If you’ve couponed for any length of time, chances are you’ve had at least one time where things didn’t go as planned. Maybe your coupons didn’t scan, maybe you shared an unpleasant exchange with a cashier (or even manager), or maybe you were chided by other shoppers.
Yesterday I received an email from Coupon Project reader, Jaime:
I went in, two kids in tow, thinking I was spending maybe $30, and our grocery budget is very tight for the remainder of the month. I should start by saying that the store employees were all very nice to me.
However, my first transaction began with me thinking (seriously) that the grocery and the coupon totals were going up with every coupon, not down. (I may be losing my mind, but I swear that is what I saw!) So they voided out the entire first order and redid it while the people behind me waited (and I stood there totally embarrassed, but also not willing to pay for a huge mistake!) All said and done, that first transaction was $44. My second was $6 and my third was a measly $1.08, which made me happy…..but at what cost!
I spent $20 over my budget, the entire trip was extremely stressful, the check out was even more taxing, and then, we get into the car, and my daughter starts screaming that she lost her dolly’s hat in the store. Meanwhile, the lady who was behind me walks out of the store to see that she has parked right next to my car and she starts laughing. At this point I almost started to cry, but I sucked it up. :) I feel like I should never show my couponing face at Albertson’s again and that I have done wrong by our community. So awful! Please tell me this happens to everyone at least once……..
What encouragement or advice do you have for Jaime? Have you ever had a time when you felt very discouraged about a shopping trip? If so, how did you get over it and decide to stick with couponing?
{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
I personally have felt my face go red, as i stand and have the cashier recheck the pricing, start an order over or switch the light on and announce a price check.
In todays economy we all have to pench pennys, and if for some reason someone is not attempting to save then shame on them.
Do not be sad or down about a shopping trip.
Sometimes we will have those days, but in the end you saved
so much money that now your family can have a decent meal on the table and you didnt break the bank.
if someone had dropped there money in the check out line they would have stopped everything to find it.
Coupons are just the same, they require thought, organization and
a little creativeness to make it all work.
seperate transactions are needed at times, and my own kids who are teens used to fight me on helping me with it, but now see it as an oppertunity to save money.
Keep up the good fight! chin up and dont give in~!
I have had similar shopping trips. Once I had messed up and picked up the wrong sized package and was waiting for an employee to bring me the correct size. The person behind me was making jokes about Extreme Couponing on TLC (which wasn’t a fair comparison because I wasn’t buying that much) and to top everything off my 2 and 3 year old boys were sick of waiting and screaming and trying to climb out of the cart. It was so exhausting I didn’t coupon for a month. Sometimes couponing feels like a sport.
I have had similar things happen numerous times. Coupons I used at rite aid yesterday wouldn’t scan, so she called the manager, who had her enter them manually, he left, then at the end of the transaction it prompted her for another manager approval.again wait 60 more seconds for him to come back. I turned twice to three lady behind me and apologized. I had one more transaction to do, but chose to go to ruhr end of the kind because the people behind me had waited so long. Then the second transaction went just about as bad as the first. But, in the end, I got stocked up on organs we need for a pretty good price. I would say it happens to everyone. My best advice is forget about it and get back on the bike.if you have a friend who also coupons, do it together and leave kids in the car while you take turns going in to three store. Taking kids out of the situation helps a ton!
Don’t let them get you down! =-O and in all honesty, who care what other people think. That is wasted energy
besides they aren’t the ones paying your bills.
learn from this experience, see where you went wrong in the first transaction and remember it for next time.
I’ve had a few trips not work out how I wanted to, ranging from angry beeps, uneducated cashiers, totals not coming to what I thought they would be and nasty looks from the folks behind me. But I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything, I think thy help you become better and more efficient in the couponing world
Hang in there! And good luck on your next trip!
I absolutely happens to all of us!! I know I’ve personally had a few trips where I thought for sure that I was never ever going to do this again! I didn’t care what I was saving I was so frazzled and upset that it didn’t really matter at that point. But, when you get home and you unload your goodies & check out your reciept you’re reminded of why we go through all the craziness!! My motto has always been that savings are savings, no matter how small! It’s true! Even when transactions haven’t gone our way odds are that we still saved waaaaay more than the impatient customer that was standing behind us in line
. Just remember, when it all seems to be going sideways (bad cashier, bad customer, etc.) you’re doing something that you believe in!!! Don’t let anyone take that from you!!
I always think of the same thing I do when I’m on vacation “I will more than likely never see any of these people again so don’t worry what they think” and then add “while I’m couponing” or “while I chose to wear a bikini” lol. Chances are you will remember that one cashier for a long time but they will forget about hundreds of customers overnight! Don’t get discouraged!
