Er, duh … as T5 readers know, in theory Walmart, Target and TRU will price match other “local” retailers (or each other) but surprise, they do NOT have a consistent policy … so the only good news is that they’re not just not price matching CARS but also randomly making up other excuses on NOT price matching other items.

When Walmart rolled out its “simplified” Ad Match Guarantee in 2011, it promised that store workers would get “extensive” training “to ensure the price-match policy is executed consistently across all stores.” That hasn’t happened, says Richard Hampton, a customer service manager who’s on medical leave from a Walmart Supercenter in Rowlett, Tex. “The policy may well be as intended in the ads, but the reality is quite different and apparently arbitrary,” says Hampton, who adds that he routinely asked supervisors for a better understanding of the price-match policy so he could explain it to the cashiers he managed. “I could never get a consistent answer. Today it’s this, tomorrow it’s that.” Deisha Barnett, a Walmart spokeswoman, says, “It’s unfortunate that there’s a couple stores that aren’t executing our match the right way,” but she says it’s not a national problem.

You can read the rest at BusinessWeek.