As a business owner, it is vital that customers perceive you as being honest and having integrity. Whether the perception applies to you as an individual or to your store or business, customers need to believe that they will get what they pay for and that they are being treated fairly. A bad reputation can kill a business quicker than almost anything else. With many items that are sold at retail, customers can see exactly what it is they’re getting, but with some goods, they have to take the merchant at his word.

Think of gasoline, for example. The customer never actually sees the gasoline and even if they did, they could not, by eye tell its quality or even the amount being dispensed. Instead the customer relies upon the brand and reputation of the dealer to ensure that they are getting gasoline of the octane that is advertised on the pump. They rely on the meter on the gasoline pump to tell them how much of the liquid has been pumped unseen into their gasoline tank.

The gasoline meter also has the additional reputation of the weights and measures department of the state or local government which has jurisdiction over the area. Each gas pump is required to be inspected and have its function and accuracy certified by a government inspector on a regular basis. This helps to give the customer confidence independent of the reputation of the local business owner.

Similarly, grocery stores and other retailers that sell goods by weight must have their commercial scales certified by a government inspector as well. Not only must these scales pass inspection, but they must be of a type and quality that is designed to used for commerce and is legal for trade. That means they must be NTEP certified scales from the factory. NTEP certification ensures that the scale is of sufficient quality to hold its calibration and accuracy between inspections. Higher quality parts and construction is used to give these scales more reliability. Even so, they must still be individually checked and approved by a government inspector and display the date of last inspection for the public to see.

NTEP certified scales are used throughout the grocery store in places like the deli counter counter, the meat counter, and the produce department among others to let the customer know the weight of the bulk goods they are buying. Some of them have the ability to also calculate the total price the customer will pay based upon the weight and an identification number entered into the scale by the clerk who operates the scale.

Scales that are not certified for public trade cannot, by law, be used in commerce to determine the weight and total price of any goods being sold. That’s one reason why many informal retail locations like farmer’s markets have goods priced by the bundle or by the piece rather than by weight. This saves the micro-business owner the cost and hassle of buying an NTEP certified scale and having it inspected annually according to local regulations.

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