Has this ever happened to you? You finish filling your cart with the week’s groceries, head to the checkout lane and place your items on the conveyor belt. The cashier announces the total, and you hand over a nice stack of coupons. Then, the cashier pauses. You hear the words, “I don’t think we take coupons from the Internet.” The cashier hands them back to you, and you ponder what to do next.

While most of my shopping trips run smoothly, occasionally even the Coupon Queen encounters a cashier issue or two. So, what are shoppers to do?

One of the best tools for dealing with checkout problems is the store’s coupon policy. Most stores have a written policy that states exactly how they handle coupons presented in the checkout lane. Many stores post the policies on their Web sites, and others have a copy at the customer service counter in the store.

What’s in a coupon policy? Information that shoppers can use to better plan their shopping trips. Coupon policies state specifics such as, “We accept Internet coupons,” “We accept expired coupons” or “We accept competitors’ coupons.” Everything shoppers need to know about what kinds of coupons their stores should accept is spelled out in the store’s policy.

With this knowledge, well-informed shoppers know exactly what coupons their stores should accept. The most commonly heard issue with cashiers involves the store’s acceptance of printable Internet coupons. If you’re told the store does not accept them, ask to see a copy of the store’s coupon policy. Most grocery stores and supermarkets accept Internet coupons that are legitimately printed and are not photocopies.

But, due to the rise in coupon fraud, stores are getting more stringent about the kinds of Internet coupons they will accept. Most legitimate Internet coupons contain a unique ID or barcode identifier and several other key features that stores use to ascertain a coupon’s validity. And any time the Coupon Information Corp., a nonprofit organization that monitors coupon fraud, identifies a new, counterfeit coupon, it sends stores an alert to watch for coupons known to be fraudulent or counterfeit.

When a fraud alert goes out, it sometimes has a ripple effect. Stores learn that a new counterfeit coupon has been spotted in circulation. Instead of homing in on the coupon mentioned in the alert, some cashiers may find it easier not to accept any Internet coupons. This not only hurts shoppers, it hurts stores, since most Internet coupons are legitimate and perfectly fine for the store to accept. Marketers reimburse stores for the full value of every coupon shoppers redeem, whether the coupon ran in the newspaper or newspaper inserts, was found on a product package or was printed legitimately from the Internet.

Here’s another piece of the cashier/coupon policy puzzle. I’ve heard from many cashiers who say they get very little training on their store’s coupon policy. It’s possible that you may be more familiar with a store’s coupon policy than the cashier is. If you find yourself in this situation, never force the issue. Simply ask the cashier to check the store’s policy with the manager.

A cashier issue most likely stems from confusion that isn’t the cashier’s fault. A cashier who questions your coupons may simply be trying to protect the store and do what he or she believes is right. We’ll continue to discuss commonly heard cashier coupon issues in the weeks ahead.

Jill Cataldo, a coupon-workshop instructor, writer and mother of three, never passes up a good deal. Learn more about couponing at her Web site, www.super-couponing.com.

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