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. 🙂
I would have liked all of the above as an option. I think they all need improvement. Plus some that I could add to the list. Most have fairly decent policies, it is the cashiers that are usually the problem. And I was a cashier for 15 years, so I know it always isnt a pleasant job, but they really need to know their jobs better, know how to deal with customers, and coupons. I would say the worst store for me is Rite-Aid, a lady that works at my local Rite-AId screamed at me with a store full of people., I was right but we went rounds, the corporate office was involved as well as the Distict manager who I have a direct number to for any future issues. But I now avoid going to that store because she is so rude and hard to deal with.
I really think they get cranky about coupons not so much because they think we are ripping the store off but more so because they don’t know how to do it.
At any rate, more often than not I will stand my ground, but lately it seems to be more difficult everywhere, so half the time lately I just give up.
I am going to have to vote walmart. I get a different story on their coupon policy every time. They say the need to price adjust free coupons,next week they say they don’t take them, the next time they take them but do not adjust them. I don’t think anybody really knows what is going on with their policy. Target here in central pa actually does very well with coupons.
Walgreens is the absolute worst for me. I have pretty much stopped going there.
I’m with you! Walgreens hands down is the “worst”! It’s a different story everytime & you can’t use more coupons then items & they consider their register rewards a coupon. So If you only went to walgreens to get an item that comes with RR & have a coupon & you’re using a previous RR you can’t because they consider that 2 coupons for 1 item. If you use a previous RR from a completely differnet item you purchased to get a new item that comes with a RR the RR won’t print with the new item you purchased. Basically just a huge hassel & I don’t have an hour every week to argue about this ridiculous situation because you know where I never have any problems with any of my coupons & CVS extra care bucks
I voted for Rite Aid but it isn’t because I think there are problems with their policy, I voted because I don’t think that their cashiers are educated on their policy. I tried to stack a rite aid video value coupon with a man coupon and when the manager told the cashier to just do it the cashier acted like she felt she was doing something wrong. I felt bad for her but at the same time I have had managers who don’t even know the coupon policy. I just get frustrated that there isn’t good education for the employees, even managers.
Walgreen’s, hands down. They have no set policy, and so it’s all luck to see if they’ll take coupons, if your RR will print, and if your RR doesn’t print, it must be “because you used a coupon”. Stupid. Then you talk with customer service, and they have no idea, either. At least with Target, you can call the customer service number, and they’ll help you out. I’ve gone through periods where I’ve boycotted Walgreen’s, because my experiences there have just been so bad.
Without a doubt, Target needs to improve. Of the stores I have visited, they are the ONLY ones that didn’t even attempt to follow their own policy EVEN when they knew what the policy stated. I don’t mind policies that are not favorable… each store has a right to their own policy. It is their store. BUT when they have a policy, they should stick to it in each store AND train their people to follow it. EVERY other store I have ever shopped at was at least trying, even if they weren’t reading it right. Easily corrected. But how do you deal with a store that just doesn’t care if they are doing right????
Walgeens always give me hard time on accepting coupons.
I voted for wal-mart! I had a bad run in last night. They told me they did not take printed computer coupons! All the coupons I had but one was printed! I accepted it politely and called them this morning and spoke with the manager. She said that they do still take the printed coupons and apologized very much! She told me I could bring the reciept in and the coupons and they would refund my money.
I had that happen to me and the cashier told me to try Publix! I couldn’t believe it!
i had the same exact problem last night at Walmart! tried to say that my coupons were copied because they were in black and white. I tried to explain they were internet coupons and NOT copied, but she didnt care. I was told that each manager has the right to make their own coupon policy for their Walmart store.
wow!WALMART hands down,customer service is the worst,cashiers rarely to never say hi or thank u and its mission impossible to get coupons across,don’t even try ,i almost stop going there completely,but my hubby likes to go there for electronics and a bigger auto department.
I agree with the cashier comment… Most of these places have very generous coupon policies, but the cashiers are completely untrained and uneducated when it comes to the transaction side. More cashier training!!!! 🙂
My local Walgreens, Target, and Walmart are great about accepting coupons and deals! But Kmart is another story… not very friendly
My CVS refuses to adjust any coupon down. I know individual CVS stores vary, but mine wouldn’t accept my $2 off coupon for a 1.99 item.
