Coupon Policies

Posted on | July 23, 2009 | 1 Comment

coupons2

Have I told you lately how much I love it when you leave me comments? It’s what we bloggers thrive on, so anytime you want to contact me or say something – DON’T BE SHY. One of my readers, Grace, just asked for some help with printable coupons. She tried to use one at her local Tom Thumb (Safeway) and they nicely told her they don’t take printable coupons. If you see Safeway’s coupon policy below you will see that it states they do take Internet coupons. In this case I would call the 800# listed to figure out the real deal.

This confusion seems to be happening more and more, so I went ahead and requested the coupon policy from every store I could think of. I requested information on their coupon policy in general, as well as in regards to printable Internet coupons. I was very surprised at the response I received from some of them. With so many people using coupons these days you would think all stores would have a clean cut policy regarding coupon use that is easy to access, but this definitely not the case.

Printable coupons are a wonderful thing as well as a thorn in your side. I always prefer using a coupon printed in the paper or from the manufacturer, simply because I rarely have a problem using them. However, you just can’t beat the ease and convenience of printing out a coupon, especially when it comes with the deal all laid out for you. The problem is once you print it, you really have no idea how the deal will go.

Keep in mind that you can do everything right, follow all the rules and it really boils down to the cashier that you have. Many cashiers are not properly educated about coupons and some just seem to enjoy rejecting them whenever possible. I know I have my favorite cashiers at every store, and many of my readers do as well. It makes it so much easier to have a cashier that knows the rules and doesn’t have pent up anger against coupon users. If you are going to shop with Internet coupons (or any other coupon for that matter), you must be prepared and educated.

I have gone ahead and copied all the replies I received thus far and pasted them below. This way you can see for yourself the policies of the stores that you shop at. I will continue to add any responses I receive to this post and will link it to my sidebar so you can easily check back.

A & P

A&P Corporate Customer Service
(866) 443-7374

RE: Coupon Policy

Dear Ms. Customer,

Thank you for your recent correspondence. Our Coupon Policy is as follows:

COUPON POLICY

-Manufacturer coupons are accepted at face value in all stores without a limit

-Stores honoring double coupons can accept up to four coupons for four individually purchased items (example; if a customer purchases five cans of Maxwell House coffee and has five coupons, the cashier can double four manufacturers coupons and takes a fifth coupon at face value).

-Customers will not receive money back if the coupon value is greater than the retail price

-Internet coupons are not accepted

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us and for allowing us the opportunity to address your inquiry.

Thanks,

L. Williams

CVS

Dear Liz,

Thank you for contacting CVS in regards to our coupon policy. I have listed it for you below.

CVS/pharmacy does accept manufacturer’s coupons that have been obtained from an approved Web site sponsored by the manufacturer. The coupon should be complete and contain a bar code that can be scanned at the register.

Please feel free to visit www.cvs.com and go to the ”Save With In-store Coupons” box and click on “start printing now”. To print coupons, check the box next to the Clip! icon, (or click ”Select All Offers”) and then click ”Print Now”. Please note that these coupons can be redeemed at CVS/pharmacy stores only and all manufacturer requirements must be met.

Our registers are set to allow 1 CVS coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon per item. CVS Extra Buck coupons are earned when you make a qualifying purchase. These print out instantly at the register upon reaching the threshold for the offer. Free coupons or “offers at the register” are unearned and issued to you as a valued member of the CVS/pharmacy ExtraCare program. These coupons take the form of “open ended” coupons such as $3 off $15 or a certain dollar amount off a specific item. In any given transaction our registers will allow only one “open ended” coupon per transaction and more than one Extra Buck coupon provided the purchase threshold has been met for each offer amount on a per-transaction basis.

In the case where a particular item is on sale for “buy one get one free” (BOGO), you are only allowed to use one manufacturer’s coupon. For instance, if Revlon lipstick is on sale for BOGO, you can use one manufacturer’s BOGO coupon. You would get both items free & pay any applicable tax. When an item is on sale for buy one, get one free and the customer has a buy one get one free coupon for that same product, the coupon will be accepted and both items will essentially become free (plus any applicable sales tax).

Also, two manufacturer coupons can be used on a buy one get one free purchase as long as two items are scanned at the register. The system logic sees two items scanned and will allow two coupons. The Store Manager can limit quantities.

Again, Liz, thank you for contacting us. We value your business and look forward to serving you in the future. Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Jennifer

CVS/pharmacy

Customer Relations

PATHMARK

Thank you for your message.

The policy can be viewed at the service desk of any store. We are not in a position to transmit it via e mail.

Frank P
Customer Care

PUBLIX

Thank you for your email. We appreciate our customers taking the time to contact us.

