YOU In Bloom ~ Letter to Walmart
Most Room For Coupon Improvement
Thanks to your participation in last week’s “Most Room for Coupon Improvement” survey I have a winner (or loser?! 😉 )…. Walmart received the most votes tallying 1,230 of the 3,461 votes that we received. With this information and a slew of reader comments, I am emailing corporate headquarters a letter requesting that they consider reviewing and revamping their coupon policy based on the recent Hip2Save survey.
This week’s YOU in Bloom topic is All About You… part of putting yourself first is knowing how to have a voice and use it. It is empowering and gratifying to share your views and opinions. It helps build confidence and self image. So, with that being said, I have an opportunity for you to take your voice and put it into action. Power is in numbers…if each one of us writes an email to Walmart, think of the impact that we will make! I suggest that you copy and paste the paragraph below and then add to it an additional note with your personal view and/or experience(s). Together, we CAN & WILL make a difference!
In addition, the actions we take will hopefully help to improve customer relations and increase business…. It’s a win, win. 🙂
Below is the paragraph that you may want to copy and paste into your personal email:
My name is “your name here“ and I am a reader of a coupon and savings blog called Hip2save.com. Last week, Hip2Save hosted a reader survey asking which of six national department stores (Walmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, Target & Kmart) had the most room for coupon improvement. Walmart received the majority of votes totaling 1,230 of the 3,461. I am writing today to encourage you to use this information towards improving your current coupon policy. I would also strongly advise you to make it a priority to provide ongoing education for your employees regarding your coupon acceptance policy. I appreciate you taking the time to consider my request. With some positive changes to your current coupon policy, I will be much more inclined to offer my patronage as both a shopper and deal seeker at Walmart stores in the future. Below this paragraph I urge you to please add your own personal comments or experiences to your letter.
Please use the contact information provided below:
President & CEO of Walmart Stores/Supercenters USA
Michael Duke
Email Address: michael.duke@wal-mart.com
This is my letter to Walmart President & CEO, Michael Duke:
Dear Mr. Duke,
My name is Collin and I run a coupon and savings blog called Hip2Save.com. Last week, I hosted a reader survey asking which of six national chains (Walmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, Target & Kmart) had the most room for coupon improvement. Walmart received the majority of votes totaling 1,230 of 3,461. Hip2Save readers are dedicated to saving money and prefer to shop at stores that support their thrifty goals. In addition to voting, many Hip2Save readers also left comments. Below are a few of the comments that I would like to share with you. Please keep in mind that these are only a few of MANY that I received.
“My biggest complaint is Walmart, of course. I can’t stand the coupon limit per transaction; they limit you on the amount you can save, but not on the amount you can spend?”
“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.”
“I voted for Walmart. Their cashiers are not trained on coupon policies and it’s always a huge hassle to use coupons and always ends up taking a lot of time. It’s too bad because I always find so many things to use coupons for at Walmart, but honestly it’s just not worth the trouble I have to go through to use the coupons. So I don’t shop at Walmart.”
“One Walmart I shop at is just not consistent. I can go one week and they take all coupons…the next week they have to ask the CSM if they can take internet coupons (and the answer is yes if they scan)…the next week they hand them back to me and say they don’t take internet coupons……today they took them no questions asked…next week…your guess is as good as mine……”
After personally reviewing the comments left by Hip2Save readers, the top 3 complaints about shopping at Walmart are the following…
1. Inconsistency of accepting internet/printable coupons; Although the Walmart Corporate Coupon policy clearly states that Walmart accepts internet coupons, many readers have had cashiers and/or managers refuse to accept valid and scannable internet coupons.
2. 40 Coupon Limit at Checkout: Many readers have complained about the fact that Walmart requires a manager override if more than 40 coupons are used at checkout; Often, the cashier does not understand why the cash register is beeping and thinks that it is due to an invalid coupon…there have been many occasions where readers have had to educate the cashier as to the fact that a manager override is required. This makes the checkout process take that much longer and causes frustration for both the consumer and the employee(s).
3. Lack of details and specifics surrounding the Walmart Corporate Coupon Policy. One area to note is that the coupon policy clearly states Walmart accepts “Store Coupons”. However, Walmart employees seem to have no clue as to what “Store coupons” are. As far as I know, Walmart doesn’t have their own store coupons, so I would assume accepting store coupons would mean that Walmart accepts other store coupons, such as Target coupons. This needs to be clearly detailed and explained in the coupon policy.
I hope that you decide to use this information towards improving your current coupon policy. I believe that if you make a few necessary changes to your policy and create greater consistency with your cashiers by providing ongoing employee education about your coupon policies, the “couponer and deal seeker” patronage will greatly increase.
Many thanks for your time and consideration,
Collin
In an effort to keep track of how many of you are participating in this email event, please let me know by providing a comment below. Thank you!! 🙂
Sent my comments to Walmart….hopefully if lots of people respond they will take some action! Thanks for supporting this.
