Money-Off Vouchers
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
January 21, 2013 2:06pm CST
I'm not on about codes you use online but the physical money-off vouchers that come through the post.
Such a voucher came through the post a few days ago (along with a nice letter from Unilever thanking me for praising one of their products, namely Flora Original) and the £2 voucher was valid on many Unilever products shown on the voucher. Mid February was the cut-off date.
Yesterday we remembered to take the voucher with us into Morrisons. We were only doing a little shop and John spotted 500g Bertolli Spread (also made by Unilever) on offer at £2..so he picked 2 of them up, therefore getting one of them free once the voucher kicked in at check-out.
We got to the friendly lady on checkout and John gave her the voucher. She stared at it and said, 'I don't think I can take this.'
'What do you mean, you can't take it?' asked John.
'It's Unilever..with some Unilever vouchers..Morrisons don't take them anymore.'
'Why?'
She then rambled on..more or less saying that they've been getting fake ones.
I told her that I've had identical vouchers sent to me DIRECTLY from Unilever before and have never had a problem with them.
By then a steady queue was forming.
'Just a query about this voucher!' said the woman on checkout as though we were criminals or something. We are talking £2 after all, not £200.
She rang a bell and another lady came over. After a bit of a conflab* the lady who came over went to the main desk in-store, had a bit of a conflab with whoever was there, came back, scanned the voucher...and the bloody thing worked.
Something I knew all along that it would do. Why the woman on checkout didn't scan the barcode on it I don't know.
'Thanks for your custom! said the jolly woman who'd put us through the wringer, embarrassing us for nothing.
*conflab - meaning 'discussion' coming from the word confabulation.
She rang a bell and another lady came over. After a bit of a conflab* the lady who came over went to the main desk in-store, had a bit of a conflab with whoever was there, came back, scanned the voucher...and the bloody thing worked.
Something I knew all along that it would do. Why the woman on checkout didn't scan the barcode on it I don't know.
'Thanks for your custom! said the jolly woman who'd put us through the wringer, embarrassing us for nothing.
*conflab - meaning 'discussion' coming from the word confabulation.2 people like this
10 responses
@changjiangzhibin89 (16759)
• China
22 Jan 13
Thank you for telling us what the conflab means,which I can't looked up in the dictionary.You did feel a bit awkward at that point.I doubt if the woman on the check-out was a novice,or else she should known better than to believe someone would trick her out of £2.
@BarBaraPrz (47274)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
21 Jan 13
The only trouble I've ever run into with vouchers (we call them coupons) was not noticing that they had exprired before I could use them.
£2 off is a good deal!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
22 Jan 13
I'd get my baking head on but we can't buy any eggs until weekend.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Jan 13
Well, it was in the end. It helped that the Bartolli was reduced in the first place.
It helped that the Bartolli was reduced in the first place.1 person likes this
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
23 Jan 13
I don't personally like Morrisons, but that is a personal taste, or distaste, sounds like a right kerfuffle, anyone would think that the money was coming out of her personal pocket, not the companies, why is she making an issue out of it, it's not affecting her! Sounds like she's one of those 'know it alls' and a true Ms Jobsworthy! I would feel embarrassed for sure, and as you said it's only £2 we are not talking a Kings Ransom here!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
23 Jan 13
We like Morrisons as they have a good meat section. We used to go to Tesco and their meat is bloody awful to be honest. Also, Morrisons isn't obsessed with moving stuff around. I mean, I haven't seen any Valentine's stuff yet lol.
Also, the staff are OK. I think this particular woman just forgot to scan the voucher. That's my feeling on it anyway.
Also, the staff are OK. I think this particular woman just forgot to scan the voucher. That's my feeling on it anyway.
@Pegasus72 (1898)
•
22 Jan 13
I have couponed for over 20 years now and I even have to go through this sometimes when I am in a new store, they think if you get it for free or near free something has to be wrong. I remember once when I was in Walmart I had coupons that brought the cereal to free, and the lady said there was no way I could get so much for free, and once she called the manager, they said yes it is free, the coupons cover the cost.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
22 Jan 13
It's no wonder we shop online and get codes that way. I've done it a few times now. At least I know straight away whether or not they're valid.
@shiesse (306)
• Canada
21 Jan 13
I work as a cashier, and I know that we have to be very cautious with certain coupons, or vouchers if you prefer, because people do make fake ones and give them to unsuspecting people. Some people sell and buy coupons on Ebay and in order to make money, some people sell fake ones. As a cashier if I accept a fake coupon regardless if it is $2 or $200 it is me who gets disciplined by management. We have to be cautious for our jobs sakes and that includes getting approval from management if we are unsure. Also certain ones we have to get approval no matter what because there is a huge amount of fraud with them. I'm sure this lady was not trying to embarrass you but protecting her job.
