CVS shopping trip April 19, 2009

Took a little break from CVS as the deals in the last couple weeks weren't all that great but I started up again on 4/19/09. I didn't get the free glucose monitor because someone who might have really needed it might have went up there and I didnt want to be taking the last one. All it did though was reduce the percent of my total sale that I would have saved had I bought it and got the purchase price back in ECB's...

It was a short list but still a good deal. I threw a deoderant body spray in there to push my total over $20 so I could use my $4 off $20 email coupon I got from CVS. There was a coupon in the store for the bayer so I made out on that. Plus they had the ACT rinse mislabeled price wise and the cashier threw the receipt back at me and gave me attitude when I questioned it and said "The price is marked wrong" rather nastily and started to walk off so it was only then that I strongly demanded they honor the price they had it labeled as. I was unaware it was labeled wrong when I picked it up. Not my problem though.

• 2 ACT Rinses (18 oz each)
• 2 Crest Pro Health toothpastes (4.2 oz each)
• 1 Edge Infused shaving gel
• 1 Bayer crystal release (something like that) 4 ct
• 1 Blade (Scorpion scent) body spray (1 oz)

2 coupons ($0.50 each) off crest pro health + $1.00 off coupon for the bayer aspirin + $4 off $20 CVS Coupon -$12.98 in ECB's spent (got $12.89 in ECB's Back) - $2.40 in mispriced ACT rinse

Total out of pocket with tax included......$1.46

An entire month to get an answer from Toys R Us

This is a precise example of how bad customer service can be at a large retail establishment--in this case it is Toys R Us. The buck gets passed from Renee to Tabitha, then from Tabitha to a mystery person at Guest Relations (haha), then from the mystery person at Guest Relations to Derrick. And those are just the ones I am aware of. I am sure there were more.

Here is the series of emails I sent to them asking two very simple questions:

1. What their corporate coupon policy is and
2. If I can get a copy of that policy in writing.

What follows is borderline ridiculous. How hard is it to get an answer to those two questions? Apparently VERY hard indeed!

My emails are in blue, Their responses are in green. Commentary is in black. Note the dates also. This debacle took an entire month:

Sent 3/22/09:

Hello!

I couldnt find the exact category for this so I assume this is as close as possible. Could you provide me with your corporate coupon policy? I cannot find your policies concerning coupons anywhere on your site. It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide me with some documentation on what your company's coupon policy is. Thanks again!!

Looked promising as I got a response the very next day. However you will notice that They refer to the "promotion offered on this item" and to provide my residential address . What item? This is an obviously a "standard" response or an automated one--I am thinking automated for sure. Also note how they want me to call them instead:

Received 3/23/09

Dear (name removed),

Thank you for contacting RUs.com regarding our coupons. If the requirements are met, the promotion offered on this item will be automatically applied to your order. To be sure your order qualifies, please remember to provide a residential address within the continental United States.

If you would like assistance with using a coupon to place an order I invite you to call one of our Online Customer Service Specialists at one of the numbers listed below - they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and would be more than happy to help out! Thank you again for contacting RUs.com. We value your business and look forward to serving you in the future!

Sincerely,
Renee Lindholm
Customer Service Team
www.ToysRUs.com (800) ToysRUs / (800) 869-7787 >www.BabiesRUs.com (888) BabyRUs / (888) 222-9787 Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!!

A minor inconvenience--at the time. I sent them an email clarifying my question. I was still cordial about it at the time. That will change soon though in later emails.

Sent 3/23/09

Dear Renee, I think you might have misunderstood my question. I wanted to know your coupon policy for in store purchases--what all coupons you accept and what not. I cannot find it anywhere on the website. If you could advise me on that it would be very much appreciated.

Another quick reply. However now I am now dealing with TABITHA and she then informs me she is forwarding it to someone ELSE. How hard can this be to send me their coupon policy in writing?? I even boldfaced it!

Received 3/24/09

Thank you for contacting RUs.com. Being that ToysRUs.com and our "brick and mortar" Stores are separate divisions of our company, I wanted to be sure that your concerns were addressed in an efficient and appropriate manner. I have taken the liberty of forwarding your email to the appropriate department for resolution. You can expect to hear a response from a Specialist in thatdepartment within 3 to 5 business days.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. Thank you again for contacting RUs.com. We value your business and lookforward to serving you in the future!

