Now here’s a very tempting offer. You have a piece of paper which says that you’ll get something for less money than normal. It’s pretty clear cut, right? Oh how I wish I was right not that last sentence…
This particular specimen of coupons is most profilient in the food industry, although you’ll still run across it in retail as well. You’ve probably gotten a stack of discount coupons to your local fast food joint, all of which promise you something for less money than normal, say a cheese burger for 25 cents instead of the usual dollar or what not. Or a pizza for 6.99 instead of the 10.99 it usually costs.
Everything’s wonderful with this deal, right? Ah, I see you’re catching on to what I’m talking about. You’re absolutely correct. There are a few catches involved though.
From everything I’ve read and heard about, the biggest gripe about these kind of coupons seems to be from the way that consumers use these coupons. With limited experience (2.5 years at Subway) in the fast food industry, I’ll portray the grievances that I’ve heard and have experienced myself:
Nuisance #1:
If you have a coupon that says that you’ll get something for less than the menu price or the price on the shelf, please let the person handling your order/cashier know that you in fact have this coupon in your possession. I’ll give you one example: if you’re ordering a pizza for delivery, tell the person who takes your order that you have said coupon. It’s kinda rude to the delivery guy to scream at him/her when they tell you that the total is $x.xx, just because they didn’t know that you had a coupon with which you’ll get the pizza for cheaper.
Nuisance #2:
To continue with the mind-reading theme, if you’ve got one of these coupons, it’ll do you no good if you keep it in your wallet until AFTER you’ve paid for your goods. Your bad if you forgot to show it. Complaining that the cashier didn’t take the coupon offer into consideration when ringing in your items will do you no good, as the cashier doesn’t possess x-ray vision with which they can see that you have this coupon. If you have the coupon, give it to the cashier at the very latest when you’re paying. Preferably immediately after the greetings. If you honestly forgot to show it, apologize and be prepared that it’ll take a minute or two to correct YOUR mistake.
Nuisance #3:
Coupons of this manner tend to be item-specific. What do I mean with that? Alright, you’ve got a coupon that clearly states a certain price in HUGE letters to catch your attention. Below that is stated the item or item group which you’ll get for this price. That’s the crucial part. If the coupon states that you’ll get item X from brand A, don’t bring the cashier item Y, or anything from brand B. In other words, say you’ve got a coupon that says you’ll get the purple hair dye from L’Ordeal for $2.99, don’t bring the green hair dye, especially from another manufacturer. You’ll look pretty stupid trying to argue that this is the way it’s supposed to be…
Nuisance #4:
Many of these kind of coupons state that you can’t combine this deal with another deal. If you’re already getting something for cheaper, you can’t use a coupon to get an extra 30% off the first offer. Why? Well, most of the time it can’t be rang into the register that way. So don’t scream at me that you want it this way and then look at me like I’m either stupid or vindictive for not allowing it.
Nuisance #5:
This kind of a deal is typically time-specific, meaning that it’s only valid for a certain period of time. If you come a day or two late (or a few months late), that’s again your mistake. If the deal was only valid for that month of November, by December (or worse, April), it’s just a worthless slip of paper. No, the store will NOT honor a deal that’s already passed, just because you don’t have a grasp of the intricate workings of a calendar.
Nuisance #6:
It is rare to see one of these coupons without certain limitations in the fine print. The coupon will clearly state that either you’re limited to only one or two of the item with the coupon, or you’re limited to just one coupon per person. Now please, someone enlighten me on just what it is about those limitations that’s so hard to understand. Please, I’m begging you. Everytime I’ve had to deal with these coupons, two kinds of people swarm from the comforts of the sewer, leaving their common sense behind. First, you have the hoarders who can’t understand why they can’t use all 27 of their coupons at once, and secondly you have the overdoers who bitch and moan when they only get one of their 31 bottles of laxatives for the discount price. People, those limitations were written with you in mind. Learn to read before complaining!
Nuisance #7:
And finally, this one’s a kicker. I can’t believe I’d actually have to write about this, but I will because I’ve faced this stupidity a few times. If you have a coupon which grants you a cheaper price for say, a Spoiled Brat Hoe Look-A-Like doll, from store A, that doesn’t mean that store B will accept the coupon just because they sell the same doll. Not only are the coupons item-specific, they’re also store/chain-specific. Threatening store B that you’ll go to Store A to buy the doll because store B won’t honor another store’s coupon won’t work, because that’s what you should’ve done in the first place!
What do you hate about coupons, either as a consumer or as a clerk?
If you have a story relating to this post, from either side of the counter, or anything to add to his chapter of The Consumer Etiquette Guide, let’s hear it!
The customer is NOT always right. If you agree with this, or wish to know what to do and not do as a consumer, please subscribe to this blog’s updates by the way of the RSS feed or email subscriptions. Thank you for shopping at The Consumer Etiquette Guide, now go and make someone have a nice day at work!
