YOU In Bloom ~ Clip it to the Bank Poll
Which major chain has the most room for COUPON improvement?
Please let me know by participating in this poll….
[poll id=”3″]
I am going to send the store with the most votes a copy of the poll and letter of encouragement towards polishing their coupon policy and educating their cashiers on correct coupon use. The more of you that share your opinion, the better chances we have of actually making a difference…. SO VOTE!
*If you have a specific complaint, please add it to the comment section and I’ll try and tactfully include it in the letter. 🙂
thanks
Wow….this is really great Collin!!!
At my Walgreens in Clarksville, Indiana, many of the cashiers make me feel like a criminal when I get stuff free and many times they try to say I can’t use a BOGO coupon if they are already having a BOGO sale.
I agree. The Walgreen’s BOGO coupon with BOGO sale is my most frustrating problem. I think Walgreens has the most room for improvement. Maybe if they saw CVS’ and Rite-Aid’s policy on BOGO they would change their minds. Their competitors accept it so why won’t they. Also, the fact that Walgreens has no written coupon policy is part of the problem.
There aren’t any employee’s at our local Walgreens that actually know their coupon policy. The manager and I had a discussion about this, and he also does not know their policy, so that frustrates me even further. Someone needs some education. I don’t shop there very often anymore our of sheer frustration with them.
I voted for Walgreen’s. I have the same problem at Walgreen’s with the BOGO Q’s. They told me that it’s buy one get one free and that I can’t use the BOGO q b/c then I’m not buying one. The store manager told me that.
Yeah!! this is great! thank you so much!
IT SEEMS LIKE MOST OF THE CASHIERS AT TARGET GET AN ATTITUDE WHEN YOU HAND OVER COUPONS. THEY ACT LIKE ITS COMING OUT OF THEIR PAYCHECKS!! ITS NOT LIKE THE STORE IS LOOSING OUT. THEY ARE GETTING THEIR MONEY BACK AND IN MOST CASES ALSO GETTING 8 CENTS BACK!!
Target has been soooooo bad about that lately. They scrutinize everything and huff and puff.
I voted Target, too. They’re inconsistent, which is the most frustrating thing. I like to know whether to expect a battle or not so I can judge whether the deal is worthwhile. I’ve run into more bullish, un-coupon-friendly cashiers there than at other stores.
I had one Target employee says this to me when I was checking out the other day “WOW…you just want everything for free don’t ya?” It was just rude.
I voted for Target as well. They really need to train their employees, not just the cashiers, but the front manager’s don’t know the policies – very aggravating.
Tell me about it! Target is not great at all.
What a great idea….sadly, i vote ALL of the above!!!!!!
I think the biggest problem is that cashiers and managers not not of the same page as the corporate policy. They have the right to accept or deny a coupon and they don’t seem to care about the general policy.
Great idea Collin, but I’d venture to guess that they ALL need to better educate their employees. Although, if we’re empowered with the coupon policy we usually can get it worked out… That’s why I chose Kmart because I’ve never seen their coupon policy.
I voted for walmart, but walgreens isnt too far after. The cashiers are clueless about the stores coupon policy. Seriously. Its a mess.
I think Target has the most issues. The cashiers are so uneducated and not friendly at ALL!!!! They need some customer service 101!
My closest Walmart in Columbus, Ohio won’t take internet printables. They also comb over the newspaper coupons as if they are fake and treat me as if I’m a criminal for trying to use them. I stopped shopping there.
I hate it when they make you feel like the ‘bad guy’ and you are trying to just save a few dollars by doing it the correct way!
I haven’t shopped there in 6 months either…. I called corporate because my cahsier double charged me for a few things and then 4 out of 10 of my coupons weren’t taken off either and the CS refused to help…. After calling corporate the store manager called me and totally smarted off to me… No more Wal-mart for me!
