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| Worn out from my shops today! |
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| Pepsi "Moments to Save" insert in 5/1 Sunday paper; look for Sunchips coupon! |
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| Me feeling sad after my 2nd shop with uninformed Assistant Mgr. |
Goodness gracious!
It's a terrific week at Rite-Aid! I was able to get all of the above for FREE and I made $26 dollars in rebates. A very, very good week indeed. There are some fun products this week that don't usually go on sale (ProFoot shoe inserts, popcorn, Physician Formula bronzers (just in time for summer), and a good deal on chips! There is also FREE Fish oil so get on out there if you can and score yourselves some great deals. Please report back here if you were helped by this post. I really appreciate hearing from my readers.
2ND UPDATE: I made another trip out to Rite-Aid this afternoon to pick up the Lipton Diet Citrus tea (for those of you that have been following my blog over the years you KNOW how much I love that tea right)? I was super excited to add some to my transaction today.
Unfortunately, I had another horrible transaction today. I went to the Rite-Aid on the corner of Madison and Sunrise. The cashier (Shawna) was sweet but she didn't understand the language on the coupons. She kept turning to the Assistant Manager and saying, "can we take this coupon? it says, "such and such" on it." The Assistant Manager would turn to her and say, "no, we can't take that coupon." I have had problems at this store before and it was mainly due to this Assistant Manager. His name is Darren. He told me that I couldn't use two manufacturer coupons on a B1G1 deal because I was already getting the 2nd item for free. I informed him that I could because technically I was taking home two items so I was buying two items. He told me that he couldn't take my coupons. I decided to just finish my transaction and go home.
When I arrived home I started thinking about what had happened and realized that I should go back and talk with him because I didn't want other couponers to encounter the same treatment when they tried to use their coupons. I decided to print the Rite-Aid coupon policy and bring it to him before I called Corporate so that we could "talk things out" and try and come to a meeting of the minds. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. My hubby and I decided to go back out together; he told me to head back to the Rite-Aid and have them process my coupons after the fact because their policy clearly states that they will take two coupons for a B1G1 deal (I was out $9).
I headed back to the Rite-Aid and spoke with the cashier and explained the policy and she said, "yeah, it looks like it is clear from our policy." She called Darren (Asst. Mgr.) over and he told me that he couldn't take the coupon because the language on the coupon said, "not valid with any other offer" and the product was on sale so that was another "offer." At this point, I have to admit that I lost my cool (yes, please pray for me). I won't bore you with the details of the rest of our conversation. Jason and I both tried to reason with him about his misunderstanding of the language of the coupons. He said many things which would indicate that he is afraid to take coupons; there seems to be a culture of fear at this Rite-Aid about coupons. Jason is emailing Corporate right now to deal with the issue. This is an important issue to raise especially since some of you are encountering this same problem at many of your stores. Please raise these issues to Corporate. It is their job to correct and train their employees on the proper use of coupons. We will talk to the District Manager and I'll post back here with our results.
UPDATE: Jason heard back from the District Manager today (John). John apologized and informed Jason that he had spoken with Darren and had re-trained him on the use of coupons. He said that the next time that we go back to that store we should encounter a friendlier staff. He said that Darren was a new Assistant Manager and that he must not have been trained properly. It's always a good idea to fill out the customer service email form when you encounter problems at the store level. I have always had a good response from doing this. I'm very thankful for the way that this whole situation turned out. I can go back to this store now and be assured that I won't have a problem with my coupons (and so can you)!
A special note to my friends at CBC, RCG, and GBC......it's been a very long time since I've lost my cool over a deal not going through and I am saddened by my lack of self-control (I really thought that I was past this stage of couponing; the stage where you get upset when things don't go according to plan). I have repented but would still appreciate your prayers that I might keep it all in perspective.
Click on pictures to expand....
MONEYMAKERS
32 Revlon Beauty Tools $.75-$2.09 (40% off) - limit 4
$2/1 Revlon Beauty Tools printable (no longer available)- prints $4 UP Reward wyb 2
