Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Confusing coupon policy

So I got an email from corporate of the grocery store I had issues with* today and it included the coupon policy for my region. I am not not NOT going to reproduce it here (you can easily get it if you email them) but I found parts of it confusing. My comments are in brackets and again, do note that this is NOT the full policy, I've edited it heavily.

*I also am not going to say the name of the store in this post - I don't want this to be a Google-able resource, just a place where I can vent. But if you read my blog, you'll figure out where this is for.

General coupon policy:
Only two (2) internet coupons per manufacturer, per product, per visit, per day are accepted. [So can I make multiple visits in one day? Not that I'd bother but...] [This does explain the drama I had long, long ago where I tried to use four Internet coupons for four boxes of the same cereal and the register beeped after two. The cashier and manager told me it was the wording on the coupon though - it was NOT - it was the store policy. Ugh.]
The amount refunded cannot exceed the price of the item. [What does "refunded" mean? Does this mean no overage? That's fine - overage is just a nice bonus - but it's so annoying when a coupon is for $1 and the item is on sale for 99 cents and so OMG you can't use it.]

ONLINE COUPONS versus PAPER COUPONS:
Customers may not use an online coupon and a paper coupon together for the same item.
The online coupon will always take priority over the paper coupon. Stacking is not allowed and will not work
[This seems to mean no stacking with Cellfire and the like - but it DOES work. They need to police this better or figure out a better system.]

PRINT-AT-HOME (PAH) COUPONS:
We do not accept "free product" printable coupons that have no purchase requirement. [The manager was right about this then.]
Buy-one-get-one-free coupons and other values that have a purchase requirement are acceptable but will be MUCH less common than traditional value-off coupons. [So the store manager was WRONG when she told me they don't take BOGO printables. What are they talking about with "much less common" though? I see BOGOs often. Does this mean if I use a printable BOGO they'll cite this rule and not accept it?]
We do not accept coupons for more than about 75% of a product's value without advance notice. [Huh? Arbitrary rule is arbitrary.]
Legitimate PAH coupons will not be for a high value relative to the cost of the item. For example, a $2.00 off coupon will be acceptable for a product that normally sells for $5.00 or more, but a $2.00 off printable coupon for a product that sells for $2.25 is unlikely to be legitimate. [This is so untrue - I've seen printables ALL THE TIME that are LEGIT that give a huge percentage discount. Usually that's when combined with a sale but still. This is bizarre and confusing and makes me feel like I'll be questioned again and again. Not worth my time.]

PAH coupons can be checked for validity at: http://www.printcoupons.com. [GREAT to know. Although what cashier or manager is going to be able to do this on the fly?]

So there's some of the policy. I'm still confused, but I'm going to print out the full email and bring it with me in my coupon folder. The email said they would send it to the regional manager to "educate his staff" or something. So that's good...ish...

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