Worst trip to Giant Eagle because of old, nasty cashier

[jmupole1]

Went to Giant Eagle today with my mom for a lot ot things with a bunch of coupons. We went through self check out like we always do because we find it easier and my mom bags the groceries better than the cashiers do. Anyway, I knew I was going to have someone come over because of the coupons, but I never thought this woman would be so ignorant and rude. She made me feel like a thief and like was doing something wrong. I both 40 bags of Knorr side dishes, 10 Velveeta cups, 10 Marcal tissues, 7 Playtex tampons, and so on. She actually looked on the receipt to see that I bought all of these items, counting each one individually. Man was I peeved. I know some people try to get away with things, but I am not one of them. She kept telling me as she was shaking her head and rolling her eyes that if I have that many coupons again that I need to go through a regular line. First of all, it was not an express line and I think I have a right to check out wherever I want to.

Anyways, my Steeler bucks didn't print so I went over to CS. I am not usally a complainer and usually just go with the flow, but not this time. She had me close to tears because I was so mad. I told the manager what happened. I told her I shop there at least twice a week and have never felt the way this woman made me feel. The manager gave me a gift card, which I told her I didn't want because I didn't go up there to receive that, I just wanted to let them know how rude this person was. The manager said they would deal with the problem today and that if they had to they would re-train her, but she has been there forever and they probably won't do anything about it, but they need to. My husband said they need to stick her in the back stocking shelves where she doesn't have contact with people because she is not person-friendly or he said I should go through he line every time with a bunch of coupons and after a while she will take her break when she sees me coming lol...:hysterical:

You guys on here give a lot of good opinions, did I do the right thing and do I need to go even further than just the manager?

[moonbeam747]

Why do these cashiers act like were personally stealing from them? Like this is coming out of their own pocket? I swear some get off on trying to find a way to deny the coupons. If you had a coupon for each product and there on no limits on them, then you did nothing wrong! These multi-million companies put out coupons--you legally aquire them, so what's the problem?
I'm sure that you were not the only one to complian about this woman. I'm sure you wont' be the last. Sounds like she needs to retire.

[Weinergirl]

What else did she say? The only thing you told us is that she said you need to go through a regular line if you have that many coupons. What else did she do to make you feel so bad?

[jmupole1]

She actually counted to see if I bought every item that I had coupons for, she counted the 40 bags of noodles, 10 boxes of Marcal tissues, etc., the whole time shaking her head and rolling her eyes and telling me I need to go through regular check out next time. I understand people try to get away with certain things, but I don't use any more coupons than I have items for. I had bought 10 Lysol clings and she had only found 9 on the receipt when she looked. I know I had bought 10 so she had to go through and look again and she found the tenth one, the whole time huffing and puffing and shaking her head.

[jen276here]

She actually counted to see if I bought every item that I had coupons for, she counted the 40 bags of noodles, 10 boxes of Marcal tissues, etc., the whole time shaking her head and rolling her eyes and telling me I need to go through regular check out next time. I understand people try to get away with certain things, but I don't use any more coupons than I have items for. I had bought 10 Lysol clings and she had only found 9 on the receipt when she looked. I know I had bought 10 so she had to go through and look again and she found the tenth one, the whole time huffing and puffing and shaking her head.


I'm sorry you felt so insulted, but it is not unusual for cashiers to check that you purchased what you needed for the coupon. It actually is their job and they can be written up/fired for not following the terms of the coupon. Although I wasn't there - I will accept that she was probably giving you attitude about it all (huffing and puffing/rolling eyes) but her counting your items shouldn't really make you feel like a thief - she is just doing her job. I do think you have the right to go through the SCO or cashier if you feel like it though - why that is an issue to her is beyond me. I only had one attendent suggest I go through a cashier instead because of he # of Q's used and I just smiled, nodded, and ignored her! lol I think that is what you need to do here - just smile, nod, and ignore her! Then go straight to her line next time your in and have tons of Q's for her to roll her eyes at! :hysterical: Her problem if she doesn't like them - not yours! :wink7:

[cupunlvr]

Sorry you had a bad trip. It happened to me a couple of times when I was just starting out, still happens occasionally to all of us, but I can say that it does seem to happen less as you be come more experienced. I think when you know what you are doing you display more confidence and are less likely to be challenged. That being said, I have found that if I do run into a coupon attitude cashier I call it out immediately by asking in a sugary sweet voice "Is there a problem? I thought there might be by the way you were acting?" Usually that nips it in the bud! :biggrin:

[powermxpx]

It sounds like she had an attitude problem. I'm so glad that you approached the manager--that had to be tough especially when your emotions are on edge. Even when it's tough, shoppers have to stand up for what's right. I'm tired of cashiers acting like we owe them our business--because we don't! I choose to shop at certain stores and it's a privilege for them to have me walk through their doors and push a cart through their aisles. I shop for 3 households and spend thousands of dollars each year, plus I influence purchases for my business and my church who spend thousands of dollars a year just for parties alone. We have to remind stores of this because sometimes they get complacent.

