CVS pissiness: ok, it's possibly whiney, but it bugged me.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

I just sent this email to CVS via their website because, it irritated me. The cashier seemed genuinely distressed over the manager's policy, in the 'please don't make a fuss, I could get fired over this' sort of way (if you've ever worked retail with a bossy boss, you know the look):

This evening I was in store #8319, in Davis Square, in Somerville, MA. When I presented my Green Bag Tag, the cashier said that she would not accept it; her manager ordered her not accept them if it was attached to a CVS-branded recyclable bag. She told me she had seen other cashiers scolded for it.

I pointed out that the tag itself says, "Present your Green Bag tag and ExtraCare card with ANY reusable bag." She said, "I know, but he says it's not supposed to mean that."

I just checked your website, and it reads: "You can use any re-usable shopping bag, re-use a plastic bag from a previous purchase, or simply carry out your items. Anytime you decline a one-time use plastic bag, you will receive a Green Bag Tag credit."

The irony of this is that I was using some recently earned Green Bag Tag Extra Bucks to purchase...a TravelSmart by Conair expandable tote. I enjoy using the tag, and would appreciate you contacting this manager and correcting his interpretation of your policies.

What really ticked me off was how upset the woman seemed to be when enforcing this policy. I think I might have just shrugged it off if she hadn't seemed slightly scared of what might happen if she did accept my tag. But it really bothered me.

Anyway, if you try and use your tag at the store, and some poor cashier tells you you can't, thank them and then consider dropping a note to CVS corporate about it.

Comments

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was my thought as well. I guess it could be that if one shops at CVS a lot, the discounts will eventually exceed the 99 cents paid for the tag. And for some people it will actually encourage that behavior so that they actually increase their shopping at CVS--"well, I have this tag that gives me even more discounts, so I may as well take advantage of it."

Also, sales of tags may give them something to point at as an indicator of how many customers are interested in bag re-use (though giving a simple discount each time someone shops without a bag, as some stores do, would give them that data as well.)

[ron_newman]

The tag gives you $1 of ExtraBucks after use on 4 different days. This gives me the perverse incentive to make multiple visits during a week to buy single items, instead of buying everything at once. Of course, I wouldn't do that if I didn't live 2 blocks from CVS.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

Oh sure--I've used that strategy myself for things on occasion. From their perspective--sure there'll be some people who do that sort of thing, and who still only buy whatever they would have purchased anyway. But then there will be the people who say "Aha, I'm just going to make multiple visits to buy single items" but end up buying extra stuff on impulse on some of those visits. Having those sorts of folks come into the store more often is a plus.