Archived Stricter enforcement of Coupons

[seahawksdude]

So my store is getting REALLY strict with coupons (which I think they should've been doing all along). At our store now, guests can only use a max of 10 coupons per transaction and now especially if the guests who traditionally would coupon, we first have to look at all of their coupons and determine what is valid (obviously no trial size). For the most part it's going well except for the few people who said "but you've taken these coupons before" and etc.. Our Ap told us that if the screen pops up for accept anyway or decline, decline unless it's clear they have the correct item or items. Sorry for the long post. But besides that, wondering what other stores policy on coupons is or if they're doing anything like this?

 

[paidtosmile]

I wish we would start doing this. Everyone just does K1 without even looking at the coupon anymore, and nobody is doing anything about it.

 

[thetargetman]

Our Target is not so strict, we are pretty lenient now and using good judgment with a guest who may be trying to use 1 coupon over the limit. I just wish all target stores had a universally accepted and enforced coupon policy.

 

[ZombieGurl]

did this come down from corporate? my store we are supposed to make the guests happy #allguestsallthings lol... do whatever you can to say yes! so within reason we dont even bother worrying about coupons just accept accept accept

 

[Retail Girl]

I think this is a horrible idea. You can clearly tell the difference between someone legitimately using a lot of coupons and someone clearing the shelf to be a pain in the ass. If someone is legitimately using a lot of coupons, they need to just take them. It will increase sales more than limiting people and pissing them off.

 

[bullseyekindaguy]

So my store is getting REALLY strict with coupons (which I think they should've been doing all along). At our store now, guests can only use a max of 10 coupons per transaction and now especially if the guests who traditionally would coupon, we first have to look at all of their coupons and determine what is valid (obviously no trial size). For the most part it's going well except for the few people who said "but you've taken these coupons before" and etc.. Our Ap told us that if the screen pops up for accept anyway or decline, decline unless it's clear they have the correct item or items. Sorry for the long post. But besides that, wondering what other stores policy on coupons is or if they're doing anything like this?

Our store allowed most coupons, even trail sizes even when the coupon excluded them. STL's reason? The $1 we would lose *IF* they audited the coupon is less then 'the impact of a red survey score.'

Having said that, I'll bet this goes away as soon as surveys go red.

 

[seahawksdude]

Thanks for the input guys. Especially at my store they would clean the shelves or buy like a ton of giftcards for restaurants or other things and return all their items and get a giftcard so they could buy something at target. Trust me, I know when someone uses alot of coupons to save vs clearing an entire shelf or something.

 

[BaristaChick16]

I'm actually fairly confused. My store accepts pretty much all coupons, including expired ones. (A gstl had a lovely talk with me one day as I was backup cashiering and had no idea with a guest yelling at me)... I'm really surprised some stores are so strict while others are very lenient

 

[Bosch]

We have been told to use our best judgment, not be a part of fraud. So I can live with that as a rule to go by.

I don't take expired, sorry but there are enough stores that you could have used it in for the six months it sat in that binder. When I see enough stuff to know they cleaned the shelf I call the GSTL and he/she will bag while I ring.. So he/she kinda knows what rang through and watches the coupons as I scan them. So we can just figure out then and there.

 

[BullseyeBabe]

I read some of the coupon blogs and the biggest complaint is how inconsistent policies are at Spot. It's not just from store to store. It's more, who is working that day and what kind of mood they're in. I understand the need to give a bit of leeway due to individual circumstances, but I think a clear, consistent policy would be helpful.

 

[ZombieGurl]

I read some of the coupon blogs and the biggest complaint is how inconsistent policies are at Spot. It's not just from store to store. It's more, who is working that day and what kind of mood they're in. I understand the need to give a bit of leeway due to individual circumstances, but I think a clear, consistent policy would be helpful.

i agree with them . they should stick to the policy or change it. I in no way condone all the scamming that some people do with coupons but you cant keep changing the rules and it makes it harder on cashiers and gstls..etc

 

[BullseyeBabe]

Yes it does. I think one of the reasons they started,"Be Bold" was because coupon shoppers started flooding the corporate offices with letters, phone calls & emails. I cringe when I read about the attitudes of team members & the way some treat people using coupons. I've read it here in this forum and I've seen and heard it in my store. Coupon fraud is a legitimate concern, but not every guest with a coupon binder is trying to cheat us.
Retailers have been fined and there have been lawsuits about coupons. How long before manufacturers get fed up with paying the full value of a coupon to the retailer when they intended that to go to their customers?

