It’s the error correction protocol
(Via Business Reform)
The Antelope Valley Press reports on a serious overcharge for a family having it their way: (volatile link — won’t be there next week)
PALMDALE – When George Beane went to his neighborhood Burger King on Tuesday afternoon, he got four burgers his way, all right, but at a super-sized cost.
In fact, the charge to his debit card for two $1 Whopper Jrs. and two $1 Rodeo cheeseburgers at the drive-up window at the 2606 East Palmdale Blvd. restaurant was $4,334.33 instead of the $4.33 it should have been.
The cashier had forgotten that she had already punched in the price, and punched it in again. The charge went through, and zeroed out Beane’s bank account, the week before the mortgage payment was due.
“This cashier has been with me for 20 years, and she’s never had a mistake before. She was so upset,” Woody said. “I felt really bad, too, and ultimately we gave them the food for free for putting them in that position.”
“I just wanted to make sure they get their money back,” so Woody called Burger King district manager Scott Ralston. With Ralston’s assistance, and calls to Burger King’s corporate offices, the money was returned to the account Friday morning.
Burger King stepped up right away to fix the mistake.
Mistakes happen, even to the best employees. Because mistakes are inevitable, what matters is how good your error correction protocol is. Burger King was right on top of the mistake, and acted as quickly as possible to fix it.
The Beanes’ bank, on the other hand, was less spectacular.
The fact the bank needed the full three days to reverse an electronic charge process that took only a split second left the couple with no money other than what they had in their pockets, Pat Beane said.
Bank officials said they would reverse the charge only if a representative of Burger King came forward and confirmed the error, Beane said. Even when the error was confirmed, the bank said the funds were on a three-day hold and nothing could be done to release them, she said.
The bank involved is Bank of America, but this sounds like an industry-wide practice. People might want to run this story past their bankers to see how they’d handle a similar mistake. If enough people made it a point they considered when choosing a bank, more banks would take it into account themselves.
| More from Karl Lembke
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