Many thanks – and I added…
“At the current time, I do not shop at Walmart – and absolutely refuse to shop at Walmart for 2 reasons:
-Experience with rude cashiers when checking out with coupons
-Experience with (even worse) rude managers when checking out with coupons
I have shared my feelings and frustrations with family and friends. Because I am a very credible source of information for them, they also now refuse to shop at Walmart.
Sent my email today. Great idea !! Hope things improve from this.
Thank you Collin!!! I worked at Walmart for 4 months. Much more than their coupon policy needs to be improved but this is a great start!!! Thank you for all your hard work!! I will definitely be sending my own email.!!!
I sent in an email today. Hope we hear something!
I emailed him today too!!! XOXO Collin, Kari
I’m working on my e-mail right now! i had to read all the other comments first to see if I could get any more ideas to add to it as well! Thank you Collin!!!
is there a way of getting the e-mails of others “in power” in Wal-mart??? I think they should also be bombarde! We should also spread the word to other couponers/blogs/forums etc(where its ok) about this bombardment happening and get more in on this! a few hundred, even a couple thousand I thik will be a mumble in the back of a mind, 100,000 cant be ignored!
I just sent my email!!
Email has been sent. I love this. I hope something good comes out of this!
Walmart can give a hoot about many things, lets hope this isnt one of them
GOOD LUCK!
sent today!
sent my email – thanks for all of this, Collin!
I sent them an email! Thanks Collin!
I sent them an e-mail. It would be wonderful to be able to shop at Walmart hassle-free!
I will be sending my email. I normally don’t have a problem with Walmart but today I was truly offended by the cashier who took the time to read each coupon before she even attempted to scan it (I only had 4-all internet coupons) and then proceeded to ask me if I printed all of the coupons and if I had an account for them. I told her no I didn’t need an account and yes I printed them all. The register wasn’t taking the coupons and she had to hit a button for them to take. She kept asking if I printed them and then after I repeatedly told her yes, she then went on to state that the coupons say that it’s considered fraud if they’re copied. I just looked at her and paid for my purchase, but asked her why she would make the ‘fraud’ comment because I printed all my coupons, not copy them. She saw that I was upset and then said that they had gotten some fraudulent coupons and she wasn’t accusing me of anything, she just wanted to be aware of things. I then went on to let her know that you don’t need an account to print the coupons and that there are websites that you can go on to print internet coupons without an account and named them for her. I felt I was being accused of something because why would someone make the statement about copying be fraud.
***sorry such a long post-I normally don’t post but I was not a happy camper when I left there. just needed to vent!
Just emailed! I also think a few of the “runner ups” should receive an email like this! Thanks Collin!!!
I emailed too! 🙂
Just sent mine! Thanks, i hope that they make some changes walmart wide.
I sent an email. Thank you for organizing us with this project. 🙂
Hi, Collin. Thanks so much for doing this. I will send an e-mail. I previously e-mailed corporate and my local Wal-mart regarding their price match policy. For months, I price matched and then one week was told we don’t price match if the ad states that a “shopper’s card” is required. I was told they felt it was a “gimmick” price. HUH? Every sale price in the Jewel and Kroger ads state that you have to have a card! So that just means they won’t price match their ads. It clearly states in the corporate policy that Wal-mart DOES match “shopper’s card” required ad prices. Grrr… I think you are awesome!!!
Sorry it to so long Collin but it’s the end of the school year and i’ve been to so many performances these last 2 weeks it’s not even funny! I email them today and I had an incident at the store today also only 1 Q per customer? What the heck?
I sent my email.
I sent the email and added my own comments. It’s a first for me to send a letter to corporate, none the less to Walmart. Sure hope our united voices bring positive results. Thanks Collin for going the extra miles for all your readers.
JUST SENT MY LETTER. HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE SOME CHANGES COMING!
Hi! I also sent an email. Thanks for all your hard work.
Hi Collin,
When I went a couple of weeks of ago. The checker was viewing each coupon carefully, I was astonished when she said she won’t accept coupons without the website. Told her that I have used these before. Then she told me, that they have to scrutinize the coupons carefully, because someone has been duplicating coupons illegally and used a large sum at Wal-mart. They don’t re-reimbursed for illegal coupons,
Mel
Not to defend Walmart by any means but as a cashier there I have noticed that it is more of a problem with the training of the cashiers than anything else. We do have A LOT of fraud associated with coupons and we are trying our best not to upset anyone when we double check to make sure that everything is ok on the coupons we do receive. If Walmart can’t recover the coupon amount from the manufacturer, it only results in prices going up to help recover those costs! I know that Walmart needs MAJOR help in the coupon department (in addition to other areas!), but give the guy a little bit of a break, he can only control so much. Your efforts would go so much further by calling your local store and complaining to the store manager (their name and phone number can be found on the top of your receipt). THEY are the ones who have the most control over the coupon policies being followed.
I sent an email!
I sent a E-mail also , Could the Cashiers Be a little meaner to us couponers or what?
Rude would be a understament, and I also tried to shop at 3 different walmart locations hoping this would help, well no such luck, Hopefully our email’s will get their attention to consider a few changes to the policy.
I say to Wal-mart Save “ME” prices
Save “YOUSELF ” the nasty attitude!!
