As you probably know, advertising is key in any retail market. Stores have sales all the time with the hopes of luring you in. Chances are when you go to take advantage of these promos- you will buy other things beside the ones on sale, possibly full priced items- and that's exactly what these stores are hoping for. Ever notice how the coupons in the Sunday paper always seem to correspond to promotions of more than one store the following week? Coincidence? More like great planning between the stores and manufacturers.
Take Target, for instance, and their "$5 Gift Card with purchase" promo. A shopper sees this, loves the idea of getting a gift card, and goes to Target to take advantage. Okay- we all know it's impossible to only buy one thing when you go to Target! (Heck- I
try not to spend more than $50! Ha!) And Target knows this! Plus, the gift card is good on your
next transaction, so you will have to go back eventually (unless you are like me and you split up transactions and use the GC's on the second one- yes, you
can do that!)
Then there are those times when you luck out, and have multiple coupons, even stackable ones, that work well with an in-store promotion. Free items or even "money makers" can result from this perfect timing.
Well this perfect timing happened for me today. I made a trip to Target to get a few things, and to take advantage of the Venus/Fusion and Kelloggs Gift Card promos. Factor in the GC's, coupons, and a mail in rebate- I got cereal for less than 50 cents a box, 4 free razors, 3 free Olay bodywashes, and I made $5 off an Olay rebate! Then the cashier had the nerve to tell me that
Target doesn't like what I am doing, using coupons on GC promos! I literally laughed- and asked, "What? Why? Target doesn't want my business? I find that very hard to believe." At one point, she even had the manager come over because I had so many coupons and asked for a price adjustment on one coupon- he refused to do it- even though it
is in their coupon policy that they will adjust a coupon amount down so there is no overage! (Don't worry, a letter to corporate is in the works...)
As I have said in the past, I am fairly new to this whole coupon/stacking/rebate/register rewards thing. And sometimes I feel like the cashiers resent the fact that I like to save money and do it creatively. I get the looks, I get the eye-rolls and they act like as if I am stealing from their home. I'm not walking around, shoving things in my pockets- I am buying items and using coupons in the ways they were intended, and if they end up being free- well
good for me! The store
gets back the value of the coupon-
plus 8 cents (read the fine print- it's on every manufacturer coupon!), so they end up actually making money by accepting coupons! But, then again, there are some cashiers who are the complete opposite- literally excited to see how much money you saved and asking you where you got those great coupons- and it's one of the best feelings to see that all your time spent clipping and organizing really did pay off.
Don't ever let a store make you feel bad for using coupons. If they won't accept your coupons, or use their "right to limit" your purchases, don't let it bother you! You
will run into that cashier who had a bad morning, or is hungover and hates their job- and they will be rude and mean no matter how much you smile- just brush it off, and try again another time.
My biggest piece of advice is to learn store coupon policies. They are all different. Print them out! Take them with you! Write down the customer service and corporates phone numbers on these policies. If you ever feel like you are being put down or belittled for using coupons, or the cashier isn't following store policy- speak up! Show them the policy (that always catches them off guard.) Ask for a manager! If that is no help- call corporate while you are standing there (trust me it works) or write them when you get home. In the end, that good old saying,
"The customer is always right," will
always prevail.
Sorry for the long post- I just want to share all my couponing experiences, both good and bad. I am currently adding coupon policies to the "Grocery Stores" and "Drug Stores" tabs at the top of the page. Print them and use them! I will also work on getting customer service and corporate numbers/contacts as well :)
