...so I work at a salon inside a department store. This department store prides itself on having great coupons and terrific sales. Which yes, if you're on a budget it's a good idea to spend as little money on clothes while still looking decent. I am a self-proclaimed cheapskate, and I'm not ashamed of that. Before I buy something, I do everything I can to make sure I'm paying a reasonable price. HOWEVER! I realize that it is my responsibility to bring in coupons, and I don't expect coupons every time I go in to shop.
On particularly busy days at my work, I am often required to operate a cash register to help with the obscenely long lines in the misses' department. I could not even begin to tell you how many times I have gotten berated, screamed at, cursed at, you name it... for issues regarding coupons.
One lady a few months ago as I went to ring her up was insistent on getting a coupon on top of the coupon she had. Usually we have some coupons at every register for excellent customer service or whatever. This particular day I didn't have any, and she continued to rudely state that she "wanted a coupon" and why couldn't I just give her one? I explained that I didn't have any to give her, and she began to yell at me. Excuse me, lady. One: I work in the hair salon, I'm not a specialist at dealing with the cash registers and if there aren't coupons to scan I can't invent any. Two: If you were so desperate to spend as little as possible, there are always a ton of coupons online for this very retailer and you should have come prepared. Three: I CAN'T MAKE THE REGISTER DO MAGIC THINGS. I can't give you a discount just because you want it. And yelling at me? Does NOT make me want to help you or pull strings.
Another instance that happens so damn often I can't tell you a specific day is people yelling at me because they are unable to use 5 coupons at a time. This is especially frustrating to me, because there is no override. Trust me, if I could use all these coupons on the same transaction and that would make you happy and allow you to leave without cussing me out, I would do it happily. I don't like it when people are unnecessarily angry with me, and I try to alleviate as much as I can. But there is no way I can override the system to give you a ton of coupons at once. The computer system that does the transactions (lovingly referred to as the POS) will not allow certain coupons to be used together. Which makes sense, because they're trying to make money not lose it. So while I recognize you're disappointed that you can't get that $100 suit for $10, no amount of screaming at me will help you. Sorry.
Which leads me to my point. If you are so passionate about sales prices and how cheap you can get things, (which hey I understand) what else gets you so fired up? What else do you focus your energies on?
We live in a society where consuming is the norm. We consume in the literal sense but we also consume in a strongly figurative sense. The mentality of "buy more save more" is something retailers push so that you will spend more money. Those things where you get a deal if you buy more than one? If that wasn't there you'd only buy one and you'd save money. If those clothes weren't bought using a coupon, you wouldn't buy as much, so you'd save money. But hey, no one wants you to realize that. Is it because they're evil or awful? Not necessarily. They're just trying to stay in business. It's up to us as the consumers to be smart about how we spend our money. That doesn't mean buying things we don't really need or even want just because we have a coupon or it's on sale. It means analyzing what we need, how much we're willing to spend, and not allowing ourselves to browse for crap we don't need. Obviously sometimes we need to spend money on something that is purely for want purposes, but for me if I'm going to spend money on something I don't need I'd rather have it be a pedicure or doing my hair or something similar. I hate clothes shopping, because I despise browsing with no idea what I'm looking for. Perhaps that's why I'm so critical of angry shoppers, but there you have it.
My goodness, that was a long rant.
TL;DR: When shopping, carefully think about what you're after and what you're willing to spend. Don't be a jerk to the cashiers, they aren't responsible for the fact that you can't get things for practically free. Be critical of sales, and think about whether they're actually saving you any money.
So I guess that's it for now.
/end post
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