= FREE + $2.50 in overage wyb 2 $.75 cent emory boards after UP Rewards
4 John Frieda Precision Foam Haircolor $9.59 w/20% discount (regular $11.99ea.)
- $5/1 John Frieda Precision Foam from 5/1 SS
= FREE + $5.41 in overage4 Oral-B Adv. $2.79 ea. w/20% discount (sale price $2.99)
4 Crest Toothpaste $2.99 ea. (sale price) - limit 4 total of either Crest or Oral-B
4 Crest Toothpaste $2.99 ea. (sale price) - limit 4 total of either Crest or Oral-B
- $1.50/1 Oral-B Toothbrush from 5/1 PG, $1.50/1 Crest Clinical from 5/1 PG
- prints $2 UP Reward= FREE + $.50 cents overage after UP Reward
6 NatureMade Fish Oil $10.99 (B1G1)
- $1/1 Naturemade printable or printable (sign-in) or printable (zip 76109)- $1.50/1 Naturemade Fish Oil, Rite-Aid VV printable (Rite-Aid Caregivers section)
- $3/1 NatureMade Fish Oil printable
= FREE + $.01 cent overage wyb 24 Right Guard Bodywash $2.99 ea. (sale price)
- B1G1 Right Guard product from 5/1 RP
- $1/1 Right Guard bodywash peelie (found 3-5 months ago)
- $1/1 Right Guard bodywash, Rite-Aid vv printable (great offers section)
= FREE + $.01 cent overage wyb 2 (use B1G1, $1/1 and $1/1 store Q)1 Super Poligrip .75 oz $1.83 w/20% discount (regular $2.29 ea.)
- FREE Super Poligrip from 3/27 RP
- $1.50/1 Super Poligrip, Rite-Aid vv printable (Great offers section)
= FREE + $1.50 in overage
2 Fusion ProGlide $8.79 w/20% discount (sale price $9.99ea.) - limit 2
- $4/1 Fusion ProGlide from 5/1 PG
- prints $5 UP Reward= FREE + $.21 cents overage after UP Reward
6 Physician Formula Bronzers $11.95, $12.95ea. (B1G1)
- $5/1 Physicians Formula printable (GBC, RCG and CBC folks only; leave message and I will email to you)- $2/1 Physicians Formula Bronzer, Rite-Aid vv printable (new beauty section)
- $2/10 Go Green Bonus, Rite-Aid vv printable (no longer available)
= FREE + $3.05-$4.05 in overage
STOCKPILE
6 Pro-Foot Foot Care $5.00 ea. (sale price) - limit 1 rebate
- prints $2 UP Reward wyb 3- $10 SCR Rite-Aid rebate here
= FREE after UP Reward and SCR Rebate
8 Jolly Time single bags of popcorn $.50 ea. (sale price)
- $.50/1 Jolly Time from 5/1 SS or $.35/1 printable= FREE
4 Butterfinger Snackerz $.50 ea. (sale price)
- $1/2 Butterfinger Snackers printable (no longer available - zip 33733)
= FREE4 Wonderful Pistachios 8 oz. $2.50 ea. (sale price)
- $1/1 Wonderful Pistachios from 3/20 SS
- $1/1 Wonderful Pistachios from Parade mag. from newspaper 5/1= $1.50 ea.
4 Raisin Bran 15oz. $1.99 ea. (sale price)
- $.70/1 Kellogg's Raisin Bran printable
= $1.29 ea.4 Sunchips 10.5 oz. $2.50 ea. (sale price)
- $1/1 Sunchips, Rite-Aid vv printable (no longer available to watch)
- $2/2 Sunchips Q from 5/1 Pepsi insert in Sunday Paper (regional; we received it here)- FREE Sierra Mist Natural 2-Liter wyb Sunchips
= $.50 cents ea. + FREE Sierra Mist
2 No Nonsense socks $1.99ea. (B1G1 - but didn't ring up B1G1)
= $.99 cents ea.THINGS I NEEDED
1 Duracell Batteries 20-ct. $9.77 ea. (sale price)
- $1/1 Rite-Aid peelie (found 2 months ago)
- $1.50/1 Duracell Q (expired yesterday)
- prints $1 UP Reward= $6.27 ea. after UP Reward
2 Tide 50oz. $5.96ea. (sale price)
- $.35/1 Tide from 5/1 PG
= $5.61 ea.1 Revlon Colorstay Mousse Foundation $9.99 ea. (sale price) - limit 1
- $2/1 Revlon makeup from 4/10 SS (regional; we didn't get it here)
- prints $5 UP Reward- $2 SCR Rite-Aid rebate here
2 Lipton Diet Citrus Tea 12-pack $4.99 ea. (sale price)
- $2/2 Lipton 12-pack from Pepsi "Moments to Save" insert 5/1
- $3/15 Rite-Aid survey coupon (added in free filler items to get to $15)= $2.50 ea.
TOTAL: $514.35
TOTAL AFTER COUPONS: $0
SAVINGS: 100%
NOTE: I didn't find the Sunchips manufacturer coupon until after I had already purchased my chips. I will go back and see if they can do a "post coupon" transaction. I'll see if I can throw in the Sierra Mist too since I didn't see that coupon either (I checked and they carry the Sierra Mist)! When they do a post coupon they usually just ring up the coupons and then give you cash out of the register. I'll bring my receipt in to show them that I purchased the chips; they will need the receipt to do the "post coupon" transaction.
