Normally, I would just let things like this slide and decide that it isn't the hill on which I choose to die (See? Even when I get ranty, I still hate ending sentences with a preposition!). It still isn't a Hill Worth Death...perhaps we'll just go for a Flesh Wound.
Those who use coupons have enough to deal with: bad attitudes from cashiers and other customers behind us due to the extra time coupons require, registers that don't give the rewards that we have legitimately earned, the perception that we are somehow doing something wrong when we walk out of the store with $200 in groceries for $12, etc.
What we don't need is a newspaper columnist giving his stamp of approval to a guy who routinely commits fraud.
Don't get me wrong: I get that this guy's weekly column is largely tongue-in-cheek. He looks for the most outrageous "Cheapster Tips" (like recycling the salt at the bottom of the pretzel bag). He even has some pretty good tips that he gives using an appropriate amount of sarcastic humor (calling a company to request freebies). If you stalk read this site regularly or are my Facebook Friend, you know that I have a great love for 'da Sarcasm.
But this tip was just Seven Kinds of Wrong, no matter how much you wrap it in sarcasm or "we thought the Lehigh Valley couldn't get any cheaper" disclaimers. Don't want to click over to read the tip? Then here's the bottom line: if you have a BOGO fast food coupon, go to the drive-thru at a time when the "spaced-out teenagers" are working, mention your coupon when ordering, order something "special" (like a soda with no ice) to make your order more complicated and then "forget" to give them your coupon so that you can use it another day.
It's "tips" like these that perpetuate the myth that those who use coupons are always trying to scam the system. So thankyouverymuchbiteme Mr. Spencer Soper!
Even the response to the 30 emails/phone calls that they received about this piece wasn't an "Oops! Sorry we told you to commit coupon fraud" (which this is...it's no different than going to a grocery store, using the self-checkout, scanning your coupon and putting a blank piece of paper in the slot).
We found it sneaky, but funny. Our feeling was that a tipster thought he was getting away with something, but the joke was on him since coupons are a form of advertising meant to lure customers. If the same coupon lured him twice instead of once, we figure it helped the business more than hurt it, especially if it encouraged a subsequent visit that otherwise would not have occurred.
Ummm - no.
If I steal a sweater from Ann Taylor using this method, then come back and use the BOGO coupon another day, it doesn't negate the fact that I stole one on a previous trip. Does The Morning Call think that it isn't that big a deal, since we are talking about a $3 burger instead of a $100 sweater?
When the cashier reconciles their register at the end of the night, and the register is showing that they gave out 15 free burgers, but can only match it up with 10 coupons in their drawer, what happens to the cashier? McDonald's may be a big corporation that can afford to lose a few burgers to scammers, but I'm betting the cashier with the "short register" feels differently.
Lastly, from their follow-up article on 10/4/09:
Some readers were concerned that a cashier or the small business owners are harmed by this tip. We called McDonald's, where we used the tip to get a free quarter-pounder without forfeiting a coupon, and asked specifically about this. But the statement we received from the company did not address that question and follow-up calls to pin that down were not returned.
''We want our Lehigh Valley customers to know that they can continue to depend on McDonald's to provide the quality, affordability and convenience they've come to expect through our everyday menu offerings, coupons and promotions,'' Jim Mooney, the company's marketing manager for the Philadelphia region, said in an e-mail. ''Our coupons are intended for one-time use only and should be surrendered at time of purchase.''
What part of ''Our coupons are intended for one-time use only and should be surrendered at time of purchase.'' is unclear?
Bad form Morning Call....bad form!
P.S. Thanks to Steve at Dealing in Daddyhood for emailing me about this
P.P.S if you want to read a newspaper column with GOOD frugal tips, check out Sarah's columns in The Phoenix
P.P.P.S. I seem to be getting ranty more these days...I may want to switch to decaf!
P.P.P.P.S. But what is the point of coffee if it doesn't have caffeine?
