Anne-Margaret Swary Columns
Sunday, October 18, 2009
A case of indigestion

By Anne-Margaret Swary The Citizen

Sometimes the universe doesn't make it easy to do the right thing -- even something as small as trying to save money on your grocery bill.

More than once in the past few weeks I have wanted to throw in the towel in the course of my journey to curb my expenses by buying only items that are on sale and using coupons.

There are weeks when I am so busy and so tired that I cringe at the thought of having to make trips to two or three different grocery stores to take advantage of all the sales. I start to think, "So what if the cereal I like is buy one, get one?"

Then there was last week when I was sick with the flu. Grocery shopping was the last thing on my mind. I subsisted for four days on Powerade, soup and crackers, leaving my poor husband to fend for himself. Luckily, there were several leftovers in the fridge to choose from and a plethora of frozen dinners (bought on sale, naturally).

Then there were those moments where all my planning seemed to be in vain thanks to the ineptness of certain store employees. Before I go on, I should emphasize that these were isolated incidents and they were resolved. But I was frustrated nonetheless.

In one case, a cashier tried to tell me I shouldn't be allowed to use my printed coupons from the Internet. She didn't really say why, and I thrust my coupons at her anyway without saying a word. A store manager later explained to me that cashiers are wary of printed coupons because they are so easy to forge.

In this case, I think she was just having a bad day, and the line was long, and she didn't want to have to examine and scan all 12 or so of my coupons.

Still, I had gotten used to cashiers at various stores pointing with excitement to how much money I had saved on my visit. So I was caught off guard when this person wasn't equally as happy to share in my joy of savings. Wasn't she impressed that I had saved $69? Apparently not.

The height of my frustration -- a moment when I think I actually saw red -- occurred at another store when the cashier proceeded to stuff several of my coupons into the drawer unused when they wouldn't scan on the first try.

And these were no 35 cent coupons, my friends. I'm talking $1 and $2 off -- and they were supposed to be doubled.

When I asked her in my most controlled angry voice why she wasn't using my coupons, she just looked at me. I then requested she go get someone. This service desk person was able to fix the remaining coupons that wouldn't scan, but the $8 worth of savings the cashier already had shoved into that slit in the cash drawer were lost forever.

I had made a special trip to use these specific coupons on this specific day, so the fact that half of my coupons weren't even used was enough to send me into a profanity-laced tirade once I got to my car. Again, it was my poor husband who suffered when I walked in the front door and unloaded on him what had just happened. Bless his heart, he tried to look momentarily interested and sympathetic at my coupon plight, but deep down I know he was dying to turn up the TV and tune me out.

Should I be getting this upset about coupons? Maybe not. But when you take the time and effort to go through all the store fliers, make a list of items for each store, cut and organize your coupons, and find the time to go to each of those stores, it is so frustrating to be thwarted by someone who isn't well-versed in customer service.

However, there are some bright sides to this rant. In both cases, I wrote to store management with my frustrations and I received a call or e-mail within 48 hours with a sincere apology.

And you know those customer feedback Web sites printed on some store coupons? They actually work. I'm staring at a complimentary gift card for my troubles right now.

For the record, because I know what some of you are thinking, I did not point out that I write for the newspaper or make any kind of veiled threats. I just wanted to be treated like any private citizen would if they were in my shoes. I'm a consumer just like anyone else.

I would also like to thank the gentleman at the Albertsons customer service desk who attended to two errors on my receipt last week. One of the incorrect prices was their fault, one was mine (for not reading the sign carefully.) But they fixed the price in both cases, resulting in an additional $9 in savings for me.

The young man was friendly, expedient and apologetic. It was just what I needed to renew my energy in this money-saving quest.

Anne-Margaret Swary is The Citizen's business editor. Her column runs exclusively every other Sunday. She can be reached at amswary@keysnews.com.