topic Re: Grocery Store Visit in Community Chat

Grocery Store Visit

bcherry01 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 04:01:54 GMT

This just baffled me and annoyed me. I always use self-checkout. Yogurt on sale 10 for $10. Some had stickers on them for .75 cents off/some .50 cents off. I checked the dates and they were the same as the others. Just certain flavors that were not selling maybe. So I bought four of the ones with stickers. I'm checking out and removing the stickered coupon for each one. When I'm done I have to give the coupons to the assistant. Well I got scolded in front of all within earshot. Was told I shouldn't have removed the sticker because it said (in print so small you would need a super magnifier to read it) "void if removed." So I apologize and said it was my fault for not reading it and that would be OK if he could not give me the value of the coupon. "No, no ... I'll do it this time but I should make sure not to do it again." Then he adds "I watched you take them off so I guess I can honor it this time."

OK you put me through your shaming for what???? If you were watching me remove them, why didn't you tell me at that moment."

Just makes me wonder about a person's motivation.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

hckynut — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 04:10:33 GMT

@bcherry01

Were some yo-yo call me out like that? He would wish he hadn't. Don't care what store it was, but whomever manages it would hear from me. They wouldn't listen or care? There are plenty of other stores that would appreciate my business, and treat me as such.

hckynut

Re: Grocery Store Visit

CAcableGirl2 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 04:21:45 GMT

I would have been speechless. What would the harm be for him to tell you that there was no need to remove them (for next time), and just throw the ones that you handed him away.

If they are meant to stay on the product, they have no way of confirming if you had the coupons or not, so afer he gave you the discounts, he should have just tossed them. Maybe since they were for different amounts, they had to be for certain items, and once removed, he wasn't able to figure out which ones they came off of?

Re: Grocery Store Visit

qvcaddition — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 04:36:37 GMT

The store in town, big super market, doesn,t change the reg. To the sale price on a lot of items.

I finally had it, and stopped my checkout , took the bag boy to each item that was mispriced in my checkout. Fortunately, I only got sale items, because I would have a hard time checking everything. I do not do a big shopping at this market.. I go to Trader Joe,s for my weekly or monthly shopping. Never a mistake on their register.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

Goldengate8361 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 09:29:38 GMT

Some people are just not very bright. He was clearly rude. Best to just let it go in one ear and out the other - if you can (when things like that happen). I know it is easier said than done in the situation. I may have just fired right back at him myself.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

aroc3435 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 10:30:17 GMT

@bcherry01 Well, that isn't the way you want your shopping experience to go.

I'm with @hckynut on this issue--I would quietly let the manager know that as an innocent shopper I don't appreciate a public scolding.

Makes the case for me that self checkout is more trouble than it is worth and I don't/won't do it.

And, supermarkets can't afford to lose customers with their low profit margin and, at least in urban areas, LOTS of competition to capture their loyalty.

aroc3435

Washington, DC

Re: Grocery Store Visit

candys mine — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 10:52:02 GMT

sorry you had to deal with that. I agree I'd take it up with the manager and I would make quite sure I told them that their Employee Admitted to watching you doing the coupon thing the wrong way and instead of Helping you quietly, He chose to make a public example of you. Management needs to know because if that employee could do it to you he could bully other patrons too.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

SeaMaiden — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 10:53:51 GMT

@bcherry01 WOW....that was so unnecessary to scold you in public like that over such a thing. So unprofessional. He needs a talking to AND a new job NOT working with the public. 🙁

Re: Grocery Store Visit

SloopJohnB — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 11:49:55 GMT

@bcherry01 wrote:
This just baffled me and annoyed me. I always use self-checkout. Yogurt on sale 10 for $10. Some had stickers on them for .75 cents off/some .50 cents off. I checked the dates and they were the same as the others. Just certain flavors that were not selling maybe. So I bought four of the ones with stickers. I'm checking out and removing the stickered coupon for each one. When I'm done I have to give the coupons to the assistant. Well I got scolded in front of all within earshot. Was told I shouldn't have removed the sticker because it said (in print so small you would need a super magnifier to read it) "void if removed." So I apologize and said it was my fault for not reading it and that would be OK if he could not give me the value of the coupon. "No, no ... I'll do it this time but I should make sure not to do it again." Then he adds "I watched you take them off so I guess I can honor it this time."