Thinking about what you said, sometimes I'm skeptical about managers responses to complaints. Especially when they say, "I'll take care of it and re-train them." I've worked in retail before and I've heard managers say this, yet never do anything about it.

I think the next time a manager gives me that response, I'm going to tell them, "Ok, that sounds fine to me, but I'm going to call you in 2 days and I want to know what you've done to re-train this person so I know that I would experience the same problem again because I have friends and family that shop at this store and I don't want them to go through the same experience that I have. When is a good time for me to call you in the next 2 days?"

[faeryedark]

I'm sorry you felt so insulted, but it is not unusual for cashiers to check that you purchased what you needed for the coupon. It actually is their job and they can be written up/fired for not following the terms of the coupon. Although I wasn't there - I will accept that she was probably giving you attitude about it all (huffing and puffing/rolling eyes) but her counting your items shouldn't really make you feel like a thief - she is just doing her job. I do think you have the right to go through the SCO or cashier if you feel like it though - why that is an issue to her is beyond me. I only had one attendent suggest I go through a cashier instead because of he # of Q's used and I just smiled, nodded, and ignored her! lol I think that is what you need to do here - just smile, nod, and ignore her! Then go straight to her line next time your in and have tons of Q's for her to roll her eyes at! :hysterical: Her problem if she doesn't like them - not yours! :wink7:
Maybe too, she could break up her orders a bit and do 2-3 back to back or at least tell "ms. huffy cashier" that she'll just break up her orders next time.
I prefer SCO's because I can keep an eye and make sure things ring up the way they should and bag the groceries properly.

[hbaqueen]

Well she shouldnt have rolled her eyes ever and huffing and puffing should be left to big bad wolves....

But Im not sure why you were so annoyed/offended that she counted the items. That IS a LOT of coupons to go thru with at one time and if you went thru self check she has no idea if your buying the right things UNLESS she checks. Ive seen people commit fraud at the last Kmart doubles it definately happens. You keep saying your not one of those people BUT how does this cashier know that? She needs to check EVERY person. This stops the bad ones for ruining it for all of us.
I never take issue with cashiers double checking me because I know I am in the right and would never intentionally do anything wrong and if for some reason something is wrong its good that they help me catch an honest mistake and Im thankful for the double check. Ive had cashiers check on a coupon before that I know Im right on then appologize afterwards I always say no problem Id rather you check Id never want to do anything wrong or get you in trouble. I think once youve done this for a while you realize sometimes it may take a lil longer to check out with coupons since they may need to be double checked. I think thats a good thing it keeps people from committing fraud and ruining it for us all.
Yea its a pain sometimes to take longer when you know your in the right but I think if you go in with the mindset that it may take a lil longer youll just accept it as a fact and then when its quick and painless your happily done quicker than you thought.

Im not sure what GE you shop at but all the GEs I was ever in limit to 4 like coupons per day and only 2 will scan at Uscan before cashier help is needed. Perhaps yours doesnt have limits but it may be helpful to know what the limits on the Iscan is before you need cashier assistance.

Again she should not have been rude about it and hopefully she will get some customer service training because you shouldnt be rude and roll your eyes at customers. But I think we can all do a lot to make our own transactions go smoother too.

[powermxpx]

Well she shouldnt have rolled her eyes ever and huffing and puffing should be left to big bad wolves....

But Im not sure why you were so annoyed/offended that she counted the items. That IS a LOT of coupons to go thru with at one time and if you went thru self check she has no idea if your buying the right things UNLESS she checks. Ive seen people commit fraud at the last Kmart doubles it definately happens. You keep saying your not one of those people BUT how does this cashier know that? She needs to check EVERY person. This stops the bad ones for ruining it for all of us.
I never take issue with cashiers double checking me because I know I am in the right and would never intentionally do anything wrong and if for some reason something is wrong its good that they help me catch an honest mistake and Im thankful for the double check. Ive had cashiers check on a coupon before that I know Im right on then appologize afterwards I always say no problem Id rather you check Id never want to do anything wrong or get you in trouble. I think once youve done this for a while you realize sometimes it may take a lil longer to check out with coupons since they may need to be double checked. I think thats a good thing it keeps people from committing fraud and ruining it for us all.
Yea its a pain sometimes to take longer when you know your in the right but I think if you go in with the mindset that it may take a lil longer youll just accept it as a fact and then when its quick and painless your happily done quicker than you thought.

Im not sure what GE you shop at but all the GEs I was ever in limit to 4 like coupons per day and only 2 will scan at Uscan before cashier help is needed. Perhaps yours doesnt have limits but it may be helpful to know what the limits on the Iscan is before you need cashier assistance.


Right, everything stops for me when the cashier gets an attitude about the coupons. As far as I'm concerned, she can stand there as long as she wants and double check my coupons and compare them with the products I purchased, but when she brings out the attitude...it's unprofessional and uncalled for. It's not that difficult to scan coupons...and it baffles me why cashiers get so upset.