I think I’m queen of negative shopping experiences, but the one that takes the cake was a trip with my four children in tow, ages 6, 5, 4, and 2. Bringing four young children to a shopping trip that took over an hour WHILE trying to juggle tons of the tiny pieces of paper known as coupons was an absolute nightmare. To top it off, not only was my 2 year old crying the entire trip, this old couple cut right in front of me in the checkout lane and they had TWO CARTS full of stuff. I had maybe 30 items
So, by the time it was my turn to check out, I was spent…and I certainly was in no mind to get attitude from the cashier, but she ignored my flustered/panicked appearance and decided to give me a hard time about everything. People started whispering, and finally a lady behind me starting smarting off to the person behind her about coupon users. So, I turned around and said “Well, if you’d rather not sit and wait for me to check out using my coupons, which takes only a few extra minutes, then how about next time YOU pay for my groceries…via a food stamp card! How does that sound? I use coupons to spend what little income we have in the best way we can and to stay off food stamps. We certainly qualify for food stamps, but if there is a way for me to be a productive member of society rather than a drain, then I’m going to take that route. So, which would you prefer? Food stamps or coupons?” She had nothing to say, and everyone in line (and the snotty cashier) was speechless. Finally one person piped up as I was leaving “Well, she does have a good point.”
Ever since then, I’ve made it a point to not shop with my youngest child if I can help it. She stressed me out, and no one likes the sound of a crying baby. I also am more organized as I go through the store, which does help even WITH a crying baby in tow. I have my photo albums (they’re small, top load, 36 sheet albums so i can keep them in my purse) and I pull coupons and put them in to separate purchase envelopes as I go. I also hand the coupons to the cashier one at a time so they don’t forget any, and I make sure they are scanned. I’ve received compliments since my horrible shopping trip about how I’m one of the most organized couponers that comes through the store. If there is a dispute about a coupon, I typically do not buy the item and I’ll try again later. Depending on the size of my trip, it takes me anywhere from 1-4 minutes to check out with coupons. I think the key is to be organized and don’t be afraid to ask questions about policy, why a coupon isn’t accepted, etc.
Way to stick up for yourself!!! Love that someone had your back on that too.
way to go christina!!
I have also had those trips and needless to say they can make you want to give up and throw your coupons in the air.
The majority of the time I have to go shopping with my 3 kids (4 months, 2, and 7) so you can imagine how fun that is lol. Luckily I’ve never had a bad experience (couponing…kids at the store are another story lol) but I’m extremely organized ahead of time so I will know my total ahead of time and if its Albertsons during ttv’s I separate my transactions into envelopes and write on the front the total. If its fruit and veggies in there I estimate so I know what my total should be close to and have all the prices listed for what I’m buying so I recognize a mistake on the receipt. Sometimes I notice mistakes on the register but wait until I’m done then go to customer service so I’m not holding up a line and have them fix it, its stressful enough without adding to it. I also go first thing in the morning usually at 8 theres nobody in there and don’t have to worry about someone being in line behind you.
like the envelope idea. Thanks!
I’d say don’t worry about it. As a cashier has said to me, “Don’t worry about how long it takes, I am getting paid to be here anyway.” And as for customers in line behind, Albertson’s says they will open up a new line if more than 3 are waiting. So if they’ve got a delay with running your order, it is really on them to open up a line and check the others out, not on you. You did nothing wrong.
Well said!
Oh, Jaime-Big hugs!
I think we’ve all had moments of feeling embarrassed at the store-with or without coupons. I remember one time one of my boys ate part of a fruit snack wrapper without me noticing and actually starting gagging in the checkout line until he spit it up. Hello? Worst mother ever: Aisle one!
Oh, and just yesterday I screwed up a deal at Walgreens and ended up paying money for toothpaste, of all things. I haven’t done that in years-lol.
I do suggest trying to shop without kids whenever possible. I know that’s really hard, but even when mine are well behaved, I end up getting distracted and screwing up. I also like to shop when the store is likely to be less crowded, so I don’t have to worry as much about the shoppers behind me or the checkers getting stressed.
If I’m on a really tight budget, I’ll sometimes take along my calculator and tally as I go. You might also try doing really small transactions so that if something rings up differently than you were expecting, you can catch it easily.
As far as the cashiers go, it’s their job to help you, and all of the cashiers I’ve talked to over the years have assured me they’re totally fine with couponers. They just don’t like Any shoppers who are rude or break rules, but you weren’t doing either of those things.
The woman behind you? She was probably remembering days of shopping with her own little ones, or maybe just laughing at having one of those days. I got stuck behind some woman last week who was writing an out of state check for 10.00 over and trying to use a new i.d. Now That was annoying!
Having said all that, if it makes you feel better to shop somewhere else for a couple of weeks, or just take a coupon break, go for it! There are plenty of other ways to save, and sometimes a little breather is just what you need.
I Do hope your daughter found her dolly’s hat.
^^ Sorry that turned into a novel, Angela.
