Is it ethical to accept discounts for being LEO/FF/ETC...

Should Civil Servants take discounts?

  • Take it only if offered.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Don't ever take it if offered.

    Votes: 82 95.3%

  • Demand one, because dammit i want it!

    Votes: 2 2.3%

  • Could care less.

    Votes: 2 2.3%
  • Total voters
    86
Fast LT1

Fast LT1

Veteran
Member
May 24, 2010
2,019
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Sedgwick County, KS
What is yalls outlook on receiving discounts for being a LEO/FF/ Or other type of civil servant? Is it proper to ask for them, do you take them if offered?


I personally do not ask for any discounts, but sometimes i do accept them if they are offered. The only thing i do use a discount on is ammo, because well i go through a lot o it, and its getting pricey! I know a lot of places in town offer them if you are in uniform, or have i.d., i don't ever whip out my credentials to get free or discounted stuff though. In my opinion you shouldn't receive extra shit for just doing your job, as you're getting paid for it! Now for Vol. Firefighters i would encourage them to take a discount because they do that for free and don't ask for anything in return!
 
There are several things I know that I get a discount on. I will take the discount, as long as it's not something outrageous, or free (except pop... c'mon, 10 cents at the most cost!). And I'll only take the discount if they just put it on there, and they don't ask me if I want the discount. And I'll NEVER say "hey you forgot my LE discount!".


Personally I don't have a problem with "Officer pricing" on law enforcement related equipment like guns and ammo and stuff. I'll also admit to getting a half-price meal every once in awhile and some free fountain pop/soda refills at the gas station. Sometimes when I go to get a refill at the gas station, the lady behind the counter will accidentally charge me for it, then i'll start getting money out and she'll go "oh wait, I forgot you get it for free let me change that!" In a case like that, i always insist on paying for the product, especially if there's other people waiting behind me that can hear the conversation, I think it makes me look better to the public, and I personally feel better about doing it that way.
 
I do not accept anything outrageous. A discounted meal and the like are ok. I eat in town, so I try not to cite the employees, but I don't really give them anymore courtesy then any one else. I'd prefer not to have my food spit in, so a little bit of slack is ok. I do not give any slack, when it comes to OVI or criminal matters.


And as far as "demanding the discount", there was an old fart on our twp PD, who did! He would demand his discounted meal, and argue at the McDonalds drive-thru!
 
I'm with everyone else. Only if it's offered first, and nothing outrageous. Soda, lunch stuff like that is fine. There was also a Chevy dealer in Newberry that offered a rebate for LEOs, FFs, and EMTs. I know Jeep used to as well, don't know if they still do or not.
 
sbparkcop said:
I take it if it's offered - but it has to be offered directly. I always attempt to purchase first, though.
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+1. The right way to accept any discount.


Chris
 
I'm with everyone else - in my opinion, it's both rude and unprofessional to ask for any special treatment. However, I will gratefully accept courtesies that are offered to me.
 
In my area we have Sheetz, and for those of you that dont know what that is its like a 7-11, but anyways they have a policy that any on duty police officer, EMT/Paramedic, or Firefighter gets either free coffee or free fountain drinks. Theyre really good about it too, the one by my house we just get our drinks and head for the door and they just punch into the computer what we got and its never a problem. Some restaurants give like 10-50% off for the same groups of people. But my area in a whole is pretty good about just giving it to us, we never have to ask not that most of us would anyways.
 
Just to add, I always insist that I pay full price when off duty. Quite a few convenience stores and a few restaurants will recognize me off duty, and still try to give me the discount. That's really nice of them, but I think it would be unethical (in my mind anyway) to except a break off duty for what I do when I'm on duty. I know (as I'm sure most on here do) a few people that wear their casual duty shirts ALL THE TIME so that they can get a discount when they're running errands a day off. That's what makes these gifts and discounts go way!
 
Taken only if offered and a small amount, and usually with money in my hand.


We had one douche who used to demand $20 worth of food for his family off duty just about EVERY day. The idiot embarrassed the hell out of us when the manager called to complain. The guy actually cussed the manager out when he pointed out the abuse.


The chief banned free food after that, and rightly so. By that time, no one would be caught dead at that particular place anyway out of shame. There is a loser in every crowd! Luckily, the dumb shit got fired soon after that.
 
Doug said:
I'm with everyone else - in my opinion, it's both rude and unprofessional to ask for any special treatment. However, I will gratefully accept courtesies that are offered to me.
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Bingo!


Sometimes I may leave the difference in a tip.


