Monday, March 28, 2011

A huge coupon don't.



I'm not sure if that title caught you or not.  It may have, especially if you know how Andrea and I use coupons and LOVE them.  Now, we are NO WHERE near the extreme of the people on the Extreme Couponing show on TLC.  Not by a landslide are we even close to that.  Speaking only for myself, I have a small stockpile of items we will actually use in a reasonable amount of time.  None of this garage full or basement full for my family.

That being said, I have a real beef with some of you couponers out there.  Take note, please.

I was at my local Kroger Marketplace store this weekend.  I wanted to use the last of the coupons I had laid aside for the Mega event that is going on.  It was later in the evening and when I went the front of the store to cash out, I noticed that there were only 2 lanes open plus the u-scan.  No problem, I don't mind waiting in a line.  The lane I chose, most people seemed to be avoiding.  I didn't know why until I got closer.  It was a couponer, with a cart full of Mega items.  I was so excited to see someone else utilizing their coupons and saving some cash in the process!  Then it happened....

Something scanned wrong.  Uh oh.  To me, this is no big deal.  Typically I will alert the cashier unless I don't notice until I've cashed out at which point I go to the front office.  I adore my Marketplace and am always nice, in turn, they take care of me!  This person chose the not-so-nice route.  She started out nicely, but when the cashier told her it was only his 4th day on the job and he wasn't 100% on how to change the price, this couponer got rude.  Quickly.  She ask him why he was alone on a register if he didn't know how to use it?  Then continued to get nastier and nastier all while the high school kid was getting flustered and calling a cashier supervisor.  He was following procedure and this lady was getting pissed at him for doing so.  Right about then, I casually looked at the boy and said "It's okay, we've all been new on the job before".  He smiled and the lady ringing out murmured something under her breath.

Now, on a totally different note, I worked in retail for YEARS.  I worked in a retail pharmacy and trust me, the nastiest people are the ones that you have to tell that they can't get their prescription refilled yet because of insurance.  Oh yeah, I've been cursed at, had things thrown at me and told I was an idiot on more than one occasion.  I felt this kids pain.

The thing that really bothered me is this.  Most of the people I know who coupon are nice about it.  They don't go biting off cashiers heads for something beyond their control or training.  They are patient, laugh and are just happy to be spending a lot less at the store.  Then there are the ones like this woman who apparently didn't get the niceness memo.  It makes me angry to know that people such as her are actively giving all couponers a bad rap.  The cashier wasn't rude.  He didn't say anything except he wasn't exactly sure how to correct the price and called a supervisor over.  Nothing he did was his fault, yet this lady made him feel like shat for the 5 or so minutes she was in his line.  I've never wanted to shove my cart full of groceries into someones heels so bad in all my life!

I guess my ultimate message is this.  The cashier is your friend.  They may still be learning (and what a better learning/teaching opportunity than with a huge coupon order?),but in the end they are the ones who are scanning your merchandise and coupons.  Be nice to them.  They are working a job.  They have to be cordial to you even if you are a real pain in the toosh, so why not be cordial back?  In the end, you want them on your side.

5 comments:

  1. Andrea@mommyconfessionsblogMarch 28, 2011 at 4:43 AM

    You are right I am a HUGE coupon shopper and what I have personally noticed is if you are nice to the cashier they will be nice to you in return. SO PLAY NICE. And PLAY THE GAME fair. (That is what I call couponing. The GAME.) I have also noticed that the people that are the ones that are NOT playing the game fair IE "CHEATING" are the ones that are being rude. You know the ones the people that are rushing the cashier to get thru the coupons so that the cashier doesn't notice that they don't notice that they don't have the right products to go with the right coupons. You know those people we have all seen them. My thoughts is if you are going to be a couponer. Then work with the store and the cashier. Be patience and kind. DON'T BE A JERK. Those are the type of people that are RUINING the whole coupon shopping for the rest of us. and it is really sad for all of us. Also people need to stop being greedy with coupons. People need not to clear the shelves on a Sunday when the ads come out it is just RUDE.

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  2. A nasty person is a nasty person, period. It is sad that this cashier had to face the brunt of a nasty person's hostility and it's sad that this woman is not a better person to rise above.

    Our life is not defined by what happens to us but by how we respond to those things. While I am not always a basket of sunshine, I too am the "we were all new at some point" kind of customer!

    I am glad you posted this!!!!

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  3. Andrea@mommyconfessionsblogMarch 28, 2011 at 4:59 AM

    Becky I really wished you lived closer. I really wish I could give you a BIG HUGE...I see some many things opening up for you. I am so sad so see you moving on but I am so glad at the same time. It is really bitter sweet.

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  4. There's a couponing show on TLC????? Why wasn't I notified? LOL! I wish I had been with you that night, Kandi. You know I don't have a problem saying something!!! I have worked in retail and customer service too long to not be able to nicely tell someone to shut up!

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  5. Yup, there's a couponing thing on TLC. Although, it's seriously extreme people. One lady insured her stockpile and had enough tp to last for 20 years or something. To me, that's WAY off the deep end!

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