I guess I have way too much experience with this topic!
I have four kids ages 10, 6, 3, and 8mo. Three of them boys. I have atleast one grocery stop from hell a week (Walgreens being the worst). I just remind myself that this is only ONE DAY of our lives.
Oh and a week ago they knocked over a full display in fredmeyers. Fun.
)
My kids have nearly done that on several occassions – though not yet! EEK! That sounds really stressful!
I got married and had both my kids young and I was always very shy about using coupons, or if an item scanned the wrong price requesting a price check. I’ve gone through the check out line and paid with coupons, cash (& change) debit card and gift card all in the same transaction and I’ve gotten the mean looks and heard the sighs and it used to bother me…but NOT ANYMORE. Why? First of all, because I realized that I’m an important customer too and if I need a price check, if I have to do multiple transactions or use 100 coupons and the people behind me don’t like it, they can either pay for my stuff, go to a different lane or keep their mouth shut. I don’t even look back at them anymore. Secondly, it doesn’t bother me anymore because I know I’m about to get cereal for $1 and they are probably going to pay full price…LOL The end result where I get to save my family an insane amount of money and get an insane about of product is motivation enough to keep on going. I try not to shop with my kids but it’s hard not to sometimes. I’ve been in the store where my 2 year old is screaming, face red with tears and my 7 year old is complaining about everything, coupons go flying, stuff gets thrown out of the buggy. Then I get home and my purse has coupons, cash, receipts, crackers and who knows what else stuffed in the bottom…Now I have my 7 year old help me by pushing my 2 year old around in his stroller and my 2 year old gets to have a snack while we’re shopping to keep him occupied. My 7 year old pretends his brother is in a race car and he enjoys being out now and if he’s good in the store, he gets a treat at the end!
Yes, I have had those trips. Once a cashier wouldn’t even scan my printed coupon because she didn’t think it would work. She thought it was fake. I only had 2 of the coupon and live it a town of all of 17,000 people. It’s not like we have a big issue with fake coupons here. And, we shop there at least 3 times a week, so they know us. She finally scanned it at my insistence and low and behold it scanned. I’ve never had a coupon that didn’t. Embarassing? You bet, but, here’s how I see it. I am the one in my house responsible for making out tight bugdet work. Therefore it’s my responsibility to make it go as far as possible. You have every right to make sure you get the best deal, and if that means that they have to price check and item, so be it. Our country would be in a much better financial state if those in our government, in every political party, price checked and got the best deal possible like you do. Don’t feel bad about someone dissapproving of what you are doing. It’s none of their buisness and they can go to another line if they want. I’ve had friends like that, they’re the ones who call me to learn how when someone’s lost a job or something similar.
YOU GO GIRL!!! And do it with a smile. You’ve become a great steward of your resources. Who knew you were such a super woman of financial savings? Good luck
@Theresa…WALGREENS IS THE WORST FOR OUR FAMILY TOO! Small buggy, small isles, products everywhere within reach of grabby little hands, small store-screams echo…people stare at you like you’re a nut neglecting your kids and all you want to do is pick up a few items and get out but everything takes twice as long. LOL
I love all these comments! Thanks ladies! I actually did go in the morning, 8:30, trying to stay out of the way…..Oh well. Looking back, it seems to me that if Albertsons would simply allow you to use the doublers in one transaction a lot of my stress and their annoyances at the checkout would have been removed. I love the comment about not using food stamps….Way to Go!!! You ladies are hilarious!
Jaime, thanks for allowing me to share your story today. I hope these comments have lifted your spirits and reminded you that you aren’t alone. Please don’t give up on your couponing adventures!
By the way, Jolene, your comment about “Sometimes couponing feels like a sport.” I was seriously wiping sweat from my brow on my way back into the store to check for my daughter’s doll’s hat. It truly is a sport!
My husband jokes that summer is my off season. I stock up for a lot of what I’ve use in the summer in January. I just needed to stock up on BBQ sauce, chips and ice cream, which I did over the course of a couple months. I really only have a few months a year that I go coupon crazy, then I just have to maintain my stockpile. I can pick up a couple pantry staples at Winco or Grocery Outlet and not have to break up transactions or hand over a stack of coupons. Sometimes I get so burnt out by the “Coupon Game” I just stick with Hytop and store brand products for a couple weeks/months. If you have a “coupon injury” take a break and get back in the game when your “healed”. There will always be another deal to be had. I hope it helps to know your not alone.
Hang in there, Jaime! Bad shopping trips are just like the rest of life-there are good days and bad days. I’ve only been seriously couponing for two months and I’ve already had a few discouraging trips. I have gotten frazzled and picked up the wrong brand or size of something and then felt like a dork at the checkout. Recently, I found out after I got home that I had actually made a mistake after giving a Walmart checker a bit of a hard time. I am watching for him now when I go so I can do the right thing and apologize to him, because in my opinion grocery checkers have a hard job. Also, the people in line behind you are human just like everyone else and we are all always in a hurry and impatient. If I have a lot of price matching and coupons at Walmart I usually tell anyone who gets in line behind me so they can choose another lane if they want to. But if people say rude things just ignore them because I think they’re just jealous that they’re not saving a lot of money too.
