Update: I received a response from Brandon on Albertson's Facebook. Nice to see that this was taken seriously. I also spoke with the Store Director last night. He assured me he would be looking into it. He also stated that the coupon and its usage were completely valid for the transaction. I'm thankful he got in contact with me and will be looking into it further. My cynical nature has me feeling I just got the "brush off" but we shall see if anything changes. I would love to be proved wrong!
If someone were to ask me what my favorite thing about couponing is, I would say it's the thrill I get when a deal works just as I planned. Definitely a major Up! Other Ups include:
Getting to the store and seeing tons of the product you want.
Finding unexpected surprises from the coupon fairy.
Seeing the deal you have been waiting for pop up on an ad preview.
And then there are the Downs of couponing. Sadly, that is what I need to address today.
There has been buzz all over the coupon blogs about the Gilette Razor deal at Albertson's this week. The Gilette Good News! Plus, Gilette Good News! Pivot Plus, Gilette Custom Pivot Plus, and Daisy disposable razors are on sale for Buy One Get One Free. Making this even sweeter, last Sunday's (6/3/12) P&G Insert has a Buy One Get One Free coupon for Gilette Men's razors and there is one for the Daisy razors as well. The items are also included in the spend $20 on P&G, get a $5 catalina good on your next purchase. This part of the deal is not working. More on that later.
I was super stoked to see this deal pop up. I had some of the coupons already. My hubby uses these razors all the time. I called in to my Albertson's today and placed a special order for some (avoiding the shelf clearing!)
I decided to stop by Albertson's on my way home to test a transaction and see if it generated the catalina. That's where we start our story.
The shopping part went well. Plenty of stock on hand in all the different varieties included. Grabbed my items, along with 4 Gilette Custom Pivot Plus (10pks) and a Secret deodorant (to push me over $20) and headed to the checkout.
My Albertson's (located at 13th & Grand in Billings) has a wonderful team of employees working there. That being said, there are a couple of cashiers who are not very coupon-friendly at all. I'm not going to mention names or any other defining characteristics to help you guess who I am talking about.
I had my hubby and the kids with me on this trip, so I wanted to make it as fast and painless as possible. Even though it was pretty busy, I steered us right into a somewhat empty lane and was ready to go. Everything rang up just fine, I noticed no catalina had printed yet, but I wasn't too surprised. Then I handed over my coupons.
My cashier then turns around and yells to another cashier 3 checkout lanes behind her, "Hey this lady is trying to use a buy one get one free coupon on the Gilette razors. But they're on sale for buy one get one free. How do I do that?" She then turns back to me and says, "I can only give you one set for free, but you can't use the coupons to make them all free."
At this point, I reach in my purse for my handy Albertson's official coupon policy that I had printed out earlier. I'll admit that at this point I started getting a bit short-tempered and said, "Actually according to the official policy, you can accept the coupons and make both sets free." I handed over the policy, with the appropriate section starred for emphasis.
While my cashier was reviewing the policy, another cashier 4 checkout lanes in front of her, turns around and says, "Well it says on it that you can only do one per... one per...." I noticed she was referring to my coupon verbiage. I cut her off and said, "The coupon says one per purchase, which means per item purchased, not transaction."
"No, you can only use one coupon, it says it right on it."
"Actually my coupons say Limit 4 like coupons per transaction. I'm only using two coupons."
And now where my blood began to boil over, she turns around and grumbles loud enough for me to hear from 4 checkout lanes away, "It's not like we give away razors for free!" I didn't respond. I finished my transaction and walked right over to customer service.
I asked for the store manager, who I later found out, was no longer in the store. As I stood and waited, a bagger came over and asked me if I was waiting for the manager. I said yes. The bagger then said that one of the other cashiers wanted to talk to me and might be able to help.
I was very, very close to walking out of the store and not returning. The kids were already out in the parking lot waiting with the hubby, and I just wanted to say what I needed to and get out. I went over, talked with the other cashier, and I'm glad I did. She made me feel a bit better and promised she would give the manager my card and have him contact me.
The reason why I wanted to post this story is for the newbie couponer out there. If I wasn't a "seasoned" couponer, then I would have been so embarassed in that checkout lane, that I would have never tried couponing again. And that is a very sad thought. Couponing has helped my family and countless others so much over the years. The thought that someone else might give up, just because of the way they are treated by one cashier, is heartbreaking.
I wanted to share my story so you knew that unfortunately, this kind of treatment is given to a lot of us, a lot of the time. It is undeserved, unwarranted, and extremely UNPROFESSIONAL.
So I'm here to say it for all of us:
JUST BECAUSE I KNOW HOW TO PAIR A COUPON WITH A SALE EFFECTIVELY DOES NOT MEAN I AM A CRIMINAL AND/OR AM STEALING FROM YOUR COMPANY!
My free razors does not mean your paycheck will be less this week. Albertson's is graciously offering up a free pack of razors for each package I buy. Proctor and Gamble will reimburse Albertson's $9.99 + a processing fee for each coupon I use. Albertson's is able to give away razors free. And they ARE doing it.
I am a couponer. That does not mean I am no longer your CUSTOMER. That does not mean that as soon as I hand over my coupons, I give you the right to treat me with absolutely no respect. That does not mean I am no longer a PERSON with FEELINGS. That does not mean you have the right to talk down to me and embarass me in front of a store full of people, including my two young children.
I'm not asking anyone to bend over backwards for me, or clap everytime I have an awesome savings day. I'm asking for common courtesy and let's be honest here, some CUSTOMER SERVICE. I've done the retail thing before, 11 years worth to be exact. So I know that of which I speak.
Bottom Line: Albertson's, you want my business, you want my money, and you even want my coupons. This is what I want, I want respect. Nothing more, nothing less.
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