I was accused of coupon insert theft and need advice :(

[Sortin'ItAllOut]

HI! I am so annoyed and upset! :sad:

Today I went to GE to get 10 papers. I haven't bought any papers for awhile because money has been tight and I have gotten away from couponing. I was excited to go buy 10! (even though the coupons didn't look that great and there was no Redplum :)

Anyway....I went and stood by the newspapers and looked through every paper, took the coupons out and looked through them and then decided which papers I wanted to buy. When I went to check out the lady who bagged my groceries said that several people had seen me take the inserts out of one paper and put them in another and then put the paper back. She said that is considered theft.

I didn't do this of course. I was just so upset and I asked her 2 times to just search the papers and my bag so she would know that I didn't do that. I even told her that I would feel a lot better if she would search so she would know that I didn't steal any inserts. She wouldn't search, she said she didn't know what was in each paper anyway. She also said she wasn't accusing me of theft...well that's exactly what she did do!

I just asked her to return all of my 10 papers and my butter, and I left with nothing. I have been telling everyone about this since and everyone thinks I should have asked for a manager, but I just didn't think about that at the time.

Now I and my husband (and every one else I talked to) think I should go back and ask for a manager and explain what happened. The problem is I don't think I have the backbone to do that...I am pretty timid and I'm afraid I won't know what to say when I get there. Plus, I should have just done it while I was there and insisted that they search my papers and bag.

I just need to rant some more I guess...but also, I would love to hear other opinions!

I really want to go in there and sit down with the store manager or even the owner and tell them what happened and tell them that just because I use coupons in a big way does not make me a bad person! I have had problems at this store before.

When I first started couponing in Nov I think, I found out about the chew-eez treats and they were a money maker...well I traded for about 80 q's and kept going into this GE and getting as many as I could. It was stressful for me because in order to make the most I had to separate them into 3 at a time,and I would get 12 or more at a time! But I didn't know I was doing anything wrong (5 q limit at this store) because they let me do it....then some cashiers wouldn't let me and said no more than 5 like q's....but this q wasn't doubling and some cashiers would still let me...anyway that was my first bad experience with them--they just knew me from the start LOL!

2nd bad experience was the manwich! I did back to back transactions and 2 times out of 4 the cat didn't print so I went to customer service and the manager thought I was doing something that wasn't intended (going by shelf price instead of sale price for the cat to print) she said she was going to call corporate to get them to change it..


Wow ! I am really babbling!


1. I really want to go in there and talk to them about this and tell them that just because I use coupons I'm not some shady character.

BUT

2. I don't want to "ruin" it for other couponers by making a stink!

Please calm me down and give me advice, I need to weigh all the possibilities.

Thank-you for reading all this! I didn't proof it but I'm sure it's all over the place!

I love HCW! :)

[Sortin'ItAllOut]

Sorry, but did I mention that I am pretty timid ? Couponing in general makes me nervous when I go into this store because I feel like they are all watching me ....like just because I have coupons means I'm about to do something bad....but it's just this store, all the other stores are nice.

[queenofthehivemomof5]

I probably would not do anything. Since the cashier was not willing to search your newspapers she was not "officially" calling you a coupon insert thief. If she thought you were stealing and could prove it she would have searched your paper or called someone over that was higher up.

That being said, I would probably avoid going through the newspapers on multiple papers at this store and do it at a more coupon friendly store. If you prove yourself to follow the rules of your store and coupon legitimately and go in with a good attitude (even if you make a mistake) eventually your store will come around. You might also try buttering up your fav. cashiers by sharing some coupons and deals. Get to know them and they can be your best way to have a great shopping experience!

[neekyme]

Wow - I have no idea, other than calling the store and speaking with the manager. Let him/her know that you buy the newspaper just for the coupons, and were making sure the 10 papers you were buying at his/her store contained the inserts - as there are times when inserts are missed being put in random papers - or that sometimes if the paper printer doesnt have enough inserts, only the home delivery papers get the coupons.

Let him/her know that the cashier came right out and said you were seen stealing the coupons - and told you that was theft. Tell the manager know you were shocked at the comment and really didnt know how to handle it at the moment, but now after thinking it over you're extremely upset at the thought that the cashier may have told every employee that you are a thief when she didnt even take your suggestion to look at the papers to see that there was only one insert in each paper.

As a suggestion though - I go through the papers too, but only enough to see if the insert is there, put the insert back into the paper and place that paper in my buggy. I do it right by the customer service desk, or the registers so that the employees can see that I'm not taking the inserts out of one and placing them into another. I've bought a paper or two before that were missing coupons without checking first, and actually called the store and asked if I could come right back in and exchange the paper for one that had the coupons. They've never had a problem with it.

