A few weeks ago a reader asked if I would tackle the subject of how to not be the “annoying coupon person.” When she asked it, my mind went immediately to a situation that happened a couple of months ago.
A Southern-Lilly-Pulitzer-Clad Women (who also has a blog) posted a situation she had in Target and titled it “Coupon Hell.”
She told the story of being behind a women with a coupon binder who was buying a ton of stuff and then used multiple coupons to pay for the items. The problem – tons of the coupons beeped and the checker wouldn’t accept them (similar to my Target situation) and the lady kept having to put back stuff for each coupon that beeped. Well, as you can imagine, the story was less-than-flattering for coupon users and included a picture of the women and her binder.
As a couponer and shopper, I can relate with the southern belle and the coupon-binder savvy shopper (cause I’ve been both). I’m pretty sure they were both uncomfortable. One just wanted to pay for her stuff and get out of there and one just wanted the deal to go like she had read about it online.
So how do we as couponistas guard ourselves from being written about with the title of “Coupon Hell.”
Here’s my thoughts.
Shop When it is Slow.
If you know you are going to use a ton of coupons on a shopping trip, try to pick an off time to go. Late evenings, early mornings, or after lunch are all good times to go. Right around noon, five o’clock or on Saturday/Sunday morning are a store’s busiest times and you can probably expect a couple of looks from people who just wanted to buy a gallon of milk and go home.
Be Organized.
I’ve talked about organizing your trips before, but I never step foot into a store without writing out my shopping list and pulling out/clipping all my coupons. Each store gets its own list and corresponding coupons which I paper-clip together complete with my estimated cost per store. (So I don’t go over budget.)
Extra envelope.
If the item I put in my cart has a coupon, I put the coupon in the special envelope. This way if I find an unadvertised deal, if they are out of stock of the item I want or the deal wasn’t as good as I thought – I don’t have to sift through all my coupons. The coupons I will use at checkout are all in the same place.
Regroup.
At the end of your shopping trip, take a moment and regroup in either the paper or feminine products aisle. (I pick these aisles because they don’t have any traffic.)
Double check your list, the coupons you are using, and get them in order. I usually separate the store coupons from the manufacturer and the FREE coupons from the dollar off coupon. Also, I know the number of coupons I’m using – it makes it easier to track if the checker used every coupon or not.
Checkout Etiquette.
While you are in line, allow someone with only one or two items to go ahead of you. Let the checker and/or people behind you know if you are going to be using coupons and have them out and ready to go.
Believe me, no one (including myself) wants to be behind anyone who is searching her purse for several minutes for the last $.30/3 Pillsbury Crescent Roll coupon.
Stand Your Ground.
If you are using the coupon correctly and the register beeps, stand your ground. Explain the coupon to the cashier. More times than not, they will push it through. If there is an issue, decide if the item is worth taking the time to go to customer service, if not, politely ask them to take it off your purchase.
Thank them.
If the transaction went smooth (or even if it didn’t), thank the checker for their diligent work. If the transaction took a long time, thank the people behind you for being patient. Smile – Smile – Smile.
Some people are just mad.
Sometimes you just can’t change people’s attitudes. You may have done all the things I’ve talked about and you still get grouchy looks from the checkers or rolling of the eyes from the people behind you.
Shrug it off. Until they pay for your groceries, they don’t have a right to determine how you spend your money.
And once you get in your car and get home and stock your pantry – you really don’t care anymore.
What do you do to not make it on the Coupon Hell front page? How do you deal with the eye rolling? Let me know. Leave a comment.
This is EXACTLY how I shop. I used to be alway fumbling through coupons with them falling here and there. I love paper clips, they are the best invention. I have become a paper clip fanatic, they help me stay organized. I hate to make people wait, so I do most of my shopping from home (organizing, list, knowing what I am going for). One thing I do that is not mentioned is on my list I have a check it out category – I write the item/s and the coupon amount . In a separate envelope I place the coupons to take with me so they will be handy without getting in the way.
Yep, and share. If it’s taking a LONG time (and sometimes it does @ the checkout), I look at the patient customer behind me to see if I can share some coupons with them.
Usually, they are wonderful and accepting of the small coupon gift.
Then, they pay attention to how much I’ve saved and comment on how coupons REALLY are worth it!
Good advice. I’ve found that your best chance of not holding up anyone while maximizing your chances of getting the sale items you’re matching with coupons BEFORE they go out of stock is to go when the store first opens on the first day of the sale. This obviously doesn’t work for you if you’re trying to buy sale meat and/or seafood, since they generally don’t have those items ready until several hours after the store opens.
Also, I’ve always found it helpful to bag your own groceries unless there’s a bagger already there – the cashier is always glad for the help and by bagging you’re already putting them on your side. Of course by doing this you may miss them ringing up all your coupons, so stop bagging when they start doing them. Several times my printable coupons will stick together and they won’t catch it, but I always check my receipt before I leave the store and then go to customer service to correct any errors – always now, anyway, since I’ve learned the hard way that it’s too easy for errors to show up (even some I make by forgetting a coupon) and it’s a pain to have to drive back to the store. Last week I found that Hen House’s computer system failed to give me the advertised discount for a Green Giant Steamer type, so customer service refunded the $6.53 difference in cash.
I usually have some really good coupons I can’t use (no children so I have no need for Pampers, etc, I don’t use women’s products, etc) that I bring with me to ‘prime the pump’ with the cashier – doesn’t cost me anything, I couldn’t use them anyway but it’s meaningful to them.
Finally, if there’s a great deal going on, like the current Kraft $5/5 coupon you can combine with Kraft sales, TELL them about them and how to get them. They’re not making a lot of money and they love to save like everyone else, and they’re more likely to remember you the next time and really try to help you when the dreaded beeping happens.
I’ve also found their frosty looks can thaw if you do a quick coupon match-up to some of their items. This assumes a well organized stock of Qs you don’t need, which I don’t always have, but it’s a handy bribe if you have it.
And ditto to being organized. It’s hard to argue with you when you’re efficient as you can be on your end. Sure people will try, but I don’t feel bad about my turn in line if I did all I could on my end.
I too do the paper clip thing.It helps-A LOT!! I usually don’t do very big orders/coupons,however,when I do have a lot of coupon items,I will go in and pick out so much,checkout,and repeat for the rest of my items.It may sound time consuming,but if you allow some extra time,it just makes things easier in the end.The amount of coupons are much easier to check/track and it just makes getting through checkout that much quicker…
Ahh, this is so helpful! Thank you for posting!
I also love paper clips, but hadn’t thought of the envelope idea. I am usually stuffing coupons between different fingers to keep the ones we’re using separate from the ones to save for the next trip. My soon-to-be hubby and I usually shop together, which really helps because I keep track of the list and coupons while he pushes the cart and helps find items (I hate pushing the cart!) but I know this won’t always work for us. He also helps keep me from buying items just because we have a coupon for them! 🙂
LOVE THIS POST! So well written and so right on! You rock, Kelly.
Your biggest fan, Ali