OK you put me through your shaming for what???? If you were watching me remove them, why didn't you tell me at that moment."

Just makes me wonder about a person's motivation.

@bcherry01 If I was admonished like that publicly, I would have probably just left all my groceries right there and walked out. Granted, that would have been juvenile on my part and it would be "cutting off my nose to spite my face" since the items were a good deal, but sometimes it's just more fun to take the low road once in a while. "Clean up on register 7".

And not for nothing but I have left a cart full of groceries when I had a problem at a certain store. I left the items for the surly employee to deal with and put back on the shelves. Not that I'm proud of that, but sometimes the customer IS right. 🤦

Re: Grocery Store Visit

Pearlee — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 12:54:30 GMT

@SloopJohnB wrote:
@bcherry01 wrote:
This just baffled me and annoyed me. I always use self-checkout. Yogurt on sale 10 for $10. Some had stickers on them for .75 cents off/some .50 cents off. I checked the dates and they were the same as the others. Just certain flavors that were not selling maybe. So I bought four of the ones with stickers. I'm checking out and removing the stickered coupon for each one. When I'm done I have to give the coupons to the assistant. Well I got scolded in front of all within earshot. Was told I shouldn't have removed the sticker because it said (in print so small you would need a super magnifier to read it) "void if removed." So I apologize and said it was my fault for not reading it and that would be OK if he could not give me the value of the coupon. "No, no ... I'll do it this time but I should make sure not to do it again." Then he adds "I watched you take them off so I guess I can honor it this time."

OK you put me through your shaming for what???? If you were watching me remove them, why didn't you tell me at that moment."

Just makes me wonder about a person's motivation.
@bcherry01 If I was admonished like that publicly, I would have probably just left all my groceries right there and walked out. Granted, that would have been juvenile on my part and it would be "cutting off my nose to spite my face" since the items were a good deal, but sometimes it's just more fun to take the low road once in a while. "Clean up on register 7".

And not for nothing but I have left a cart full of groceries when I had a problem at a certain store. I left the items for the surly employee to deal with and put back on the shelves. Not that I'm proud of that, but sometimes the customer IS right. 🤦

@SloopJohnB Yes that would have been cutting off your nose to spite your face. I probably would have forgotten about it by the time I started my car and drove out of the parking lot.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

CrazyDaisy — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 12:58:28 GMT

Have been told that before. When coupons are only good for specific items clerk must remove them. Otherwise people would just go around pulling off coupons to use on what they want ...which might be different than intended. Now you know and will be more careful next time.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

Group 5 minus 1 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 13:07:03 GMT

This happened to me in Goodwill. I was so angry I asked for help from the manager.

Think it is lack of training. In our area there are so many signs for help wanted.

No excuse for you being treated this way.

That person that I had the to do with later (few weeks) went to lunch and never came back.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

Trix — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 16:16:08 GMT

@bcherry01 I can agree that perhaps the store associate used the wrong tone with you, so I can't excuse that. However, it's possible that store management comes down hard on staff who are lax with honoring removed coupons (or any other concession to customers that may be a slight bend of the store's policies). Maybe this associate has had this kind of issue before and handled it differently only to be reprimanded by management. Just saying, there may be another side to the attitude of the associate you would not be aware of.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

San Antonio Gal — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 13:44:11 GMT

@bcherry01 - Go online and report it. There should be a place on their website. I did this once and received a call back from an regional supervisor.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

bcherry01 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 13:55:33 GMT

I didn't want to create more of a scene. I am a person who will generally brush it off and let it go, but I always feel like I should address things more and not hide from it. In this case It just really bugged me that I didn't do more for myself. Didn't want to get him in any trouble but I do feel this up-and-coming newer employee needs a lesson on customer interaction.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

