The Manager
Greggs
Northumberland Street
Newcastle

Dear Sir,

I visited your store today in order to buy two large stotties a steak bake and a can of coke. When I reached the till, I noticed that the cashier was ringing in a number of items that I had not bought and then cancelling them off. I assumed that she was accidentally hitting the wrong button for something. However, when the total came up at over three pounds, I decided that something was wrong.

I asked to see an itemised receipt before paying, so I could confirm that it was the correct price. The cashier seemed unwilling to give one - maybe your till can only produce an itemisation after payment, or maybe she did not know how to show me the list, it was not made clear to me either way. Realising that I was not convinced about the price, she looked at her screen and said that she knew what was wrong - something about her ringing in some sausage rolls. A few button presses later, she announced a new price - two pounds and sixty six pence.

Realising that this was closer to the mark, I was more inclined to pay up but I still wanted assurance that I was being charged the correct price and so I asked to see an itemisation again. Still none was forthcoming but the cashier decided, quite sensibly, to clear everything off and start again. This time, she offered me a price of one pound and ninety seven pence and, having seen each item go through on the customer-facing screen, I agreed with this total.

Though the cashier did offer me a receipt at the end, which I declined, she did not offer me an apology. Assuming that your staff are not under instructions to deliberately short-change the customers, it appears that you have a problem with this particular staff member, perhaps indicative of a problem in your training. If it is not possible to show a customer why the total adds up as it does, before payment is received, then you also have a problem with your tills.

I would appreciate your comments on this matter and your assurances that I will not have to calculate my correct total, before going to a till, in order to be sure of paying the correct amount in the future.

Yours faithfully,

Ashley Frieze.