Walgreens is _miserable_! I especially dislike their policy that you can’t have more man. Q’s plus RR than you do individual items. I hate scouring their store for cheap filler items.
I don’t have problems with the Store’s policies. They can have whatever policy they deem. I have a problem with their training. It needs to start at the top and go all the way down to the cashiers. They need to understand that as consumers we are not doing anything wrong by using coupons. I can not believe the remarks that some cashiers make,
amen sistah!
Walmart is the ABSOLUTE worst for me. They change their coupon policy every time you go in there. The cashiers and managers alike are so rude.
I have the most trouble at Walgreens and Kmart. I dislike Walgreen’s policy about the number of coupons and RR’s. It’s a pain to count items and have to find filler items to be able to save money in the first place.
It’s funny in looking at the comments that different people have different experiences at all the different stores. Since coupon use has exploded lately, I think all the corporate folks at every store mentioned need to be aware of the problems we face and that people do boycott their stores because of such problems.
For me, most of the stores I go to are fine. What I dislike about Wal-Mart is that their computers automatically reject a coupon and print out a piece of paper stating why and sometimes that’s not correct. Sometimes it will automatically give a price for a B1G1 item that is also not correct. Then the cashiers feel like they will get into trouble if the adjust it down.
Definitely a tie between Target and Walmart!
Walgreens is absolutey the worst. Every time I have shopped there I have had a problem. In fact I no longer shop there because it’s just not worth the hassle.
Walmart is by FAR the worst for me. I have stopped shopping there completely. Walgreens would be second. The only nice cashiers are the ones at the cosmetics counter. The rest are crabs! I have found that to be true of all 5 Walgreens in my area. Target is the best. There is one cashier that I avoid, but the rest are awesome!
Walgreens can be a pain, especially with how they restrict RR usage.
RiteAid can be a nightmare, when having their VV, in-ad, and manu coupons, so if I encounter a problem at a store, I have them void it and take my coupons to another one that knows I am following the rules correctly.
WALMART!!!!! Very rarely do I make it through my coupons without having to call for a manager. (In Springfield, OR btw) Even then they often deny me, not because the coupon beeped, but because the cashier noticed I was going to have a very low balance. It makes me feel like a criminal, and people get annoyed at having to wait. ( I LOVE walgreens. We have the best cashiers.) I Very rarely shop at walmart anymore. Its not worth the hassle.
I agree that Walgreens needs to have a printable coupon policy – AND they need to fix their item to coupon ratio. Especially now that their store coupons are ringing up as Manf coupons!
Seriously do you need to dig through my cart that is heaping full to find the item each coupon is for. I do not give you coupons for items that I did not buy. Anyone that has coupons your cashiers try to make it look like they are a crook.
i would have to vote for Wal-Mart. They are the most coupon unfriendly store so far for me.
i voted for target
By far, Walgreens. I rarely shop there anymore because mine say they won’t take internet coupons and can’t adjust any coupons down. Pathetic.
Walmart! Never once has it worked out for me there. I’m glad you’re doing this Collin! There is power in numbers!
I voted Target mainly because the experience varies so much between stores and cashiers. I can’t ever count on having a deal work. The cashiers need to be educated better and there needs to be more consistency.
Walgreens is awful. I never shop there anymore, especially since they got rid of their rebate program. It’s just not worth the trouble. The once told me that you can’t “roll” the RRs because it’s “racketeering”. Way to treat me like a criminal for shopping at your store! Sheesh. It’s SO not worth it.
Wal-Mart!
100% Walgreens. I will never shop there again. The last time I went there, I had a huge problem combining a simple Walgreens monthly coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon. I also had some RR’s and got some filler so that they would “work”. However, the register beeped and the cashier couldn’t figure out how to enter them in. The manager was pulled in, and when he paged him he asked for “Mr. Levine”…I found it incredibly odd that he doesn’t call his manager by his first name. So the manager was very rude to me AND his employee pretty much telling him that he doesnt know what he’s doing, and also calling my transaction “illegal” because I want to use two manufacturer’s coupons on the same item (100% not true). In the end, he said he used all the coupons but my total was like $20 or something, which was complete bullsh**….I didn’t appreciate being lied to; I’m not an idiot. I said something didnt seem right and to please cancel everything. Never ever again will I face all that embarrassment. I dont know if it was just me not figuring out the way RR’s work (though I THOUGHT I used the correct amount of fillers) or just the idiocy of the manager. But either way, it’s so not worth it.
