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

Rave

TeamMCS wrote:

Can I just say this to all of you, you don't only risk yourself "obtaining goods by deception"

Utter, total BS. If Tescos choose to accept vouchers as payment then there is no way in hell a court would convict the shopper of obtaining goods by deception. Forged notes, yes- but vouchers are clearly vouchers and there is no effort to deceive if a customer hands them to a cashier.

... But you risk the job of the cashire.

It's cashier- would have thought you'd know that if you worked in a supermarket:rolleyes:.

When I've been one of the managers along the checkouts, you'll find the cashire is happy to run through coupons (mainly because they know its nice to have a few quid off) and rarely second guess however I've seen people pulled of the checkouts and given a final warning for running through invalid coupons.

Well, if the supermarket in question has a clearly defined coupon policy which is clearly explained to every member of staff, then that's fair enough. If that happens at Tesco though (and you don't say whether you're referring to Tesco or one of the other supermarkets), then since they obviously don't have a clearly defined coupon policy they're guilty of exceptionally bad employment practice as well as extremely poor customer service:mad:.

Twopints

wallace wrote:

I trust you will do a proper job and get Tesco's side of the story as well?

They seem to be strangely reluctant to give it.

Well we're all still waiting to hear it. For some reason they don't seem to have replied to Igloo yet. Probably trying to make their response as helpful as their coupon policy - i.e. say one thing but then leave it up to someone's discretion to ignore and do something else.

I'll be interested to see what they do say, as they have had time to think up a pretty good response by now.

Still waiting.....

Twopints

wallace wrote:

Unfortunately the mentality of some people is that Tesco MUST be punished and that it is our duty to exploit them as much as possible. As said already, such selfish behaviour simply spoils it for everyone else.

I have a sticker somewhere - it says "Screw the banks before they screw you". Now where did I get that from ?

Yes, I know Tesco is not (yet) a bank but does money saving not apply to Tesco?

thepearce

Twopints wrote:

I have a sticker somewhere - it says "Screw the banks before they screw you". Now where did I get that from ?

Yes, I know Tesco is not (yet) a bank but does money saving not apply to Tesco?

They do Credit cards, loans, mortgages & savings........that's close enough for me

ben500

What all the critics fail to recognise here is that Tesco lure customers into its stores with such policies as the coupon redemption and refund and replace then fail to deliver when required to do so.

If Tesco were advertising a free tv with every purchase over £50.00 and you went in and spent your £50 got to the end of the transaction and the cashier announced "Oh no you don't actually get a free tv we just say that to get you to come in and spend your money" there would be an uproar! there is no difference here they lure you in with a promise and change their mind when you ask for the promise to be fulfilled any other organisation would be ripped apart for such actions.

waaag

Hi Igloo - its taken me two days to read all of this!! I think you have been treated really badly. I hope it all turns out well for you.

In the meantime did you know that ASDA accept Tesco vouchers? (I must stress I aren't anything to do with them, just a satisfied customer) Infact ASDA are better all round in my opinion, and I have never had any problem with my vouchers being accepted in there either, I cut out as many as I can and use them all. I notice recently TESCO were featured on Watchdog for I think falsely claiming low prices and customer relations, (I was only half watching it!) maybe someone can put me right here. I believe ASDA have a wider choice and in their reductions cabinet which I always make a bee-line for, it is considerably cheaper than TESCO. I only use TESCO if its an emergency (though for me they are much nearer) and then I'd only use their economy label stuff. I would sell my story to a magazine and not go in ever again, personally. Those two staff sound hideous, when probably they've previously held positions of being in charge of the medicine ball cupboard in the school gym or something similar..... Hey just thought of this one - what about going on the Jeremy Vine show on radio 2! I could just imagine....a real 'heated debate'!!! TESCO would have their chance to answer then..and it would be interesting to hear what they had to say wouldn't it! I wish you all the very best, Igloo, keep smiling!

Roger_Rampant

Can I just say this to all of you, you don't only risk yourself "obtaining goods by deception"... But you risk the job of the cashire.

When I've been one of the managers along the checkouts, you'll find the cashire is happy to run through coupons (mainly because they know its nice to have a few quid off) and rarely second guess however I've seen people pulled of the checkouts and given a final warning for running through invalid coupons.

..Infact it happend the other day to a friend of mine, he now only has his job by the skin of his teeth. I understand that everyone wants a good deal but your taking the !!!!!!. You damage sales, companies then stop offering certain promotions etc etc..

Its really a vicious circle....

This is one of the most mis-guided posts that I have seen for a very long time.

1) Nobody is obtaining goods by deception (except possibly you could argue that Tesco are obtaining goods by deception from the manufacturer)

2) No cashier is given any sort of warning for accepting coupons. My wife is a cashier at Tesco, and has tackled the checkout manager about the fact that she is being told now not to accept more than 10% of the total sale in vouchers (for goods that haven't been purchased). Her till flashes up a message not to take more than 10%, but she is aware of this thread at MSE, and aware that head office have confirmed you can pay 100% in vouchers. She has been told to stick to the 10% limit, and if challenged she is to call over a supervisor to deal with the query. So - with all due respect - you haven't seen anyone pulled off a till and given a final warning. If your mate is about to lose his job, it won't be because of that

3) People are acting in accordance with what Tesco head office say is acceptable, if Tesco management see it as "taking the !!!!!!" they should publicise a new and stricter policy

4) We're not damaging sales, Tesco shifts more products, it's just they aren't necessarily the same products that certain manufacturers would like it to be

5) It's not a vicious circle. Tesco have had this policy in place for nearly 30 years. If it was as disastrous as you imply, do you think they would have done it for so long?

thepearce

Apparently I have a(nother) letter in the post regarding the coupon policy. Hopefully this one will leave any reader (i.e. tesco store staff) with no doubt as to the policy. If it has anything useful I will post it. Basically I have asked for clarification / rewording of the parts of the usual letter that state

"we are happy to accept one even if you have not bought...." (my embolding).

...and the part that says the store manager has discretion for the use of [internet] coupons.

These are the parts that are constantly argued with / cause confusion.

The fact that I have been trying to get this (simple) issue sorted since March (with a gap where I gave up) gives a clue to how clear this is (communicated).

ben500

Nice rant Roger couldn't have done it better myself!

wallace_3

Roger_Rampant wrote:

2) No cashier is given any sort of warning for accepting coupons. ... So - with all due respect - you haven't seen anyone pulled off a till and given a final warning. If your mate is about to lose his job, it won't be because of that

And with all due respect to you, there is no way you can possibly know that. Tesco have more than 1,000 stores in the UK, and (regardless of what Head Office says), each store seems to have its own policy.

What one cashier can get away with in one store might result in a warning from another if the store manager is more strict.