Not Very App-y About That  

(I work for a popular fast food chain that very often has online coupons you can download in the app to get a discount on various items. It used to be the case that if a customer wanted to use one of said coupons, they would just show us the coupon and we would manually apply the discount by clicking on a certain button. This is not entirely in accordance with corporate policy, because customers are supposed to open the coupon by dragging a ribbon, and then a bar code pops up. With the latest POS update, the button for applying discounts has been removed. We have been given a handheld scanner, which means we now have to ask customers to indeed open up the coupons to bring out the barcode. Some customers are having trouble adjusting to this new system and think it’s ridiculous.)

Me: “Hi, welcome to [Popular Fast Food Chain]! How can I help you today?”

(I take the customer’s order and ask her to pull forward to the window so I can cash her out.)

Me: “Hi! Your total will be [amount].”

Customer: “Oh, I totally forgot! I have your app, so can I get the discount on [item she ordered]?”

Me: “Sure thing! Just show me the coupon and you can start saving that money.”

Customer: “Why do I need to show it? I never have to show it.”

(I show her the scanner and explain the new system to her.)

Customer: “But last week, you guys gave me the discount without making this fuss!”

Me: “That was last week. Unfortunately, the rules have changed, so if you still want that discount, you’re going to have to show me that coupon.”

(This conversation goes back and forth with her constantly mentioning that she’s never had to show any coupons and just exhibiting a complete unwillingness to cooperate with me. Meanwhile, I’m getting more agitated with her as a line of cars with hungry people is now starting to form.)

Me: “Ma’am, just a friendly reminder: I don’t actually make the rules and I don’t have the technical know-how to bypass the scanner, so unless you want to sit here and aimlessly squabble over a couple of cents, it would be much easier and faster for all of us if you just showed me the coupon you’re referring to.” 

Customer: “You know what?! Never mind. I’ll just go to [Different Location] and they won’t make me jump through all these hoops!”

(The customer then sped off, leaving me bewildered as to why taking her phone out of her pocket and showing me a simple coupon was so much trouble to her. Besides, her “solution” wouldn’t do her much good as the other location she was referring to is owned by the same person, which means the same rules apply there, as well.)