3/29/09

Wow... Walmart

Ok -- So usually I try to stay on the positive side of things... But the trip I just took to the WalMart has me thinking... How about a post where folks can vent about the most horrible trips they've had recently...

I'll start!!

I've won the Pace Hand Pick & Win Sweepstakes more than once, and since I have more than one computer, I have been able to print the coupons... Deciding to save them up for a trip to the Walmart - I had 10 coupons to use today! Along with that, I decided to use my "Free Suave" Item coupon, a coupon for $3 off Pizza (Liquor Hangtag), 2 $5 off Iams Smart Puppy... and a few misc. items that I didn't have a coupon for.

I get to the checkout line, and am immediately worried, as she's having a hard time crediting the Pizza coupon. Then when it comes time to scan the Pace coupons, she only scans 8 - and insists I have only presented 8 coupons... Whatever!! She then decides that she needs to call her manager over... Ok, I think... I might actually get to leave the store at some point - so cool. HA - If I had known then - what I know now - I would have never set foot in that store. This Assistant Manager (Amy) proceeds to spread all of my coupons out in front of her, and begins to scowl. This lasts about a full minute, before I ask if there's anything wrong. She informs me that my coupons are "internet created" and that 9 times out of 10 - coupons that are "internet created" are actually fraudulent. She then informs me that there's "No way that Campbell's will reimburse us for $4 for Pace Salsa" because the Salsa doesn't even cost that much money. Mind you that I did have a few bottles for less than the $4 amount, but also a couple that were in the $7 range as well. (Think big jugs - this stuff makes great soup) She asks me where I got them, and when I let her know about the Pace contest, she informs me that I have made a mistake, and that they were fraudulent coupons. She then took the time to share with me the information that apparently Walmart does not take coupons that are "uploaded" from the Internet, and that she has a right to refuse use of ANY coupon! Nevermind Corporate policy... She then walks me over to a nearby checkstand and shows me a printout of THIS, and compares my coupon to it. "See it has a barcode, and see here - there's the place where you send it to" "And they printed it 'offline' too" "See we don't send our coupons directly to Campbell's first, we have to send it to a different office first"

At this point my husband and I are just completely mortified that she's really having this loud conversation with us about things she clearly knows NOTHING about... in front of our neighbors, making us sound like CRIMINALS for having the brains to combine Walmarts low prices with my great coupons.

I took my coupons, her name, her DM's name, and what was left of my pride - and left. I'm still upset as a matter of fact. I'm looking forward to a call from corporate tomorrow. What a nightmare...

And since coupon use has become so prevalent, I'm sure stories like mine are all-to-common. Please leave a comment with what's happened to you, what store, etc... We can call it our Vent-a-Thon...

By the way - we went across the street to Meijer and they got my $50 worth of coupons and $20 of our hard-earned cash tonight. Take that Wally World!

18 comments:

Kimberly Pitman said...

Well, I'm glad your Meijer was the place that soothed your soul because a Meijer was the place where I felt "violated" twice. I wrote a post about it a few weeks back.

The first visit I was robbed of all my $1 off coupons by one of the cashiers. I think she pocketed them all. The second time I had a $3 off coupon for purchasing over $15 of general merchandise. It seems that expensive clothing items rang up under the heading of "Grocery" that day so the coupon wasn't credited. I've found a different Meijer store. Grr!

(I didn't present more than 2 identical coupons, nor did I do anything else against company policy.)

Hope the rest of your week goes better.

deanna said...

I had an experience recently at Kroger. I don't really want to relive it, but lets just say I had people at the cash registers at either side staring at me, plus all the front office staff, and a manager at my check out line. I made a fool out of myself but was so angry that they were refusing my internet coupons when I had just been in there days prior and they didn't blink an eye at them.
I called corporate and they were equally as rude and didn't seem to care that I told them I was sending all my business to Meijer.
I just wish there was some consistency, that's all. Either you take internet coupons or you don't. I don't think they should be able to pick and choose which coupons they feel like taking for the day, when I had just spent 2 hours getting my coupons matched up with sale items all to have them screw it up.
PHEW...glad to get that out :)

cheapsk8mom said...

omgosh you're not KIDDING about Kroger. I had the SAME thing happen to me last summer... which is why you'll RARELY see a post here about Kroger. I mean it has to be a HUGE deal to even get me to go there...

