This guest post is by problogger Danelle Barbi Ice. She is the founder/editor of Homemaker Barbi, an online Home & How-To magazine with free resources specializing in homemaking, frugal living, printable checklists, and more.  If you like this article, please subscribe to Homemaker Barbi for free!

Nationwide, moms control a majority of the spending for their households.  There’s no doubt that women are a huge consumer group and decide which businesses get their families’ hard-earned money.  But do the businesses we choose to spend our money with deserve it?

4 Questions to Ask:

1.  Are the businesses you shop at asking for your input? If they care enough to ask what you think, it stands to reason that they are willing to improve to keep you as a customer.  Many store receipts will provide a phone number or a website on your receipt to take a survey about your experience.  Help them out and tell them what they do well and in which areas they could improve.

2.  Do the stores you shop at make you feel bad for using coupons? Many coupon shoppers have a story about a time they were embarrassed, rejected, or made to feel bad for using coupons at the checkout.  This is unfortunate, especially because many of these same stores would rather have you use coupons to shop with them than to go to a competitor.  What can you do if the cashiers are not being coupon friendly?

• For a chain store, print out the coupon policy from the company’s website and bring it with you to the store.  Ask to speak to a manager about their staff’s understanding of the coupon policy, and let him/her know how you felt while trying to make purchases with coupons.
• For a local store, ask to speak to a supervisor or manager.  Clarify their policy for accepting coupons.  If the answers are not what you expect, you may want to find a new store.

3.  Are the cashiers at the store nice to you? Everyone has a bad day now and again, but are the cashiers at a certain store grumpy or rude every time you shop there?  You don’t have to be treated poorly in order to shop good deals – poor service is not acceptable, even to get a bargain.

If you repeatedly receive bad service, try calling in to talk to a manager after you’ve left the store.  Mention how you feel from the negative treatment, making them aware that customers are getting this impression from their staff.  Most businesses want to keep you as a customer and will be happy to have real input that may let them know why their customers are going to the competition.

4.  Is the store encouraging you to get what you need at a good value, or just to spend more money? Stores want to make sales, it’s true.  But do they only care about the dollar amount of sales they get from you right now, or do they look at you as a lifetime customer that they want to develop a long-term relationship with?  It’s something to consider.

Women and moms are a highly influential group of consumers, and we deserve to spend our money with businesses we respect that treat us well.  We are important lifelines to their success, and when it comes down to it, our money is the vote that says whether stores stay in business or close down.  Never be afraid to give your input and get the great customer service you deserve!