Thank you for taking the time to contact our corporate office about our coupon policy.

Because the stipulations by manufacturers can be different, it is difficult to have a policy that covers all situations. Our basic policy is to adhere to the stipulations printed on all coupons.

We do accept coupons printed from the Internet. Our goal is to accept coupons unless there is a legal compliance issue. If you have a question about a particular coupon, I would suggest checking with the Store Manager or Customer Service Manager at the store where you will be shopping.

We sincerely thank you for shopping at Publix. We know you have a choice when it comes to selecting a supermarket, and we appreciate your having chosen Publix. I hope you will continue to find shopping at Publix a pleasure.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact us. If we can be of any further assistance regarding this matter, please either call our Consumer Relations toll-free number at 1-800-242-1227, write us at the Publix Super Markets Corporate Office, PO Box 407, Lakeland, FL 33802, ATTN: Consumer Relations, or contact us at our website, publix.com and mention your reference number, # 640406.

Sincerely,
Leslie Spencer

SAFEWAY

Dear Sweetwatersavings:

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the acceptance of Internet coupons at your local Safeway store.

For your convenience, we have provided the policy related to Internet coupons. Printable Internet Coupons are defined as on-line print at home coupons that consumers receive from either a retailer website (for example: Safeway.com), a manufacturer website (for example: Kraft Foods.com) or from a legitimate coupon website, (for example: Coupons.com).

These websites typically require shoppers to register on-line before granting access to print the coupon, and generally limit the customer to print only one type of coupon from their website to discourage duplicates coming from a single computer.

In order to insure that we accept only legitimate printable Internet coupons, Safeway has adopted the following store policies and guidelines. These policies and guidelines are company wide.

1. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons that do not have a manufacturer’s bar code or manufacturer’s redemption instructions.

2. We will accept any printable Internet coupons only if they scan properly at checkout.

3. We will not accept more than one “copy” of the same printable Internet coupon per customer.

4. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons for a Free Product other than a “Buy One Get One Free Offer” that requires a purchase of the like item.

5. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons for more than a $5.00 value or for more than 50% of a product’s retail price, whichever of the two is lower.

6. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons that do not have an easy to read expiration date or that extend more than 12 weeks. Most printable Internet coupons may expire 30-45 days after you print them.

7. We will not accept any printable Internet coupons that appear out of proportion, appear blurry, or are obvious duplicates.

8. Any printable Internet coupons that appear to have been altered in any way may be rejected. Printable Internet coupons are nearly always printed using the same technology and therefore have a standard format, with very specific security features, including a unique serial code.

Thank you again for your patience. If you would like to discuss this further or if any of your account information needs updating, please reply to this email or call our toll free number at 1-877-723-3929 and reference contact I.D. 15143605. One of our associates will be happy to assist you.

We appreciate your business and look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you for shopping at Safeway.

Sincerely,

Stephen King
Customer Service Center

TARGET

Dear Liz,

Thanks for asking us about using coupons at Target. Coupons are a great way to save even more when shopping with us, and it’s easy to use them at our stores. Because of the variety of coupons available to our guests, we do have some guidelines for how coupons can be redeemed at Target.

When accepting coupons, we use the following guidelines:

- We accept two kinds of coupons: Target-issued and manufacturer-issued.
- We’ll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
- We can’t give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in this case, we’re able to adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.
- We can’t accept coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in our stores.
- All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier while you’re checking out.

For questions about using a specific coupon, we encourage you to stop by the Guest Service Desk and ask to speak with the Guest Service Team Leader. They’ll do their best to help while you’re in the store. If you still have questions after speaking with them, please call our Guest Relations team at (800) 440-0680. Either way, we’re here to help!

We appreciate the opportunity to share this information with you.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey
Target Guest Relations

WALGREENS

Dear Liz Sweetwatersavings,

Thank you for contacting walgreens.com customer service.
This is in response to your email regarding the coupon policy
for Walgreens.

We apologize for the inconvenience, our online coupon codes
have different requirements to be used, ever code is different
and some codes and be used together while others can not. If
you are having difficulties with an online coupon code we ask
that you please reply to this e-mail with the following
information so that we may better assist you.

1. Coupon code you are trying to use.

2. Any error messages that you are receiving while trying to
use that code.

If this is in regards to in-store coupons, we ask that you
please contact your local Walgreens store or our Consumer
Relation Department.

You can reach Consumer Relations at
1411 Lake Cook Rd
Deerfield, IL 60015
MS#L428
1-800-925-4733 option #4
consumerrelations.bb@walgreens.com

If you have any further questions or need additional
information regarding our website, please reply to this e-mail,
or contact us at the toll-free number below.

