The Price

The price on the shelf near the product was $7, but the clerk rang it up as $12 not including tax. Zane had no intention of paying more than $7 for it at the store.

“Um, is that, I thought the price was $7 on sale,” he said to the clerk.

The clerk with a heavy foreign accent pointed to her screen and said “No, it was $22 off for a total of $12. Must have been the non-Plus version. I think the non-Plus version is $7.”

“Ok, let me go back and see, but I could have sworn…” Zane’s voice trailed off as he headed straight for the racks.

Zane rechecked. Sure enough, it was $7. Nowhere on the rack was a $12 or a $34 price tag. All versions were $7, including the Plus version.

The clerk followed him back to the rack.

“See? No, wait,” the clerk said. “The price was $7 all along. See, right here, $15 off for a final price of $7. Just like I said. The computers are rarely wrong and I tend to follow them because my odds of being right are better than if I just relied on my memory.”

Zane had already been in the store for 30 minutes, browsing and weighing the options on whether or not this product was worth the money. Now the question became whether it was worth the energy to argue about who was right and who was wrong.

“You’re probably right,” Zane said. “Thanks for your help. Have a great life.”