And they did NOT care that I informed them they would lose my business. Figured if they didn't care, I'd care less. :)

SarahJarnagin said...

I've had so many terrible experiences... I always wondered if others had similar experiences b/c I rarely hear about them. I am always a little timid when checking out - afraid that they will get me in "trouble". I do most of my couponing at Walgreens and I always have issues getting my Register Rewards. So aggravating! And I always feel silly when I make a big deal out of $1 or some odd cents, but it is a big deal in the big picture of things.

NW Indiana Deals said...

Every time I go to WalMart it is something!! I posted about my last coupon experience here.

I did go back once after that because my son needed to return a game that he had a gift receipt for. And, of course, it was 'something' again! They told him that the game had already been returned to another store! I, in my exasperation, kept pointing to the game saying "It's right THERE-so, obviously, it hasn't been returned". They told him he could only get another game (which he didn't want). Finally, after 10 minutes of arguing, they gave him a gift card. I then told him to spend it right then because I was NOT coming back to the stupid store again!
Rrrggghhhh, I hate WalMart!

Steph said...

I gave you the Lemonade Stand Award on my blog! Go here to check it out!

http://onedayonedollaratatime.blogspot.com/2009/03/lemonade-stand-award.html

Anonymous said...

I recently visited my local walmart with my mom & they refused her prinable coupon but were more than happy to accept the ones I used right after my mom checked out. There is no consistency & their customer service is horrible to say the least!!

Anonymous said...

Walmart is a cess pool of greed, ignorant and rude people from the employees to the customers. everytime I take my baby to walmart, some fool in the parking lot is trying to run us over or back into us. If i go alone, I have fewer problems but I have switched to Meijer. I am much happier at Meijer. I can walk into

Anonymous said...

wish there was a meijer in NJ..i had this kind of experience at Target recently, where they spread out the coupons and made me feel like a fool and idiot. saying that one coupon per purchase meant that I could only use one coupon per transaction...huh? so if I use a coupon for 1.00 off soap, I could not then use a different coupon for..lets say, 1.00 off toothpaste..huh? I was mortified and never wanted to go back to target again...however I must say that I always hav a problem with target...usually it is that when I get home with the product I bought it was already open and the safety seal was broken, or they often charge full price for the product when the product is on sale. The coupon thing ticked me off royally~!

Kelly said...

What's even worse is their relationship with their walmart.com services. We bought a stroller for a baby shower from walmart.com. It arrived damaged (which we didn't realize until we went out to the car) and they didn't bother to tell us. Then they told us WE had to reorder it ourselves online because they have nothing to do with their online store. What a freaking headache! We had to return the stroller there and then buy it again and had to argue to get customer service to ship it to our house for free instead of going to the store again. Another week later we had a new stroller. Waste of time.

Unknown said...

I've had multiple bad experiences at WalMart, but my ultimate worst was at Walgreens. I picked up 7 of the 95 cent clearanced Crest Pro-Healths. The woman, Hilda, told me that she had to check with a manager to see if I could buy that many, because she didn't think I could buy more than 2 (of a CLEARANCE item???) Of course it was okay, but she just about had a coronary when I pulled out the $1 off coupons, and she refused to take them. I asked for a manager. Their store manager was RUDE to me, telling me that "you people" are just finding ways to get around the system (what system? It was on clearance, and they are getting paid for the coupons!) And he told me that he knows there are classes about this stuff (No duh, I TEACH them... and yes, I did tell him that :) The next morning, I was checking out there again, and Hilda walked in behind me. When the pleasant checker who was waiting on me said, "Hey Hilda, aren't you even going to say hi?", she replied with, "Well, yesterday was a bad day, and I can tell that today is going to be a bad day too." Are you kidding me??? What can I do? Walgreens corporate does NOTHING. They send your letter to the store manager, and he's the one who was a jerk!! I wasn't even using any of their store coupons or any internet printables!

cheapsk8mom said...

