Archived Coupon fraud

[Perrie]

I'm a new cashier (started about a month ago) and still on my 90 days. On my last shift, there was a lady who bought like 10 shampoos and came back to my register 5 times within an hour. She was using a shit ton of coupons and gift cards after gift cards. I don't usually check if the coupons match the items (stupid newbie mistake, but also bc I didnt want to hold up the line) so I was like okay whatever.

On the last time she went to my register, she told me that there were no more shampoos and conditioners in the shelf because she took all of it. I thought it was a joke. She also brought a friend with her, who had hella stuff and coupons as well. The LOD then informed my coworker to watch over me because they thought something wasn't right. When my coworker scanned the items and the coupons, it didn't match. She then told me that the two crazy couponers just played me dirty. I was stunned. I go through atleast two couponers each shift and who knows how many of them has fucked me over? I felt so stupid after because the lady basically stole 50+ shampoos and conditioners and I was dumb enough not to notice. Sigh.

But yeah, has anyone encountered this problem? Any tips on my next time dealing with a couponer? And will this affect my performance since I am still under my 90 days? I am so paranoid. Ugh.

 

[SnorlaxTM]

Those couponers always go after new employees/sales floor because they know that most likely they can and will get away with their fraud. This week is bound to be a doosy since we've got one of those damned HBA gift card coupons going out. So basically anyone buying more than 4 shampoos I would be weary of and contact your GSA/GSTL/LOD via phone/blinker. Just take the extra time to read over the coupons, don't worry about the line. Chances are the people behind the couponers hate them more than having to wait for you. Multiple transactions/repeat visits to your lane are a red flag, as usually Target limits 4 like coupons per day per household (but ASANTS).

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Just ask your gsa or gstl for help when you have those folks, there should be a posted sign around your station about spot reserved the right to limit quantities or something like that.

 

[champ]

What I did when I was cashier was if I identified a coupon frauder in my line, I'd ask them for the coupons of the specific item as I was ringing out the item instead of getting a pile of coupons at the end. It made it a lot easier to see which coupons were legit and which weren't. they stopped coming to me when I started doing this.

 

[redeye58]

Coupon basics:
Be wary if they have a stack of coupons
Make sure they match the items
Decline any that are expired or dates have been cropped off
The scammers will try to 'help' you by saying "Oh, just scan it. That's what they ALWAYS do..." or tell you which K keys to hit for an override. Don't let them. Play the "Sorry, but I'm new & I'm supposed to call my supervisor for help."
Limit four of each item (to ensure that all our guests have the opportunity to enjoy savings)
Flip on your blinker if you feel pressured or overwhelmed.

 

[Firefox]

It's very common. In most cases, it's either people who participate in the "Grocery Game" (or whatever it's called now) or they coupon a bunch of items and try to return them for the full value. Usually it's the latter. Be very careful, and if you're unsure, call over your GSA/GSTL to help you with it. ALWAYS read the fine print on every coupon. A lot of the time you will find that the coupon is like $5 off of a certain Mach 5 razor or something, but they are only getting these $3 disposable ones or something. If the guest tells you, "Just accept it", "Just push K1", or something similar that's a red flag.

If they are coming back to your line multiple times or are doing multiple transactions for the same items with the same coupons, that's a huge no-no in most stores. In most stores it's 4 coupons per day per household, but it may be different at your store. Some stores also stipulate that for certain sales (like with giftcard promotions) that one guest can only purchase a "reasonable household quantity", which is to say for example, 4 bottles of shampoo or something. To be on the safe side, I would advise that if you are ever handed a large stack of coupons that you call your GSA/GSTL over to make sure that everything is being done correctly, at least until you are savvy enough to be able to pick out which coupons are applicable by yourself.

 

[Kaitii]

Our store hired two new cashiers and couponers kept targeting the one who was clearly very nervous about his first day.

I noticed that one of them was doing like four transactions which hit a red flag for me, and the two GSAs (well, one was on guest services for the day but she was covering for GSA at the time I guess) were busy/break. So when I had a gap in guests on my lane I grabbed newbie's coupon box (his lane was next to mine) and started looking through it. Immediately the couponers were like "uhh why is she looking through our coupons" and were becoming visibly upset. And lo and behold, they went way over the coupon limit especially with the one in the ad for like 5 dollars off 25 or more HBA which is limited to one per person per day. They used about four. So I went back to his lane and called them out. They were pretty startled but then asked "are you the manager?" when I told them no they got their attitude and basically told me it's none of my business. Looked over to guest services and called the GSA who finally didn't have a huge line. The couponers were like "she kept dogging us and staring at us the whole time" trying to play some kinda victim and I explained to the GSA what happened and what they're doing and of course she chewed them out and defended me. They were clearly extremely pissed but hell no was I gonna let them do that.

I have hella social anxiety and any type of confrontation mortifies me (I will never stand up for myself either) but when you're taking advantage of a brand new cashier oh hell fuckin' no it is on. If someone tries to do that again, just call over the GSA/GSTL or hell ask to switch with another cashier. After that encounter if another couponer showed up at his lane I switched with him.

 

[redeye58]

^Yeh, BABY!
THAT'S getting your barracuda on!

 

[thecabbage]

There's a particularly nasty lady that does this kinda crap at our store who is extremely agressive towards cashiers and is always telling them to override because they always do it for her. One of the GSTLs finally limited the amount of stuff she could "buy" the other night and it was great seeing her squirm in anger saying that we don't follow policy (even the STL had told her before we could limit how much shit she could take) and that she was gonna call corporate. People like her are what make being a cashier much more difficult than it should be.

 

[Kaitii]

I actually had a guest try that whole "but they did it before!" thing when telling me to override something. She eventually backed down when I told her three times "they should not have done that"

We actually have the coupon policy from the Target website in our drawers now so when a couponer tries something we just take it out and point to the appropriate line. My personal favourite is:

• We reserve the right to accept, refuse, or limit the use of any coupon and/or the subsequent return of items purchased with coupons.

A common one to note is also:

• Item purchased must match the coupon description (brand, size, quantity, color, flavor, etc.).

For those guests who attempt to tell me "but it's the same brand, accept it anyways."

 

[redeye58]

Yeh, that's called "D-coding".
Manufacturers frequently use a generic code for multiple items in their product line. Scammers know this & will frequently try to confuse cashiers by giving them wads of coupons AFTER everything has been scanned & bagged. When you start looking in all the bags to match stuff up, they start moving stuff around to try to confuse you & keep saying "Just scan it - it'll work."
My fav is when they tell me that "They all work. It's OK." I'd tell them no, it's NOT okay - it's FRAUD & we don't get reimbursed.
When it reaches a point where a third of their morass is being declined, they'll usually say "Just forget it! It's taking too long!" and walk out dramatically.
I just dump everything into a cart & flag down the CA.