The Price Of Not Reading Your Emails

(I am serving a regular customer who is notoriously fussy and demanding.)

Me: “Did you find everything you were looking for?”

Customer: “Yes. Oh, and I have a coupon for a free mug. Let me find it…”

(While we did have a promotion for our rewards program members for a free mug with a purchase over a certain price, it ended several weeks ago.)

Me: “Unfortunately, that particular sale ended, and the promotion code was taken out of the registers.”

(Since she’s taking so long scrolling through her email, I flag down the only other employee on the floor, the manager on duty, to help ring up the line behind the customer.)

Customer: “No, no, I have a coupon. I want my free mug!”

(She finally pulls up the email from last month’s promotion. The date the promotion ends is clearly marked on the advertisement.)

Me: “Unfortunately, the promotion requires a code on the register. When it ended, that code was removed from our system. I can try to honor it if you’d like, but it might not work.”

Customer: “I want my free mug!”

(I try to ring up the mug with the promotion and type in the coupon code. Unsurprisingly, the register rejects it as invalid.)

Me: “I’m sorry about all this; I can void the mug if you’d like.”

Customer: “This always happens! You send me all these expired coupons!”

(My manager comes over to see if she can help.)

Manager: “Can I see the email?” *the customer hands her the phone* “This was sent several weeks ago, just before the promotion began. The dates are clearly listed on here, so there’s no way the coupon was expired before you received it.”

Customer: “I didn’t read the email until yesterday! You should’ve told me to check it last time I was here!” *petulantly* “Fine, I don’t want the mug.”

(I get her rung up and she goes on her way.)

Manager: “That customer always makes me want to tear my hair out.”

Me: “It’s our fault she doesn’t read her emails?”