[sle061276]

If you were behind someone in line and saw that they were using coupons improperly? would you say anything or let it go?

Today in CVS I was behind a lady with a coupon binder and she had in her hand coupons for $2/1 disposable Bic razors and she was using them to buy a Bic soleil razor and 6 refill packs. She also had about 10 Tide stain release the smaller packs and was using the $3 coupon which is supposed to be for the larger packs.

She could have been a new couponer and it may have been an honest mistake but who knows? I was too chicken to say anything to her about it especially not at the register.

[cindia86]

It's risky sometimes saying anything becuase if they get real defensive. But it is also the cashiers responsibility to check the coupons.

[Jakejake]

I would say something. If she has a binder and 10 copies of a coupon, I would not assume she's new at it.

I wouldn't be confrontational, I'd strike up a conversation as if I was curious about the deal she was getting. "Hey, I got one of those tide coupons too but I didn't realize you could use it on the trial size, somehow I thought it was only for the big ones. I'm so used to the high value coupons saying excludes trial size I didn't even think check that one." (loud enough for the cashier to here)

Or if I was feeling cranky, I'd just blurt out something to the cashier - Hey, I think she's using those coupons on the wrong products, you should double check that.

[rputalonis]

I am new at this and am totally confused to as why the computer dont pick up on this kind of stuff ? i have been hearing about the "BEEP" and always figured thats what it meant using the wrong q or whatever. i would think that especially now and how high-tech everything is that something like using the wrong q's wouldnt fly. can somebody help me understand PLEASE


TIA
Rob P & Val W.

[joshmamabear]

If you're right next to her in line, it will be difficult to blow the whistle right there and act as coupon cop. If you're 2 or 3 persons behind her, you can look for the MOD and speak to him/her discreetly, that will be the better approach without embarrassing the person.

If she has a binder, it means she has read enough to make one of those and collect all coupons in it. IF we give her the benefit of the doubt that she honestly doesn't know, when the MOD tells her, she will likely be very apologetic, while those who have been doing it all the time become hostile and possibly create a scene @ the store

I know some stores would not apprehend shoplifters caught in the act, such act may be comparable with shoplifting using coupons but if they have a policy to let them go, nothing we can do about it. I know most store management staff are disappointed about this policy but their hands are tied and it is ironic that it is the store staff that get reprimanded by corp once these people complain

[cortneymt]

It must have been J'aime.

I don't have the guts to say something, but I would like to!

[savcoupon]

Originally Posted by rputalonis

I am new at this and am totally confused to as why the computer dont pick up on this kind of stuff ? i have been hearing about the "BEEP" and always figured thats what it meant using the wrong q or whatever. i would think that especially now and how high-tech everything is that something like using the wrong q's wouldnt fly. can somebody help me understand PLEASE


TIA
Rob P & Val W.

You can't go by the beep to tell you if you are using coupons properly or not. Read the coupon. I see so many people complaining about cashiers "scrutinizing" coupons but that is part of their job. They are supposed to verify the expiration date and make sure the correct product is being purchased. Many people just intimidate the cashier by insisting "Just scan it and see if it works."

If you educate yourself on coding and know a tiny bit about register programming it will be very easy to understand why some coupons that are being used properly "beep" and others that are used improperly don't.

I normally don't go into any more detail because so many people use the knowledge to scam. If they are motivated to find the info for themselves I can't do anything about that but I'm not going to spoon feed it to them.

[FrugalFolks]

WOW! Let the cashier handle it because its their job. Cashiers have a tendency to overreact in these situations. It could be an honest mistake. She could have ordered those coupons from a service and just did not read them as closely as you were watching her purchase. It happens. If you tell the Manager or the Cashier, they could overreact and try and have her prosecuted. I have seen this and had this happen to me and the cashier was WRONG! I was right. I say, do you in the store and let companies like CVS handle their own business.

[Jakejake]

In my view it's everyone's job to help prevent crime. Yes, the cashier has the main responsibility, but if I watch someone shoplift and hold my tongue, I become an accomplice to some degree.

On the tv show What Would You Do? there was an episode where a scammer spilt water on the grocery store aisle and "slipped" on it so they could sue the store. The hidden cameras were watching the customers to see which ones would speak out so management wouldn't get falsely sued. I would want to be the person who spoke out, not the one who watched a con artist commit a crime and was afraid to get involved.

