Help! Tesco coupon policy? I've been banned!

alfgarnutz

http://www.thisisgwent.co.uk/gwent/archive/2001/05/30/news991220078ZM.html
http://www.thisisgwent.co.uk/gwent/archive/2003/10/10/news1065786345ZM.html
Have a look at the above links to see how badly Tesco treats it's customers. If you have a look at your local rag archives you will no doubt find similar instances. the answer is boycott Tescos and perhaps if their ratio of pocketing every 1 of £8 spent in the high street goes down, they may start treating customers with the respect they deserve!

bunking_off

alfgarnutz wrote:

perhaps if their ratio of pocketing every 1 of £8 spent in the high street goes down, they may start treating customers with the respect they deserve!

....they may not be perfect every time, as this thread clearly demonstrates. However, you don't get to the stage of having 1 of £8 of UK spend without keeping customers satisfied somehow.

I would also query the use of the word "pocketing". Funnily enough, when you buy goods they do actually pay suppliers - albeit there's another debate about whether sufficient - rather than just putting money in their pocket to have a party at the end of the year.

Edinburghlass_2

Leaving aside the legalities and policies of using vouchers and given that you had already been warned instore about this, would you have preferred that the manager banned you from his store while you stood at the check out with everyone about?

Originally you state that they took you in with you saying nothing then later you said that on the way to the office you told them to forget it and keep your items. Why would you say that? Did you want them to keep your shopping and all those vouchers that you bought on Ebay?

From a few posts all of a sudden we have a witch hunt on a Tesco manager and a security guard (or manager, unclear which) who chose to ask you to go to an office so they could ban you from the store. You say they would not let you leave until you gave them your card, what exactly did "they" say?

Quite rightly you didn't give your name but you know perhaps they were being polite so they could address you by name as other posters have pointed out its a two second job to pull your info from the till and check exactly what you have been spending in Tesco every day. By the same token you felt threatened by the security guard standing up after you were asked for your card. I would have thought it politeness of this person to stand up on the assumption that you were going to give it to him.

All of a sudden from the words "the security man stood up and I felt threatened" this thread has leapt into the realms of fantasy of Tesco customers being detained against their will and assaulted and lets all sue Tesco and boycott them! I'm not blaming the OP here but the multitude of posters who have blown it out of proportion.

Now the w/end has gone past, have all those people boycotting Tesco because of this actually done so? Probably not because they will have gone to see if they can pick up a bargain or two after reading several other threads on MSE

ben500

mikbruin wrote:

For whatever commercial reason the stores allows this, which presumably benefits them and us. All this discussion, and subsequent emails to Mr Leahy etc etc, is going to achieve is to get the whole thing stopped, as it will highlight it to senior management, and the coupon issuers, who will put pressure on the big supermarkets to tighten up this sort of thing.
Yes I know its company policy to accept them, but if the policy is causing so much trouble and bad feeling, i guess they will stop the whole thing. Now who will that benefit? :eek:

Tesco adopted this policy in the mid 70's there have been similar problems with their coupon policy in the past to which their reaction has always been the same, the hammer comes down for a short period of time and then the policy is gradually re-introduced as profit's are affected.

A good example of this is back in the 80's (I think 84 but not positive) the Scottish Herald ran a story on two individuals that spent a day shopping in their local supermarket and literally cleared the alcohol shelves using coupons, this wasn't even a Tesco store but brought on a clampdown from Tesco for fear of a similar incident in one of their stores it was in fact a Co-op in the north of England, that was the longest period for which Tesco steadfastly adhered to normal coupon redemption practices and depending on where you were in the country lasted for up to 18 months.

Contrasting to this regionally store managers refuse to accept coupons in the run up to Christmas, the reasons being this is obviously the busiest period of the year and they will meet their targets without them, at this time of year rather than receiving an open armed welcome from staff people redeeming coupons are traditionally treated like lepers, but this usually changes come January when the aisles are empty again and bonus is looking doubtfull.

They want your coupons, as many as they can get their grubby little hands on but on their terms.

