simple bag of prawns — and a lesson in common sense

A simple bag of prawns — and a lesson in common sense.

After work yesterday, I stopped by one of the big supermarkets.

There was a tray of fresh prawns — $36 a kilo, with a big sign saying 50% off the ticketed price.

A clear-out special.

Perfect, I thought. I’ll grab a kilo.

But when I checked the sticker on the bag, it showed $20 a kilo.

Since when is $20 half of $36?

Back I went to the counter.

The young guy smiled and said, “That’s what the machine gives me.”

I asked, “Do you know how much half of $36 is?”

He shrugged. “They’ll work it out at the checkout.”

Really? How can they, when the tag already says $20?

Then his manager wandered over, scratching his head.

Both stared at the numbers like they were code from another planet.

Finally, the duty manager arrived — calm, clear, switched on.

She looked, nodded, and said, “We’ll honour the price.”

The young bloke said, “I can’t go any lower.”

She replied, “Then do a manual override.”

And he did — reluctantly. $17 a kilo.

It wasn’t about prawns anymore. It was about principle.

Three people, three levels of management,

and not one wanted to question the machine.

When common sense gets replaced by process,

and people stop thinking for themselves…

who’s really in charge — the human or the system?

— Rodney Wilson 🦐

Food for thought — not just prawns.