On the other hand I never have any issues at CVS or Rite Aid (at least my local ones).
This is not one of the stores listed above but I wanted to suggest adding it to the list. SAFEWAY. Safeway is does not take more than one computer printed coupon per type of item and also will not accept ANY coupon, manufacturer or computer printed, which will make the item less more than 50% off the price. I think those two policies stink. I don’t even bother going to Safeway since I know I will find a good deal for the item at another store that WILL take ALL my coupons.
I have the most problems with Target. Their cashiers do not know thier own coupon policy and their managers are just as bad. Also they try to tell me that I have to buy the product pictured on the coupon even if the coupn states “$ of any one.” That bugs me so badly.
I know this is not on the list of store to pick but just wanted to vent about it anyway. I love the publix has BOGO but i wish they had a company wide coupon policy. Some stores will take target and walgreens RR but then some don’t. and most of their cashiers are not educated on coupons. I giving couponing 101 to the cashiers all the time. Sometimes I do not mind but there are times that I am not in the mode to give a class.
ok I am done venting now. Happy Friday!
Target or Wal Mart, but altogether, I believe that corporate should INSIST that management do a better job of training their employees…for example, would it be sooo hard to have a coupon policy at every register? Why do I, as the consumer have to instruct and train the employees? It’s not my job, but I will do it to get the service that I deserve. Please encourage the corporate office (w/ whichever company it is) to incorporate a better job of customer service concering their policies. From what I have read on here, corporate rarely is the issue, it’s the individual stores, and that’s just not fair to any consumer!
Walgreens! They don’t have a written policy, they refuse to adjust coupons, filler items, etc etc! All the others have a policy, but it comes down to training and Managers not needing to feel like they are right.
So Wags, get it together! You have such potential! everyone else, follow your policy, geesh!
Walgreens really needs to have a written coupon policy.
I have SERIOUS issues with Walmart- I am refusing to shop there unless I absolutely have to. I have had issues using clearly marked “manufacturer” coupons because it had a different store’s logo on it saying “redeemable at”. It didn’t say “redeem only at” and the cashiers refuse to scan it. I have had terrible customer service there and have found multiple items ring up higher than the advertised price on the shelf. When I spoke to the manager she said they would take steps to correct it, but did not give me a price adjustment.
Walgreens! Their RR rewards program is the worst! I once got accused of “stealing” because I tried to stack their coupon and a manufacturers coupon!
Ugh – I got the same line when I had $1/1 q on $1 Bic pens. I had 4 q’s and she said it “was like” I was stealing them and not in a funny, joking kind of way. I avoid Wags, but happily, my Publix accepts a Wags RR so I don’t have to worry about going there more than once a week.
Walgreens!!!!
WOW! I’m surprised with all the WALMART votes. Our Walmart will price match any ad and take coupons without any problems. I do search out the young checkers and they push anything through that beeps.
Gee…I wish I lived by your Walmart. My Walmart questions every insert, peelie, blinkie, or tearpad coupon, and now they refuse to take online coupons. Even though you show them the coupon policy on the corporate website, even if it’s printed that day, they will not take printable online coupons. From what I been told my all their employees, the “new policy” came from fraudulent coupons that were copied and pasted to make a free WII or X-Box and some other very high value “free” coupons.
Frankly, I don’t see how a coupon for an item over $100.00 could get pass a compitent cashier. I had trouble with coupons (from a holiday instore booklet) for $1.25 off 3 of any combination of jello boxes, philly cream cheese, or cool whip. Every time I used one of them to buy 3 boxes of jello…first they told me I needed to buy one of each item listed; second it was a fraudulent (I got the booklet it came from at Walmart); next they told me the coupon was worth more than what all three boxes were worth–not, I still owed at least $.25. To get that stupid little coupon through the system, every time, a lead cashier or manager had to override it. For what reason, I don’t know. It isn’t like the coupon was over $4.00. I have had coupons for $4.00/2 jars of salsa and had less trouble than I did with these coupons from the dessert booklet coupons.
my local walgreens, is the worst, the best is my Walmart I have no trouble there at all.
WALGREENS!!!