I live in Columbus Ohio and avoid Wal-Mart altogether. It has nothing to do with coupons…I just won’t shop there. Wasn’t aware they didn’t accept IP coupons but I’m not surprised. I never have problems at my Kroger, Giant Eagle, Target or CVS!
Where is the “all of the above “button!?
Agree 100% I every store I go to I have come across cashiers that are uneducated on their store coupon policy. So it’s really hard to decide on the worse.
I voted for Walmart because they seem to be the most inconsistant. Target at least has it spelled out in their policy but the cashiers just are not educated. So it might be a toss up….
No problems with Rite aid at all.
Great idea!! I don’t even go to Kmart b/c I’ve heard they stink at accepting coupons. I do go to Target but they can give me such a hard time.
I have given up on Kmart (their prices are too high anyway) so I voted for a store that I usually shop at that could improve their knowledge of their own coupon policy.This is a great idea and I hope it is effective!
Hoping to not jinx it, but I have had decent luck at target. I usually go with Collin’s suggestion and pick a young male cashier! =) I totally hate walking in Walgreens!! They are not educated at all and make me out to be a thief! I hate feeling like I am trying to rip them off.
WALMART! For some reason mine in South Carolina is barely taking internet coupons and any coupon that says BOGO free they refuse. Now they are even suspicious of manf coupons!
My walgreens is the best at using coupons. They will help me find deals I might have missed and point out store specific deals. Then they lady in cosmetics will let me do as many transactions as I want to make all the deals work. She is so excited to always see hoe great a deal I can get.
My Walgreens is fantastic as well. The manager always shows me deals that I might have missed. On their sign out front it says “Coupon Moms Welcome”….I love it! And it truly shows how being nice can go a long way, because I can’t hardly find anything anymore because more and more people are coming to this one in particular instead of the other 2 Walgreens that are literally a mile away!
That’s awesome!! “Coupon Moms” – I love it!!
That’s awesome Tanya! I love it when you get a nice cashier who really GETS IT and is happy for your deal hunting!
At one of the Walgreens I shop at there is a lady who works the evening shift, so I try to go there when she is working. She is fabulous!! She has a wad of coupons in her apron and will dole them out to anyone who needs one and will even go through her stash if you are buying something without a coupon to see if she has one for you. She also has a change purse so if you are short a few cents she can help you out. She is a sweetheart!
Walmart is horrible. It almost seems like they are looking for reasons to NOT accept coupons.
I had a coupon in there once for something. I had the required item for the coupon, but it beeped at the register, and the cashier handed it back to me. I asked her why it wasn’t valid since I have the item, and she said “I don’t know, it’s just not”. I took it to customer service where the woman actually looked at it and saw my item said “hmm, it should have gone through” and gave me my money back. I also complained about the cashier while I was at customer service.
We don’t have all the stores in my area, but I am going with Target.
Areas of success:
They have always honored a manufacturer’s and store coupon for me.
They’ve have always accepted my internet coupons.
Areas of improvement:
Price matching- not a single person could do a price match the other day. They sent me to the service desk and she pulled out a manual, and still was not able to do it. I nicely asked them to put away the product for me and went to Walmart.
Walmart in St Cloud MN is the worst, they have
accused me if coupon fraud saying that any
coupon from the Internet is copied and fraudulant
I won’t even try a coupon there anymore
Oh my…I’m in MN, not in St. Cloud, but I’m sorry you’ve been treated that way! That’s horrible!
Kmart is horrible all around. They will not be in business much longer with out change.
I think I would say Kmart out of all the above. I have never had problems at my Target, and yes, Walgreens cashiers sometimes give me the hairy eyeball when I hand over my coupons, but they always allow me to complete my transactions… I’ve never left frustrated.
