Shoppers problem. Worth complaining?

[Peachykeen2007]

phone head office

[tink42]

I am just playing devil's advocate here - I can see your point about losing out on the value of the coupon when they don't refund you all the money back and yes, they are getting the money from the coupon. But - there is supposed to be no cash value with a coupon and by giving you a full refund - you are getting cash for the coupon which is not the intent of the coupon. I also can't see how they can go and find the coupon to give back to you.

Also, if they did give you a full refund every time you used a coupon, you can see this getting abused by people who don't really want the product, just want the cash value of the coupon.

As stated, I am just bringing out the arguments that I can see from the store's standpoint.

In the case of the OP - yes, she should have been allowed to exchange it in order to realize the full value of her purchase with the coupon.

[rachel1496]

I am just playing devil's advocate here - I can see your point about losing out on the value of the coupon when they don't refund you all the money back and yes, they are getting the money from the coupon. But - there is supposed to be no cash value with a coupon and by giving you a full refund - you are getting cash for the coupon which is not the intent of the coupon. I also can't see how they can go and find the coupon to give back to you.

Also, if they did give you a full refund every time you used a coupon, you can see this getting abused by people who don't really want the product, just want the cash value of the coupon.

As stated, I am just bringing out the arguments that I can see from the store's standpoint.

In the case of the OP - yes, she should have been allowed to exchange it in order to realize the full value of her purchase with the coupon.

That's why they make you sign the address paper and certain places make you present ID. People try that all the time, if a store thinks that you're abusing the returns system they can stop taking returns from you.

I'd call but I'd start by calling the store itself, not HO.

[Cathy_D]

as per their official coupon policy...

o In the event of a return of a product in which a coupon was tendered, the
customer should be refunded the full value of the product before the
coupon. Coupons do not need to be returned to the customer.

[nessa23]

...... I guess this is a bit of a gray area.... I would be concerned about getting the coupon back, as my regular SDM always puts a big 'X' on coupons once I have given them to the cashier.
I'm thinking the way refunds are done depends how the managers train their cashiers how to handle them?
Either way, if your feeling unsatisfied, call the manager as others have suggested. Likely the only way you will feel better about the situation

[padfoot]

...... I guess this is a bit of a gray area.... I would be concerned about getting the coupon back, as my regular SDM always puts a big 'X' on coupons once I have given them to the cashier.

I only notice they do the x or cross it out when its one of their own $10 coupons... Not on the regular ones.

[nessa23]

I only notice they do the x or cross it out when its one of their own $10 coupons... Not on the regular ones.

at my store they do that for ALL the coupons I've ever given them. Whether they are supposed to or not....?

[anisa]

absolutely give them a call.

first off, she was not nice, tried to degrade you because she obviously has a bias against ppl who use coupons.

she tried to make you feel bad and that is not her job.

also what she did was illegal.

let them know what happened, they will immediately see that she was in error, and take it from there.

[anisa]

...... I guess this is a bit of a gray area.... I would be concerned about getting the coupon back, as my regular SDM always puts a big 'X' on coupons once I have given them to the cashier.
I'm thinking the way refunds are done depends how the managers train their cashiers how to handle them?
Either way, if your feeling unsatisfied, call the manager as others have suggested. Likely the only way you will feel better about the situation

the coupon is processed in their system and gone on to the next steps for processing.

manufacturer coupons are a form of payment. if i give them a crisp $5 bill, then i am refunded $5 right? maybe not the same bill, but the amount is the same

the cashier obviously has no clue about how retail transactions work, and what the company policies are.

[CrazyQT]

first off, she was not nice, tried to degrade you because she obviously has a bias against ppl who use coupons.

This statement ticks me right off. How can you assume that the cashier "tried to degrade you because she obviously has a bias against ppl who use coupons". You do know this first hand. Maybe that cashier was instructed by her supervisor to do the refund this way. The cashier could be an avid coupon-er herself. How are you to know for sure? It ticks me off that people that use coupons think every cashier's agenda is to give the customer with the coupons a hard time.