[jmupole1]

I understand about people being dishonest through self check out, but I have never had a cashier check the number of items I bought to see if I was using coupons without buying the item. I guess just the way she was acting really upset me. Plus a couple of times she had to re-count to see if I did buy the amount of items because she mis counted. I don't know, just made me feel like I was doing something wrong, when I totally was not. It didn't help that I had a tired 1-year-old who I had to hold the whole time she was doing this so he wouldn't keep screaming his head off. I guess I will know next time to go through regular check out, just usually easier with self check out when me and my mom both go.

[poorolrich]

There is a lot of thievery in the self checkout lanes. We have had two Grocery stores take out their self check out lanes because there was too much theft going on, including coupons, as per the csm at one store. It is very easy to rip a store off w/coupons at a self check out lane. DO NOT ASK ME HOW OR PM ME BECAUSE I WILL NOT ANSWER NOR DO I DO IT. I just know how from a friend who showed me. I don't shop with him anymore.

[sagesonamabuster]

I know exactly what you mean and when a friend suggested I try couponing that way I was appalled. I told her that was stealing and I would never do it in a million years no matter how easy it was to get away with. I have never had a bad SCO experience because for the most part I need little help. The cashiers who do come over may not speak at all but at least they aren't nasty. So sorry that you had to deal with that today.

There is a lot of thievery in the self checkout lanes. We have had two Grocery stores take out their self check out lanes because there was too much theft going on, including coupons, as per the csm at one store. It is very easy to rip a store off w/coupons at a self check out lane. DO NOT ASK ME HOW OR PM ME BECAUSE I WILL NOT ANSWER NOR DO I DO IT. I just know how from a friend who showed me. I don't shop with him anymore.

[ang0614]

There is a lot of thievery in the self checkout lanes. We have had two Grocery stores take out their self check out lanes because there was too much theft going on, including coupons, as per the csm at one store. It is very easy to rip a store off w/coupons at a self check out lane. DO NOT ASK ME HOW OR PM ME BECAUSE I WILL NOT ANSWER NOR DO I DO IT. I just know how from a friend who showed me. I don't shop with him anymore.
I will agree that that is very true, a lot of people use coupon theft through the SCO. As a manager I suggest that you give the manager that you spoke to the benefit of the doubt and let them try to take care of the problem. If you have another problem take it over their head to either the store manager or the 800 line. The clerk did do her job by checking to make sure you did purchase the items that were required for the coupons but the attitude was not necessary. I also would have suggested that you went through a regular line with that many coupons simply due to the fact that you would have been able to get out of the store faster. Sorry for the bad experience.

[RosieG]

It sounds like she had an attitude problem. I'm so glad that you approached the manager--that had to be tough especially when your emotions are on edge. Even when it's tough, shoppers have to stand up for what's right. I'm tired of cashiers acting like we owe them our business--because we don't! I choose to shop at certain stores and it's a privilege for them to have me walk through their doors and push a cart through their aisles. I shop for 3 households and spend thousands of dollars each year, plus I influence purchases for my business and my church who spend thousands of dollars a year just for parties alone. We have to remind stores of this because sometimes they get complacent.

Thinking about what you said, sometimes I'm skeptical about managers responses to complaints. Especially when they say, "I'll take care of it and re-train them." I've worked in retail before and I've heard managers say this, yet never do anything about it.

I think the next time a manager gives me that response, I'm going to tell them, "Ok, that sounds fine to me, but I'm going to call you in 2 days and I want to know what you've done to re-train this person so I know that I would experience the same problem again because I have friends and family that shop at this store and I don't want them to go through the same experience that I have. When is a good time for me to call you in the next 2 days?"

I think it is a bit presumptuous to say to a store manager. Having reported her to him, if it happens again, go over his head. But don't try to manage/train his employees.

[cathy67redhead]

I am so sorry you had a bad trip. makes the hooray go away with the money you saved. too bad they dont work for tips, they would all be nice. attitude is everything, i feel you dont have to kiss my rear, just be cordial and do your job, its what ge pays you for. too bad its not as easy to fire the bad ones, sooo many nice people lookin for work(just somethin to think about)

[powermxpx]

I think the next time a manager gives me that response, I'm going to tell them, "Ok, that sounds fine to me, but I'm going to call you in 2 days and I want to know what you've done to re-train this person so I know that I would experience the same problem again because I have friends and family that shop at this store and I don't want them to go through the same experience that I have. When is a good time for me to call you in the next 2 days?"

I think it is a bit presumptuous to say to a store manager. Having reported her to him, if it happens again, go over his head. But don't try to manage/train his employees.

Fair enough, but I don't think it's presumptuous depending on the circumstance and the store. I should clarify and say that I wouldn't do this in every case, but in some Giant Eagle stores I shop at, I wouldn't hesitate to say this at all. Some managers say "Oh, I'll retrain the employee and review this matter with them" for any easy way out to please the customer. Some managers have worse attitudes than their employees.

To be fair though, if a circumstance happened like this at my favorite store, I would trust the manager to deal with it and leave it at that. However, I think it's only fair to get a follow up on an incident if it's uncalled for. Many stores do this (Walgreens, CVS, etc) as a common courtesy without asking. I've had good Giant Eagle stores that I've contacted via email or the customer care line where a manager from the store calls me to let me know they have handled the situation and that it won't happen again.

Just my two cents. :-)