NOTE: I returned a few items today and received $22 in cash back. I did a few deals wrong over the last two weeks. I try to only return items when they don't generate UP Rewards or when I have a problem with a cashier accepting my legitimate concerns. I try not to argue with the cashiers if they don't understand the coupons or the transactions Instead I just finish my "stress-free" transaction and think to myself.....I'll just return these the next week since the deal didn't work (I typed this yesterday and then I did the exact opposite today; apparently I don't follow my own advice)! Rite-Aid will still be reimbursed for the coupons that I used in the original transaction so their policy is to just give you cash back for your items.
NOTE: The no-nonsense socks that I purchased were not B1G1 for some reason. I will take them back next week to get my money back. :)
Ugh, I think I am doing good and working the deasl and then I go ahead and miss the JF Hair Dye deal...that would have been overage to get some dipes (for baby #3 due in 2 weeks!!!) shoot...I need to go back!! And when i go back I guess I will throw in some bronzers for the mother in law...and a $3/15 so that I pay as little as possible....and also there was a $2/1 Wonderful Pistachios IP available from RecycleBank last week that was good on any size package. So I was able to use those this week for the sale. The description on Recyclebank $2/1 off any 10oz or larger but when it printed it was off ANY size package!! Just an fyi....we are pistachio heads in this house so we are always on the lookout for a deal!! Great awesome shops as usual!! I need you to proof my shops so I can rock as much as you do!! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Navy! The JF Hair Dye deal was so obscure I almost missed it. I have started to notice that whenever Rite-Aid sends me an email with a clickable coupon in it that usually means that something is going to be FREE or a moneymaker. It happens almost everytime.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up on the $2/1 Wonderful pistachio Q. I will go ahead and print that one if it is a "print at home" Q.
Have a great week!
Wow, you rock Kelly. I had maybe two things on my list to look for this week.
ReplyDeleteOh yea, I remember why now. I haven't watched video values in about 2 months.
Don't know why I don't run the things since I sit here on my pc reading books for hours at a time.
I need to post myself a sticky note to tell me to do it I reckon.
Melissa, I still love shopping at Rite-Aid. The stores in my area are really great. I'm probably going to go back again this week as I just found a few more items (Lipton tea, Frapuccino's) that I want to get. I didn't even realize that we received the Pepsi inserts here (I missed them entirely as I went through my papers yesterday). LOL.
ReplyDeleteThe video values take a really long time to watch but I think that you can run them in certain browsers and then go and surf elsewhere and then come back and input the code. I think Internet Explorer allows you to do this but can't remember. My hubby will run them in the background and input the codes while we are watching a show sometimes and that really helps.
I've been hitting Rite-Aid pretty hard since it is the only place that I have time to shop at with small children. I wish I could go out and get all of the deals that you can get but, alas, that time will come again after my children are a little older.
Have a great day Melissa!
Hi Mary! Received your comment (wink). Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing such an awesome job, Kelly. I had not gone to the Rite Aid on Sunrise & Madison but Jerilyn & I had planned to try it on one of my shops - glad you straightened them out before I went there. Thanks again for all your posts & hard work - I check it quite a few times each week & always learn a lot. Miss you guys.
ReplyDeleteIrmie, if you go to that store and have problems with Darren then please mention to him that you'll be speaking with the District Manager about your problems. Hopefully everything is straightened out at that store now but please report back here if you have a difficult deal so that we can rectify the situation. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteKel - I appreciate your transparency, honesty, and humility. Coupons? well, that's another matter :-)
ReplyDeleteSharon, LOL. Thanks for your post. Nice to see you here. :)
ReplyDeleteThat was a very interesting and helpful story, Kelly. Your savings were amazing (as usual), but what a great lesson, both for yourself and for others! I hate losing my cool too, and like you, the longer I do this, the more I am able to just stay calm and roll with the punches. But you know what? We all have bad days! Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm sure after stepping back, you realize that he was probably just trying to do the right thing, but then again, so were you. Hopefully with a little time and perspective on both ends, you'll be able to have a great store-customer relationship once again! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteRuth, Thanks for your encouragement. :)
ReplyDeleteI will say that it is always a good idea to communicate with corporate if you encounter a problem at the store level. This is true of every store that I shop at.
I used to communicate regularly with the store managers at Publix when I ran my blog in Nashville. I tried to keep in contact with them re: store policy changes, quantity limits, etc. If I couldn't rectify my problem at the store level I would communicate with corporate and eventually I would get a phone call from the District Manager. I always had my problem rectified; corporate is very interested in keeping their customers happy.
I am so happy to see a blog from the Sac area! I am moving back soon and cannot seem to find many coupon blogs to help me plan my shopping trips!
ReplyDeleteHi Jan. Welcome to the blog. I wish there were other Sacramento-based blogs. I could really use a comprehensive blog on Safeway and Raley's. :) Hope I can help you with Rite-Aid!
ReplyDelete