Here’s the letter I sent their customer service people regarding my wife’s and my treatment at the Mansfield Kroger:

Dear Kroger,

What has happened to your customer service? My wife went in today with our two children to the Kroger store where we’ve done our shopping for 6 years. She attempted to purchase two packages of Huggies diapers and use coupons she printed from the internet. When she presented the coupons, the lady monitoring the self checkout (who I later found out was the “Customer Service Manager”) initially refused them because they have the Target store logo printed on them, and when my wife pointed out that they were manufacturer’s coupons, she changed her argument to be something about the barcodes. Not having time or patience to continue the argument, she came home and relayed the story to me.

I worked in a Kroger nearly 20 years ago. The one thing I learned in that store from my store managers was that it costs us much less to keep a customer happy than to replace them. I was continuously overruled by managers even when I tried to deny what was obvious fraud by customers. After some time, it became my pleasure to call a manager over to keep a customer happy rather than argue with a customer.

That seems to have changed. When I went back to the store and asked to speak with the manager, initially the “Customer Service Manager” came over and explained to me that while the store does not have a policy of refusing manufacturer’s coupons with another store’s logo on it, that she would have to email someone at corporate to verify whether Kroger would be reimbursed for the coupon and that a copy of the company’s coupon policy was available on the website and she could print it at any time. When I asked her to do so, she went to a checkout lane and returned with a memo titled “Best Practices for Accepting Internet Coupons” dated 12/4/2007. The memo indicates a number of ways to determine whether a coupon is fraudulent, all of which indicate (correctly) that the coupons my wife tried to use are valid. I then asked to speak to the store manager.

When he arrived, I handed him the coupon and asked him if the store had a policy against accepting coupons with another retailer’s logo on them. He informed me that they did not, but that “my problem with this is the Target logo”. He then explained that sometimes manufacturers make deals with retailers for co-branded coupons. I understand this point, but the onus for determining whether Kroger gets reimbursed on a coupon is on Kroger, not me. He went on to say “it’s about money”. We spend annually between $3000 and $4000 in that store. So yes, if I can save $6 on diapers, It’s worth my time to use a coupon with another store’s logo on it. I can’t believe my business is worth less to Kroger than these coupons.

Here is the link to the coupons my wife printed: http://networkedblogs.com/4fcng

Others have printed them and used them at stores other than Target.

Here is what I expect from Kroger:

1. An apology to my wife for the way she was treated.
2. A clear statement of Kroger’s policy on accepting coupons.
3. An apology from the store manager for his curt behavior with me.
4. If Kroger’s policy is to accept the coupons, I expect them to be accepted with a smile.
5. If Kroger’s policy is to not accept coupons with another store’s logo on them, I expect it to be clearly stated at the checkout.

Indian Chief, ‘Two Eagles,’ was asked by a white government official, ‘You have observed the white man for 90 years. You’ve seen his wars and his technological advances. You’ve seen his progress, and the damage he’s done.’

The Chief nodded in agreement. The official continued, ‘Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?’

The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied.

‘When white man find land, Indians running it. No taxes, No debt, Plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water; women did all the work, Medicine man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex.’

Then the chief leaned back and smiled. ‘Only white man dumb enough to think he can improve system like that.’