Getting short changed in shops...again

[John_Oates]

Just to clarify from the start, I don't intend this to be an Indonesian bashing thread, I just want to get your thoughts on something that happens quite a lot to me.

That is mistakes in shops with giving change.

I probably get the wrong change once every couple of weeks on average, which is quite a bit more than any other country I've been to / lived in.

However, it's almost always in their favour.

Now the skeptic in me thinks that if these were honest mistakes then it would be more even, sometimes I'd get more change, sometimes less.

Does anyone have any insight into this? I've heard rumors that a lot of people 'supplement' their income as a general practice (petrol station assistants rounding up slightly and keeping the money when they reach milestones, chefs selling on used cooking oil to warungs, who then do so to kaki limas ... (anyone else know any more?) Is this what is happening at shops too? Or have I just been here too long and becoming paranoid?

Does anyone on this forum work in a shop and know if this goes on for real?

Have a good day everyone

 

[William King]

Paranoid.

 

[dafluff]

As a rule, shops don't give back small change (Rp 100 or below) cause it's impossible. I prefer they round in the buyers favor, but almost without exception they round in favor of the store. Often they would throw in some candy as compensation.

There are actually laws prohibiting this, but everyone ignores it.

However, if you are short changed larger amounts (say Rp 1000 or more), you should say something. This is definitely not normal.

 

[William King]

I often attribute it to low level of arithmetic ability, the staff are often genuinely confused adding and subtracting.

 

[Fred]

Paranoid.

An excellent song but here's a better answer.

There you have it. no change to care about.

 

[Fred]

I often attribute it to low level of arithmetic ability, the staff are often genuinely confused adding and subtracting.

Laundry guy came the other day, bagged up the shitty underwear, weighed it, worked out there was exactly 6 KG, decided it was Rp7,000 per kilo, got his calculator out.

Seriously, he got his calculator out .. no kidding. I called my 10 year old daughter out to tell him the answer, and she was quicker than the guy with the adding machine.

 

[Fred]

I hardly ever use cash anymore, almost always using Flazz, Brizzi, or e-tol when possible.
No arsing about with fiddly loose change (What the hell good is a RP100 coin anyway?), and so much easier than cash.
I top them all up to a million at the start of every month so I always have plenty of money, but rarely more than a few hundred thousand in my wallet, and that commonly lasts a week or two unless we're on holiday.

 

[R Cameron]

Do you mean minor rounding in their favor, like you are due 22,400 and they give you 22,000? Or do you mean just plain wrong change, like you are due 22,400 and they give you 20,000 or less? I experience the former a lot, the latter only occasionally. When I experience the latter, I believe it's simply poor mathematics skill because just as often the error is in my favor!

 

[beebop]

Watch those petrol station assistants. I have on several occasions noticed that they dont zero the pump before the next customer. Could be an honest mistake or not.. they probably do get stressed out with the massive ques that build up. I have made a habit of checking the meter is on zero before filling up.

 

[nosox]

Never had an issue at spbu they always affirm that they're starting from "nol"

 

[Fred]

Never had an issue at spbu they always affirm that they're starting from "nol"

Same here. Every time I go to a Pertamina they always confirm it's zeroed and point to the readout.
Never the slightest problem with them.

 

[beebop]

Meh.. maybe only in my area they do that then.

 

[Davita]

At the gas station my driver not only ensures the meter is zeroed he lifts the hose, after the pump is shut-off, to get every dribble of fuel into my tank..I'm sometimes a little embarrassed but don't want to demean him.

 

[Fred]

I don't see the problem.
A little mental arithmetic and prepaid cards sort the lot out.
The rest is just checking to make sure all is in order and the pump is actually at zero.

As for loosing the couple of hundred Rupiah in change, I dump it anyway because it weighs down my pockets, hence the cards.

 

[John_Oates]

Cheers for your replies.
To answer a question. I'm not too fussed about the small change, in fact I prefer not having to carry it around.

I mean a few thousand now and then.

Seems like it's only me it happens to

 

[vocalneal]

(What the hell good is a RP100 coin anyway?)

Years ago if one soldered two brass-looking 100Rp coins together they were the same thickness as a fancy tool for checking that hose/tube fittings had been correctly tightened.

 

[Fred]

Years ago if one soldered two brass-looking 100Rp coins together they were the same thickness as a fancy tool for checking that hose/tube fittings had been correctly tightened.

I sometimes use cash when I need to break a larger note and, if I bother keeping the small coins, I give them to my son who likes to put them into his money box.
500s and 1000s get left in the car to pay parking and junction guys.

 

[nosox]

I spend alot of time yakking with various parking guys. The other day we came to a place with a junction guy and the wife was sleeping, I had no coin so flipped the fella a 2000, wife immediately wokeup and said "you gave him 2000?" in utter incredulity hahaha

 

[Vicissidude]

I don't notice this happening to me either. The only thing close is getting charged a couple thousand extra for some warung food (like 15rb instead of 13rb) which is a bule tax I've come to just accept. Really not a big deal to me.

In a relatively cheap apartment building I used to live in, the office would occasionally try to cheat me when buying pulsa listrik. One time I paid 200rb but later noticed that they only gave me a ticket for 100rb worth. If I wasn't familiar with the pricing already, I'd never have known. I went right back and the gal did give me a correct ticket, pretending it was a mistake.

The other day, I went to a cafe and paid for a couple coffees. The total was maybe 52rb and I handed the guy 55rb. He didn't have change at the moment so said he'd bring it to me later. I forgot about it, and when I went to leave, he rushed outside to hand me the change, except it was change for a 100. I could've made off with a cool 45 big ones!

 

[ratu_tuaq]

I regularly get ripped off at Alfamarts, and not just one, but several different ones.

Alfamart staff are notorious for illegally pocketing extra money. And I don't mean the extra few hundred rupiah change that most of us don't want anyway. I'm talking about adding an extra pack of smokes or something onto your total when you're not looking. For example, let's say my total is Rp 67.000 according to the screen facing me, and I reach into my bag for my wallet, and grab Rp 100.000, but then I look at the screen again, and suddenly it's shot up to Rp 92.000. Perhaps I misread the screen a few seconds earlier? Perhaps I'm going insane? Perhaps I'm just forgetful in my old age? Who knows, but the second I ask the staff not to forget to give me a receipt before handing over my cash, the total on the screen drops to Rp 67.000. WTF, I ask (not in those words). "Maaf saya lupa ada diskon Bu". WTF, I ask again (again not in those words). I hand over my money, get Rp 33.000 change, and leave, because I give up trying to make sense of the jibberish the thief is trying to make me believe.

Bear in mind I had this exact same experience at 2 different Alfamarts on 2 different days (my final Alfamart experiences ever), and from then on, I have never ventured into another Alfamart. That was 3 months ago. I am certain it's happened many times before, only I wasn't as vigilant, as I'd walked out of there thinking I had been ripped off somehow (but was probably too tipsy or tired or old to care).

I posted about my experiences on the Alfamart Facebook page, and apparently the same thing happens all over Indonesia in Alfamarts, so I was sad, but relieved to hear I wasn't alone. All confirmed when a neighbour in my kampung who works at an Alfamart said that they "all do it - the people who train us show us how it's done".

My advice to all my friends here since, is to always ask for a receipt in Alfamart, and use your phone to keep a running tally of the total as you shop there. Or better yet, don't ever shop in an Alfamart.