That's fine by me because I understand the situation and will take full advantage of it as and when I can. Yes I could have chosen not to contribute and encourage others for fear of spoiling my junket, but history tells me that that fear is unfounded, Tesco are a success because of their loose attitude towards coupon redemption as much as any other aspect of their marketing prowess.

biglugs

Now the w/end has gone past, have all those people boycotting Tesco because of this actually done so?

Well I'm not boycotting Tesco - I'm just buying shed loads (well freezer loads) of Birds Eye beef to get Tesco to pay for my Disneyland holiday next spring.
Don't get mad - get even!!

chuggy0

What i ahev just read is disgusting.TESCO U SHOULD BE ASHAMED..Let us know which Tesco it is and we will keep well away.. :eek:
Hope your ok xxXXx :j

Roger_Rampant

All this discussion, and subsequent emails to Mr Leahy etc etc, is going to achieve is to get the whole thing stopped, as it will highlight it to senior management, and the coupon issuers, who will put pressure on the big supermarkets to tighten up this sort of thing.

No it won't, it will ensure that over-zealous managers don't drag customers into the office and ban them from the store for paying for a large percentage of their purchases in coupons, when their head office are confirming in writing that it is Tesco policy to accept ALL of your payment in coupons (and give change as well if necessary). That's in the interest of ALL moneysavers...

From a few posts all of a sudden we have a witch hunt on a Tesco manager and a security guard (or manager, unclear which) who chose to ask you to go to an office so they could ban you from the store.

Much as I respect you, Edinburghlass, I don't agree with you on this one. Igloo was operating within Tesco head office guidelines, so had done nothing wrong, and these members of staff need disciplining for not following head office policy. They behaved disgracefully, not necessarily because of their actions per se, but because Igloo had not done anything wrong

I would never boycott Tesco, I seem to spend half my !!!!!! life there, but over-zealous managers need to know that they can't treat members of the public like this and get away with it. This could have happened to any of us - next thing you know they'll be dragging people off to the office that are buying too many Birds Eye beef ready-meals!

Edinburghlass_2

next thing you know they'll be dragging people off to the office that are buying too many Birds Eye beef ready-meals

over-zealous managers don't drag customers into the office

Its exactly these sort of emotive remarks that have taken this thread into the realms of fantasy! Where exactly has the OP said she was dragged into the office?

As for buying Birds Eye beef ready-meals, watch out you don't have Jamie Oliver after you

hobo28

And your position at Tesco is what, precisely?

Just for the record, I don't work for Tesco's or any retailer at all.

All of a sudden from the words "the security man stood up and I felt threatened" this thread has leapt into the realms of fantasy of Tesco customers being detained against their will and assaulted and lets all sue Tesco and boycott them! I'm not blaming the OP here but the multitude of posters who have blown it out of proportion.

Hear hear! I stand up all the time, I hope people don't feel threatened by me!?!? I can just see this in court:

Solicitor: "So what did the security guard do to make you feel threatened?"
Igloo: "He stood up"

hmmmmm!

If Igloo had tried to leave and they had physically stopped her then I'd be completely on her side. We've had a trained solicitor much earlier in the thread say that it would be very difficult to prove this in court and another poster who was a policeman also commented that he didn't think it was a case of false imprisonment.

Come on guys, get real! If your honest with yourself, you all know that paying for £26 of goods with £20 of different vouchers is taking the p*ss. Not illegal but taking the p*ss.

Twopints

hobo28 wrote:

Come on guys, get real! If your honest with yourself, you all know that paying for £26 of goods with £20 of different vouchers is taking the p*ss. Not illegal but taking the p*ss.

Possibly so. However, if, as quoted by a number of posters (along with the e-mails backing them up), Tesco policy is to accept all these vouchers then surely Tesco are taking the p!ss if they then prevent customers from following their own policy?

How difficult is this ?

Tesco: "Our policy is that "X" is acceptable".
Store manager: you have just done "X" - it is not acceptable.

Someone must be wrong, and I can't see how it can be the customer.