Discovery: Sales Clerk Accidentally Undercharges by 40%

  • MHB
  • Thread starter Jameson
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In summary, the discovery is that a sales clerk accidentally undercharged a customer by 40%. The mistake was discovered by the customer when they noticed the incorrect total on their receipt. The potential impact could be a loss of revenue for the store and potential dissatisfaction from the customer. To prevent this type of mistake in the future, the store can implement a double-check system where another employee verifies the prices and totals before the customer's purchase is finalized. While it was the sales clerk who made the mistake, it could have been due to human error or a glitch in the system. It is important to investigate the root cause of the mistake before assigning blame.
  • #1
Jameson
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MHB
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At a certain store in New York City all items are on sale at a discount of 20% of the normal price. A young woman finds a dress she likes that is also an additional 20% off. The sales clerk is quite tired and when ringing up the bill for the young woman takes off 40% of the original price for the dress - a mistake.

If the original price for the dress was \$2014, by how much did the sales clerk accidentally undercharge?
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  • #2
Congratulations to the following members for their correct solutions:

1) MarkFL
2) magneto
3) Deveno
4) anemone

Solution (from magneto):
Suppose the dress's original price is $x$. Since it was discounted twice at $20\%$, the actual sales price is $(0.8)(0.8)x = 0.64x$ (as it retains $80\%$ of the value at each discount.) If the dress was discounted at $40\%$, the actual sales price would be $0.6x$. Note the difference is $0.04x$. If $x = 2014$, the clerk would have undercharged $(0.04)\times \$2014 = \$80.56$.
 

FAQ: Discovery: Sales Clerk Accidentally Undercharges by 40%

What is the discovery about the sales clerk's mistake?

The discovery is that a sales clerk accidentally undercharged a customer by 40%.

How was the mistake discovered?

The mistake was discovered by the customer when they noticed the incorrect total on their receipt.

What could be the potential impact of this mistake?

The potential impact could be a loss of revenue for the store and potential dissatisfaction from the customer.

How can this mistake be prevented in the future?

To prevent this type of mistake in the future, the store can implement a double-check system where another employee verifies the prices and totals before the customer's purchase is finalized.

Is the sales clerk at fault for the mistake?

While it was the sales clerk who made the mistake, it could have been due to human error or a glitch in the system. It is important to investigate the root cause of the mistake before assigning blame.

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