) My best advice would be to try hard to coupon shop when you can go without your kids-perhaps trade babysitiing with a fellow coupon friend. Best Wishes!
Just yesterday, I took all 4 of mine 5, 4, 2.5, and 16 mos) to Safeway to pick up a few items with the $5 off of $15 frozen deal. I had a good idea of what I wanted to pick up, but I did have to make a few decisions at the store. Of course, the longer you’re in the store, the more antsy the kids get.
Then, I ran into a nice lady and we were chatting and I realized she’s my neighbor (making the trip divine, in my opinion). But that little encounter only added to the length of time I was in the store and to their mal-contentedness.
Then, I used the self-checkout area at my store and the $5 coupons wouldn’t scan and the gal had to come help. My kids started clawing at one another and screaming. Then I did a second transaction that also required assistance. My kids were climbing all over the cart continuing to scream and fuss and I know I was beet red.
Did I mention that this was at 5pm at the busiest Safeway in Washington?
Then, we got out to the car and my 2 1/2 year old refused to scoot far enough back in her carseat for me to buckle her in. We battled it out and I was almost in tears.
Then, I realized that one of my $5 coupons didn’t come off ($5 is a lot of money at my house too). I was so angry all the way home and for at least an hour after I got home. But, I took the time to do a little auditing of both transactions’ receipts… turns out, the first transaction took off $10 instead of $5 and the second took of $0 instead of $5. All in all, there was 1 – $1 coupon that didn’t scan. I call that a success.
Today, I’m looking around to make my lists to go to several stores since my 4 yo’s birthday party is this weekend. And I just can’t pass up cheap nor can I make more than one trip out (gas is just too darn expensive). I do wonder how much they’ll embarrass me today and whether or not I’ll pull out all my hair in the process.
Keep up the good work. It’s worth it!!!
WOW! Perfect timing on this topic! I was at Albertsons last night and they were out of the product. So the front end supervisor wrote me up a rain check and even put on there that I can use it WITH my doublers when they get the product in!! WOW!
Ok so I figured while im in the area Ill go the other albies down the street and just check to see if they had the product. And with my wonderful hubby (the official cart pusher) in tow, yes they had the product!! Tillamook cheese, now mind you Im only buying 3! I get to the line and the lady tried to accuse me of having fake/copied coupons!! I think I turned 20 shades of red with embarrassment and anger! I printed these coupons from home and work I tried to explain to her they are NOT fake! We must have stood there for 15 minutes while she called every manager and even waited for one to get off her break! Really??!! For 3 packs of cheese??!!! ahhhhhh
Meanwhile the cashier behind me is telling her to just ring it in as store coupon no big deal! Geez I should have went through her line. So what it came down to is they told me they will only use one and the rest are fakes. I was so mad, I told them to just give me back my coupons and left. I wasnt sure if I wanted to scream on the way home or cry. Im sooo glad Im not the only one with a crazy experience!
I haven’t had my coupons be questioned yet but I’d be so annoyed if it did. I have 5 different computers that I regularly print from (and access to even more).
Interesting, just had this happen for the first time ever at Alb’s tonight. Checker questioned my IP coupons and said I couldn’t use more than one, but then said he would check. Manager said, “They are all good.” Total for $17 worth of goods was $3 something. Checkers comment, “Something is not right here. You shouldn’t be able to do that.” Hmm………..I am hoping he is new and doesn’t know any better. A “Thank you. Come back soon!” would have been so much better!!
Poor cashiers…………I think they have been around forever.
yep, we’ve all had them. fortunately, my boys are old enough they can stay home by themselves, so they’ve never been the problem.
if people are fussing behind me (and not for any good reason) when i’m couponing, i tend to slow down……and i love to announce “got paid to shop today–love it!” or “I love it when i can get cereal for $.25!” or “wow! good one, huh? all that stuff for just $3!”
Oh boy, I’ve been there! I had a string of horrific shopping trips when my kids were younger that I swear could provide enough material for a 2 hour stand-up comedy routine. I even set off a silent alarm at Wal-Mart once that locked up the register and required an ID check because I’d spent over $X (I think it was $400) in a 24 hour period from one bank account. It was tax return season and hubby had purchased a video game system the day before I purchased a Kitchenaid Mixer -I swear we’re not criminals!
