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NYC Seeks "Secret Shoppers" To Snitch On Supermarkets
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 28, 2011
Modified Jul 28, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 28, 2011
Modified Jul 28, 2011
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The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is looking for a few good shoppers to snitch for them. For the past year the DCA has been aggressively seeking out (and fining) supermarkets who don't comply with basic rules (i.e. they have inaccurate pricing, incorrectly taxed products, and inaccurate scales and scanners). But of late they've been finding that our supermarkets are just dismal—seriously, back in January the compliance rate among checked shops was 33 percent!—so now it is asking for your help in finding scofflaw supermarkets. Specifically they'd like you to tweet @NYCDCA whenever you feel #nickeled&dimed.
Yup, that's the hashtag they'd like you to use. And because "the messages received as part of #nickeled&dimed will be treated as enforcement tips" they ask that you make sure to include "the supermarket, address or cross streets, and an explanation of the overcharges." Further, shoppers "should also be on the look-out for a lack of prices on individual items, items incorrectly rung up at the register, advertised prices that don’t scan correctly at the register, a store’s failure to post the unit price on the shelf, and a failure to provide scales for weighing items sold by weight." For a complete guide from the DCA of what you should watch out they've got a PDF for you right here.
Not comfortable using Twitter? No problem! Our increasingly web-friendly city also has a Facebook page set up for the DCA where you can register your complaints on the wall. “New York consumers will make great ‘secret shoppers’ to tip us off to their own firsthand accounts about what’s happening at supermarket checkout counters,” Commissioner Jonathan Mintz said in a statement. And he's probably right. New Yorkers do love to complain, and really love to tweet.
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Garth Johnston
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