At my local Kmart, which almost always doesn’t participate in doubles (booo! there could definitely be improvement there- why not include every store?), I had trouble the one time they were supposed to be participating. I called corporate to check and was told my store was participating, and also checked the published list of participating stores and mine was on there, so I printed that to be safe. When I got to the store, none of the cashiers knew anything about the doubling, they had to call the manager, who argued with me about it saying they weren’t participating even though I had a printout showing that Kmart corporate said they WOULD be. In the end, she let me use a few of my coupons (much less than the 40 that Kmart corporate claimed you could use that time) and ONLY that day- she said she wouldn’t honor it if I came another time during that week (which was the specified time for the coupon doubles). I feel that if you’re going to advertise a deal like that, you really need to follow through! I was totally frustrated at having wasted my time searching the deals and trying to make SURE I wouldn’t run into problems and still having to deal with these issues. Plus, I hate looking like a jerky customer… but seriously, I wasn’t about to leave without getting at least SOME of what they had promised!
I haven’t had any problems with any of these. I’ve had problems at my FRYS and Safeway grocery stores, but thats it.
I shop successfully at all the stores listed except Walgreens. It’s just ridiculous–the need for fillers, refusal to adjust coupons or item prices, and inconsistency. They should also impose limits, a la CVS and Rite Aid’s SCR rebates. Too often, couponers clear the shelves the first hour of a sale and they don’t restock all week. Limit everyone to one or two so more people have a chance to get the great deals.
Walmart is very inconsistent from cashier to cashier. Nobody seems to know the policy.
Wal-Mart employes typical have poor customer service skills and generally look at coupons as though they have never seen one before…and they absoultely do not know their own coupon policy. Makes me batty!! They always have to call for management and of course management is nowhere to be found! It is very frustrating.
K-mart cashiers (which there are never enough of) are usually clueless when it comes to coupons, especially when it is during their double coupons promotions.
It would sure be nice if Walgreens would write a coupon policy that we could print out to support our transactions!!
Yes, Walgreens can be a bit frustrating.. If they all had the same rules and didn’t allow the individual stores to create there own it would be less stressful. I was told at my Wags that I could only buy 1 body wash this week and the cashier refused to ring me up after that…. Went to another store (on the same road) and was told no problem,,,, very confusing!
I vote Walmart because they don’t double, they don’t have their own store coupons to stack, they don’t accept hardly any printable coupons, they don’t have very spectacular sales that coupons will go with, and they don’t have a Catilina machine or OYNO deals……… That all on top of the fact that I have NEVER walked out of the store and actaully had my coupons come out right…. if a coupon beeps (to ask for the price) the casheirs are so terrified to take it that they just pretend to and throw it aside so they don’t get in trouble for accepting anything. This corporation bullies there employees so much that the cashiers are terrified of losing their jobs and I always have to go to CS to get my coupon money back (I’ve called corporate as well and got a very rude response).
Target would be second, there corporate coupon policy is not too bad, BUT the individual stores are very rude and untrained
Walmart. The cashiers always look at coupons as if they have never seen one before. Then they need their manager’s approval – and the manager is nowhere to be found. Then the people in line start giving you dirty looks of frustration and you feel bad.
I voted CVS because most the time they look at you like you just offended them personally by handing them a stack of coupons and if your total comes out to be free or really low there’s one lady who acts like that money is coming straight out of her pocket. I guess it’s not the policy that need revised but the cashiers and some of the managers need proper training. Wal-mart is also bad. The cashiers usually just have a horrible attitude.
Target cashiers are clueless about their corporate coupon policy and price matching. In my opinion it seems that each individual store establishes their own rules. Cashiers complain about the number of coupons they receive as if you are asking them to pay the difference. None of them seem to be aware that their policy is to adjust down if needed so they just refuse to take the coupon. They needed to truly be coupon educated and more customer friendly all the way around. Thanks Collin
I have never had a pleasant experience using coupons at Walmart, therefore, I end up not going. One supervisor (yes, supervisor!) even went as far as telling me all “printed” coupons were fake. It didn’t matter than I printed on color and in card stock. I tried to educate her and say that these coupons are legitimate, if she would just scan the coupon, she will see that it works. She will then be reimbursed for the amount the coupon took off, but she would not have any of it. At that point, I just wanted to give up. I did not feel like calling corporate in front of her. This has happened each and everytime I have gone to Walmart, and I like to think I know how to choose my cashiers too!! I am usually really good at it.
