What do you do if the cashier won’t take your coupon? I thought I would share how I handle this situation, as it does occur occasionally for me since I use a lot of coupons. An important thing to remember is to always be polite. Cashiers are usually just trying to follow their store’s coupon redemption policy, and sometimes lack the necessary training to do this successfully. Cashiers are also trying to spot fraudulent coupons, something you should be doing as well so you never have any in your coupon file.
Steps to Take When Your Coupon is Rejected:
1. Ask why the coupon you are trying to use can not be used, what is the store’s specific policy? (see my list of Store Coupon Acceptance Policies)
2. Speak to the Manager if you are not satisfied with the cashier’s response to your questions.
3. If you are told you can not use the coupon because your purchase does not qualify for it’s use, ask for the coupon back and do not buy the product at that store (unless you need it right then).
4. Contact the Corporate Office if you are unsatisfied with the response you received when questioning the store’s policy on coupon redemption (I have never done this, but have heard of other people doing so).
What if the Manager says “You have too many coupons”
This actually happened to me once at Walgreens, where I was buying a lot of items and had a manufacturer’s coupon for most of them plus a Walgreens coupon to stack on top of those manufacturer’s coupon. Of course I got a little frustrated by the comment “You have too many coupons”, but I remained polite and asked for the Manager (who was assisting the cashier) to tell me which coupons I could not use and to give me those coupons back and remove those items from my transaction. When it came down to it, the Manager did accept most of my coupons, giving me two back simply because they wouldn’t scan and he didn’t want to override them.
Remember that . . .
* The store has the right to reject your coupons for any reason, and to change their store policy at any time. Of course, you are free to file a complaint with the Manager or Corporate Office.
* Most stores want to provide excellent customer service, and I find that most Managers will happily accept the legitimate coupons that the cashiers didn’t want to accept (when the cashier couldn’t give me a good reason why they wouldn’t accept them).
* You have the option to shop at a different store if you do not like a store’s policy on accepting coupons!
Those are my tips, now let’s hear yours! I know it’s easy to rant about your experiences, but what I’d love to hear is your advice on how to handle the situation.
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