For a while, I retreated into an easier shopping routine because I felt myself wanting to throw up my hands in defeat and quit couponing altogether. I mean, let’s admit it…it’s not worth losing your sanity over and it’s totally okay to admit that you’re human! What I found worked for me was doing the majority of my shopping at stores that offered in-store childcare, so I centered my trips around Fred Meyer, TOP Food & Drug, and rounded out the rest of my shopping to stores that didn’t when my husband was able to be home with the kids. Now our kids are 14 and 11 and I can vouch that it does get better! They point out deals that I might’ve otherwise overlooked, help me make sure my calculations are right, and are generally making up for all of those earlier fiascos!
Go into any shopping scenario with this is mind… People are impatient, plain and simple. No matter how smoothly your transaction goes, you’re always at risk of having the random annoyed person behind you in line. However, if you have a positive mindset and are working with a cashier who has great customer service skills it shouldn’t make you want to cry. Just recently, I had a cashier sense the hostility building behind us (even after I’ve apologized for a big order) and she said “Wow, she just saved $xx with those coupons! Isn’t that great?!” and the mood was immediately diffused. It was amazing! There’ve also been times when I’ve seen that the person behind me is buying something that I have a coupon for, so I’ll pull it from my binder and share. You just never know, but that one little coupon might’ve turned his/her whole day around.
Okay, but what if the annoyed person is the cashier? Well, I always always always profile cashiers before choosing a checkout line. It may seem weird, but in my experience the younger male cashiers never ever treat me like I’m trying to steal their paycheck or commit coupon fraud. If you shop the same store on the same time schedule, you’ll begin to know which employees are the easiest to work with, as well. I also always have a copy of the store’s current coupon policy in my binder for those off times when I have a cashier swear to me that “One Coupon Per Purchase” means that I can only use one coupon PER ORDER (I had two bottles of All and two coupons…puhhhlease!). Likewise, I try to be as friendly as possible with the cashier and person bagging my groceries, knowing that their job is a difficult and at times thankless one. You’d be amazed at what a change it can make to simply mention their names and say “Thank you SO much, I really appreciate the job you do!” I know it’s not always possible to share a coupon with an on-duty employee because of company policies, but I know they shop for themselves and most likely want to stretch their dollar also, so I often plug The Coupon Project and other favorite couponing websites.
One last thing that I do as a pay-it-forward type thing because I never want to forget where I’ve come from (as mom and couponer), is to get in line behind a shopper with either WIC checks or a handful of coupons whenever I can. If I can humanly be that buffer between her and an annoyed shopper and possibly provide encouragement, I love to do it!
@Lori, I love your last paragraph. My coupon horror stories can’t hold a candle to my WIC horror stories. I work FT, and have held multiple jobs since I was 12, but my husband is disabled, so I needed the WIC, and people were just AWFUL about it. For some reason it seems like the bad economy makes people even more judgmental and less compassionate.
Agreed. I love what Lori said there! Wherever I can offer encouragement – I want to do that too!
I had a similar experience at Walmart. The cashier was new and kept having to call over someone to help her. I was very patient with her and she was really nice, but a woman 3 people behind me starting yelling at me that I was holding up the line with my “extreme couponing”. Then the poor cashier got really nervous and I felt even worse. I was not “extreme couponing”, but just had a large order and using lots of coupons…I seriously wanted to hit her with my coupon binder, but remained calm.
The rude lady told me she would just give me the money to get me out of line. I was so ticked off, but I hid it well and just turned around and told her that I highly doubted she had $200 in her purse to just give to me since that is the amount I saved. I also told her that some of my stuff was being donated and those people accreciated my couponing. And that I was sorry to cause her any inconvenience, but that there were other lines that she could go to, such as the express line since she didn’t have much. It shut her up.
I was extremely embarrassed, but I had been warning people when they got in my line that I had tons of coupons & pricematching so it wasn’t my fault that she either wasn’t listening or didn’t hear me. And I was thrilled to find out that the lady right behind me had a tax exempt order so that the mean lady had to wait again. LOL!
I try to warn people too. That makes a huge difference!
Well it wasn’t a bad trip for me but last night I felt silly trying to get a Register Reward from Walgreens for $3 and standing there waiting for these two male associates to make the Catalina machine work. I think the only reason we feel we have to hang our heads sometimes is because we don’t want others behind us to wait and have them say something about ‘that darn couponer.’ Sorry I’m not strong enough to not care what people think yet. But I did feel good when the associate said the total was $34, then rang up the coupons and said my final total was $8 bucks! I turned to the line that formed behind me and had a slick smile. The saving money part (and kinda showing off a bit) is worth the head hanging I did a few moments ago!
Exactly! If you walked away and let them keep the $3 every time a RR didn’t print, imagine how much money you’d lose in a year’s time.