 

[AssetsProtection]

Got so many complaints we just take them all now.

 

[3LetterDevil]

I had a guest who tried to give me $5 off coupons on some contact solution with the expiration dates clearly "torn off" (why do I always get these & why are they always so blatantly obvious?). I told her I couldn't accept them & she started to flip. Of course, the contact solution was on sale, had a $5 gc when you bought 2, & would have basically been "free" if I had accepted the coupons. I told her the coupons weren't "valid" ANYWHERE without expiration dates & she finally said "fine, then just throw them away!" She still bought the items & I later picked the coupons out of the garbage & scanned them...gee, guess what? They were expired! Big surprise there!!! It just amazes me how stupid people think we are! Oh, and, of course, she wanted to check out at pharmacy "because the lines up front were too long" (at 8:45? Suuuurrreee they were....). Sometimes I think they do it on purpose because they think we are less diligent...we are probably MORE diligent at pharmacy because we are TRAINED to look for "fraudulent" stuff, like fake scripts

 

[Barcode]

I read some of the coupon blogs and the biggest complaint is how inconsistent policies are at Spot. It's not just from store to store. It's more, who is working that day and what kind of mood they're in. I understand the need to give a bit of leeway due to individual circumstances, but I think a clear, consistent policy would be helpful.

You can't really fault the store or gstl... There IS a clear cut coupon policy, that many GSAs would follow; however we are told to constantly make exceptions due to vibe.

That is why it is inconsistent, because spot won't let us actually enforce the policy.

When these exceptions are made, it basically sets a new standard for how people use coupons at Target and think it is OK, making the policy irrelevant.

I personally think proper coupon use is a good thing, less loss to Target since most people never used coupons anyway. Now that they know they can abuse coupons, more people will use more.

 

[Retail Girl]

We had a guest come up to us at guest service last night, said she had some shopping to do, but had a couple of coupons that had expired on the 30th, would we still take them? It was us three GSAs standing up there talking, and of course we vibed it up and said yes. The guest left happy, Spot will still be reimbursed, it results in more sales for us.

But it also results in confusion for the cashier, the guest, and everyone else the guest tells, which will result in a bigger headache down the line. Fine fun.

 

[Barcode]

I have no problem taking them all, if I am directed to. Less crabby people to deal with that way = Winning

 

[TargetMitchell]

Coupon fraud is a legitimate concern, but not every guest with a coupon binder is trying to cheat us.

This. I've been couponing for over 5 years and feel that scammers and unethical coupon users make legit coupon users look bad. I carry a portable version of a coupon binder, and for a while, a lot of store employees would roll their eyes or make rude comments when they saw me coming into their lane. They would also ask if I'm "like the people on Extreme Couponing." Um, no, I'm not a hoarder. I can manage to bring my total from $250 down to under $5, but I don't spend hours in one store, or commit coupon fraud. Those questions have stopped though.

The Target stores in my area are not strict about coupons, but they do not accept any expired coupons. I have no problem with a cashier checking to see if I purchased the correct item.

 

[thetargetman]

I honestly do not care if a person uses a lot of coupons as long as they are not expired or going to give a guest overage (I always adjust the coupon value if it is over so the item is free). There is one lady who used to come 10mins before close and buy a cart worth of cleaning crap and she would slowly put her stuff on the belt and slowly give her coupons... we all hated her. When she came to me I looked at all the coupons and then I scanned them. I didn't care if it was 20 mins past close or not I was not going to let her get away with her crap. the first time she did that I waited for her to leave and when she was out of the store I angrily said "JESUS CHRIST!" and my GSTL was not upset with me and she told me I did the right thing by looking at the coupons and not accepting ones that were wrong. This woman has not been to our store for years because she knows she cant pull her crap here.

 

[lurker]

We accept expired coupons, but don't tell the couponer who leaves her expired coupons all around hba!