Be kind to retailers

I have owned retail businesses for the past ten years, so I tend to see things somewhat from that perspective.  One trend that I have noticed is that customers seem to be getting more and more aggressive when trying to save money.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with trying to save money.  My wife is turning into a expert coupon user, and I really like that.  But some customers are going way too far.  They have no qualms about trying to force retailers into situations where they will lose money.

Here are some things I am noticing:

1) Misuse of coupons.  Retailers and manufacturers often have numerous coupons out on the same products.  It is practically impossible to keep up with rules regarding how they can be combined with each other and with other specials the store might be running.  Some consumers do their best to take advantage of ambiguity to get products at ridiculously low prices. 

2) Abuse of sales people.  I do not handle customer calls as a rule at my business.  I am glad I don’t because I would not have the patience to deal with some of the rude ones.  Most of our customers are great, but we would like to get rid of some of them.  They call and try to use four coupons for the same product and then start yelling at the sales person who tries to explain to them that they can’t do that.

My wife says that some shoppers at the grocery store will hold up the line for 15 minutes arguing about a 50 cent coupon.  That is disgraceful.

3) Misunderstanding about errors and misprints.  No retailer is lawfully required to sell products at an advertised price if it is due to a mistake.  It blows my mind that customers get so mad when retailers refuse to sell a TV for $9.99 because it was mistakenly listed that way in an ad.  There is a mindset that the retailer “owes” them the deal.  That is rubbish. 

Customers need to remember that retailers need to earn a living.  They cannot do that if they are always selling products at a loss.  There is a fine line between trying to get a good deal and taking advantage of a company.

Chick-fil-A is a company that allows customers to take advantage of them.  They clearly print terms on their coupons but allow customer to blatantly break them.   They take expired coupons; they take coupons that are for other locations; they take multiple coupons on the same order.  It is fairly easy to get your food for a ridiculous price and they will smile at you when you take them to the cleaners.  But I won’t do it; Chick-fil-A deserves to make money just like everyone else. 

And by the way, though Chick-fil-A is very liberal in this area, that does not make companies that actually follow the rules on their coupons bad.  Chick-fil-A prices their food at a level where they can afford to have customers abuse coupons.  Many retailers would go out of business if they took that approach.

In this Christmas season, don’t let your zeal to get a good deal create a win-lose situation where retailers are losing money on your business.  Pay a fair price.  Use your coupons but use them in a way that you would want them used on you if you were a retailer.