I have NEVER had an issue at CVS with my coupons. Walgreens needs to improve its policy just to continue competing with CVS.
The cashiers are horrible. Each one has a different interpretation of the coupon policy…its not even consistent from store to store!
CVS also had a successful method of limiting how many of each product a customer can buy. Walgreens does not and they OFTEN run out of the sale item quickly. Stating a “limit of one” does not mean anything…customers can visit multiple times and make multiple transactions.
You also cannot use the Register Rewards with manufacturer coupons, which CVS invites customers to do. In addition, the coupons ALWAYS print at CVS, unlike at Walgreens who is full of errors with those little machines.
I have a good walgreens but sometimes have trouble adn if they had a writen policy there would be no problems I need a clear policy like rite aid to show my store when something comes out. next would be walmart, they need store coupons!
I have to say that Target is the worst store for me. There are 2 stores near me. Store 2 is a little farther, but they usually have better clearance. But they have the WORST customer service. They turned my cousin off of couponing entirely. We went in with a coupon that needed to be adjusted down and got so much attitude. The cashier wouldn’t adjust the coupon down, even though I showed her the corporate policy. She called someone else over who said “we did it last time ma’am, but I told you we wouldn’t do it again.” and walked off. My cousin had never even been to store 2 and I hadn’t been there in about 2 months. So I have no idea what she was talking about.
Store 1 is usually easier to get through with coupons. But there is one cashier who says “cheapskate” under her breath when I try to check out. If I see her there, I walk out and come back later. I think she’s still mad b/c I got her manager involved when she wouldn’t let me stack a target and manufacturer coupon
Walmart… I think the policy needs to be more universal and understood among all stores. Too many of them are different and have their “own” rules. Plus their price matching policy needs to be clearly written out. Will they, or will they not accept coupons after price matching? (Doesn’t make sense not to be able to us manufacturer coupons with it since they DO get the money back, but a friend and I ran into a problem with that and she received an e-mail from corp. that they don’t? Eh… it is just one of the stores I tend to run into more problems with my coupons and the clerks making me pull everything out of the bags to make sure I bought the items I have the coupons for. Just a bit annoying and very time consuming if the register beeps at a lot of the coupons.
I LOVE my CVS!!!! They are very coupon friendly.
But Walmart, on the other hand, is terrible. It seems like EVERY single coupon beeps, internet printable or not, and it takes the cashier as long to scan the coupons as it did to scan all the items!!! It’s embarrassing. The other day, she tried to make it look like she took all my coupons, but there were two that didn’t scan. I said something about the one coupon and she looked at me like I was a crook for thinking my coupon didn’t go thru. I returned the other item later for the coupon that “didn’t take”. Walmarts cashiers definitely need some educating, but something also needs to be done with their computer system/registers so that they are more coupon friendly.
I think Target and Rite Aid are both bad. I’ve had problems at Target where they wouldn’t accept all my coupons even though I had the correct products (something to do with the register), then the manager got involved and accused me of making up a false coupon policy. I had to call corporate and the manager no longer works there.
Rite Aid just doesn’t seem to understand the BOGO coupon and BOGO Rite Aid policy even when the coupon policy is in hand.
As others have stated, cashiers definitely need more training.
I think Walmart cashiers need more education in their policies, in all areas. But, I also know that they are poorly treated, poorly, compensated, and almost never recognized for doing a good job, so I know that, in their shoes, I don’t know that I would love my job either. Walmart needs to overhaul the way they treat employees, period. They are trying to go to a 60/40 split, meaning 60% of employees will be part time, no benefits, no sick days, no vacations. I think that is a horrible idea, they already make squat, now they will be losing all the other stuff too?!? Colin, I don’t know if there is a polite way of stating this, but as a consumer, I would like Walmart to know that this is something I feel strongly about. I want to see the same faces in my local Walmart, I want good customer service, and I want to know I am helping to support my community by shopping there. I don’t feel like that is what they are encouraging by doing this. People who like their jobs, and get recognized, and fairly paid, tend to do better at their jobs. I think most of us can see that from previous experiences in different stores. If they want us to “save money, live better”, they need to “pay better, serve better”.
totally agree!
I voted for Kmart because of their many ever changing rules about coupons and their lame double coupon events. I wasn’t even going to vote for them since I now NEVER shop there because it is not worth the agita.