Sincerely,
Tabitha Lorzah
Customer Service Team
ToysRUs.com (1-800-ToysRUs / 1-800-869-7787)BabiesRUs.com (1-888-BabyRUs / 1-888-222-9787)Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!!

Now I hear nothing until 4/06/09 from the "appropriate department". This response is very cold and basic. I spoke of no purchase whatsoever anywhere in the string of emails I have sent. All I want is their coupon policy. They kind of give me an answer but the response they sent shows obvious signs of being a letter they just copy and paste into an email instead of taking the time to answer an actual question with sincerity. And it isn't complete--nothing concerning internet coupons and nothing like what companies like Giant Eagle and WalMart do with their coupon policies--no itemized list of what is accepted.

Received 4/06/09

Dear (name removed):

We accept manufacturer's coupons for that specific purchase. Some of our coupons are specifically printed for either Toys or Babies "R" Us. These coupons can only be used in the specified store. You can only use one coupon at a time per item. We cannot accept an expired coupon. We do not accept competitor's coupons. I hope this answers your questions.

If you have other questions, please call 1-800-869-7787. Thank you for contacting Guest Relations. Sincerely, Toys "R" Us Guest Relations Team

What specific purchase?? I never mentioned a purchase at all! So this time I let them know again EXACTLY what I want an answer for, and also let them know my dissatisfaction with their "first rate customer service" (I was still polite).

Sent 4/07/09

I sent this off to you previously in reply but the answer I got was obviously automated and was not even remotely answering my question (which came as a surprise to me). I will be very specific this time in my queries concerning the use of coupons for IN STORE purchases:

1. What coupons does Toys R Us accept for IN STORE purchases?
2. What coupons does Toys R Us not accept for IN STORE purchases?
3. Does Toys R Us accept coupons printed from the Internet for use on IN STORE purchases?

Please advise me on your policies concerning the above three questions specifically. Automated responses that contain answers not related to the questions asked make a store seem distant to their customers needs, and gives the impression that customer service is either sub-par or would rather not take the time to help a customer with his or her concerns. I know your company is not like that. I am just a careful shopper and in these times of difficult economics every cent counts.

Thank you!

So finally on 4/20 they sent back their response, which you can view here. Amazing that it took a month to answer what I asked them and that I had to ask them repeatedly. One month to get an answer on what their coupon policy entails is excessively long. It wasn't a difficult request....

Just wanted to share with you what it takes sometimes to get answers from companies about this kind of thing.

Toys R Us Internet Coupon Policy

Finally they wrote back. Here is what they sent to me. I had to send them multiple emails though to get a straight answer out of them. Their response is pretty much ridiculous concerning this however----telling me they don't get reimbursed for them. Something about THAT statement reeks of BS...but here is what they sent me--misspellings and all:

***********************************************

Response (Derreck Wilson) - 04/20/2009 11:22 AM

Thank you for contacting Toysrus. In regards to your questions, Toysrus/Babiesrus will accept any of our own coupons, either received via mail or e-mail. For third party coupons, we will take manufacture coupons that are approved between our company and the manufacture. These are usually mailed directly from the manufacture, for example we take formula coupons form Nestle that look like a check for customers who turn in a rebate form.

In general, coupons printed from web sites, that house multiple coupons that can be printed in mass quantity, are not accepted due to the fact that we do not get reimbursed for those coupons. This also includes web sites that take our coupons and posted them for mass print with out our permission. If you have any further questions about this issue, pleasecall 1-800-toysrus.

Again, I thank you for contacting Toysrus.

Sincerely,
Toysrus Guest Relations

Kroger's Coupon Policy

Hi everyone I have some new information for you. I received the email about Kroger's coupon policy. They are too far away for me to shop there but I wanted to have something here for those of you who do.

This is what they sent me in response to a query about their coupon policy, and including their policy on printed coupons:

General Coupon Policy:

Limit one (1) manufacturer coupon per item.

Limit one (1) Store coupon per item.

The store manager has the right to accept, decline, or limit the use of ANY coupon upon view.

The store manager has the right to limit the Quantity of coupons/items, used/purchased in a single transaction, by a single customer, or in a single day.

