Supermarkets Rejecting Sodexo Coupons: What Are Your Best Alternatives for Meal Savings?

Many supermarkets are refusing to accept Sodexo coupons. What would be the next best alternative to Sodexo meal coupons?

Sodexo Card as an Alternative to Meal Coupons

Supermarkets refuse to accept Sodexo, as there is an increasing number of fake coupons. The best solution would be to issue a Sodexo Card, something similar to Cash Cards. This card can be topped up on a monthly basis based on the corporate's input.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I have heard that Sodexo is not paying these stores on time, and there have been delays in payment for more than 3 months at times. So, issuing a Sodexo card will not serve the purpose.

Thank you.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I have heard that Sodexo is not paying these stores on time, and there has been a delay in payment for more than 3 months at times. So, issuing a Sodexo card will not serve the purpose. It is not only Sodexo but also Accor.

My Opinions

There are delays in making payments by these coupon providers. I had discussed with one of my known departmental store representatives who is accepting the food coupons. They make payment after 4 months. These big-ticket supermarkets are selling with less margin, and they calculate the interest component of the delayed payment in addition to the commissions at the source. That's why some grocery stores are charging up to 4% extra for the sum you purchased through food coupons.

It is the handiwork of a syndicate. Their sales volume will dip if they continue to decline the acceptance of food coupons. There are plenty of retail outlets still accepting food coupons. Employees are still benefited even if they shell out an additional 4% towards the usage of food coupons.

Regards,
Pon

Sodexo: Who Exactly is Sodexo?

Sodexo is a French multinational corporation. It is one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, with 380,000 employees representing 130 nationalities, present on 34,000 sites in 80 countries. They are the biggest beneficiary in this transaction. Since this is almost like a parallel currency, they have to invest a lot of money upfront to get the government machinery working in passing certain laws. They make money in three ways:

• **Receiving Coupons:** They receive Rs.100/- worth of coupons while giving back only Rs. 95/- in cash, netting a straight 5% gain.

• **Expiry of Coupons:** Sodexo coupons usually come with an expiry date (think of it as a currency with an expiry date *shudder*). Once expired, no retail store would accept it, and it becomes null and void. However, Sodexo had already received the money from your company when they issued the coupon (and hence a 100% profit!). There is a complex process through which you can get new coupons issued, but most people do not have the time or patience to go through the process for getting the new coupons.

• **Interest-Free Money:** The biggest of them all. They get money at 0% interest. Have a look at the diagram once again. Day 1, they receive Rs. 100/-. Day 24-34, they give back Rs. 95/-. That is, they have had the money for a full 20-30 days without paying any interest. In fact, until the coupon is used, it is practically free money (and they can lend this money at interest, thereby making money).

So, if this was a win-win-win-win arrangement for all the folks involved, why did the retail store chains suddenly stop taking Sodexo coupons in lieu of items?

There is no clarity on what exactly happened, but here are the news items floating around:

• **Increased Brokerage:** They have increased the brokerage from 5% to 9%. That is, the retail chains used to get back Rs. 95/- of their money, but in the revised scenario, they would get back Rs. 91/-. Already under pressure for margins, this was not acceptable to retail chains. Presumably, they formed a clique and stopped taking the coupons across the table.

• **Extended Cash Conversion Period:** The number of days in which cash conversion happens has gone up from 20 days to close to 60 days, thereby impacting the cash cycle of organizations.

I agree with the point raised by Sumit; let the numbers be validated by experts here. @Pon1965, you should not compare credit cards with food coupons. Credit cards offer a lot of convenience and instant loans (if I may say so) to their customers. Sodexo/Accor offer nothing to the customer; they simply survive on tax exemptions. Remove the exemption, and then you will see how many people would prefer food coupons. Someone should stop these individuals from selling parallel currency.

Food coupons are designed for tax savings. If such facilities are removed, how will anyone opt for such coupons instead of paying by cash or debit cards? The less said about credit cards, the better, as it may lead you into becoming a permanent debtor. We are not discussing the advantages of food coupons over credit card usage but rather focusing on tax-saving aspects.

Regards, Pon

Completely agree with Pon here. The issue is evident for the common man already hit by inflation and now by the policies of organizations whose self-proclaimed motto is 'customer is the king,' but their actions are far from it. It is quite unconvincing that the stores have stopped these coupons due to a so-called increase in commission by meal voucher companies, as I continue to use my Ticket Restaurant vouchers in my neighborhood outlet without any issues.

I am sure that these coupons ensure that a committed base of customers is directed to the big retail outlets since they have a relatively small network. It probably also brings in incremental business to them since, for example, whenever I shop at these outlets, I end up picking up much more than just the value of the vouchers. With this kind of win-win model, I am of the opinion that this is just a temporary phase and these retailers will start accepting meal vouchers soon. The big retail outlets just need to reach a decision that favors everyone.