[Anst1976]

Originally Posted by FrugalFolks

WOW! Let the cashier handle it because its their job. Cashiers have a tendency to overreact in these situations. It could be an honest mistake. She could have ordered those coupons from a service and just did not read them as closely as you were watching her purchase. It happens. If you tell the Manager or the Cashier, they could overreact and try and have her prosecuted. I have seen this and had this happen to me and the cashier was WRONG! I was right. I say, do you in the store and let companies like CVS handle their own business.

I agree with you.

[jtfan08]

I have casually mentioned to cashiers before how to tell if a coupon has been copied if someone is using a big stack of IPs in the same transaction. She had no idea and was grateful and did not know that. Not the same situation, but similar, as I have seen with my own eyes fraud of that nature in the store I shop at.
I wouldn't have said anything to the customer in your situation. IMO she already knew she was in the wrong.

[savcoupon]

Originally Posted by Jakejake

I wouldn't be confrontational, I'd strike up a conversation as if I was curious about the deal she was getting. "Hey, I got one of those tide coupons too but I didn't realize you could use it on the trial size, somehow I thought it was only for the big ones. I'm so used to the high value coupons saying excludes trial size I didn't even think check that one." (loud enough for the cashier to here)

Perfect!

[mjzzyzoff]

Originally Posted by Jakejake

In my view it's everyone's job to help prevent crime. Yes, the cashier has the main responsibility, but if I watch someone shoplift and hold my tongue, I become an accomplice to some degree.

On the tv show What Would You Do? there was an episode where a scammer spilt water on the grocery store aisle and "slipped" on it so they could sue the store. The hidden cameras were watching the customers to see which ones would speak out so management wouldn't get falsely sued. I would want to be the person who spoke out, not the one who watched a con artist commit a crime and was afraid to get involved.

You're assuming the customer is intentionally doing this, whereas I would assume an honest mistake. Yesterday I mistakenly used two of the Honest Tea coupons in a single transaction. I had no clue there was wording on them that stated "One per customer" and "one per transaction" until I got home and saw a post about it. Oops. The wording was off to the side and in the normal spot it said "limit one per product purchased". Seems to me the three are sort of contradictory and honestly I did not read the coupon closely at all since the website (recyclebank) let me redeem my points multiple times for the same q and print them I assumed there was no issue.

This makes me think I would be much more receptive to someone asking about how I was getting such a deal, rather than sneaking off to a manager or confronting me outright about it.

[joshmamabear]

although cashiers are suppose to check the coupons used for items bought, I don't blame them if they are intimidated by customers to just K1/press enter to override. I've seen a lot of customers who got their way by sheer intimidation, even store management just shakes their head and let customers do it just because they were making a scene and threatening to call corporate.

even if cashiers are trained on how to spot misuse, if they are not backed up by store management or corporate, we can't blame them to let it slide. if corporate maintains a policy of not rewarding wrongdoing, then store personnel may be more confident doing their jobs.

M2C.

[sunshine32118]

I would keep my mouth shut and mind my own business. Like others said, it could have been an honest mistake and it's up to the cashier to notice things like that.

[sle061276]

thanks for the input. I am not a confrontatational person so I am not usually one to say anything. I know that I have made mistakes using coupons before so it could have been a matter of her not reading the whole coupon. You're also not supposed to use 10 P & G q's in the same transaction anyway. I think the best idea would be what Jakejake suggested, thanks for that! Another thing I might would do if it happens again, if she has a coupon binder then she probably shops there a lot (unless she is from somewhere else and just happened to be stopping by that store) We only have one CVS and the employees know me pretty well so I could mention it to the cashier to watch for her in the future, if she's a regular there like I am

[snippinitup]

Originally Posted by joshmamabear

although cashiers are suppose to check the coupons used for items bought, I don't blame them if they are intimidated by customers to just K1/press enter to override. I've seen a lot of customers who got their way by sheer intimidation, even store management just shakes their head and let customers do it just because they were making a scene and threatening to call corporate.

even if cashiers are trained on how to spot misuse, if they are not backed up by store management or corporate, we can't blame them to let it slide. if corporate maintains a policy of not rewarding wrongdoing, then store personnel may be more confident doing their jobs.

M2C.