Amount refunded cannot exceed the price of the item.

We Do accept Competitor Catalina coupons that are also Manufacturer coupons of items that we actually carry.

Do Not accept expired manufacturer coupons.

Customer is responsible for tax on all items even “Free” items.

We only accept printable coupons if they scan properly at checkout.

We do not accept “FREE product” printable coupons, with no purchase requirement.

We do not accept coupons for more than about 75% of a product’s value without advance notice..

Coupons will be rejected if they appear out of proportion or blurry, or are obvious duplicates. Legitimate PAH coupons are never copied, sold or traded.


Double Coupons:

**Manufacturer coupons of $.50 or less will be “Doubled”. **

**Manufacturer coupons over $.51 will be redeemed at face value. **

This Does Not apply to “Free”, Kroger, Catalina, Retail Food Store coupons, Electronic Coupons on the Kroger Plus Card or items prohibited by law.

Pharmacy Coupons:

We do accept Competitor Pharmacy transferred or new prescriptions coupons. You cannot use Pharmacy Coupons in conjunction with the $4 Generic Program.

I hope this helps you all out!!!!! Bargain Hunter Dad trying to save you some moolah!!!

Easter Bunny Letter

Hello again everyone. It is almost time for work so the blogging will have to wait until later on but I wanted to pass this one on to all of you. Those of us with young children know how much they like Easter and if you remember back to when you were their age then getting a letter from the Easter Bunny would have been mind blowing to us. So why not make them smile even more and get them a free personalized letter from the Easter Bunny!!

Go here to get your letter. All you have to do is enter some basic information like your child's name and hometown. There are no signups to do. Just enter the basic information and the letter will pop up in a new window for you to print.

Hope this makes at least one other person's Easter that much brighter!!

Official Coupon Policies

Here are some official coupon policies I have located. Go to each site and print them out and have them in your coupon arsenal. They cannot argue official company policy.

Walmart

Giant Eagle

Target (Emailed them about it---will post when they reply).

BJ's Wholesale Club

CVS (Emailed them about it--will post when they reply). My local CVS has accepted every coupon I have given them though---printed off the Internet or cut from the circulars.

Kroger (Emailed them about it--will post when they reply). I don't shop there myself but I want to have that information for those of you who do.

********UPDATE ON KROGER'S POLICY********

I figured it would be best to direct you to another post on Kroger's Coupon Policy. It was sent to me in an email which I just now received. This is the policy they gave me. I hope this helps to clarify things.

***********************************************

Toys R Us (Emailed them also---will post when they reply).

UPDATE 4/22/09 : They finally sent me an answer on this. Read about their policy concerning Internet coupon usage here. What is really bad about this is the amount of time it took for them to send me their answer (an entire month!!)...and the answer doesn't even sound correct. What store DOESN'T get reimbursed by the manufacturer when a customer submits an Internet coupon to them legitimately? Apparently Toys R US!!

Any others I find I will post for you!!

CVS and printable coupons

There seems to be some confusion whether or not CVS accepts them. My local CVS has accepted every printable coupon I have presented.

To be sure your Internet printed coupon is honored you should make sure of the following:

1. Print it in COLOR
2. Use the highest setting on your printer for maximum print quality
3. Make sure it has a scannable bar code on it

From what I have been reading, on a number of sites no less, is that CVS takes Internet coupons with a scannable bar code at the discretion of the store manager. So apparently it is up to the store on an individual basis according to their manager. I am going to write CVS and see if they will provide me a copy of their official corporate coupon policy. I will update this post once they write me back.

Again though, my local CVS has accepted every coupon I have presented--even if it was printed off my computer. I have heard other people say they have had problems getting them to accept them at different stores so it might be the case where printed coupons are accepted at one store and not at the other. I will let you know when I get my response from corporate.

If you haven't already done so, you should definitely have a copy of the coupon policy of any store you plan to use coupons in. It will help in the case of a dispute. Remember that if it is stated in their corporate policy that they accept printed coupons then they HAVE to accept the coupons. Don't let them snowball you. Be nice about it but keep asking to talk to a supervisor if you run into problems until you win. If they still give you problems then write the company. I will post in other posts the addresses where you can obtain the official coupon policies of Giant Eagle, Walmart, Target and any others that I find.