P.P.P.P.P.S I think I need to lie down now
@marymac
May I be the first to congratulate you on not ending a sentence in a preposition?! lol. I love rants. Don't they make you feel better? Rock on, dude. Rock on.
Jennifer Y.
This really isn't about coupons, it's about setting out to be totally dishonest. Rude and not funny. Thanks for your post.
fairydust
Excellent rant!!!!!
Ann
Thank you for standing up for what's right!
Amanda
I was so disappointed when I read that article in The Morning Call! Until then, I had actually enjoyed his column. Actively encouraging theft, because that's what this is, is just sucky.
Gail K
Hear, hear! And I will buy you your morning dose of caffeine!
Julie
I couldn't agree with you more. Go ahead and rant. I've always thought those Morning Call columns were more entertainment than useful information, but Soper really crossed the line on this one. Bad, bad Morning Call.
Jan
Go, Mindi! Your "rants" have been spot-on. Everyone go subscribe to the Express-Times instead 🙂 And as for eating that awful McDonald's food ... didn't this guy see "Supersize Me"?
Tirade
I'm going to be the voice of dissent here and agree with the ethics professor quoted in the article:
''Obviously, if the seller does not insist that its own employees collect the valid coupon that the buyer is ready to turn over when the good is delivered, an objective observer can legitimately conclude that it must not be important to the seller,'' he said. ''No ethical breach seems to me to be involved."
If I specifically told them while ordering that I was using a coupon and they don't bother collecting or even asking about it, then I'm not going to bother handing it over. It's not my problem to make sure the cashier is doing their job correctly--that's the responsibility of their supervisor. If a cashier is lazy or inattentive enough to let that many coupons slide by, then perhaps they shouldn't be working a cash register in the first place (missing several coupons on separate orders goes beyond the excuses of having a brain fart or just a bad day).
And yes, I apply this philosophy to both $1 burgers and $100 sweaters. If the clerk is incompetent enough NOT to thoroughly check the coupon on an expensive item, then they deserve whatever scolding they get from their boss. And stealing? Hyperbolize much? If you tell the cashier that you're using a coupon and the cashier keys in the discounted price, then that's consent on the store's part to let you purchase the item for the discounted price. It's only stealing if you leave the store with the merchandise without paying. If not receiving a paper coupon somehow breaks the store's bank, then they shouldn't be having a coupon promotion in the first place. Kind of like the hot sauce ordeal--your company's incompetence is NOT the customer's fault!
Bonnie
Although I love your site for many reasons, my favorite by far is your ranting. I just love it. Maybe it's because I often feel the exact same way, but have no one to rant to. Keep it up, I think a lot of us live vicariously through your rants:)
Kim
Thank you, Mindi, for clarifying this for the readers. As a very good cashier who has an occasional bad day, I appreciate when customers are honest enough to help me out. It IS stealing and if you are resorting to this kind of behavior why even bother with the coupons? Seems like a waste of time to me. Those people are not frugal, they're thieves. The culpability is in the intent. Did you purpose to withhold the coupon? Then you are guilty of fraud...no hyperbole. If you and the cashier just forgot then you should return to surrender the coupon. Just because it is legal doesn't mean it's ethical regardless of what an "ethicist" has written.
Jaime
I was one of the 30 people who left a response on the Morning Call website. I accused him of promoting shoplifting (taking items without legitimately paying for them-cash/coupons/or otherwise), and told him that taking advantage of underpaid teenagers was a scam. They WILL be responsible for the drawer balancing out. What if it isn't a kid? What if it is a mom who is trying to make ends meet and honestly forgets to collect the coupon? Can she afford to lose her job to a person of ZERO morals and ethics (despite the "quote" from the ethicist in Minnesota who claims that he is doing nothing wrong). I'm done ranting. I used to like his "On The Cheap" column, but no more. I'm going to CVS soon to get some FREE stuff legitimately, using my coupons and ECBs!