We at walgreens.com look forward to serving all of your
prescription, photo and drugstore needs.

Sincerely,

Melanie S.
http://www.walgreens.com
customerservice@mail2.walgreens.com
Customer Service toll-free at (877) 250-5823
24 hours a day / 7 days a week
For our Online Privacy & Security Policy visit
http://www.walgreens.com/help/privacyandsecurity.jsp.

*Liz here* I was quite specific in my e-mail that I was looking for their policy regarding accepting coupons and coupons printed on the internet and this was the response I received. I have requested their coupon policy again from the new e-mail they suggested.

WALMART

Thank you for your message.

Dear Liz,

Wal-Mart Stores can accept coupons that are available on the internet for customers to print from their home computers. The following are guidelines for the stores for accepting internet coupons:

- The coupon should be legible and say “Manufacturer Coupon”. There should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer, to ensure the coupon can be processed for payment.
- The coupon should have a scan-able bar code.
- The coupon should have an expiration date.
- The coupon cannot be a photocopy.
- The limit is one coupon per item, per Customer.
- A Salaried Manager can refuse to accept a coupon if it does not meet any or all of these guidelines.

Sincerely,
Wal-Mart Customer Care

*Liz here – once again my question was not answered in full so I e-mailed them again and asked about other coupons and coupon pricing.

Dear Liz

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the acceptance of coupons at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart accepts the following types of coupons:

- manufacturer coupons (Cents Off)
- free merchandise (or manufacturer’s Buy-One-Get-One-Free) coupons
- store coupons (which come from specific store chains such as CVS, Kohls, etc)
- internet coupons
- soft drink container caps

The following are guidelines and limits:

Wal-Mart only accepts coupons for merchandise we sell and only when presented at the time of purchase. Coupons should have an expiration date and be presented within the valid dates. Wal-Mart will not accept expired coupons or double/triple coupons. Internet coupons should be legible and say “Manufacturer Coupon_ and there should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer and scannable bar code. For ‘Free’ merchandise coupons, customers will not receive cash back — the cashier will adjust the value of the coupon to the actual retail of the item at the time of sale. In addition, only one coupon per item is permitted and use of 40 or more coupons per transaction will require approval by a Customer Service Manager.

Sincerely,
Walmart Customer Care

WINN DIXIE

Liz,

Please accept my apology but I am unable to send copies of policies.
As far as the use of coupons is concerned, Winn-Dixie will honor its store coupons and
manufacture coupons, these type coupons are useable in any chain where the item is sold.
Winn-Dixie does not honor other store coupons; these type coupons are issued for the
purpose of generating sales in a particular food chain and therefore are only useable in
that chains store, Winn-Dixie would be unable to receive credit for those coupons. There
are also times when Winn-Dixie will double or triple coupons, this is done randomly and
will always be noted in the flyer as well as the store where the promotion is going on.
Other than that coupons are handled per the instructions stated. Of course no outdated or
coupons missing date info are accept.

I hope this information is helpful. Winn-Dixie does appreciate you shopping with us.

OK, it’s me, I then wrote back specifically requesting information on whether or not they accept coupons printed from the internet and this was the response -

Dear Liz,

We do accept coupons printed from websites including ours. What I have been involved
in though is that on some of the websites from manufacturers there is an information field
that looks like a coupon but you have to choose the box to print the coupon with the
barcode for it to scan. If you do not check the box it prints all on a page. If you cut these
and present them to the cashiers they do not scan as valid. If the coupon has a scan bar
and validates to the right item in the order it should have scanned for the cashier.

Thank you and have a wonderful day

UPDATE: 7/30/09 – I have been updating this post and adding the policies as they come in. I just thought you might like to see a copy of one of my e-mails so you know what I am asking and that I’m not getting some of these half baked responses by being vague.

I am writing to you in regards to your coupon policy. I have a blog (www.sweetwatersavings.com) and many of my readers have been encountering problems when using coupons as part of their shopping. I would like to be able to inform them of your in store coupon policy regarding manufacturer coupons, Internet printable coupons and competitor coupons. It will make shopping a lot easier if we know your rules.

Thank you for your time,

Liz

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Comments

One Response to “Coupon Policies”

Grace
July 24th, 2009 @ 4:31 am

Liz, thank you for digging into this subject with such gusto!

I’m thinking I may have trouble with printable coupons because the bar codes don’t print clearly enough to scan.

You’re right about shopping with cashiers you know and who know you. (And I wondering if I’m brave enough to pull a company’s written coupon policy out of my purse the next time I hit a brick wall at the checkout counter.)