@Raine38 (12250)
• United States
21 Jan 13
And this is the reason why a friend of mine isn't fond of using vouchers or coupons, she's such a sensitive lady and a couple of cashiers gave her this embarrassing "scolding" a few too many times that she doesn't want to take her chances anymore. One time we told her that it wouldn't hurt if she will try to ask and assert herself politely. But still, we don't know why she just have the bad luck of encountering lots of snobby people at the checkout counter.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Jan 13
Some people are unlucky like that. Maybe she blushes a lot (as I do whenever I pass a policeman, even though I haven't done anything wrong)..do you know what I mean?
My husband was ready for paying for BOTH Bertollis but I said, 'No way, if this voucher doesn't get accepted you're not giving THEM anymore money, £2 or not, it's the principle of the thing.'
@margerydaw14 (735)
•
21 Jan 13
That sounds about right, everyone is so scared they are being ripped off that they don't trust the evidence of their eyes. And who is to say that the poor check out lady may have had to pay back the £2.00 if the voucher had been a dud? On a more amusing note, I get vouchers through the post or tear them out of the paper. I tuck them in my purse and hand bag and then promptly forget about them! 
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Jan 13
Next time I shall take the letter in that comes with the voucher as I obviously wasn't believed when I said I'd been sent it from Unilever directly (and not for the first time either).
Oh yes, we forget to use vouchers all the time. We only remembered this one as we're practically going out the front door!
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
21 Jan 13
For some reason your story reminds me of a girlfriend that I had in America. When she was at university she shared a flat with another girl whose father was a multimillionaire and gave her a black American Express card. This was when they first came out about 30 years ago. The girls went to buy a new sofa. They were fairly scruffily dressed, after all they were students and the sales assistant treated them like they had just crawled out of a pond. They bounced about on lots of sofas before settling on one which was about $2000 and in the eyes of the sales assistant completely out of their budget. The Assistant even went so far as to tell them this, at which point the girl got out her handbag took out the black American Express card and handed it to the assistant, she had never seen one before. She immediately queried the card and called her manager who made a phone call presumably to American Express. My girlfriend did not know what the conversation was but suddenly the salesclerk came back beaming a great smile and asking if there was anything else she could do to help them. No doubt she said "have a good day" when they left!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Jan 13
Makes me wonder if my leather jacket (biker style) was instrumental in the voucher being 'suspect.'
In the 80s guys in denim or leather jackets would automatically be stopped at Manchester Airport and get their suitcases frisked in Customs. I've witnessed it and found it insulting and prejudiced, as I'm a rocker myself lol. I bet the people they let go (in their chinos and 3-quarter length Duran Duran jackets) were smuggling allsorts in!
Me and Mum have found that if we get dressed up for Town we get treated differently from people that don't and - in my case - I'm skint but, importantly, I don't LOOK it!
In the 80s guys in denim or leather jackets would automatically be stopped at Manchester Airport and get their suitcases frisked in Customs. I've witnessed it and found it insulting and prejudiced, as I'm a rocker myself lol. I bet the people they let go (in their chinos and 3-quarter length Duran Duran jackets) were smuggling allsorts in!
Me and Mum have found that if we get dressed up for Town we get treated differently from people that don't and - in my case - I'm skint but, importantly, I don't LOOK it! @wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
21 Jan 13
You need to go a bit higher up in the chain and have a bit of a chat regarding what a wretchedly obnoxious situation that was. Sorry, but I think that the chain owes you a bit of consideration for having put you through such a hassle.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Jan 13
If the voucher had been rejected then I would've made more of a fuss, because I would argue the case that it was Unilever who had sent me the voucher in good faith..as they have done in the past.
However, the training was suspect. The lady was (obviously) new as we hadn't seen her before and she was being extra cautious. No-one had told her to scan the voucher. If she had this discussion wouldn't exist lol.
@teriross69 (40)
• United States
21 Jan 13
I know the retailers here in United States are having a really hard time keeping up with counterfeiters. Many smaller stores won't take hundred dollar bills anymore because criminals are bleaching ones and fives, and reprinting 100's. The markers used to spot a fake, don't detect a fake bill, because the paper is authentic.
We also had a rash of fake money orders and such going around as well. I'm sure the lady didn't mean to make such a big deal about your voucher. She was probably just doing what she was told.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Jan 13
She didn't scan the voucher though. All the vouchers I've received from Unilever have barcodes on them. If it hadn't been a genuine code it wouldn't have registered. My feeling is she may have been a new member of staff as we haven't seen her before, therefore I blame the people in charge of her training for not saying she should scan the voucher..as that's what happened in the end anyway.
