Had to choose between staying quiet or speaking up about a customer's coupon mistake at Target yesterday

I work customer service at a Target in Phoenix. A lady tried to use 3 expired manufacturer coupons on diapers, total came to $12.50 off but the system rejected all of them. I could either let it slide like my coworker said or enforce policy and deal with her yelling. I enforced it and she screamed at me for 10 minutes before leaving... was I too strict or should I have just let her have the discount? What would you do in that spot?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulschmidt1mo ago

My buddy who works at a Walmart in Mesa had the exact same thing happen with baby formula coupons. He let the lady slide once and then she came back the next week with a whole stack trying to pull the same stunt. You did the right thing sticking to policy because otherwise word gets around and everyone starts trying it.

jordan_young1mo ago

Crazy how fast that stuff spreads. Had a guy try to pull the same thing with a "friends and family" discount at a hardware store I used to deal with. One employee felt bad and hooked him up, next thing you know half the neighborhood is in there flashing that coupon code.

paulschmidt1mo ago

That thing about word getting around really hits home. My neighbor works at a grocery store in Tempe and she told me about this one guy who kept trying to use expired coupons for organic eggs. She let it go twice because he was polite about it, then suddenly three other people showed up with the same expired coupon brand. They had to get management involved and it turned into this whole thing. So yeah, you gotta hold the line even when it sucks.