Just as we have seen on national tv very recently!!

BTW joshmamabear you better be wearin' those boots when you are out couponing!! LOL!

[savcoupon]

Originally Posted by sunshine32118

I would keep my mouth shut and mind my own business. Like others said, it could have been an honest mistake and it's up to the cashier to notice things like that.

If it's an "honest mistake" then they will keep making it until someone points it out to them. Someone making an "honest mistake" should not get their panties in a twist if someone educates them.

It is normally the scammers that have a conniption when they are called out, their behavior can neither be called "honest" nor a "mistake".

[joshmamabear]

Originally Posted by savcoupon

If it's an "honest mistake" then they will keep making it until someone points it out to them. Someone making an "honest mistake" should not get their panties in a twist if someone educates them.

It is normally the scammers that have a conniption when they are called out, their behavior can neither be called "honest" nor a "mistake".

True.

from what I've seen and read here, those who make honest, sincere mistakes are apologetic when you point it out to them nicely,

while those who have already planned it out become hostile when someone tells them they are not doing it the right way. these are the people to watch out for because will likely run amuck when they they feel threatened.

[sargentkr]

Originally Posted by rputalonis

I am new at this and am totally confused to as why the computer dont pick up on this kind of stuff ? i have been hearing about the "BEEP" and always figured thats what it meant using the wrong q or whatever. i would think that especially now and how high-tech everything is that something like using the wrong q's wouldnt fly. can somebody help me understand PLEASE


TIA
Rob P & Val W.

Coupons will beep sometimes when they are used wrong. However, some coupons are programmed to work on any item in a particular brand. For example, even though the coupons says "XYZ" cookies, they will also go through without beeping on "XYZ" cereal or chips. The coupon specifically says what they are for and you should follow that but for some reason they program them more generically than other coupons so they will still work. I have not personally ever understood why they code them that way instead of programming them to only work on the items they are intended for. Some people can "read" the barcodes so that they know what items the coupon will work for. This is something the cashier should be able to catch but realistically when someone hands them 50-100 coupons it is hard for them to read each one of them. Some cashiers do not care but some cashiers just trust that we are giving them valid coupons.

[sle061276]

most of the cashiers here do not question a coupon unless it beeps then they may read it. There is one cashier at Rite Aid here that stands there and reads every word of each coupon and its like she is trying to find a way to reject it but for the most part they dont even look at the coupons especially if you have a handful of them

[ElainaNV]

Originally Posted by Jakejake

In my view it's everyone's job to help prevent crime. Yes, the cashier has the main responsibility, but if I watch someone shoplift and hold my tongue, I become an accomplice to some degree.

On the tv show What Would You Do? there was an episode where a scammer spilt water on the grocery store aisle and "slipped" on it so they could sue the store. The hidden cameras were watching the customers to see which ones would speak out so management wouldn't get falsely sued. I would want to be the person who spoke out, not the one who watched a con artist commit a crime and was afraid to get involved.

That show makes it blatantly obvious that the person is intentionally committing a fraudulent act. A little old lady with wrong coupons at the counter CAN be innocent or ill informed.

J'aime was INTENTIONALLY committing a fraudulent act because we all have seen her coupons, her purchases, and numerous videos as evidence. Thousands have attacked her for it, and she's still doing it... That, as well as someone spilling water in an aisle is definitely something to speak-up about...but the coupon thing isn't, IMO.

I would never do this, but if I did have wrong coupons for purchases in my hand and someone pointed me out and put me on blast, I would be absolutely humiliated. No one deserves that, especially if you don't know if it's intentional thievery.

[sigmasal]

I think everyone has a right to their own opinion and should do what they feel comfortable doing in that situation (some are too shy to speak up, some aren't). But with most situations in my life, I have learned that karma works....it seems whenever I see someone taking advantage of "the system" (coupons or otherwise), being a bully, cheating others, etc....sooner and often later, but almost always, karma comes back to bite them in their A$$. I just keep minding my own business and let Karma do its thing .

[phoenixjean1]

Honestly, in that situation, I would have said nothing to the customer. I'm not a very confrontational person. I usually try to get things fixed after the fact, as in writing an email, speaking with someone afterward, etc.

At some of my stores, all the employees know me, and would probably say something like "she used almost as many coupons/got as many deals as you did." That would open up a way for me to say something.