15 January 2008 4 Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

My boyfriend and I went out to lunch on Saturday — a sort of spur of the moment thing. On our way to the restaurant, I went through a stack of coupons and managed to find one that would get us $4 off of two meals. That stack contains coupons for a lot of restaurants. Any time I see a coupon for some place that we like, or that we’ve heard is worth trying, I clip it. I gather online coupons, clip newspaper ads, and even go through all the junk mail that lands in my mailbox.

I’ve noticed, though, that when we go out with friends, my coupon habit draws some strange looks. Thinking back, I don’t recall ever seeing any of my friends whip out coupons at dinner, although I think every meal out with my mother had some sort of weird circumstances — like the restaurant was trading her meals for work she’d done for them. Even waiters sometimes seem a bit confused by my use of coupons. I’ve run into a number of restaurant staff who had to go check with a manager about how to deal with coupons, which implies very few people make use of all those coupons floating around.

Restaurants print up coupons, just as they offer special deals and advertise their locations. It’s a part of marketing, and I think that it’s a great way to bring in new customers. So why does there seem to be such a stigma about actually using coupons? No one seems to have a problem carrying around umpteen rewards cards and redeeming their half-price cup of coffee or other perk.

Even for those of us willing to undergo the odd looks and use coupons, there are plenty of debates: Should I tip on the full amount of the check, or just what I actually paid? Is it better to use coupons at chain restaurants, or at local eateries? How often is it appropriate to use a coupon at the same restaurant?

I’ve drawn up a few ‘rules’ of etiquette for coupon users. Feel free to make additions to this list in the comments; it is by no means complete.

1. When calculating your tip, use the full amount of the check, if you can. Wait staff who have done their best to help you during your visit shouldn’t be penalized just because you happen to have a coupon.
2. It’s okay to pay full price occasionally. If you can get enough coupons to eat at the same restaurant every day, I think it’s still worth visiting other restaurants, even if you have to pay full price for a meal.
3. If a company has gone to the effort of printing coupons, use them! It’s a way for them to track how effective their marketing plan is, for one thing. However, purchasing big batches of coupons walks a fine line. For instance, picking up an entire stack of coupons for a restaurant on eBay makes me uncomfortable. It’s a personal decision, of course, but, personally, I wouldn’t do it.