I have been reading about this happening, and how it could be leading us into the “cashless society” that we have heard about happening , for as many years as I can remember. One version says that we are suddenly “short of change”, and the other version says that it is “dangerous for the people to touch money that has been handled by another person”. Some stores are only accepting credit or debit cards now, too. Apparently Whole Foods has signs to that effect. Here is a picture of a receipt from a Kroger store. Because the person spent a little over $2 for milk, the store added the cost of the milk, and the tax for the sale, and then charged the customer a change shortage amount to make the sales come out to an even dollar amount. They “rounded-up” the transaction sales cost to the next whole dollar, which meant that the person actually paid about $3 for their gallon of milk instead of the $2+ that the price actually was supposed to be. What happens to that extra money ? It is not a tax, so it does not go to the government, and it seems to me that the store would just pocket this extra money that they charge. Basically, they have arbitrarily raised the price on the milk, while not actually showing that they did on their income for that day, because they would only show the income for the listed price of the milk.
Does a shortage of change even make sense? It's not like the stuff goes bad, so a shortage of change suggests that people are circulating it, and they're probably not circulating it because a lot of stores aren't accepting cash, let alone change.
Let's get the rest of the story, shall we? Kroger released the following statement regarding the new plan: "Currently our stores are collecting donations for the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation by allowing customers to round up their order total to the next dollar. Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation supports hunger relief efforts across the communities we serve. For customers that choose not to donate, our cashiers will load the coin value due back through their loyalty card. Customers can redeem the amount on their next transaction. We know this is an inconvenience for our customers and we appreciate their patience. The Treasury Department expects the shortage to diminish as more regions of the country reopen." Customers checking out through a manned lane will have the ability to: Round up to support Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation Pay with a form of payment other than cash Have their coin change loaded as credit toward their next purchase directly to their loyalty card https://abc13.com/coin-shortage-us-pandemic-covid-19-change-coins/6316672/
That helps to understand the whole thing, @Beth Gallagher . It still does not seem right for them to do this, but at least the money is not just being kept by the store, and people have the option of having it loaded onto their Kroger card. Hopefully, they are explaining this to people, because the person who wrote about this happening was apparently not given any other explanation except that there was a coin shortage, and they were rounding up the sales price to the next even dollar amount.
Why does it not seem right, @Yvonne Smith ? If the stores don't have the coins, what would be your solution? I am skeptical of people like this individual and what their motives are when they are so quick to post their "outrage" on the internet. A bid for attention? This is exactly how lies and untruths get propagated. A simple inquiry before they left the store would have settled their confusion. I would be very surprised if Kroger didn't have signs posted and the checkers didn't have to explain to each cash customer where their change went. The article does state "manned lane" so perhaps people in the self-checkout aren't being advised.
If they really wanted to do something, they could round down. Or at least, they could round down when it's less than fifty cents and round up when it's more than fifty cents. By donating it to a charity, Kroger's will take a deduction for making a donation to charity, although they will be doing it with your money.
You get to choose whether the money goes to the charity or not. And really, who cares about a handful of change? It's not like you can claim it on your taxes.
If it's my money, I care. Hell, I pick up nickels - and sometimes even pennies - that I see on the sidewalk. We save all of our change, and every five or ten years, we cash it in, and it amounts to a fair amount of money.
Well, you'll have to shop somewhere else, then. (Pretty soon you're going to be out of stores to frequent.)
So far, there are only two stores that I won't shop at: Tractor Supply Store and Walmart, since I don't think we have a Krogers anywhere around here, and I rarely went to Walmart anyhow. I wasn't going to shop at Hannaford but they abandoned their enforcement of the mask policy within a few days. Too many people were shopping elsewhere. I quit Sam's Club years ago, when their new CEO said she didn't want to do business with white people.
Well, at Lowes & Home Depot I get my 10% Military Service discount and I pay with my VISA. (Credit, of course...NEVER Debit!) Hal
So it is what it is. I prefer to get my change back if I'm paying in cash which is seldom. I save my coins too it's my 'mad money'. (I don't really get mad to spend it though, lol) I really have been thinking about whether I like it or not. It's definitely going to affect my mad money in the days ahead, however long that may be.
I haven't run into this yet. I will remember to carry change with me now. As far as I am concerned it is robbery. Now if they would do as Ken says and round down or up, I would find it more palatable.
Sorry to be a bit mercenary but I’ll decide where and to whom I will donate my money. I save change as well as 1’s and 5’s and cash them in when I want to at my bank. It’s always a nice chunk of money which, whilst living on SS and some side money, it is a definite plus. Plus, as it is, I will Not buy a product if I do not see a price tag on or near it so imagine what I might say about being intentionally overcharged for a product.
Rounding up I lose, rounding down they lose. I prefer they lose since they wouldn't be giving me change back any way. I can't understand why 'they' elected this option instead of using a flat .00 on products. It's seems like it was never an option. Usually, one or two cents .99 or .98. Pennies would probably go out of circulation but I can deal with that.