This is one of those military discount stories that I kind of see from both aspects but it’s how this military spouse pushed the issue that kind of rubs me the wrong way.
So before I go into my feelings let me give you the back story “Krystel Style” :
Military spouse goes to Home Depot
Military spouse purchases $50 in plants
Military Spouse goes to counter to pay and attempts to use her Military ID to get 10% military discount
Military spouse is denied discount by employee.
Military wife requests to see manager
Employee mumbles “You’re not the AD member anyway”
Military spouse walks out without purchasing anything and some customers who heard the conversation walk out with her
Military Spouse says like most military families she didn’t want to make a big fuss but somehow the media is notified
Military spouse says “it wasn’t about the discount but the principle”.
Refuses to shop at Home Depot anymore
See Full Story Here:
Here is where my problem lies. At the end of the day most businesses are offering the military discount to military personnel. I feel when it comes to the spouse it’s more of a perk and a you may or may not get it situation. I am the queen of utilizing military discounts because the truth is military spouses tend to do more of the household shopping than the actual service member. However, as much as I love a good savings thanks to the service of my husband, I would never push the issue and I surely wouldn’t get the media involved.
Yes military spouses take care of things on the home front and it makes sense to let us utilize discounts that service members may not have a chance to use while away on duty. That being said I got a little sense of that entitlement word that some military spouses like to throw around , and in this case I agree. I can’t even believe I am saying that because as you know I post military discounts all the time. When I post them though, it’s never in a entitlement sense. It’s because I know that us wives tend to relay news of things our service members may not even know are available to them.
The military spouse says it was about the principle, but maybe I am missing the principle? It’s not like all Home Depots have this issue . It seems like this was the case of one silly single store who didn’t have their information right. Is it fair to assume that Home Depot as a whole doesn’t support the military. Are you really going to stop shopping there because they didn’t give you a military discount ?
So now I ask: Was the employee wrong? Possibly! However according to the manager the store’s supposedly well known policy had changed. The employee can only go by what he is told. I really don’t know what to say about the Home Depot Military discount because I have read various stories of confusion over whether or not they offer a military promotion.
Should the employee have mumbled the statement about the military spouse not being the Active Duty Member? No but not because he isn’t right (to a degree) but because he supposed to remain professional and leave his personal opinions at home.
Do you feel this military spouse overreacted?
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Army Wife 101
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market. She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries.
Krystel is the mom of two and an Army Wife. In addition to Army Wife 101 she is the Co-Founder of SoFluential.com a digital media agency that connects brands with the military market.
She has appeared on MSNBC ,FOX LA and formerly was a weekly contributor to HLN's "Raising America". She has written for various outlets including Sheknows and Lifetime and is a big fan of cupcakes and french fries. 6 Comments on Military Spouse Denied Home Depot Discount: Did She Overreact?
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Some military wives fail to realize that discounts are a perk and not an entitlement. Businesses do not have to grant discounts so when we do get them we should be thankful and not act out and give us all a bad name.
From what I read it doesn’t sound like she walked out because of the lack of discount, but the complete rudeness and unprofessional behavior of the cashier.
Do we as military spouses DESERVE a military discount, no, but if a company says they offer one, which most of us know Home Depot does offer one, and then you get sassed by a jerk, honestly he’d be lucky not to be slapped.
Personally, I’d have stayed and talked to the manager and made sure he understood what a poor representative he had working for him. My husband would then probably go in and give the jerk a piece of his mind as well.
I do respectfully disagree with this statement of yours. It might seem disrespectful but at an employee standpoint it’s straight annoying. I was an employee at a movie theater which offered military discounts per ID and yes I have since been in the military several years before anyone argues” you don’t know what it’s like.” While I worked at the theater located a few miles away from an army base the policy was one military discount per AD, dependant, retired, disabled. At first I had no problems if a solider came with his wife and kids and the wife forgot her ID which in my opinion is stupid since there is a SSN on it and giving them all the military discount. However this really started to change when the spouse spouses would come by themselves or with their girlfriends/Boyfriend (yes even male spouses) They’d bring groups of 4-5 kids all in the same age group only one of which was a military members child and throw a fit when they did get minus 25 cents per ticket. I have made the same response but in such a way you understand you’re wrong., “you are not the active duty member, we extend this as a gratitude to them for their service, you on the other hand we extend it as a courtesy because always moving and dealing with training can be a burden, but if you think you’re entitled to something because of their sacrifice you are dead wrong. ” The fact she requested a manager usually indicates a negative any time I couldn’t give a discount for special showings or because of 3rd party purchases it was always a hissy “let me speak to your manager” the demeanor presented was I’m the customer so I’m right no matter what. I’m going to get you in trouble.Granted I was a 17/18 year old at the time and already had plans for my future I worked my job like my life depended on it llearned it’s rules policies ect. It always annoys me when a spouse demands a discount even into my service years. I went out to eat with a few of my friends who were also in the service and their families. We ate and got the checks. One of the wives took all our checks and chased the waitress down and demand the military discount and how dare she not know we were military even though we weren’t anywhere near a major military installation. It saved me 2$ on a 22$ plate I felt so bad for the waitress and the thing my friends wife had done that I just moved that extra 2$ ontop of her tip.
If her husband would have gone in with her they would have gotten the discount and the store would have gotten a sale. He was most likely at work. So now the store looses a sale, a customer, and gets bad publicity over 10%? If your offering a discount to one family member, why wouldn’t the spouse be able to pick something up?
The discount is available to retired, AD, disabled, and dependents. So there for spouses do get the discount. Yes the cashier was wrong for the comment that was made but she did over react. I am a military spouse and I worm for homedepot as a manager over the customer service department. We give discounts to support military because we close to not cause we have to. Everyone should appreciate what you get when you get it. Its not a must it cause we support our military. We honor the discount on most stuff in the store unless the vendor itself does not allow this discount not the store. Like John Deere for example doesn’t allow the military discount and a cashier cant even over ride the computer and give it if they wanted to. We are lik every other business like reaturaunts some dont offer it at all but some do and the ones that do only offer it on certain days. So do get it twisted. Homedepot offers the military discount to spouse’s just not on some stuff but by the vendors choice not ours.