New Kensington Giant Eagle red tagged after failing price accuracy test

Shoppers at Giant Eagle in New Kensington might want to double check their receipts.

The store’s price scanning system failed an annual inspection Monday, resulting in red “rejected” tags being placed at all of the Tarentum Bridge Road store’s registers to alert consumers.

The inspection by the Westmoreland County Bureau of Weights and Measures also found issues with several scales throughout the store, according to Greg McCloskey, director of county operations.

The price scanning system fails the test when at least three out of 25 randomly selected items ring up at a price different than what was displayed on the shelf, McCloskey said.

At Giant Eagle, a can of lemonade scanned at $2.59 instead of the shelf price of $2.29; frozen chicken wings scanned at $9.99 per pound instead of the displayed price of $8.99; and a package of candles scanned at $5.99 instead of the displayed $4.99 price, he said.

“We red tag all of those price scanners because it’s one system,” McCloskey said. “Each scanner device is going to read differently than what’s marked on the shelf. The price verification system needs to be rectified so that it’s scanning the price that’s on the shelf.”

The errors were immediately corrected after the store was notified, Giant Eagle spokesman Daniel Donovan said Tuesday.

As she was loading her car after shopping Tuesday morning, Robin Robinson of Tarentum said she didn’t notice the red tags.

“I look at my receipt when I get home,” she said.

The company’s price accuracy policy states that if the price of a product bought in any Giant Eagle or Market District store appears on a receipt at an amount higher than the displayed, posted or advertised price, customers will get the first improperly scanned item for free, and will be charged the lower price for any additional items of the same product bought in the transaction.

In addition to the price scanning problem, McCloskey said county inspectors also found issues with five scales.

Three of the five scales were in the meat department. Two were red tagged for having their security seals cut, which McCloskey said sometimes happens when they are serviced and the repair is not reported to the county.

Another scale in the meat department was giving inaccurate readings.

In hot foods, a scale was improperly positioned, resulting in customers not being able to see its readout of weight and price.

One checkout scale, at register 15, was undermeasuring weight, McCloskey said.

Such scale issues sometimes favor the consumer, other times, the business.

“That’s why we do what we do,” McCloskey said. “Our mission is to make sure that businesses comply and customers get the produce for what it’s advertised as.”

The five scales identified as being out of compliance are among more than 40 throughout the store, Donovan said. He noted that only two of the five were because of improper calibration.

“We immediately remedied the two scales in need of recalibration and are awaiting a follow-up visit from the bureau to recertify those and the other scales,” Donovan said. “In the meantime, New Kensington Giant Eagle customers are invited to shop the store with confidence knowing that all of the bureau’s feedback is being addressed.”

The store will be inspected again for compliance within 30 days, McCloskey said.