UPC?
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Many of these systems have two separate modes: the sales mode and the inventory mode. This is where many errors can creep in. This is especially the case with sale price vs. regular price. Sales prices are constantly changing. And, in some cases, so are regular prices.
And shipping and handling covers the cost of paying employees to fulfill your order, not to mention other costs that might be incurred.
Employee cost is often the single most greatest cost in retail operations. It is usually in the top three, at least.
I might be able to address each and every one of your discrepancies, but that might take a lot of time. Could you summarize typical problems?