Looking for a steal
31 Jan 2006 
in the early morning 
Matt Winckler
I stopped by WinCo on my way to work this morning to get bagels and contact lens solution (because you know there’s nothing more delicious than contact lens solution spread on a blueberry bagel), and encountered a strange scene while standing in the checkout line. The man in front of me was buying some sort of small edible (I didn’t pay any attention until it was too late, and never got a good look at exactly what it was), which rang up to $2.80. However, he insisted that in the aisle it was marked at $2.32. The cashier dialed up some help to go check the price. After the help had been dispatched, the man asked: “Is she going back to check the price?” When the cashier answered in the affirmative, the man replied “I don’t want it anymore” and walked out of the store.
I tried to think of a motive for this unusual behavior. The individual being somewhat scruffy (though not entirely disreputable-looking), my first thought was that perhaps it was some sort of vagrant that couldn’t afford the full price. However, the man had actually had his cash out in front of him while disputing the price, and clearly had at least three dollars in hand. This theory was further debunked when I followed him out of the store and saw him hop into a late-model Subaru Legacy and drive off. Not many vagrants (well, apart from the professional ones) drive late-model cars.
My only other explanations are rather unsatisfying. One is that the guy was in a hurry and didn’t want to wait for the price check, but that is countered by the fact that he started the argument over the price. If he really was in a hurry, it seems like he would have simply coughed up the money, particularly since he already had it on the counter. Another explanation is that the guy just wanted to save 48 cents and thought he could pull one over on the cashier. It must take a remarkably small sense of shame to be willing to walk away at the threat of being caught out in a lie, though. If I were going to do something like this, I’d wait till the price check proved me wrong, and then apologize and say I must have been looking at a different price tag.
All in all, it was interesting to start the day by witnessing a failed attempt at social engineering.