Sir, do I LOOK stupid?

[Dave1982]

This story just came back to me, and I don't think I've posted it before, so......

Had a guy a couple months ago give me a $10 off coupon he'd gotten in his email from Staples. Now, any and all online coupons from Staples will fill an 8 x 11 sheet of paper when printed out. At the top is the offer, in the middle is the coupon code and bar code, at the bottom is the fine print.

His coupon had the fine print cut off, with scissors. One very important piece of information in the fine print is the EXPIRATION DATE. I found the fact that this was missing more than a little suspicious.

Me: Sir, what happened to the rest of the coupon?

SC: It's right there.

Me: No, I mean the bottom half. It's missing.

SC: No, I just cut the coupion from the page. That IS the coupon.

Me: Um......this is a Staples email coupon. These always fill the page when printed out. Where's the bottom half?

SC: I cut it out.

Me: Well, the fine print, including the experiation date, is missing, so the coupon isn't complete. I really can't accept this.

SC: Can you just try it anyway?

Me: Well I could, but I have no way of knowing if this is valid.

SC: Fine, toss it then.

*I throw out the coupon.*

SC: No, wait, give that back

*gives it back*

He paid, then hurried over to the Service Desk to loudly complain to the girl there that I refused his perfectly valid coupon for no reason. Apparently he erroneously believed that she was somehow senior to me when she was not. Well she paged Dan, who wound up Post Voiding theorder and having it re-rung so the coupon could be tried.

Guess what? It was EXPIRED! I KNEW it! He tried to hoodwink me by cutting out the expiration date in the vain hope that I'd take the coupon anyway. And he had the nerve to complain when I didn't fall for it!

He ended up leaving without his precious $10 discount.

[Becks]

I would've assumed that the barcode would've had some info embedded in it that mentioned an expiration date. Does that make me smart?

[HawaiianShirts]

In the minds of many of our customers (I'd dare guess ALL of our customers who do not work a similar job elsewhere), we retail employees and call center employees MUST be stupid. Why else would we be in such a job?

[Lehk]

I would've assumed that the barcode would've had some info embedded in it that mentioned an expiration date. Does that make me smart?

in most cases your assumption is not correct. a UPC coupon code is supposed to include the cupon identifier on the left, and the amount/percent off on the right.

other uses can exist and standards can be broken but that will cause huge problems with compatability if the register expects to read the amount/percent off and instead gets a date code http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code


the information is available by looking up the coupon code in your database as you scan, but it should not be in the barcode itself, if for no other reason than editing a barcode would not be out of reach for scammers and other SC's especially when someone makes a program to automate it

[blas]

Come on, give the SC a little bit of credit....

At least they didn't take a black sharpie or use white out to cover up the expiration date...

Or use a sharpie mini to change the number on the expiration date...LOL.

But then again, of course they think all retail employees are stupid. It never crosses their mind that some of us are in college, have graduated college, have other jobs as well, or are super parents with smart kids. They think way too small!

[crazylegs]

I always like to point out at this point that they have just attemped to obtain property by deception AKA Fraud and if they would like like us to take this matter further then the police will be involved, ususally works quite nicely as said customer 'tends' to walk out without fuss.

Stay Safe

[wildcatgrrl]

Before I quit retail to be a SAHM, I worked for the big orange box, which gives employees a 20% coupon every Christmas. Those are the only 20% coupons the box gives, and they typically expire in April. We had several customers bring in photocopies and altered versions of the coupon, but the best one was back in August, where the customer had no clue of how to use Photoshop well. He had taken out the expiration date, and inserted an expiration date of 10/31/06. In a bolder print than the rest of the coupon. And crooked to boot-slanted uphill. Whatta loser.

[ArenaBoy]

I think your SC was in my lot tonight Dave as he said I didn't know about our layout because he's never seen me before (Dumbass doesn't know that I am ALWAYS at the North VIP and I remember faces.) What happened was he was trying to go in through our blocked off entrance and didn't bother coming towards me. I wave my hand in a motion telling him to come towards me. He asks me why that's closed off and I tell him that it has always been closed and that no one is not allowed to move the barrels. Guy calls bullshit, a small argument ensues and thankfully he knows where his spot his, his buddy then has the nerve to tell me that I shouldn't argue with a customer, classic SC logic. At that moment I laughed like the nutcase I am when he said that. Sorry for the threadjack but I swear that SC was in my lot tonight.

[Dave1982]

I would've assumed that the barcode would've had some info embedded in it that mentioned an expiration date. Does that make me smart?

Thread kick-up!

For some unknown reason, the coupon database isn't all that well maintained at Staples. I've often seen coupons work that should not work because they are expired, or the custoemr didnt' purchase the specified item. So most of the enforcement has to be done manually.

[Kiwi]

That reminded me of one of my most hated customers, she openly to my face called me a liar. When infact I was being utterly and completely honest (she just didnt like the answer)

She asked for a type of quilting aid called "sulky of america" and we were out, we were supplied it by a company that did its own restocking. We had no power to special order items from this company. I told the customer that I could take her name and number and call her when the Rep was in next and ask if they would restock it.

That wasnt good enough, she stomped off and I continued on with my work (I was down the back of the store) and then get a page from my (wonderful boss whom I miss so much) to come to the counter for customer assistance. I get there and she says that theres a product she doesnt know much about but could I help this customer....

I turn around and its miss bitch.... my boss says to the customer "this is kiwi, she is our crafting encyclopidia if she doesnt know none of us will" and the woman goes bug eyed and says "this girl said that (insert exactly what I had already told her) and I dont believe her, she just said that to get rid of me"

My boss totally stood up for me and let the lady know I was telling the truth, so the lady starts to ask me questions about the product all nice and sickly sweet and I turn to my boss and say "she called me a liar, I refuse to serve her sorry" and walk off. I was so sick to death of sucky customers that I just didnt give a crap anymore (this was a few weeks before I left). I had a boss who KNEW I worked my ass off and enough customers who asked for me by name that I didnt have time to deal with grumpy bitches anymore.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Our coupons have expirations on them but they aren't programmed into the computer at all. Any enforcement is totally up to the cashier and if a coupon is a day or two expired we can still take it if it's not worth the argument. Of course if it's much longer than that I wouldn't take it, and even at a day past I would tell the customer "sorry" in that "sincerely apologetic" tone of voice. Most of the time they'd just say, oh, ok, but if they pushed it I'd do it. Totally not worth the aggravation if you ask me.

Kiwi, we had a similar setup with the greeting cards and the reading glasses. Both are done by outside vendors. We'd get the product delivered to the store but it would stay in the back until the reps came to put it out. The only thing we did with those fixtures was straighten them at the end of the night. Sometimes we'd have people bitching because we didn't have the style/strength of cheapo reading glasses they wanted...sorry!