Coupon Hater Story

[indieretailer]

Have any of you ever gotten static from other customers at the grocery store for using coupons?

I try to be considerate shopper and make a point of letting other shoppers go ahead of me at the register if I have a super big shopping and I try to warn the people behind me that I have tons of coupons.

What has your experience been with your fellow shoppers?

I recall one time when I was at a Ralph's with my toddler . The cashier was well into ringing up my order when an impatient shopper came on line and snarled ,"Hey lady, I'll give you the money your saving on those coupons if you just let me through the line now."

I said "Sure. You have $200 in cash on you!"

That pretty much got him to stop talking.

[rstlne]

Here's the funny thing. I live in an area with many coupon-users. I see people holding stacks of coupons every time I go to a supermarket or restaurant. So even if I don't know them, we have some base level of understanding about penny-pinching. It's a beautiful thing. The dark side is a few retailers, most notably Office Max, have actually moved out of the area.

[Milehimama]

I've gotten flak from cashiers before (Walgreen's is bad, so is Piggly Wiggly) but most people don't even bother getting in line behind me when they see the 2 carts and 7 children!

[jkuo13]

Heh, I have to admit that I'm one of those people who avoids getting in lines where people with two carts and multiple children are checking out. It seems like an eternity waiting in those lines when all I have is a handbasket. I figure it's easy enough for me to walk to another line and count my blessings that I don't yet have to shop for two groceries carts worth of food.

Usually, people are impressed when we check out with a lot of coupons. I've seen people get impatient and annoyed in line just from the sheer number of people shopping. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get annoyed from having to wait for a coupon clipper. I'm more likely to see someone get annoyed from having to wait for someone who's paying with a check or paying with lots of change.

[Milehimama]

It is an eternity of a wait for all involved, JK

It always makes me sad when people sigh and slam and roll their eyes at little old ladies who are counting out their pennies. Makes me wonder how they treat their mothers.

[Xin Lu]

Wow.. 7 children? That's pretty amazing.

[purplefdu]

We normally use the self checkout at the grocery store and Shaws scans almost every coupon I have without issue so I normally don't hold up anyone. If I have a bigger trip I use a regular line and figure the idiot behind me with the screaming child made their own bed and I'm the least of their worries

I don't normally let people get to me. I don't go through the quick checkout lanes, so if people are in a hurry they need to go over there and quit their groaning.

[Anne]

People are overworked these days, always in a hurry, and often irritable at the slightest delay.

I kind of think this is all related. Maybe if more people used coupons (and were more frugal generally), they could work less, and not be in such a rush in the first place.

[Tightwad]

I usually look for people standing in line with a wad of coupons and get behind them so I can see what they are buying and their coupons. Nosy that way. I used to be a Coupon Queen but got away from it because it is time-consuming and mostly overpacked products. People in line behind me are usually more interested in how much money I am saving than complain about my coupons. I always try to have everything in order and coupons are current and ready to go. I use a lot of 'free product' coupons I get from websites and points programs.

[purplefdu]

lol, I did this the other night. I saw a lady with two carts full of stuff and a coupon envelope and stood behind her with my two things. She offered to let me go first and I told her I wanted to oogle her order and savings. She just laughed and we had a nice chat about coupons and where she gets hers and I get mine while her kid talked Star wars with my husband. I got some good ideas from her and traded a couple coupons so it was well worth the extra ten minutes in line.