Extreme couponer banned from WalMart

[university]

I am willing to bet this has to do with the recording. I worked in "big box" retail for several years and we had a no camera/no recording policy in place at our store. We never trespassed anyone though based on that (usually only trespassed for stealing), but I don't know the severity of WM's policies.

 

[JUJU814]

Right. But they do accept competitors coupons. We have no way of knowing what coupons the woman in the video was trying to use. But I've read a couple of people post on here that WM does not accept competitors coupons...period. And making it seem like the woman was doing something shady. When that is not the case. We don't have enough information to determine if she was she was following WM's coupon policy or not. The competitor coupons she referred to in the video may have been for a specified price.

Well, we don't know whether it is the case or not because we don't know which type of competitor coupons she was having a fit about. However, there are very few competitors coupons that *specify a price* , at least in our area, other than Walgreens. They have specific coupons in their flyer with a definite price. The very vast majority of coupons are dollars/cents off type of coupons.

As others have said, it probably has more to do with the videotaping..and in the snips of video shown on the news, she was raising her voice and in his face with her phone. She's lucky the phone was still in one piece after doing something like that.

 

[*Seanaci*]

Based on the news video and the fact that they shop at Walmart every day, and the lady's elaborate coupon binder (exactly like the ones on Extreme Couponing and every coupon blog and website on the internet) I find it very hard to believe that she was not very much aware of Walmart's coupon policy and that as of last April, they do not take competitors coupons. It is very very clearly written, and has been posted on every couponing blog and website from here to Tim Buck Too.

Also, in the video, she was definitely raising her voice and IMO sounded kind of rude. I don't blame the manager from putting his hand up to stop from being videotaped. I mean, who the heck does that??

There's definitely more to the story, but if I had to take a guess at it, I'd say she's a problem customer and they'd just had enough of her.

Walmart changed their coupon policy back in mid April and when a store like Walmart changes it's coupon policy, it's posted on every single website in milli-seconds. And if she had her giant coupon binder set up properly, then she'd have her own printout of the policy on hand. I wonder if she hadn't been trying to work around the system.

It's extreme couponers like that, that behave so obnoxiously as to try to videotape the manager stating the coupon policy, that make those avid couponers that are trying to do it correctly and honestly look bad.

I know some say well the guy shouldn't ever touch someone else's personal property. True. But put a video camera in my face without my permission, and see what happens to your personal property.

Ditto the bolded. When I see someone flipping through a binder of coupons in ANY store I shake my head. Don't get me wrong...I use coupons...to save a few bucks every week when I shop (it adds up in the long run). But I don't go crazy over it trying to get out of there paying as little as I can. Would it be nice to hand the cashier a penny for $150 worth of groceries...sure...but in a perfect world, that just doesn't happen.

As far as the video taping goes...in some states it is illegal to record (video or auido) a person without their consent. So...if the woman didn't have the managers permission to video the confrontation, she was totally in the wrong. And I don't blame the manager for pushing the camera down.

 

[nunzia]

She could go to the Caldwell, Meridian, or Boise stores and I doubt any of the cashiers would notice. It's not like they are going to have a wanted poster with her mug shot on each register.

no..they will probably have her picture in the break area. The retail store I work at PT sometimes posts pictures of those who have been banned in there (mainly shoplifters), but long timers fill in new folks when a banned person comes in..

 

[nunzia]

Not to mention if she did get caught trespassing, Im sure she could be arrested or have some kind of consequence and it sounds like Wal Mart is putting up with her, so Im sure they would seek the hardest punishment they could get. Not worth it to shop at Wal Mart.
Im not a hard core couponer, but I do go to the same local Wal Mart, I know which people to go to and who not to, simply because some are great about ad matching and accepting coupons and others act like you are putting them out and I feel like they are looking down at me. I use correct coupons, bring in the local ads I wish to match and have been doing this since I moved out on my own in 2000. I hate that all this new "extreme coupon" crap is making it harder and harder for people to be able to do their normal shopping with a small handful of coupons.

I'm not an extreme couponer and barely use then at all, but it could be they get miffed a little because it throws their transaction time off..which many retailers track and 'coach' about.

 

[fakereadhed]

I can see that the Extreme Couponing show has had an impact on the public- a negative one!

People really react by shaking their heads when they see a coupon binder??? They assume because a shopper is organized that they are buying a billion bottles of Mylanta and paying a penny? That's really ridiculous!

Those shopping trips they show on tv are just like the other shows TLC has- over the top. Those couponers are like the Duggars. Nobody wants to watch a show about somebody with 3 kids or follow me around the grocery store while I shop. It's sensational and not the norm.

