Having trouble using Coupons at Target?

I’ve heard now from lots of you about the horrible experiences you’ve had shopping at Target. From them not taking a Target coupon and a manufacturer coupon together on one item… to them not adjusting the coupon down to the value of the item. I’ve also heard how rude some of the cashiers have been.

I want you all to know you are doing nothing WRONG! You are doing quite the opposite! Taking charge of your financial situation, saving money for the important things in life, teaching your kids the value of $1 and the list goes on. My point is that I hope you all don’t let one grumpy cashier or manager get you down because trust me there will be lots of them.

When you are checking out with a so called crabby pants. Oh and let me stop there and say that I’m using this name, so we can make this humorous. When you turn a horrible situation into a funny one… well, doesn’t it always make you feel better. Whenever I have one of those frustrating and very aggravating moments while checking out I always, always take a deep breath and say to myself- is there a point in getting angry? Will it do anything for me? I then calm down and always find something funny in the moment.

Now back to what I was saying. When I checkout and start having issues I first always try to explain why I can use these coupons. Sometimes just explaining what exactly I’m doing will remedy the issue. You have to remember that a lot of these cashiers don’t know anything about coupons and are just confused about the whole process.

If that doesn’t work your next step is to ask for the manager. I always try to be as nice and polite as possibly. The manager may agree with the cashier and that’s when you pull out the stores coupon policy (if you have one with you). Sometimes, though, this won’t do the trick.

If those steps above don’t work, then you have 2 more options. Call corporate while in the store. I know, I know, it’s a little intimating doing this, but it sure feels good! Or you can call corporate when you get home.

I posted a few months ago about how I called corporate while shopping at CVS! Here is a quick recap of what happened:
The manager checked me out at CVS. While scanning my coupons he stopped and let me know that I would not be able to use my L’Oreal coupons since the items being purchased were on clearance. I looked a little puzzled and said this must be a new coupon policy. There was no one behind me, so I asked nicely if he could hold my purchases for a second. He looked confused, but said yes. I got my cell phone out and called CVS corporate- 1-800-746-7287 (I have their number programmed in my phone). I asked if their coupon policy had changed in regards to clearance items and explained that I was in CVS and was told that I couldn’t use a manufacturer coupon on a clearance item. The lady on the phone told me that was wrong and I could, so the manager ended up speaking to her and letting me use my coupons. I walked out feeling like such an empowered consumer… maybe even a bit like a coupon diva too!:)

The main reason for this post was regarding Target and I’m veering off the subject… sorry about that! Anyway, Tori emailed me yesterday about the frustrations she’s had with Target. What I loved about what she wrote was the ending!

Here is what she said:

Hi Collin, I just wanted to let you know what happened today when I went to target, after the terrible experience I emailed you about last week. After reading your email, I decided to call Target Corporate. Of course they were of no help, so I sent a reply email to the email they sent me (the generic sorry for your trouble email). And I told them, that I still had not received any kind of response that would make me want to go back into that store again. And I said that I wanted a personal individual response that a real person typed, not another generic response. And this is what I received back:

Thank you for your additional email. We’re sorry you didn’t receive the type of service you’ve come to expect at Target when checking out last week. We know the importance of having well-trained team members. And I know it can be frustrating if you receive inconsistent information about our services. I’ve contacted store leadership and they will go over training information with our front end team members about your concern.Thanks for helping us make Target even better.

Sincerely,
Mary
Target Guest Relations
https://www.target.com/

So, on Tuesday, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with going back to that same target (which is only 3 miles from my house), so I ended up going way across town to the Super Target, where I had a fantastic experience, no problems whatsoever. But it was so far away. So today, I said you know what, that is a bunch of BS, I am going to go back to that store and stand up for myself. I had a cart full of free or nearly free items, and I was ready for a battle if they didn’t take my coupons. When I got to the register the cashier started to give me a hard time and she called the manager over (the same one who had given me such a hard time last week). And I said I was here last week and I had a ton of problems with the coupons and I told her that I contacted Corporate and they said I should be able to do it. And she said yes, I know they called me and told me to take your coupons. So she told the cashier to override anything that beeped and for her to take all the coupons I had without a question.

Yay for me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy. Finally some recognition that what we are doing is ok and that they are wrong and don’t know what they are doing. I wanted to post a note on the blog, but as you can see, I don’t know how to keep things short and sweet. But feel free if you want to mention it on the blog that the corporate site actually backed me up on this one. Score one for all the couponers out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I absolutely love receiving these kinds of emails! I actually get chills just reading them! Lets all try and stick up for what we’re doing! Like I’ve said a zillion times we’re doing nothing WRONG!:)