I remember my and some other Deputies were eating and when the check came, one Deputy told the server, "Hey, we get a discount." The rest of the table got real quiet, real fast as we looked at each other in disbelief.
 
even for for the power company we get Food and Coffee now and then (during storm resto you should see what we get offered) the local coffe place the guy gave me one of the Discount Thermos one day and it is bigger than a large and gets charged as a small. this is a Local Coffe shop with Real coffee. i tip the girls well so do es FD and PD when they are in there (the NH Fire marshals use it as there spot).


and when i take the train to work some of the crew dont punch my multi ride.
 
Free/discounted consumables (pop, coffee, food) I don't have a problem with if it's offered. Demanding, that's just plain pathetic. :suicide:


I could honestly care less though, I normally take leftovers to work, saves money; and we've got a perfectly good coffee maker at the station. Pop, I buy the 24 oz in the 6 pack at WallyWorld, it comes to $.50-$.75 per bottle, 1 bottle per shift. Point, I get by cheap already. :thumbsup:
 
yep only when it is offered. Some gas stations don't charge for coffee & some of the fast food joints will give a discount depending on who is at the register. Oh there is also a tire joint that will give firefighters a discount but not cops. Don't know what that is about.
 
Squad-6 said:
Oh there is also a tire joint that will give firefighters a discount but not cops. Don't know what that is about.
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Because cops are the evil side of public safety (Insert sarcasm).


When I was younger I worked at a gas station and we were told that cops got certain things fo free! And that's just how it was. If something is offered to me, I'm noting going to turn it down, but I would never seek a discount or be offended if it wasn't offered.
 
Chick Fil a offers Firefighter in uniform a 50% off entire meal, Found this out coming off shift took family to eat and the bill for 2 adults and 3 kids was 12 dollars. couldnt turn it down. Problem is the closest one is 30 minutes away which sucks .........
 
I have been known to patronize establishments, particularly a local auto/tire shop, that is "job friendly".


Got all new brakes; pads, rotos, etc, and 4 oversize tires for my Suburban for under $1000...they take care of us and we see to it that they are taken care of.
 
Ethical means its either right or wrong. I do not ask for it, I always have sufficient money to pay full price and expect everytime to pay full price. If the establishment chooses to provide me with a free cup of hot chocolate or a discount on my food, I make sure to look the person right in the eye and say, "thank you, I really appreciate that". We have a local Panera restaurant that normally provides 50% off for police. Well, the slugs on my shift go there EVERYDAY and get a free cup of coffee and 50% off lunch and go back for dinner a couple times a month. One time, one of the slugs got charged for his cup of coffee. He bitched and moaned about it all day, saying he was never going back and they better not call the police when he is working... over a dollar cup of coffee that he has gotten free countless times before. Things like that are unethical.


Lets be honest, the establishment gets the benefit of increased police activity, which in turn reduces crime and those degenerates that hang out in/near restaurants. There was a McDonalds in my old beat that all the neighborhood sh-theads would hangout at. They would harass customers and drive away business. My partner and I would just go sit in the corner of the restaurant during down time and write reports or just hang out for a while and make sure that the sh-theads didn't feel comfortable there. The manager would always come up and give us a couple free cookies or apple pie and a soda cup. We never asked for anything. When we were there, the employees felt safer and more customers came in to purchase food because the criminal element wasn't inside. The police get a benefit of an affordable meal with increased confidence that nobody messed with the food. As long as there isn't an agreement that the officer eats for a discount in exchange for "looking the other way" about something else, its not unethical. I won't take anything more than a beverage for free, and ALWAYS make sure to display my gratitude.
 
mcpd2025 said:
Lets be honest, the establishment gets the benefit of increased police activity, which in turn reduces crime and those degenerates that hang out in/near restaurants. There was a McDonalds in my old beat that all the neighborhood sh-theads would hangout at. They would harass customers and drive away business. My partner and I would just go sit in the corner of the restaurant during down time and write reports or just hang out for a while and make sure that the sh-theads didn't feel comfortable there. The manager would always come up and give us a couple free cookies or apple pie and a soda cup. We never asked for anything. When we were there, the employees felt safer and more customers came in to purchase food because the criminal element wasn't inside. The police get a benefit of an affordable meal with increased confidence that nobody messed with the food. As long as there isn't an agreement that the officer eats for a discount in exchange for "looking the other way" about something else, its not unethical. I won't take anything more than a beverage for free, and ALWAYS make sure to display my gratitude.
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:goodpost:
 
I remember I was taking the armed security course a month ago, decided to wear my black MP shirt, basic gold embroidered badge on the chest. I figured id go to the range a little and practice after class, and find out later that they gave me LE rates on range time. Love that place to death, they even knew I was there for a security course.
 
Ethical? Depends. Are you a meat eater or a grass eater?