IMO a lot of times it's the people using the coupons that become rude because the cashier is doing their job by inspecting the coupons closely to ensure they are valid. Cashiers have to account for all the currency they accept from customers and this includes coupons.

Please think twice before you make blanket statements like this.

[anisa]

This statement ticks me right off. How can you assume that the cashier "tried to degrade you because she obviously has a bias against ppl who use coupons". You do know this first hand. Maybe that cashier was instructed by her supervisor to do the refund this way. The cashier could be an avid coupon-er herself. How are you to know for sure? It ticks me off that people that use coupons think every cashier's agenda is to give the customer with the coupons a hard time.

IMO a lot of times it's the people using the coupons that become rude because the cashier is doing their job by inspecting the coupons closely to ensure they are valid. Cashiers have to account for all the currency they accept from customers and this includes coupons.

Please think twice before you make blanket statements like this.

if the cashier was an avid couponer, she would have some idea on how to process a refund involving a coupon. at the very least, as a cashier she should know these things. if she is confused, she should ask her superiors. To take liberties with the amount being refunded to the customer is probably not part of their training. no supervisor would instruct a cashier to do that. it makes no sense.

Op stated "When I pointed this out, she kept talking to me like I didn't understand.". to me it sounds like the cashier is talking down to the customer. maybe she wasn't, but that is my assumption based on the wording and description. my apologies to Op if that was not the case.

[torontogal12]

I am ok with them keeping the coupon value if they had to. I actually figured she would do it. I am annoyed that I did not get back all the tax I paid because of it though. And especially that she wrote all over the receipt before asking, forcing me to deal with her then and there.

And I would have exchanged it later but I couldn't do that anymore because she wrote on it

I am just playing devil's advocate here - I can see your point about losing out on the value of the coupon when they don't refund you all the money back and yes, they are getting the money from the coupon. But - there is supposed to be no cash value with a coupon and by giving you a full refund - you are getting cash for the coupon which is not the intent of the coupon. I also can't see how they can go and find the coupon to give back to you.

Also, if they did give you a full refund every time you used a coupon, you can see this getting abused by people who don't really want the product, just want the cash value of the coupon.

As stated, I am just bringing out the arguments that I can see from the store's standpoint.

In the case of the OP - yes, she should have been allowed to exchange it in order to realize the full value of her purchase with the coupon.

[torontogal12]

I don't think the cashier was trying to degrade. She wasn't rude or anything, she handled it very well. She just kept trying to explain something that she was misinformed about (and assumed that I was the misinformed one, and kept insisting that her misinformation was correct).

She offered to call the manager but I was on my lunch break and needed to get back to work so I took the money and left (since she had already written on the receipt anyway!).

This location always has very looooong lines. Sometimes I wait half an hour in line and waste my lunchbreak there. Now that I'm not as steamed, I think if there's no line tomorrow I'll ask for the manager, if not, I'm letting it go because it's not worth waiting in the line again. Thanks for all your suggestions!

[redhdlois]

That happened to me once too......I explained to the cashier that they are being reimbursed by the mfr for the coupon, so I am entitled to the full price of the returned product...otherwise, they are getting the product back + the reimbursement of the coupon. Lightbulb then went on.

[Kerricakes]

I had almost the same situation where I used a FPC for a product that was 19.99. I had to exchange as the product was the wrong one and they did not even SELL the version I wanted anymore. SO I said I would like to return this...they said sure you can but you are not getting anything back? I was like it was just purchased yesterday...you have the coupon somewhere. They called HO after I was pissed I would get not even my coupon back? I even offered to just take the store credit and cashier said no.

HO said I could have my money fully refunded and they had to take my ID and photocopy it and get me to sign the reciept that they kept a copy of.

Turned out good in the end but was a struggle to get there....