LUMERTON, N.C Walmart 28358
I wasn’t for sure where to post this comment, but I walked into Walmart yesterday and they had a signs on their landscape saying “We’ll match any ad” and “We will honor any coupon” plus once I got inside they had a huge sign (almost as tall as me and I’m 5’7) that said the same thing. I think the letters worked!!! Hip2Saver’s unite!
Sent mine!
I just sent my email!
Sent mine!
I sent Mr. Duke a letter! REALLY hope it helps!
Sent mine today! Thanks for your efforts!
I sent mine today as well.
I missed this last week, but I just sent an email! I nicely explained the difference between purchase and transaction! =-) Everytime I go to Wal Mart I say I am NEVER going back…I have actually never experienced anger like I experience at Wal Mart! lol I REALLY REALLY hope this helps!
I’m just curious if anyone received a response of any kind with the letter they sent? I didn’t receive anything.
It has been crazy and I forgot to send an email until another BAD experience today… so I just got mine sent!!
I just sent mine! 🙂 Thanks for doing this Collin!
“…I used to shop at Walmart all the time, being in a small town with very few options of grocery shopping. I have since moved to Fort Worth, TX and Walmart is my most convenient place to shop for groceries and supplies. Before my move I have never had a problem shopping at Walmart, but after the move is when I began shopping with coupons and trying to make the most of my savings. Due to a few incidents at my local Walmart I have not been back since February. I have learned how difficult it is to shop with coupons and that the cashiers are not educated on the shopper’s use of coupons. It has just not been worth it to take my patronage to Walmart, and when I hear of other shoppers who read Hip2Save’s blog who have issues using coupons, it does not encourage me to go back to Walmart…”
Just sent an email to corporate asking them to clarify what– Store Coupons refer to, if this means they accept accept competitors coupons like from Publix, Target, Bj’s….
I gladly sent an email.
I’m sending in mine, but what did you use for the subject? I’m stuck. lol Right now I have Most Room For Coupon Improvement as the subject.
I too asked about store coupons and what it means, I also asked about price matching because I believe my local store does not do this and I suggested that they start doing double couponing at least once a month. I explained that they have money walking out the door because deal seekers to from store to store to get their groceries and if they did double coupons, it would be a benefit and they’d beat out KMart.
I also included my local store # so that Mr. Duke knows which store I am writing about.
Thanks!
Ok I just sent my email off with the subject as Most Room For Coupon Improvement. I sure hope this gets a few answers and I hope my local Walmart will improve.
Thanks again Collin!
I sent my email!
Hi Colin – thought you’d like to see the additional comment I added in my letter to Mr. Duke:
The Walmart closest to my house and the most convenient for me is located at Highway 183
at Esters Road, Irving, TX. I have had such bad experiences there and I now take my business elsewhere. This was not an easy decision for me because my mother retired from Walmart and I inherited her ESOP Walmart shares….I’ve always been a Walmart fan – until the stores became so rude over professional couponers such as myself.
Most of my patronage now goes to Kroger – further for me to drive but so much more customer friendly – a little more expensive but they double/triple coupons!
Wasn’t going to send unti I had a bad experience today. Let’s hope we see some results. Thanks Collin!
I sent my email today.
I just HAD to write an email today! I left frustrated, mad, exhausted, and without a single thing purchased at WalMart because of the cashier! I was hoping all the emails had made a difference.. so I just had to send one more to join the cause!
I had quit shopping at Walmart for the last 6 months because my Walmart had started to refuse IP q’s. I was in there on Memorial Day and used 4 or 5 IP q’s for Huggie wipes without any problem. So, I went back today for my Pampers wipes and decided to pick up a few other grocery items. Sure enough I get to the check out and the cashier starts pulling all the IP q’s out of my stack and says they won’t accept any IP q’s anymore. Uh, since when?? I was just here the other day! She called the manager whom she asked to come and speak with me knowing I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. The manager finally comes over…by this time I had already pulled the items back out of my bags and had her void them. He accepts all but one of my q’s because it doesn’t have 3 bar codes?? It’s from smartsource.com. I ask if this is a company wide policy and he says, “It’s supposed to be.” We all know it’s not in the coupon policy. If only I had a copy with me. I was so frustrated and it didn’t help that the other employees were shooting each other “looks” and my daughter decided to start having a melt down. Needless to say, I was HOT by the time I left. In my angry drive home, I remembered your post about sending an email to the President and also seeing that it seems to have worked at a couple of stores. So I just sent my letter, but I won’t be going back to Walmart again for quite some time. Super Target (next door to the Walmart) will continue to get all of my business.
I just came back from my Neighborhood Walmart, and I was informed because of all the fraud, they could not take IP coupons. I nicely asked for a manager and he explained the fraud problem. I explained that I understood but the coupon policy states if it scans walmart would accept it. He finally took them, but he made me feel like I was personally taking from his paycheck. So frustrating, I hope that the few that are participating in fraud don’t ruin it for the hosenst couponers that don’t! I also hope Walmart can stay true to their own policy!