Definitely Target. The cashiers and managers act like I’m stealing for using coupons. I’ve been talked down to and humiliated at Targets before just for trying to use a manufacturer’s coupon and a Target coupon which is clearly their policy.
I have had the same experience with Target – I hate the way they make me feel! It is very embarrassing!
Because of Target’s unkindness, the trouble that they put you through by them not even going by their OWN Coupon Policy, This causes me to never shop there
What a fantastic idea Collin! Bless your heart for caring about all of us couponers to make it better!
Wal-Mart – by far. I shop at Target, CVS & Publix and I have never had one issue with a coupon, from the paper or internet. However, when I began to coupon, I started at Wal-Mart. I always received huffs and rolling eyes. I’ve been told that they limit the printable coupons to certain ones and one cashier simply refused to take them all together. I told her that day that I wouldn’t shop at Wal-Mart again and I haven’t.
I voted Walgreens. My Walgreens will not accept more than one ‘like’ coupon per transaction. They say that one coupon per purchase means one per transaction, period. The manager has complained that people use coupons too often and get stuff for free. Instead of just imposing limits they cut down the coupon usage. They have deals that say buy 2 get $X in RR and the newspaper inserts will even say use coupon from Sunday’s paper but they will only accept a coupon for 1 of the 2 items, not both (talking regular $ off coupons, not BOGO or anything).
I don’t care for the way the manager polices coupons at my particular store but I hate that corporate has told us that each store manager can decide what to accept or not. That means that the rules are different at each store making it hard to shop.
Walmart,
Gets my Vote. Employees have no clue to policy at least at the Ridgecrest store. When you try and explain what 1 coupon per item means they act like we are dumb and can’t read. I wish that every employee of Walmart were required to have a policy at the register so when they do disagree with you ,they can show you in the policy and prove we are wrong. Whaty happen to make the customer happy and do what you can to figure out the problem instead of hearing I am sorry nothing I can do. Call a manager over is it really that hard and I know sometimes they don’t know their own policy.
You are sooooo right Ashley about Walmart. I live in Wisconsin but they do the same thing here also.
I voted for Walmart but Walgreens wasn’t too far behind. I HATE when I go to Walmart and they take a fine tooth comb to every coupon and every item I have in my cart. They act like the coupons I have are fake or act like I don’t have the right items for the QP’s I’m using. I no longer go to Walmart anymore needless to say. As for Walgreens, I hate it when they say I can’t use a BOGO QP on something that is on sale for a BOGO. I think alot of the cashiers need to be more educated on their stores coupon policies and this would help us couponers ALOT. The Managers to who get called over by a cashier for help with coupons do the same thing. So I think everyone needs some couponing 101 help!!!
Walmart has the worst customer service ever. And their policy is so vague, that every store make its own interpretation.
Walgreens will not let me use register rewards and a manufacture coupon on the same item since the register reward is a manufacture coupon. CVS will let me use a coupon and extra care bucks on the same item so I end up getting better deals at CVS.
I voted CVS. I have actually stopped shopping at CVS for the most part. I have tried 4 different CVS’s and everytime I’d use coupons, I was made to feel like I was stealing things from them. One manager even said that I was using too many coupons, that it was one coupon per purchase so I could only use one coupon… we argued back and forth the difference between “per purchase” and “per transaction” and she said that they weren’t making any money when I used coupons then in an extremely condescending way she leaned toward me, waived her arms over and over the items I was purchasing and said “this is one PURCHASE” so I did the same saying “no, it’s one TRANSACTION and I am giving you one coupon per item PURCHASED”. It was an absolutely awful experience and I refuse to shop there. Still makes me mad everytime I think of it! There is one CVS near my work where the lady is really nice and if I absolutely MUST go to CVS, I only go there. I now go to Rite Aid and I LOVE the cashiers there. They do not give me any grief and do not act like I’m ripping them off.
