A staggering consumer dispute broke out on the streets of Wuhan, and a storm caused by a snowflake crisp shop spread throughout the city. The price of five pieces of snowflake cake is 681 yuan, which is incredibly high.
At 8 p.m. on the 7th, the atmosphere on the pedestrian street of Hanjiang Road in Wuhan was lively as usual. Ms. Zhai and 11 of her relatives were wandering the streets, and a snowflake shop called "A Love Cake" caught their attention.
The clerk warmly invited them into the store to try the food, but the woman's uncle felt that it seemed impolite to refuse, so he led everyone into the store, thinking of buying a few pieces of snowflake cake to go home to thank the clerk for their kindness.
However, the process of buying snowflake is not as simple as they think. Uncle originally thought that the snowflake cake was sold by the block, but the clerk was vague and only said: "Five pieces a piece, a piece of five pieces." Uncle mistakenly thought that five pieces of snowflake cake would only cost about 25 yuan, so he decisively decided to buy five.
Instead of explaining exactly how the price was calculated, the clerk began to busily cut the snowflake cakes and guide them to buy expensive boutique packaging. The woman's uncle refused and was puzzled - why should things sold by the block be weighed?
The answer to all this was revealed at the moment of checkout. When the cashier receipt appeared in front of them, the whole family was stunned. It turned out that the price of these five snowflake cakes was as high as 681 yuan, and the price per kilogram was 256 yuan.
This can't help but make everyone feel cheated, and they immediately ask for a refund. However, the clerk took a tough stance and said that he could only refund half of the money at most, and if he was not satisfied, he could try to complain.
This blatant injustice was unbearable for Ms. Zhai and her party, and they began to engage in heated arguments with the clerks. Seeing that the situation was not good, the clerk was worried that the situation would expand and affect the business, so he finally quietly refunded the entire amount.
But the problem is much more than that. Ms. Zhai's family was outraged by the store's pricing practices, and they found that the store's price was extremely obscure — it only wrote "12.8" but did not indicate the unit, in fact it was 128 yuan per tael. They believe it was a deliberate fraud, and the incident also caused a huge repercussion online.
Ms. Zhai complained about the matter to the Wuhan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and posted it on the Internet, which soon attracted widespread attention and discussion. The news spread quickly on the Internet, and many netizens expressed shock and indignation.
Some netizens joked that this snowflake cake was inlaid with gold, and some expressed sympathy and thought that Ms. Zhai's family had suffered unfair treatment.
The fermentation of things did not end there. As more and more netizens pay attention to and spread, this matter has also attracted the attention of the local market supervision and administration bureau.
It is reported that the staff of the Authority quickly intervened and conducted a strict inspection of the "Love Cake". During the inspection, the staff found a number of problems, including irregularities such as unclear price labeling and misleading consumers.
Due to the seriousness of the situation, the relevant authorities took decisive measures to temporarily seal down the store in order to thoroughly investigate the full picture of the incident. The news once again caused an uproar online, with people growing outrageous at the store's actions and acknowledging and supporting the regulator's swift action.
As a result of this incident, other retailers throughout Wuhan have also been implicated, and the image of Wuhan merchants has been damaged, and consumers' trust in the local market has declined. In order to save its image, the Wuhan Federation of Commerce held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures and decided to strengthen the supervision of merchants to ensure price transparency and avoid similar incidents from happening again.
Although the turmoil caused by the snowflake cake ended with the closure of the store and the successful protection of consumer rights, the impact it caused went far beyond the scope of a small retail store. It reminds us to be vigilant in the process of consumption, and also warns every merchant that honest management is the foundation to win the trust of consumers and the long-term development of the market.
What would you do if you came across such a merchant?