It happens, and more tham likely it will happen again. Sunday was a stressful Albertsons trip for me. I decided I would give my hubby a break from watching two kids so I took my 4 month old with me, only because she was sleeping. When I put her carseat in the shopping car she woke up. She was very patient for awhile, until she had had enough, she started screaming, which made me loose my couponing concentration and i decided I had enough. All the cashiers were busy, luckily a manager (i think) open a lane and closed it right behind me, as I empty the cart with baby on one hand, the guy was nice enogh to let me do 4 transactions with doubles, I kept thanking him and apologizing the whole time, I didnt over spend but it was definetely stressful. So hang in there.
They were even trying to entertain my daugther.
I’m grateful most of the staff at the Auburn Albertsons are extremely nice.
How awesome! You should call and rave about them!
Jokes on them…they paid full price!
About 3 weeks ago, I was on vacation from work and went to Albertsons in the middle of the afternoon. I had a medium sized order, with quite a few coupon and catalina match-ups. While the cashier was scanning off my coupons at the end of my transaction, the lady in line behind me piped up and told me it would be nice if I got off my butt and got a job instead of holding up the line!!! I was SHOCKED and MAD!! The cashiers eyes got about the size of flying saucers, and I didn’t say a word, because if I did, it was NOT going to be nice, lol. When my husband got home that night, I told him about my ‘lovely’ shopping trip; he just laughed and said, that lady does not know how lucky she was that you were on vacation and your stress level is lower than normal, truer words were never spoken.
The following night, our family was at the Mariners game, and when we were leaving the game, my husband found a ladies purse laying by the tires of our car, wallet, credit cards, ID and cash still in the purse. He picked it up, put it in our car, and when we got home, he called her number and left message. The following morning the young girl and her mother came to our house to pick up the purse, and when the woman got out of her car and I saw her…..all I could say was….YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!! It was the lady from Albertsons. The look on her face when I opened my front door was priceless.
I have only been couponing for about 2 months, and I never thought about giving up because of one shopping trip gone wrong. We all have choices in life, it was her choice to get in line behind me, and in the end, two days later, I was the one who had the last laugh. = o )
Wow! What an awesome story. Thanks for sharing.
O.M.G. NO WAY!!! Now THAT is a story!
It happens to all of us. One tip I would have is try to find a time when you can leave the kids at home if at all possible, it makes couponing SO much easier and enjoyable.
I have been couponing for years and have been on both ends. There are days I will run into the store to purchase 2 or 3 items with no coupon in tow and there are others where I have about 20 coupons to use and hear the huffs and puffs behind me. I have learned to let that roll of my chest because all of my savings goes into MY pocket and not theirs! One thing I do try to do is to make it as smooth for MYSELF as possible. First, leave the kids at home! Second, I do cashier profile. The young males are the best to have a friendly conversation and they usually get happy with your savings. Third, I have all my coupons ready with the free items at the start of my belt and the top of my coupon pile. I will inform them of the free items so it makes it easier to write the price on the coupon. I try not to have more than 20 coupons just to be considerate of others. I know it takes time to scan and sometimes there are beeps, so not to stress myself out or others, I do limit myself to about 20. I do work full time and have 2 kids at home but I also really do try to only do one transaction and come back another time during the week to do a second if I must. I know standing behind someone with 50 coupons with 1 transaction and 30 coupons on another transaction is time consuming so I don’t ever do that amount at one time. I really do try to put myself in other peoples shoes and I also don’t want to cause any problems with my coupons at the store where I shop once a week. I think either way, people who don’t use coupons will always have a negative comment to make but you just have to do what is right for you. If you HAVE to do multiple transactions and use a large amount of coupons, then do it! Let it roll off and remind yourself your saving money…thats always a good thing.
I too am guilty (with no regrets) of cashier profiling. I have my regular stores…Albertson’s, Fred Meyer, Safeway, etc that I go to and I will only go to certain cashiers. I know them by name and have taken the time to introduce myself to them. I never have a problem with them UNLESS IT IS MY FAULT…wrong size product, etc. There is one guy at Albertson’s that I will never go to because he is the grumpiest guy ever. When he sees me in his line he would get this disgusted look on his face. That being said, when my wife goes through his line, he is very friendly. Go figure. Thank goodness my kids are grown up. I have NO idea how you parents of small kids do it but keep up the good work.
Jamie, I totally sympathize with you! As with everything, live and learn. Sometimes the planets just aren’t aligned in our favor or for whatever reason things just don’t go quite right. Definitely, don’t let your experience deter you from future attempts at couponing!
Here’s what you might do to help make future trips easier:
1) I know this isn’t possible for everyone, but try to schedule any complicated shopping trips -particularly those with coupons- at a time when someone else can watch your kids. I often grocery shop in the evening after the kids go to sleep.
2) Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable asking a cashier to do 3 separate transactions for me at once. That you wanted her to re-ring the first one made it that much worse. Cashiers do make mistakes, and you weren’t wrong to ask her to re-ring, but how would you feel if you were behind someone who waited in line once to do 4 transactions? I don’t have any shame with handing a stack of coupons to a cashier, but I also don’t want to be unnecessarily discourteous to others. If my coupons are holding up the line, I do go out of my way to apologize to the person behind me (and they usually compliment me on my good sense and are impressed by my savings!). It may be silly, and I’m sure everyone has their own method, but I personally don’t ask a cashier to do more than 2 transactions at a time. If I have more transactions, I go to the car, drop off my bags, and return to the store, or I’ll make another trip later in the week. I just feel that’s what I’d want someone in front of me to do.
3) STUDY your receipts, circulars, and coupon match-ups. Make sure you understand exactly how your coupons are coming off, and if possible, study the store’s coupon policy in advance (and bring with). You got flustered because your coupons didn’t have the effect you thought they would have. Try to figure out why there was such a big difference between what you were expecting to spend and what you ended up spending. Prepare as much as you can at home, before you even head to the store. Then, if something doesn’t make sense to you when you are being rung up, don’t be shy about asking- maybe the item rang up at the wrong price, or you grabbed a different item than you intended to- but don’t pay more than you want to. If it rings up too high, tell them you don’t want that item. Know the exact value of your coupons and whether they will be doubled, so that you can be sure you are credited for all of them. After you are rung up, step to the side and scrutinize your receipt without holding up the line. You can go back to customer service or to the cashier if you continue to have questions about how you were rung up, and they can make adjustments.
With practice, this will come more naturally to you. Couponing, respectfully (not hoarding and cheating) is a smart and honorable way to help stretch your money and provide for your family. I think it’s foolish NOT to use coupons. If you encounter anyone who looks down their nose at you, it reflects poorly on them, not you. Best of luck to you!!
Well said Kirsten! I personally don’t like when people brag about multiple transactions being done at the same time. I wouldn’t want it done to me , so I don’t do it to others.
I’m a newbie at couponing and yesterday the cosmetics mgr. at Walgreen’s rang me up at her counter and helped me through the whole transaction. She’s a couponer herself so she was kind and helpful. She also helped me find several items in the store. She said her new scanner doesn’t handle the manufacturer coupons well so she just deducted the coupon amounts directly. At least a few angels work at Walgreen’s.
I am more concerned about the dolly’s hat and your little daughter. I hope you found it and everyone has recovered. I live in Fairfield county, CT — you just have to live with people being none too friendly. It does not matter. Your family and loved ones are the only ones that do. I handed a $5 off $25 coupon to a man standing behind me in Petco b/c I wasn’t going to use it. Good coupon karma? He was hugely offended and let me know it. You can’t take this stuff too serious. They aren’t going to pay your bills for you. Smile and hold your head high — tell them to peace out!
All the best in the future. xoxo
Thanks Kathleen. We didn’t find the hat. But I told my daughter they will look for it and we can pick it up next time. That may or may not happen, but she’s three, so I’m hoping in a week or two she might forget (fat chance, right) but that’s life.
Remember all the times YOU had to wait for the person in front of you to write a check/get an override/do a price check/etc.? While holding up the line is embarrassing and stressful, just remember that we are all inconvenienced by others from time to time, so don’t let it bother you. The bottom line is your family’s bottom line.
I noticed that lately stores just don’t care about their customers. I have had two problems in two different Walmarts in the past week concering coupons. Both times they tried to tell me you have to go by the picture on the coupon(which I know isn’t true). Also my local supermarket, I had a cashier ring up my items twice.
I do not coupon at Walmart for exactly this reason. I tried to use the $5 off ANY Similac product coupon there several months ago. Because it had a picture of the powder, they would not let my use it for the liquid. I asked to talk to a manager but the result was the same. I pointed out that it read ANY product but they refused anyway. I went to Target and they were HAPPY to take the coupon. There was a later coupon which specifically said POWDER (or something like that) but I wasn’t trying to use that one.
Been there, done that (multiple times).
I rung out in the self-check out at Fred Meyer’s once. I had my 2 year old (who was about 19 months at the time) & I was very pregnant… The attendant took my coupons to scan & because I was so frazzled by a tantruming kid, the frustration that there was not nearly enough cashiers to handle the traffic going through that I had to scan my own groceries & add the hormones on top of that…. I forgot half my coupons in my wallet. AND MY CHANGE IN THE SELF-CHECK OUT MACHINE!
I will never shop at Fred Meyers again after that (employees who are not even familiar with their ad, rude customer serivce people refusing to go see if my change remained in the machine AND to top it off – I emailed corperate about my experience and never heard ANYTHING back!)
I’ve had quite a few “questionable” looks from cashiers when a coupon beeps or doesn’t scan…. Because I totally have time to make fraudulent coupons when I’m chasing a toddler (& now also handling a newborn!)
