I read an article the other day titled “Is Coupon Clipping Embarrassing?”. I found it quite interesting that a study showed that the lower the value of the coupon that is used, the more that 3rd parties near the ‘coupon user’ perceived that person as being cheap.
It also showed that people who knew the person using coupons felt a strong stigma by association. They felt that if they were hanging out with people who use coupons, then by association, they must use coupons and the perception of them would be that they were cheap also.
Here are my thoughts on this article. First, I think it is very accurate. Perception is a horrible thing. More times than not, people judge based solely on what they see. In the instance of standing in line and watching someone at the cash register, they have about 5 minutes to evaluate and judge (as many do) a persons complete self.
I don’t stand in line and judge everyone who doesn’t use coupons as being stupid and careless, so why do I sometimes feel like I am being judged and viewed in a negative light just because I am trying to save some extra money for my family? Or is the fact that they have to wait 30 seconds longer while the cashier reads the fine print that adds to the negative feelings?
Sometimes I wish that there were registers just for people who had coupons…
Please answer my question below and leave a comment if you want to share. Note: I use the word ‘cheap’ in the negative sense in this question. Personally I don’t think it should have a negative connotation to it.
Well to comment on having a register just for couponers, they do:) It's the customer service desk at London Drugs, but then you get people who are trying to return stuff who get annoyed. Who cares! I saved $45 today!! I call that smart, not cheap. lol