Cup of coffee or 20% off a purchase...fine. Getting free food/products and taking advantage of it...not so fine.


Asking for or demanding special treatment.....PLEASE DON'T!
 
ISU_Cyclone said:
Ethical? Depends. Are you a meat eater or a grass eater?

Cup of coffee or 20% off a purchase...fine. Getting free food/products and taking advantage of it...not so fine.


Asking for or demanding special treatment.....PLEASE DON'T!
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This reminded me of the potential for an image problem, too - going into an establishment and demanding special treatment? How do you think this makes your field (or public safety in general) look to the public?


Oh, I like the NYPD terminology, too (meat eater or grass eater). :)
 
Agreed only if offered, no demanding or expecting. If im offered anything i actually try to turn it down, if they insist then i will.


Not to jack this post but since its kinda similar, what about when they do discouts and such for military personel? Think we should have something similar or the like?
 
good way to spot a good and safe place to eat when out of town. are the cops eating there if so there you go
 
Ben E. said:
There are several things I know that I get a discount on. I will take the discount, as long as it's not something outrageous, or free (except pop... c'mon, 10 cents at the most cost!). And I'll only take the discount if they just put it on there, and they don't ask me if I want the discount. And I'll NEVER say "hey you forgot my LE discount!".

Personally I don't have a problem with "Officer pricing" on law enforcement related equipment like guns and ammo and stuff. I'll also admit to getting a half-price meal every once in awhile and some free fountain pop/soda refills at the gas station. Sometimes when I go to get a refill at the gas station, the lady behind the counter will accidentally charge me for it, then i'll start getting money out and she'll go "oh wait, I forgot you get it for free let me change that!" In a case like that, i always insist on paying for the product, especially if there's other people waiting behind me that can hear the conversation, I think it makes me look better to the public, and I personally feel better about doing it that way.
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That's how I handle it.


I also make sure to tip for what the non discounted price would be.....
 
Every Saturday night, the fire police from my station and another local station hang out for a few hours (roughly 2200-0200) at a Dunkin Donuts down the street from my station. That DD has a police discount that they extend to the fire police (I think 20% off, dunno exactly) but it always gets returned into the tip jar.


One night, the "crew" was hanging out in the gazebo out front and some lowlife walked up in a trenchcoat (summer night!) acting a bit shady... after he walked inside, one of the staff ran out yelling that he was robbing the place. The idiot had a machete inside the coat! The fire police scared him away and followed him until the state police got there and arrested him. The next day, the owner of the DD stopped by the station with a stack of gift cards for the crew.


Whenever I get a discount I try to return it doubled as tip, but never ask for it. It annoys me when people expect a discount and ask/demand it. I guess I just hate it when people try to "work the system". I know a local transport EMT (nursing home stuff) that asks for the 50% discount at Boston Market. She's not even working 911, just doing a transport job and getting paid for it, but...


I used to work at a Jeep parts company, I would always extend a healthy discount to police and military if they were in uniform or I saw a badge/CAC card in their wallet.
 
kitn1mcc said:
good way to spot a good and safe place to eat when out of town. are the cops eating there if so there you go
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when i moved to this town that idealogy is how i found my barber shop.
 
As long as there's no policy explicitly forbidding accepting gratuities, I'm OK with it when offered. Never demand (as others have said).


When offered, I refuse politely one time, and if they persist I will accept. There cannot be any expectation of leniency or preferential treatment associated with the gratuity.
 
I take it as its offered, and I ALWAYS leave a tip. If i don't leave a tip, the next time I am there I'll double it to make up for it.
 
Great Clips offers a 50% off for LEO, Military, Fire,EMS .... I tip to make it regular price so they get tipped well..... They know me now and seem to fight to cut my hair... :)
 
because they're cutters don't get paid by the customer. but by the hour
 
There's a particular place we go to at work where any size coffee is $1 for us. Sometimes I get it for free, but always try to pay first. If it is offered for free, I always say "are you sure?" with money in hand, and always say thank you when they refuse the money. The coffee isn't a big deal because they dump the pots out after 30 minutes anyway even if they are full. I go there a lot off-duty as well and continue to get the discount (because the place is so conveniently located) but never ask for it. I always take out enough money to cover the full price of whatever I am buying. The time I was charged full price (off duty) I paid it and didn't say anything, or even expect to pay less than full.


I don't believe anyone is entitled to anything free/discounted on or off duty, although you should always try to pay full price. Leave a tip so that what you pay is equal to the full amount if you don't want to accept a handout. Don't forget, some people may get offended by you not wanting to accept what they are offering.
 
where I work for the FD we dont get any food discounts, just a fountain drink at 1 quick stop but the cops eat free.. lol O well... But i never ask for it.
 
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