I don't use a binder. I use envelopes. It doesn't make you more of a couponer if you have one- it just shows you the organized type, like the kind who would say, make a spreadsheet for your Disney vacation.

 

[2Kds2K9]

Okay, she shops at Wal-Mart every day. How much is she really saving once she fires up that big ol' SUV and drives there EVERY DAY. Gas ain't cheap and that SUV is a guzzler!

 

[mtblujeans]

The incident at Target didn't scare me because I walked out quietly without a fuss. It DID make me embarrassed and angry and they lost a loyal shopper. I still go to Target once in a while, as a last resort, when it used to be my first choice and I'd spend hundreds in there each trip. Now I rarely spend more than $30. All over a stupid .50 off Target brand box of granola bars.

I am not an extreme couponer. I do like to use coupons and if a store doesn't want my money and loyalty that is fine with me. There is a little grocery store in our area that takes double coupons that I go to weekly. While they don't make a lot of money from me, I recommend them to everyone I know as a great place to shop with the best customer service anywhere. It is in an out of the way spot and few people know about it until I tell them about it. Maybe that doesn't matter to big box stores but I'm sure it helps the local stores.

I agree with you 100%.

 

[JUJU814]

I can see that the Extreme Couponing show has had an impact on the public- a negative one!

People really react by shaking their heads when they see a coupon binder??? They assume because a shopper is organized that they are buying a billion bottles of Mylanta and paying a penny? That's really ridiculous!

Those shopping trips they show on tv are just like the other shows TLC has- over the top. Those couponers are like the Duggars. Nobody wants to watch a show about somebody with 3 kids or follow me around the grocery store while I shop. It's sensational and not the norm.

I don't use a binder. I use envelopes. It doesn't make you more of a couponer if you have one- it just shows you the organized type, like the kind who would say, make a spreadsheet for your Disney vacation.

I'm all for organized shopping but have you seen the coupon binders we're talking about? The size of those big notebook organizers and about 5 inches thick? LOL That's not your average couponing for good deals.

Oh anyway..that's a whole other topic... to each his own.

 

[laura.anne]

I'm all for organized shopping but have you seen the coupon binders we're talking about? The size of those big notebook organizers and about 5 inches thick? LOL That's not your average couponing for good deals.

Oh anyway..that's a whole other topic... to each his own.

FWIW I use a coupon binder, but mine is only about an inch or an inch and a half (it isn't filled to capacity though lol). I can't imagine having a five inch binder... unless you had a family of 15... I switched from a coupon "book" (the little accordion folder things) to the binder because my old system was way too disorganized. But why anyone would need 5 inches of binder is beyond me...

 

[fakereadhed]

I'm all for organized shopping but have you seen the coupon binders we're talking about? The size of those big notebook organizers and about 5 inches thick? LOL That's not your average couponing for good deals.

Oh anyway..that's a whole other topic... to each his own.

Do a search for coupon binder here on the budget board. Lots of folks have collected plenty of coupons to fill them so they can do average couponing for good deals. What size and thickness of coupon system is acceptable?

 

[hannahdrewmom]

Another user of a binder. I actually find it easier to use then envelopes or carrying around coupons. When I go shopping I have a 4,3, and 1 year old with me. There is no room for envelopes or just holding coupons or else the coupons would honestly end up in someones mouth.

So sorry if you guys think i'm nut for having a binder.... personally I find myself more nuts for having 3 kids with me when using the binder! Not a whole lot of extreme couponing either... cause they give me 15 minutes to get it all done... it's more like super market sweep!!

 

[JUJU814]

Do a search for coupon binder here on the budget board. Lots of folks have collected plenty of coupons to fill them so they can do average couponing for good deals. What size and thickness of coupon system is acceptable?

Whatever works for the user I guess!

I don't know how people get enough un-expired coupons to fill a super thick one...

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

What you went thru would really scare me!!

I have had a cashier at our Target make a scene because she didn't want to take a store coupon I printed from their site. Someone, I assume a manager, came over and listened and (I guess) she decided I was not the one making the noise. I didn't realize I might be escorted from the store because the cashier was loud.

I have also had a Target cashier have a fit because she didn't want to take my coupons as she loudly declared she hated accepting coupons from customers. I don't go to her register any more.

When our Super Walmart first opened, I had a young cashier refuse to take my coupons because she said she didn't know how to ring them up. From her reaction, I am assuming she had never seen a coupon before. I left a note for the store manager asking her to train her employees on how to ring up coupons and I haven't had a problem since.

I don't understand stores having problems with taking manufacturer coupons as they get back more than the face value of the coupon.

