I have a coupon for a free large, one-topping pizza from Papa John’s. Decided to use it tonight, but I wanted more than one topping, so they said my total would be $1.95. Went to pick it up, and all they asked for was the $1.95 – they didn’t ask for the coupon, and I (probably to my discredit) didn’t bring it up either (though in fairness I didn’t even really think about it till I got back to my car).
Was it unethical for me not to give them the coupon immediately even if they didn’t ask for it?
Would it be completely unethical for me to use the coupon again since I still have it?
If you think it is okay for me to use it again, how many times can I use it (assuming they keep on never asking for it) before it becomes unethical?
Not the most pressing ethical issue, I realize, but I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts regardless.
I used to have a few coupons for Pizza Hut and BK that I reused a few times because no one ever wanted to keep them. I think it’s fine… after all, it’s not like I got the coupons by being part of some special club. They were sending coupons out for free and bundling them in newspapers. What difference does it make if I use the same coupon three times, or three different ones?
What ZipperJJ said. There’s a place we order from that has coupons on their menus, which come stuck to the pizza box. When we use them, about 95% of the time the delivery guy waves us off and says, “Keep it and use it again.”
I agree with the other posters. I can’t remember the last time I was asked to actually present the coupon when buying a pizza. I keep a small handful of coupons on the fridge and refer to them each time I order a pizza. They are so frequently re-issued that the joints probably don’t even care about the little slip of paper.
Since it was for a free pizza though, I’m surprised they didn’t want it. I most definitely would use it again, and again, until it expired. But I return things to stores that don’t meet expectations all the time - so long as I still have a receipt and tags. So maybe I’m not the best person to answer this question. I don’t however, wear clothes without removing tags and then return them. I have a little bit of ethics, you know!
Some places regularly don’t ask for their coupons. In my neck of the woods, Papa Johns is one of those. They don’t want the coupon when they deliver, and they also don’t quibble about the expiration date. So if you get a primo coupon, you can keep using it. Lately, I’ve been re-using the Burger King stacker coupons as the drive thru people haven’t been asking for them. I think most of the time they’re just trying to increase business and are glad that you keep coming back.
The highschool I attended didn’t have a lunch room, so we always had to order out. I used the same pizza coupon for most of a school year before they finally asked me for it.
I don’t really see anything wrong with it. You may be buying the product at a discounted price but the store isn’t *losing money *on the purchase. (I mean, how much does it cost to make a pizza? A buck or two?)
You got it. If you gave them your coupon, you no longer have a coupon for that business. You may go to a competitor next time. Bottom line is they want you to buy as much pizza from them as possible.
In fact, even if you don’t have a coupon, you can ask them on the phone if they have any specials or deals going on. You can usually get a deal just as good as any coupon that way.
Of course, if you say you have a coupon, you should be prepared to give it to them if they ask. Lying about it is unethical.
Yeah, that’s the thing that gets me about it, that it’s a coupon for a free pizza. If it was just a run of the mill 2 pizzas for 20 bucks kind of thing, I wouldn’t have thought twice.
Testing this theory once, I called Dominos and made up a coupon that didn’t actually exist. I didn’t get too crazy, but it definitely worked out in my favor. They didn’t even hesitate, and delivered exactly what I’d asked for at the agreed upon imaginary price and never asked for the coupon either. Apparently delivery pizza in the US works on the barter system.
If they called me on it, I…don’t know. Either lied my way out of it or paid up I guess. I’ve never done it again, I just wanted to know if the person on the phone would say “Wait, we don’t have any coupons like that you jerk.” Turns out it’s not hard to trick bored high school kids with pointless jobs. Surprise surprise.
I used to work for Domino’s, in many capacities, and let me tell you - we generally don’t care about your coupons, regardless of whether it’s for a free pizza or 2 medium 2 toppings with a 2 liter of coke. We don’t care. And we don’t want it because we generally just toss it in the garbage.
Now, if it was a GIFT CERTIFICATE as opposed to a coupon, yes, it would be unethical, because the way those are dealt with is kind of different. And yes, you can pretty much make up a coupon and most likely get what you want, as long as it’s not too outrageous. We don’t care. It costs Domino’s a grand total of about $2 to make an extra large Extravaganzza, which is green peppers, onions, olives, pepperoni, ham, sausage, beef, mushrooms and top cheese. We don’t care because no matter what we’ll make money off of your repeat business.
As for the ethics, I would go with what is wrotten on the coupon, see if presentation of the coupon is required.
I used the make up a coupon at a theme park which was known to always offer discounts. I brought 2 cans of pepsi and told them that I just heard on the radio that you would get $10 the price for a can of Pepsi - which was a deal they had a year ago. The took them for $10 off and really didn’t know where to put them in their booth (last year they had a bin for them.
Letting you re-use a dollar or so off coupon I think is standard, but one for an entire free pizza is kind of odd, but if the employee let you, then you’re ok, legally and morally.
I used to work for Domino’s too, and yes for a free pizza it matters, but with most coupons, what other posters are saying is true - it doesn’t really matter. But come on, you can’t just expect to keep using a coupon for a free pizza ad infinitum.
The only reason we put them in the garbage is if we piled them up on the counter for people to reuse, no one’d take 'em (we had an entire stack of brand-new ones out already). It wasn’t to prevent reuse, because the owner, manager, and myself (the shift leader) didn’t give a rat’s ass. We were making a profit no matter what; even with a free pizza, the free advertising the person involved would be giving us talking to his friends about how we let him reuse the coupon would be worth it.
If it’s a serious moral issue for you, the employees probably did know what they were doing. Use the coupon again but this time insist on giving it to them.
