In the mood for a nice slice of beef, I stop in at my local steakhouse franchise for some takeaways last night. Upon asking about their steak specials, a guy (who looks like he could be a manager) tells me what they have on offer - which sadly does not include the same special I'd had a couple weeks ago. No, that particular deal ended on Saturday (the last day of the month), he says and heads off toward the kitchen. Eventually I decide that, special or not, I'll take that side of rump after all, and place my order with a passing waitron. I'm very pleasantly surprised when I receive my bill at some R50 less than I was expecting to pay, and it dawns on me that although the special may be over, someone's forgotten to revert the pricing on the till. And even though there won't be any discrepancies as far as the cash-up is concerned, a R25 loss per head is still likely to be felt up the line. As this kind of oversight can very easily occur in any retail establishment, be it a restaurant or supermarket, it's necessary to know just who is correcting the till pricing when specials come in or out of play. Does the overall responsibility fall on a specific individual, or does the onus fall on a group - with each having to make sure the pricing on their specific shelves is correct? Are they doing it in a timely manner? Do they have the day off? These are questions every owner and manager should be asking... Or else you could find your business is paying for last month's specials.

Shan Radcliffe, Retail editor
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