Ok, I don't coupon so, I don't know the whole scene so forgive me if this is a dumb question. But why would an employee CARE if someone uses a coupon?? I mean, they're still making their wage, right? I mean, is there some reason an employee should get so upset by accepting a coupon? Especially one from their own store?

Seems like a whole lotta heartache over a whole lotta nothing.

 

[mtblujeans]

Ok, I don't coupon so, I don't know the whole scene so forgive me if this is a dumb question. But why would an employee CARE if someone uses a coupon?? I mean, they're still making their wage, right? I mean, is there some reason an employee should get so upset by accepting a coupon? Especially one from their own store?

Seems like a whole lotta heartache over a whole lotta nothing.

I don't have the answer. I'd guess at frustration.

Honestly, our old Walmart had a self-check lane and I could easily scan my own items and coupons and be out of there in a matter of seconds. I don't get what the problem is unless they just can't figure out how to scan coupons and it embarrasses them. I would think that making a scene at a customer should be more embarrassing than finding out how to do a little part of the job.

 

[pintamino]

Ok, I don't coupon so, I don't know the whole scene so forgive me if this is a dumb question. But why would an employee CARE if someone uses a coupon?? I mean, they're still making their wage, right? I mean, is there some reason an employee should get so upset by accepting a coupon? Especially one from their own store?

Seems like a whole lotta heartache over a whole lotta nothing.

Some stores, like Target, rate an employee based on their transaction time. Coupons add to the time, which makes the employee look "bad", and can get them lectures from their supervisors, etc. So coupons make it harder for them to fulfill what the company has defined as a standard of the job (fast transcation time). Somebody here might be able to shed more light on exactly how the Target system works.

When I worked in retail, some of my coworkers were judged on their item-per-transaction ratio. Somebody who came in and bought one shirt was a pain because they brought down a good average, which might be four or five items. Companies have their own means of tracking that consumers might not be aware of - transaction time of number of items, but it can definitely influence employee behavior because they might have to do pain in the @$$ trainings, be passed over for good shifts or promotions, or even ultimately lose their job for these things.

When I was a cashier I didn't get rated on any of these things, but I did get antsy using coupons because people would hand them at me at the beginning and I couldn't use them until the end, and I sometimes forgot.

 

[mtblujeans]

Interesting information.

 

[tkitty]

As someone who has worked "Big Box" retail as a supervisor for well over 17 years, I would say that this situation has nothing to do with the cashiers "rings per hour". Also, coupons are rung at the end and I think that only the ad matching may affect RPH. Our cashiers are told it is more important to make the cust. happy than to be fast. There are surveys off of the receipts, and getting a "10" or good rating is what they should be shooting for.
And yes, we are just having fun speculating... We don't know what happened.
I don't work directly with the cashiers, but know that they are told to "Take care of the customer" But they do start to take it personal when they feel the policy or the store is being cheated. (WalMart associates get a bonus if the store does well, and losses that are not reimbursed can affect the bonus recieved in some casses) Sometimes they go overboard, mostly because the cashiers and cust. service people are not on the same page, and don't understand the policies. Thats why having a copy of the policy is helpful when tou go to do lots of couponing. Also, I wouldn't hesitate to have a manager called if I felt I wasn't being treated fairly.
We do "Trespass" people, but it would have to be pretty severe to do this. Usually they would have to be threatening, or known to steal.
We don't know what happened truly in this case, but we all have a level of curiosity or we wouldn't be reading this.

 

[RitaE]

Well..... I'm another who viewed that and thought they could immediately save a big ol' chunk of money by not driving the SUV over to WalMart on a daily basis. And I hate to be "sizest" but my second thought is woman and man could both cut down their food shopping by a good 25 to 50% and reap the health benefits, maybe take their WalMart fund over to the local farmer's market and buy some fruit and veggies instead of processed coupon-able foods for awhile. But overall I think these people are pretty whacked, no matter what they are eating. All that and they're still worried that HE'S not going to be allowed to WalMart anymore??? Good grief, go to Kmart or something. Find a new hobby. It's Walmart, not the single path to your soul's eternal salvation.

As for why she is banned, my gut instinct is she is a real pain in the butt in the store and she finally went too far. You know, I've seen obviously living in their cars people using WalMart and their restrooms as their home base. I've seen people strung out on God knows what wandering up and down the aisles chanting to themselves. I've seen kids in the toy aisles tearing open packages and throwing the contents around....and I've hardly ever seen an employee even care much less ask somebody to leave.

I'm thinking you have to be pretty drastic to get yourself kicked out of that place.