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My store already has a rewards program where customers can earn points and get certificates for free gifts, but someone decided we needed ANOTHER rewards program now. So in addition to all the sales and promotions we started this past Sunday for Mother's Day (I work at a salon/cosmetics store), we also started the new rewards program. It's a pretty simple program, lots of other stores have something similar. During the promotional period, customers get a cash rewards coupon for every $20 spent in the store. Each coupon is good for $5 off a purchase of $20 or more, and the coupons can be redeemed later on specified dates. For example, we're giving them out this week (not sure exactly when the promo ends), and they can be redeemed May 14-19. Not too hard to understand, right? Unfortunately, I have some variation of this conversation with customers all day:
Me: "With your purchase today, you've earned x number of coupons, which are each good for $5 off a purchase of $20 or more, redeemable May 14-19."
Customer: "Oh, can I redeem them on my purchase today?"
Me: "No, you earned them by making your purchase today, they have to be redeemed on the specified dates, May 14-19."
Customer: "Can I use more than one at a time?"
Me: "Yes, you can use one coupon for every $20 spent." (limited to how many coupons they earned, of course)
Customer (in a very disappointed tone of voice):"Oh, I thought that as long as I spent at least $20, I could use as many as I wanted, so I could get something that costs $20 and use both my coupons to get it for $10."
Me: "No, I'm sorry, you can redeem one coupon per $20 spent, so if you spend $40 you can use two, spend $60 and use three, and so on."
Maybe I have too much faith in people, but is this really THAT difficult of a concept to understand? You EARN your coupons now. You can REDEEM them later, which I TOLD you in the first place. We are not going to just give you coupons at the register that essentially give you 25% off your purchase. The whole point of the promotion is to encourage you to come back in later and spend MORE money. Coincidentally, right after Mother's Day, because business naturally slows down then. Of course, you can't expect customers to understand that businesses want to make money, so they don't just give discounts out of the goodness of their hearts...there's ALWAYS an ulterior motive to any sale or promotion, ALWAYS.
Me: "With your purchase today, you've earned x number of coupons, which are each good for $5 off a purchase of $20 or more, redeemable May 14-19."
Customer: "Oh, can I redeem them on my purchase today?"
Me: "No, you earned them by making your purchase today, they have to be redeemed on the specified dates, May 14-19."
Customer: "Can I use more than one at a time?"
Me: "Yes, you can use one coupon for every $20 spent." (limited to how many coupons they earned, of course)
Customer (in a very disappointed tone of voice):"Oh, I thought that as long as I spent at least $20, I could use as many as I wanted, so I could get something that costs $20 and use both my coupons to get it for $10."
Me: "No, I'm sorry, you can redeem one coupon per $20 spent, so if you spend $40 you can use two, spend $60 and use three, and so on."
Maybe I have too much faith in people, but is this really THAT difficult of a concept to understand? You EARN your coupons now. You can REDEEM them later, which I TOLD you in the first place. We are not going to just give you coupons at the register that essentially give you 25% off your purchase. The whole point of the promotion is to encourage you to come back in later and spend MORE money. Coincidentally, right after Mother's Day, because business naturally slows down then. Of course, you can't expect customers to understand that businesses want to make money, so they don't just give discounts out of the goodness of their hearts...there's ALWAYS an ulterior motive to any sale or promotion, ALWAYS.
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