TESTIMONIALS. Lies, disputes… Faced with inflation, some customers dare everything

A year placed under the prism of inflation. While 2023 is now fast approaching, the year 2022 will have been marked by major episodes of inflation, stockouts or shortages. Whether in the field of food or elsewhere, the French have not been able to escape this reality and have seen their power greatly diminish over the months.

As for merchants, the situation was not rosy either since they too suffered the repercussions of this rise in prices, in the face of which some customers were more understanding than others.

Whether in supermarkets or in markets, several customers have thus been vehement towards traders in the obligation to increase their prices. Some did not hesitate to lie to make traders feel guilty and try to obtain discounts, as evidenced by Florian, a fishmonger in Parisian markets.

“Some customers have criticized me for the price of my soles, which I sell for 15 or 20 euros for two depending on the week. They claim that they manage to find them elsewhere for 10 euros for 6, this is not possible today. They only say that hoping that I will give them a reduction”, he explains, assuring that these situations remained rare all the same.

If in the markets some customers do not hesitate to lie, most remain understanding. However, in supermarkets there are certain types of products whose inflation is more surprising than elsewhere.

At the Auchan supermarket in Plaisir in the Yvelines department, Emilie, cashier, explains that customers have noticed the price increase, but comments are rare. Except for one particular product.

“It’s really the price of the chopsticks that shocked them the most I think. Sometimes they believe in an error, thinking that this price cannot be the right one, and this still today, months after the price increase Some go to the store for the sole purpose of buying their bread, having planned the extra, and find themselves having to turn around,” she says.

But on the whole the customers are understanding and do not complain. But, as Florian reveals, most have still had to change their consumption habits.

If a few people dispute the prices, they are particular profiles. “Those who protest are not my clients. They are people who come only to protest and who were already doing so before this inflation,” says Florian.

“Most customers are understanding. When you explain the why and how to them, they understand.”, continues the fishmonger.

But the young shopkeeper still noticed a change in customer purchases, even among the most understanding ones. With the decline in their purchasing power, many of them consume less.