I'm not sure if this is nationwide but I went to my local coles and had one of those generic non targeted fly buy offers
Then on the screen it popped up saying I needed staff approval, what the?
Is there some secret that I missed out on and someone was cashing in on mega points and now they've introduced this?
First I've heard of this
Targeted?
nuh, Coles. lol
Nah it's for any flybuys offer you use on your shopadocket, out of that book they send you etc
Ah why didn't you say so, I thought you had one of those email offers that's tied to your card. Yeh, instructions say staff member has to destroy the voucher. I go to an assisted checkout in this case. Particularly when I buy a lots of something, I'd rather tell the checkout chica: 8 bottles of Pepsi and leave the bottles in the trolley.
It was a weak joke that you were being targeted for a spot check. The voucher is in fact targeted, but you could reuse it later that week if they don't take it away.
Aside: I actually don't understand why Coles is running both snail mail vouchers and email vouchers. There's a lot of duplication. Maybe it's because lots of shoppers aren't signed up for Flybuys spam yet.
But even when they approve the voucher they don't destroy the voucher so what is the point, I always scanned my voucher and didn't bin it but didn't know I could use it again.
@strikerzebra: I don't really understand that rule, perhaps it's so that senile shoppers don't try to reuse it. I don't see why their IT system couldn't record the voucher as used, so why the need to destroy it?
This happened when at the self serve, don't know the reasoning
Maybe it's to verify that you drop the voucher in the slot, rather than hold on and reuse. Not that I expect most staff to care what you do (ie. they won't argue if you haven't disposed of it).
You can reuse a voucher… but they have unique barcodes?
Don't know. That's just my guess.
You used to be able to reuse the docket deals like the double points ones but they changed the system so that you could only use it once. The barcode is linked to your account so it will only work once and you have to have the offer triggered in your account in order to use it.
I've never been asked for staff assistance when I've been using self serve and coupons but I have had staff watch me and ask for the coupons after I've scanned them. Most of time I walk out with the coupons.
The offer you mentioned in the original version of your post sounds like a targeted offer.
It was apart of the booklet they send you with the offers every week, if the offer is linked to my account then why verify it.
If it was a booklet sent to you with weekly offers then it was targeted. Each member received different offers.
I don't know why the extra input was needed at the checkout.
mmm had this for the first time this week.
BUT i had a voucher from the Checkout that was very faint ink darkness, anyway it threw a message at the checkout BZZT when scanned
the lady goes oh i will fix it. and just took the voucher.
Get to the end of transaction nope did not say anything about that voucher appearing against my Flybuys on the base of docket (states coupons etc on receipt)…go ask for my coupon back- she HAD TO DIG in the bloody bin !!!
Stupid idea imho :(
Anyway called Flybuys added the 1000 points i was due. = $5
Good pick up with the receipt. Well done for chasing up the points.
I had the same experience this week at Lane Cove on Tuesday.
I was using self-checkout. The assistant came over looked at the coupon (one flybuys had sent out to me) and said this is for fruit & veg and you have bought groceries. I laughed and said it doesn't say that and she eventually authorised the coupon and then scribbled over the bar code and then put it in the disposal slot rather than return it to me (I like to keep them until I see the points on my fly buys account). I said why is the system flagging this for authorisation as I never experienced this before and she said I have not been putting the coupons in the used slot on the self-checkout after use. I said she had to be joking but she said she wasn't.
So can you imagine that there must be a group of Coles workers emptying out the disposed of coupons and updating the fly buys accounts with those who dispose of the coupons correctly and so enabling Coles to flag those who don't for 'authorisation' action. If Coles really are going to start authorising these sort of transactions then;
1). Why???? What purpose does it serve? My coupon was for only 500 points!!!
2). Please give staff a proper reason to tell us why authorisation requests are generated rather than letting them make up the nonsense they told me.
Wow we are targeted, I never knew we were meant to throw the coupons away and I also kept the dockets until the points came through as evidence, yep all this over $2.50 worth of points haha
I prefer to think this is a hangover from an older coupon system where the backend IT database doesn't record the voucher as used.
When the self serve checkoouts were first introduced, and you scanned a fly buys voucher or register reciept offer you had to get staff approval.But since the beggining of this year,at the stores I visit, this is no longer the case.
I mainly shop at Chatswood Chase and I can't ever remember getting a Coles coupon authorised. I always use self-checkout.
I've never had to get staff approval ever until about two weeks ago though …
Same happened to me today at Hollywood plaza South australia.
Self checkout, asked the attendant about this and she said that she had no clue but it has been happening all day.
looks like I'm not the only 1! Seems like a lot of effort for nothing
shrugs