Free Coupon Trouble

[disneyfav4ever]

My store has a policy that if an item already has a price, like bags of chips or magazines, that we take so much percent off that price. (I hope that makes sense.) Well anyway, yesterday I had a customer get a bag of chips that was marked at $2.99, but it rings up as $2.69, because we sell chips for 10% the advertised price. He had a coupon for a free bag of chips of a value up to $3.00, since the chips were only $2.69, I took off $2.69, for a total of zero dollars, and zero cents.

That wasn't low enough, apparently, since the coupon had a value of up to $3.00 he wanted me to give him the 31 cents extra. He argued with me for awhile saying that since the coupon was for $3.00, he should be getting change back, (even though he wasn't even spending any money.)

I refused to give him the money, so he said to give him his coupon back, and he wouldn't get the chips. So I cancelled his order, and he then went to the front desk to complain about me.

Funny thing is, I had already filled in the retail price in the little box that's on the coupon, so it looks like the coupon has already been used. He'll have a lot of trouble using that coupon "again."

[BookstoreEscapee]

I'm guessing there is fine print that explains what "up to $3.00" means...?

[katie kaboom]

Well that's what he gets for being such a jackass. I swear, coupons cause more problems then they're worth.

[depechemodefan]

I guess he would then say he would rather use it at a store that sold chips at $2.99. That way he can get his coupon's worth.

[Saydrah]

Free coupon trouble?

But i don't WANT any coupon trouble, even if I don't have to pay for it!

[BookstoreEscapee]

I guess he would then say he would rather use it at a store that sold chips at $2.99. That way he can get his coupon's worth.

Nah, he'd still want the penny back.

[disneyfav4ever]

Nah, he'd still want the penny back.

Probably.

I just really hope he goes into a store, tries to use it, but it's refused since the price is already filled in. He deserves that.

[marasbaras]

What a jerk. The coupon is for a free bag of chips ... NOT for $3.

[mattm04]

Teir is a difference between using coupons correctly and incorrectly. The correct way is to READ what the coupon says. It can be very specific. The incorrect way is to grab a randmom item and hope the coupon will work.

We sometimes give out coupons for a dollar amount off a order over a specific value. Just because it says "$X.XX off any order over XX dollars*" in bring print, STATE LAW prohibits Cigs and Milk from that total. At the bottom of the coupon it will say that. IF you order is $51 but you have cigs or milk it won't accept the coupon until you have purchased more than $50 of non-cog/milk products.

[KabeRinnaul]

Two summers as a grocery cashier has made me hate coupons, too. The worst one was a middle-aged woman who kept insisting on her interpretation of the coupon's wording.

The coupon said "$1 off any two (item)s, 20 count or larger."

Lady only bought one of whatever the item was (I've long forgotten this detail), so the register spit the coupon out (note, this was back when I cared enough about the job to not just key in the discount manually like I would now, to avoid these situations). I look it over, and explain she needs a second item.

She then stands there arguing with me, saying that she only needs one, because she bought the 35-count version, and the coupon means, according to her, "$1 off any two 20 count items, or one larger item."

After 5-10 minutes of this woman telling me I don't understand English and calling me illiterate, a supervisor just came over, did a keyed override on the coupon (certain coupons require a Sup password for an override), and told me to hurry up with my line and go to break.

[Snowbird]

After 5-10 minutes of this woman telling me I don't understand English and calling me illiterate, a supervisor just came over, did a keyed override on the coupon (certain coupons require a Sup password for an override), and told me to hurry up with my line and go to break.

I wonder if a manager has ever told one of these customers that they weren't getting the discount because they were right, but because they were being a pain in the butt. It wouldn't do a hill of beans to correct the situation but that cat butt face response would be a Kodak moment.

As to the original post, 'up to $3' means... just what it says. What would he do if your store charged $3.05 for the bag? He'd gripe and complain and whine because the coupon is supposed to be for a free bag of chips. Ugh.

[disneyfav4ever]

We sometimes give out coupons for a dollar amount off a order over a specific value. Just because it says "$X.XX off any order over XX dollars*" in bring print, STATE LAW prohibits Cigs and Milk from that total. At the bottom of the coupon it will say that. IF you order is $51 but you have cigs or milk it won't accept the coupon until you have purchased more than $50 of non-cog/milk products.

I've dealt with those coupons before too. Most people understand, but a few can get really huffy that they need to buy some more stuff.

[disneyfav4ever]

After 5-10 minutes of this woman telling me I don't understand English and calling me illiterate, a supervisor just came over, did a keyed override on the coupon (certain coupons require a Sup password for an override), and told me to hurry up with my line and go to break.

I hate when the SC gets their way just because a manager wants to make it all better for them. Luckily a lot of the people I work with don't put up with that crap, and half the time it's my call anyway.

[Dave0523]

[threadjack] I've had the opposite happen to me. I had a coupon for a free 20 oz. soda "up to $1.59 value". The clerk told me that they couldn't take it because the soda was only $1.29. [/threadjack]

--Dave

[KabeRinnaul]

I hate when the SC gets their way just because a manager wants to make it all better for them. Luckily a lot of the people I work with don't put up with that crap, and half the time it's my call anyway.

It was more that things were starting to back up, and she wanted to get them out of the store and lines moving again in the fastest way possible.