And I would either shop at a different store, or take a bunch of deep breaths and shop normally at that one - if you are acting nervous, they may pick up on it and instead of realizing it's because of coupons - they may think you're up to something else! I've had to work on that myself - as I've read so many horror stories about certain stores (like Wags or Walmart) that I would get freaked out and probably looked like I was up to no good LOL I'm getting better though - walk in, shop, hand coupons over, pay and get out. If there's any problems I either cut my losses and ask for something to be taken off the order, or ask if they can check with a manager first. You win some, you lose some :-)

Oh - and as far as the catalina business goes - if the store doesnt understand about shelf vs sale price - call catalina to get it fixed. Dont even attempt to get CS to understand. I tried it once and gave up on that idea! I got the same line "Well, It's not supposed to work like that and I need to call the manager to get that fixed" blah blah blah...

Don't worry about it though - call the store manager and speak with him/her about it. Let them know you want the cashier to be spoken to and would appreciate not having to feel like a criminal in that store. Otherwise you'll just do your shopping somewhere else!

[Sortin'ItAllOut]

Hi Neekyme! Thank-you!

I did look through the papers right at the newstand which is beside the customer service area, that's how they were watching me. I was trying to be bold and just do it and not worry about them. I did, however, look through one paper and saw that the coupons in their paper were much less than the ones in the PPG, so I put it all back, and then I looked through maybe 2 that didn't have any q's so I put them back....I wasn't being nervous about it. I thought I was being bold! LOL! I guess in that store I can't win no matter what I do.

I am mourning the loss of my 5 LOL butters :( I don't know if I'll be able to get in there again before this sale is over, especially now! I'm still not sure what I'll do about all this....I don't know the ladies name, I have seen her in there many times before though and she is normally neutral (not too nice, but not grumpy at me either), she is actually a manager of sorts.

I now wonder if she was trying to be nice and warn me ...like she thought I really did steal them and she was just telling me that they saw me and that I should stop it :)
Who knows? I just wish I knew who thought they saw me...I know that they may really believe I did it because I was pulling them out, looking through them, then putting them back...oh well...I guess I've learned my lesson..

Whether or not I shop there again, I will certainly tell the people what I'm doing when I rifle through the papers from now on!

[Sortin'ItAllOut]

Queenofthehivemomof5 - thank-you for the advice!

I have always wanted to be friendly with the cashiers, but for some reason unless they are high school or college guys I seem to not get anywhere with them. I think it's just my quiet way...but I'll keep trying, especially with the stores who are not so coupon - phobic!

(that's so funny, I just re-read that--I don't try to get THAT friendly with the cashiers-even the teenage boys!)

[loaslaen]

She also said she wasn't accusing me of theft...well that's exactly what she did do!

Technically, SHE wasn't accusing you of theft, the other customers that informed her what they "thought" you were doing accused you of theft (assuming that her story was honest). IF someone was doing what you were accused of doing, I would hope that the store employees would confront the person and let them know that it is wrong, because someone who buys a paper specifically for the coupons could end up paying for a paper without them. I would have proven myself not a thief just for reputation's sake, but I don't necessarily think they did anything wrong.

[Sortin'ItAllOut]

I agree that they didn't do anything wrong by talking to me about it..it just upset me so much and I had to rant about it! If I had seen someone stealing something I hope I would have reported that...It's the fact that there was no resolution...she wouldn't look through my stuff so that I could prove that I didn't do it. I just wish I would have insisted that she search. Plus they are suspicious of me already...for no reason other than I use coupons. And I don't think it's just me because they have a pretty strict coupon policy compared with the GE that is further away from my house.

I'm thinking maybe God is working here and trying to toughen me up...or not LOL!

I'll try to stop talking about it for now...I'll just sit back and calm down :)

Thank-you so much for all of your ideas/advice. It's starting to feel to me like not such a big deal anymore.

[skimo]

I'd go back to the store, ask to speak w/ the manager and explain what happened. Just be very matter of fact and state you understand the concerns w/ theft, etc., however want no concerns over what it is you are doing & just explain you are looking for the paper w/ the better coupons.

I'd offer that he can stand there while you look through the newspapers and pick out the ones you want and have him go w/ you up to the checkout if he'd like.

I would just be concerned that this cashier may start talking to her co-workers and the next thing you know everyone 'eyes you' throughout the store. Let the manager know what is going on and let him handle his employees, and you shop in peace!

[queenofthehivemomof5]

Nothing wrong with a little flirting to the young male cashiers. If anything it keeps ya young!