My husband & I pissed off a line of customers last weekend because Safeway only had ONE check out lane open (convienently with the “express lane: 20 items or less” signage over it)… So all these people in a hurry were stuck behind us as my newborn fussed, I was trying to pull out coupons & my husband unloaded the groceries…. until the assembly line hauled when we realized my oldest was missing. Oh yeah, she was about 5 check out lanes over, smashing the buttons on the scratch ticket machine.
We’ve all been there…. Best you can do is remind yourself why you do what you do. Those people don’t pay my bills. Those people don’t provide my food or cook for my family. They have no idea our situation and thus have zero room to judge: whether that be anti-couponer cashiers, grumpy people in a hurry in line or just the people in the aisles giving me dirty looks when the youngest is crying & the oldest is throwing packages off the shelves…..
Hold your head high! Couponing is hard enough without juggling kiddos on your trips & dealing with jealous spectators.
Too funny! This is what happened to me, only one check out line, children climbing out of the cart, coupons flying. Yikes. Didn’t seem to matter that it was early in the morning. But it makes me feel better to know that other mom’s also get frazzled. I will try to find a way to leave my two kiddos with someone else next time. Sounds like that is the only way to go!!
The first time I tried to show my hubby how couponing worked, it didn’t work at all! I had every purchase planned to the penny, and the store was out of most of the items I wanted, and our son knocked over a display of juice bottles that spilled all over. Then the coupons wouldn’t ring up, and the sale prices weren’t working, etc…. Instead of the $40 I planned to save, I ended up saving $2.00!
I now make my couponing trips early in the morning, when there aren’t many people around and the shelves are pretty stocked, and I do NOT take my son with me! He is a huge distraction at checkout time and has unintentionally caused me to miss lots of mistakes……
Couponing is a job for me – I’m there to get my family the items we need within the budget I have, and every penny I save is my paycheck. There’s no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed because you’re trying to take care of your family and save some money, especially in this economy. Sure, people make snide comments, especially when they have to wait in line, but I just apologize for the wait and think to myself “make all the comments you want, I’m the one getting FREE groceries!”
I keep a notepad in my coupon binder, and while I’m shopping I make notes of what store I’m at and things that work, things that don’t, advise from checkers and store managers, etc. While planning future trips I review any notes I’ve made for that store, so I can be better prepared for things I’ve noticed or had problems with in the past. I created a blank spreadsheet to use to keep track of what I’m spending, in case something doesn’t work out. I note the name of the item, quantity I’m buying, regular price, sale price (if there is one on the shelf or in an ad), store coupon amt, manuf coupon amt, and final cost. For the coupon spaces, I list $ amt/# needed/# of coupons using. (if I’m buying 4 items, and have 2 $2.00 off 2 coupons, the note is $2/2/2. Before I go to the register, I review my lists and paperclip all my coupons that go with that list to it. Female checkers seem to understand the need to save as much as I can on my grocery bill, younger men are the worst because I don’t think they understand the need behind it.
Wow, you ladies are amazing! I came looking for some advice about this because I JUST had my first bad couponing experience and am having a hard time getting over it, even though I did nothing wrong.
I just went to WalMart to get a great deal on razors to get overage (cash back!), and it was just an absolute mess!!! The cashier told us first that it must be the wrong item, and I politely mentioned that is says any except the 2 count, and she gave me some attitude right away about that. Then she told me we couldn’t get it because it would have to be a specific kind, and then my husband politely told her that the razors we picked out were actually pictured on the coupons. She called over a manager to look at them, who first of all told me she wouldn’t take two of my coupons because they looked like they were photocopied (I was trying to save ink so I just printed them in black and white!!). Then she told me I could only use one coupon per transaction (of course, the coupon says per purchase of the item, but we didn’t fight her on that because it was getting a little crazy). So then another manager and a cashier came over to see what was going on, and the same cashier told them that she thought it was wrong for us to get money back (after I showed her the coupon policy, and also after she told me she knew all about the coupon system and how it works). My husband was nicely trying to explain that it was in the policy and she repeated multiple times “I’m talking to my manager! Do you mind??!!” She just kept saying that it was wrong to give us the money, even though everything we did was right AND it was right in the store’s policy that I had in hand! One of the managers said everything was correct and had her do two transactions for two of our coupons. She reluctantly gave over the money for the transactions without saying anything to us and we left. We decided it just wasn’t worth the hassle to go to another WalMart in our area to use the other two coupons. We were both so frustrated when we left, even though we had been very nice throughout the whole process. Honestly, we would have accepted if the manager just said they would cover the price of the razors but not give cash back. I thought this was going to be a good experience to get money back, but it was terrible!!!
I definitely feel for you Jaime, and I hope that we can all move past these discouraging ordeals together. Like some other commenters said, some of us are doing the best we can on limited incomes. This is all amazing advice and I feel a lot better. I just wish I could stop thinking about it!!