Beware the 'coupon cops'
Posted
Nov 21 2008, 11:22 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Some frugalists love coupons. Some retailers hate them. Can't we all just get along?
Nope, according to some Smart Spending message board readers. On a thread about retail "attitude" regarding coupons, readers wrote about clerks who sigh loudly, roll their eyes and make snide comments. Some have encountered cashiers who seem determined to deny the use of a coupon, or even a rain check.
A reader posting as "Wasuperfunder" calls these folks "coupon cops."
The reader knows that employees need to be careful. "(They) may feel that they will be disciplined if they take expired coupons, or for the wrong item, size, etc."
But Wasuperfunder, who follows coupon redemption rules, won't "take any guff" from cashiers. When challenged, the reader politely asks for a manager, or offers to get out of line and take up the matter with someone in customer service.
I'm with you, Wasuperfunder. If a store agrees to accept coupons, then employees shouldn't be surprised that shoppers want to use them.
"They act like the money is coming out of their pockets," says reader "Ruby-Slippers."
"Stores do get reimbursed for their coupons, so I don't know why they have to be so nasty."
Coupon cops vs. 'coupon queens'
"Frugal Lady" likes to use coupons at CVS and then use CVS ExtraCare Bucks to pay part of the bill. One day a store manager started talking, pointedly within earshot, about "these women who come in here with all these coupons."
"Quite frankly, I am surprised by their attitude," Frugal Lady says.
I had a similar experience recently at Rite Aid, when I wanted to buy a body wash that was free after rebate. An employee told me the item was sold out, and then made a disdainful remark about the "coupon queens" who come in and "buy up everything."
Um … don't stores want things to be bought up? The rebates are limited to one per person, so it's not as though a handful of "coupon queens" would buy the entire stock of body wash. What's more likely is that a whole lot of people who also wanted a freebie got there ahead of me.
Besides, if managers are concerned about a few customers taking "everything," then why not specify a limit rather than carp about coupon use?
Not all cashiers and managers are rude, of course. Some compliment the customers' shopping savvy. Some even announce the savings out loud so that other shoppers can hear. Cashiers frequently tell reader "Gypsylady" how impressed they are by her savings.
So am I, actually: Gypsylady sometimes walks out of CVS without having paid a dime, and reduces her bill by one-third at supermarkets. Take that, all you coupon naysayers!
Some stores welcome us
At some stores you can double-dip, i.e., use a store's in-ad coupon along with a manufacturer’s coupon. Recently I purchased Celestial Seasonings herbal tea on sale at two boxes for $3. Using the Walgreens in-ad coupon brought the price down to two for $2. Using a pair of $1-off manufacturer’s coupons lowered the price to nada, zip, zero, gratis -- two free items to go into a holiday gift basket along with my homemade jam and cookies.
Frugal Lady lives in an area where drugstores and supermarkets accept competitors' coupons. "I love it when one store issues a $10 off coupon for a $35 order. That is when I really go into action," she says. With manufacturers’ coupons plus the extra $10 off, she can save up to 60% on her grocery order.
Using a competitor's coupon is one of my favorite sneaky coupon tricks, too. For example, a $2 coupon for Scott toilet paper (a particular obsession of mine) printed out at the Safeway cash register. Albertsons had that brand on sale for $2.19, so I got four rolls for 19 cents plus tax.
Some stores won't accept coupons printed from Internet sites, due to recent instances of fraud. Reader "J1dG" said a Kroger clerk told him he wasn't supposed to accept online coupons but wound up taking them anyway.
"I'll go back to stores with employees like that," the reader says.
Most puzzling coupon refusal: "HollyM" swears that a Target store refused to honor a Target coupon that she'd printed out in that very store 10 minutes earlier. Boy, would I have asked to speak to a manager.
Play by the rules
Obviously, cashiers have to refuse coupons that have expired or that don't match the products, and if their bosses tell them "no Internet coupons" then I wouldn't push it. Why should a clerk risk disciplinary action just so I can save 45 cents on aluminum foil?
But readers who experience lapses in customer service aren't the ones who try to use Bic coupons on Schick products. They are following store policies, and shouldn't be treated rudely or scornfully. And since the slumping economy has led a lot more people to "discover" couponing, the stores better get ready for more of us.
Store managers: Please tell cashiers not to sigh, roll their eyes or argue with those who use coupons correctly. Just ring up the orders and say, "Thanks for shopping with us."
We understand that you may not like dealing with all those little pieces of paper, but they're on the way out -- coupons are on track to go electronic. Maybe applying for reimbursement is a pain, too.
Yet you sure don't have a problem with the business we bring to your stores. Sure, some of us walk out with things that are free or practically free. But even when we don't have coupons, we patronize your stores.
Or not. We can opt to take our business elsewhere, according to that firebrand, Wasuperfunder: "As long as I meet the requirements of the coupon, the retailer will lose my business if their employees give me attitude about using them."
Love me, love my coupon folder.