Melzie — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 13:56:54 GMT

I may be wrong but it seems to me that when you are at a self checkout you are, essentially, the cashier. You scan the item, you process the coupons, you handle the payment, and you do the bagging. The attendant is there to make sure people aren't bagging things they haven't scanned, to help if there's a computer issue or the computer doesn't recognize a ligit coupon, and to help if you run into a problem with the price of an item ringing up differently than what is on the shelf or on sale.

At the self checkouts in my area that's how it is. You don't have to hand anything to the attendant as the computer asks you if you have coupons and, if you do, you scan them and put them in a slot and the coupon amount shows up on the computer screen as processed. If it's different in your area and if you were being observed doing the wrong thing then you should have been approached as you were doing it, not after the fact, and certainly not be admonished publicly as you were. Shame on that store!

Re: Grocery Store Visit

Pearlee — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 14:28:43 GMT

@Melzie wrote:
I may be wrong but it seems to me that when you are at a self checkout you are, essentially, the cashier. You scan the item, you process the coupons, you handle the payment, and you do the bagging. The attendant is there to make sure people aren't bagging things they haven't scanned, to help if there's a computer issue or the computer doesn't recognize a ligit coupon, and to help if you run into a problem with the price of an item ringing up differently than what is on the shelf or on sale.

At the self checkouts in my area that's how it is. You don't have to hand anything to the attendant as the computer asks you if you have coupons and, if you do, you scan them and put them in a slot and the coupon amount shows up on the computer screen as processed. If it's different in your area and if you were being observed doing the wrong thing then you should have been approached as you were doing it, not after the fact, and certainly not be admonished publicly as you were. Shame on that store!

@Melzie Not all self checkouts are they same. Where I live they vary by store. process. Live in a large city. At our largest grocery chain we still gave to hand coupons to a store employee to pricess.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

Melzie — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 14:35:10 GMT

@Pearlee wrote:
@Melzie wrote:
I may be wrong but it seems to me that when you are at a self checkout you are, essentially, the cashier. You scan the item, you process the coupons, you handle the payment, and you do the bagging. The attendant is there to make sure people aren't bagging things they haven't scanned, to help if there's a computer issue or the computer doesn't recognize a ligit coupon, and to help if you run into a problem with the price of an item ringing up differently than what is on the shelf or on sale.

At the self checkouts in my area that's how it is. You don't have to hand anything to the attendant as the computer asks you if you have coupons and, if you do, you scan them and put them in a slot and the coupon amount shows up on the computer screen as processed. If it's different in your area and if you were being observed doing the wrong thing then you should have been approached as you were doing it, not after the fact, and certainly not be admonished publicly as you were. Shame on that store!
@Melzie Not all self checkouts are they same. Where I live they vary by store. process. Live in a large city. At our largest grocery chain we still gave to hand coupons to a store employee to pricess.

Ah! Did not know that. Thanks for that info as it's different here. Still doesn't seem right to embarass a customer who wasn't aware of that store's policy or that they were doing anything wrong.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

MOMMAVik — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 14:45:47 GMT

You did nothing wrong. It should've been clear to that employee that you weren't trying to misuse those coupons. I get that working with the public can be difficult but employees must be professional. The store manager needs to know about this.

Re: Grocery Store Visit

Sage04 — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 14:46:55 GMT

@bcherry01 wrote:
I didn't want to create more of a scene. I am a person who will generally brush it off and let it go, but I always feel like I should address things more and not hide from it. In this case It just really bugged me that I didn't do more for myself. Didn't want to get him in any trouble but I do feel this up-and-coming newer employee needs a lesson on customer interaction.

@bcherry01 I would have said, What´s wrong with you? you watched me doing this and you didn´t say anything? And I would have felt better