Carrefoure is full of Scams!

Carrefoure here in Doha is full of scams. I have had it with this store.

Every time I go there and buy something on sale (which is what I go there for- the sale items), the price I see where the item is displayed is always wrong when I go for the checkout.

This is a case example. This picture clearly illustrates what items are displayed, and how the items are displayed; rows and rows of huggies "goodnights" with a hudge sign "20 riyals" over them.

Well, I got to the checkout and they rang up as QR23; still 6 QR less per item than normal, but not the price I saw displayed.

Most people here would have settled I suppose. But as an American, I believe that this is a big problem. This is "false advertizing," and is a Cardinal Sin in that corporate culture from which I was raised!

So, I pursued it with the management. They guy argued with me, saying there was no way this item could have possibly been priced at QR20, that I clearly must be mistaken; I said, "Oh great, so now you're calling me a liar?" and dragged his butt across the store to where the items were so very clearly displayed under the QR20 sign.

So, he digs back, THREE ROWS behind the huggies goodnights, and pulls out a (buried) bag of huggies pull-ups and tells me that these are the items that are on-sale.

I let him have it. I had an audience! I really was yelling, and apparently here that is a real insult to these people. Insulting is basically the worst thing you can do to someone from the Arabic culture, and I did plenty of it.

It's a basic rule of thumb where I come from that you don't falsely advertise a price; here, people accept it, I draw-and-quarter the manager for allowing it to happen. They really didn't understand why I was so upset.

It's only speculation, but perhaps there is some embezzelling going on in this store. The price on the books is QR20; but when you ring it up, it comes up QR23; most people here don't contest the wrong price, because it's still 6 riyal less than the normal price of QR29; the guy at the top keeps the QR3 difference on each item sold.

In the end, they "so graciously" allowed me to purchase the 5 bags of goodnights I had for the price they had (incorrectly) displayed, which was QR20/bag. In the States they would have given the items to me for free. ...

No more Carrefoure!

Some days, it seems like there's no place like home.