Kate - I'm with you 100% with the Walgreens problem. Even an inquiry about "Corporate Coupon Policy" that contains NO information about ANY store or ANY experience, somehow - as if by magic - is sent to the exact same moron-in-charge.

When he called to explain HIS policy to me - again - I asked him what on earth made him think I was interested in his "feelings". I then asked for his "policy" in written form, he quickly backtracked and found a way to end the call. I have not returned to Walgreens since... (since the glade sense & spray 2 wks back)

HorrorCraft said...

I used to shop at the Walmart that I can literally see from my apartment building until they refused my internet coupons.
That was the last straw.

I hate that place with a passion and avoid it at all costs. The store employees are rude, and so are the customers. I've nearly gotten into fist fights with random ghetto mama's in HBA twice!

Even when I did shop there, I wouldn't buy produce or meat, because it was almost guaranteed to be rotten the next day.
I take my business to Super Target, Kroger or the Carmel Meijer that takes me 20 minutes to get to.

As for Kroger I have yet to have a bad coupon experience at either store I shop. The most common problem I have, is that their out of an item that is on sale.

And the only Meijer I have ever had issues was at Pike Plaza. Something always happens at that store. Slow cashiers or no regular lanes open. I have had them refuse IP's.

And I rarely coupon shop at Walgreens. I have had them pull the one coupon per transaction thing almost every time. CVS on the other hand go out of their way to help me, even allowing me to use ECBs I just earned (without me asking!) or pointing out deals I missed.

cheapsk8mom said...

This was at the Walmart in Camby (Heartland Crossing) and I'm pretty sure I won't return.

Transaction today at Target was seamless and actually PLEASANT. I will be leaving feedback for that cashier for sure, she was very nice.

Walgreens is still a "no go"...

And I find the ghetto rude people in the Kmart in Plainfield.

kobe0007 said...

Kroger is fine with me. There is only 1 store that ever refused my IP. Living in the big city and traveling all over it every day, I can easily go to 4 Krogers without going more then a mile out of my regular route. So they are pretty awesome to me.

I go to Walgreens but I don't bother trying any deals that combine ESCs with MFQs. Not worth the head ache.

As for Wal-Mart, I am a firm believer that they are ruining America :) I hate that place. Only time I stop in there is when I need oil for my car because it is the cheapest place to buy name brand oil in bulk. Whenever I go to a Wal-Mart it takes FOREVER to check out and no offense, but you always see the trashier people on the southside shop there. I feel like I stepped into an alternate universe. Walking into K-Mart is actually better then Wal-Mart...and K-Marts are always ghetto.

Mommy Managing said...

This is a touchy one for me, because I do have a certain level of expectation for customer service and consistency. But having worked in retail, I also know clearly that managers have the right to make judgement calls and override corporate policy on a case-by-case basis. That's why I always try to fly under the radar, even if what I'm doing is perfectly legit. I've also had to figure out what I'm willing to fight for.

I LOVE Kroger, but I do avoid using my coupons at Wal-Mart. Just today, I tried to get "All Dogs go to Heaven" on DVD with the $3 SmartSource IP. It didn't work and the cashier starts telling me how the coupon companies instruct Wal-Mart not to accept the coupons on promotional prices, blah, blah, blah. I told her that was incorrect, it was just bad business on Wal-Mart's part, and please void the DVD.

Anonymous said...

Your story is excatly why I no longer shop at WalMart!

Kyle Luke said...

I've never had issues at WalMart, but Meijer has ALWAYS given me a hard time about coupons. One manager even accused me of coupon fraud and told me he could call the police. It was lovely.

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