Monticello Live

CVS 90% off

Target 75% off toy sale

WOW! This week has definitely been a week of learning. I have encountered hateful cashiers, mean store managers and scared couponers plus I’ve learned a few things about certain store policies that I was not aware of until now. I would like to take this time to share with you in hopes it will help.

Let’s start with Dollar General. Did you know that when using a coupon on an item, if the coupon makes the item FREE that is against Dollar General’s policy? Well, I was not aware of that until I attempted to use my $1 Gillette body wash coupons for some body wash they had on mark down for $1. As I have said in previous articles, I do not do much couponing at Fred’s, Dollar General or Family Dollar simply because most of the items you think you are getting a deal on are actually smaller in size and not so much of a deal, after all. For instance, the Gillette body wash that I have been buying at Walmart or Walgreens is a 16 ounce size. The body wash at Dollar General is 8.4 ounces. Needless to say, when I handed the cashier all of my coupons she tried to explain what their policy was and did not do a very good job of it. She started out by saying that I could only use one coupon per item, which is exactly what I had given her. I could not figure out what she was trying to tell me. Only after I left the store and googled the Dollar General coupon policy did I understand it. So, that was my lesson learned the hard way about knowing my coupon policy ahead of time.

My next lesson was learned at CVS (which does not have their coupon policy posted online). On a recent shopping trip to Monroe, my dear friend Roberta happened to find the 90% off shelf in the very back of the store. She knew she had hit jackpot. By the time I caught up to her and saw it for myself, she had several things already in her buggy. The excitement escalated when I opened up my coupon binder and began pulling out $1 off coupons for all of the items marked down to 90% off. After coupons, most of the items we snagged should have been absolutely FREE!! I did say “should have been.” When it was time to check out, we saw that we had a brand new cashier with the assistant store manager there helping/training her. Normally, I always breathe a sigh of relief when a new cashier has help because that means I do not have to teach her about her own store’s coupon policy. The assistant manager started showing her how to ring up the 90% off items by just entering taxable item and the price instead of scanning the barcode and doing a price override. I knew by ringing items up in that way, my coupons would not scan so I stopped them to point out that I would be using coupons on the items and that they would not go through if they did not ring it up correctly by doing a price override. The assistant manager informed my very quickly that he was not taking a manufacturer’s coupon on any item that he was already giving to me for 90% off (and he was not very nice about it either). I asked him several times if that was CVS store policy and instead of answering me he just kept saying that he would not accept the coupons. Needless to say, I was not very happy. I am well aware that each store manager of almost any store has the right to decide some of their own policy as they chose, but the bottom line was he treated me like a thief when all I was doing was following the rules. Again, lesson learned.

While in Monroe, my friend and I met several ladies at several different stores with coupon binders trying to score some deals. I tried to speak to each of them and find out how their day was going. One mother and daughter group began telling us about encountering a very rude customer in line behind them at a store. The customer started screaming at them and telling them if they could not afford to pay for it with cash then they didn’t need it at all. They were very embarrassed and did not know exactly what to say. I know how they must have felt. It’s one of the biggest reason I always let others go ahead of me or if I get caught with people behind me in line I always make sure they know I will be using lots of coupons. I have never come across anyone who has been rude. Most are excited to see the savings. You see, coupons to me are just another form of cash. I feel like the time I take every week to cut, research and study the sales and available coupons is my job. The coupons are definitely my paycheck. I am sorry if others do not understand this, but I will not apologize for it and I will not be intimidated or embarrassed into not using my coupons. Most individuals that try couponing do not stick with it simply because at most of the places you go, you are treated differently because of your use of coupons. I have had quite a few cashiers and onlookers eagered to learn the tricks of the trade but for the most part, couponers are a sign of trouble. It’s up to us to change that stereotype. It’s about being nice to the cashiers and managers, even when they are not. Voicing our opinions, complaints and reporting problems in the proper manner, being organized and ready when we get to check out and making sure the coupon you have is the correct coupon for the item. I know sometimes it is hard, especially when you have a cashier telling you something that you know is incorrect, but kindness will solve the problem a lot quicker that being a hothead.

For those of you that want to know what I scored this week…here it is:

This entry was posted on Monday, August 1st, 2011 at 6:21 am and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.