I’ve shopped at CVS a lot over the past year and a half. Whenever I go inside to purchase subscriptions, which I’ve done many times, I inevitably wind up buying a number of other unexpected items. I usually get caught up at the magazine rack, ’cause as everyone knows, the prescription is never ready in the twenty minutes the pharmacist tells you it will take. I often flip through articles while waiting at the pharmacy, and as luck would have it, I’m usually half way through an article when my prescription is complete. I wrestle with the decision to pay for my prescription, then sit back down and finish the article, or pay for the prescription and head home with the magazine. 60% of the time I sit back down and read, the other 40% I pay and go.
Some time during my travels to CVS I signed up for their rewards card. Of all of the reward cards out there I think CVS is one of the best. CVS attaches the coupons to the bottom of their receipts, and I usually receive one for $2 or $4 after every couple of visits. This afternoon as I was running errands, I noticed that we were out of milk. I looked in my coupon drawer, the unused ashtray of my car, and noticed a $2 coupon for CVS.
I went inside, picked up the milk from the refrigerator section, headed to the counter and handed the cashier the coupon and the milk. The cashier asked for my CVS card, which I had accidentally left in another wallet. When I explained that I had forgotten the card he informed me that I couldn’t use the coupon. “Can’t you please make an exception,” I asked him. At this point he called over his manager. I cringed. Not only because I knew that this was going to take awhile, but because I was afraid a line of people would form behind me. I am frugal, but I avoid allowing my frugality to cause problems for other patrons. I can’t stand it when the old lady in the grocery store argues with the clerk about a 10 cent coupon for ben-gay. But luckily at 12 o’clock in the afternoon there wasn’t anyone else behind me in line.
The manager agreed to make an exception but wanted to see my ID. I couldn’t believe I needed an ID to use a $2 coupon, but I smiled and handed it over. I forgot that the CVS card is in my maiden name, and my ID is of course, in my married name. The woman looked at me, looked at the ID, looked at the coupon and informed me that the names did not match. I couldn’t resist but had to ask, “Do you think I managed to steal a $2 coupon from someone with the same first and middle name?” Amazingly the clerk didn’t want to let me use this coupon. So I had to pull out an old ID with my maiden name and show her that the pictures on my new and old ID both looked at me. After a couple of seconds and a long sigh, she let rang up the milk, scanned the coupon, and sent me on my way. All this to save $2.