I’m so sorry. That does sound awful! I’ve found that it really depends on the cashiers – and more importantly, the managers. I would definitely complain to first the managers and supervisors of that store, and then if that doesn’t help, go over their head and call corporate. That’s just horrible!!
In my experiences across the county at many of the different stores…here’s the best to worst
1. CVS
2. Rite Aid
3. Target
4. Wal-Mart
5. Walgreens
I really hope Walmart wins!!! They need a good wake-up. It doesn’t matter if I have a printed coupon, an insert coupon, or a coupon from All You, it always beeps for item not found. It is such a hassle and then I hear the story of not accepting internet coupons so I rarely go in there. If I had to rank them I would say it is in order of the following:
1. Walmart
2. Target
3. Walgreens
4. Rite Aid
I have never had a problem at CVS. I LOVE going to CVS!
Walgreens! It seems like the stores can make up policies as they feel the need to.
I voted for Walgreens because I always have issues there. But, in reading the comments I think this is a pretty good indication that every store could use a more consistent policy. I have never had trouble at Rite-Aid and have actually seen the cashiers give someone a coupon if they had one available for what the person was buying. They also seem genuinely happy for me to be using coupons and getting a great deal but other people have complaints about the cashiers at their stores. Clearly that means that the managers at my Rite-Aid have informed the cashiers about how coupons work and to have a good attitude where this may not have happened at other stores. At the two Walgreens near me I think I have now been told about 20 different stories about their coupon policy, somedays they adjust prices down, some days they don’t, somedays you can stack coupons, somedays you can’t. It seems it just depends on the time of day and which cashier I get. I think all corporate headquarters need to work on having their employees every where trained equally.
Walgreen’s is the worst. They won’t let you use a RR with a mfg. coupon unless you have a filler, so you have to spend on a filler you may not want/need. The cashier (who is really nasty) told me this is because so many people were getting things free and Walgreens now found a way to stop that from happening. Really? I can get things free, use coupons with their ECB’s and are friendly at CVS, so that is where I shop now. So many people around here dislike the Walgreens, I am surprised that they do any business at all.
I love, love, love Walgreens, but I voted for them because of their coupon to items purchased rule. They are the only store that does not allow me to use more coupons than the number of items I purchase.
Really, I have problems with Target AND Walgreens. I live in a suburb of St Louis. One Walgreens told me I could not receive a Register Reward on an item, because I used a coupon. Another Walgreens, the cashier won’t let me use a Wags Q with a manufacture’s Q, stating the Walgreens monthly booklet of savings is a manufacturers Q as well & doesn’t attempt to scan to be sure. Target cashiers won’t adjust coupons if the item I am purchasing is a couple cents less than the Q and the register beeps. Refusing coupons if the picture on the coupon is not exactly what I purchased, despite the coupon states “any size, scent, etc. Constant vigilance during checking is sad. i could go on and on and……
It seems like most of the cashiers in my area are pretty well educated on coupon policies. I haven’t had any problems at Target or CVS. Rite Aid is usually ok but sometimes I have to convince the cashiers to scan the coupons by pulling out a copy of their policy. 😐 But Walmart is just terrible… they treat their customers like they are criminals. Frankly Walgreens is too confusing with their item number/coupon limit and the short expiration on RR and no national policy. So I vote Walmart as slightly worse than Walgreens.
Walgreens because they have no standard corporate coupon policy. This means each manager can set his own policy as he wishes–and change it even as he is talking to you.
This makes it also tricky when you have multiple walgreens around and each has different unwritten policies.