Coupon tip for the day … plus my experience at DG on Sunday.
When you are couponing, you really need to plan for all circumstances. The best thing to do is to plan ahead, but if something changes while you are shopping, you also need to think about what consequences that could have.
For instance, the deal I posted yesterday for the Cottonelle. If you are using that scenario in your $5 off $25 for Saturday AND you purchase an additional $5 in products that also qualify for instant savings, another $3 will most likely come off and you will fall short of the $25 minimum (AFTER instant savings, but BEFORE coupons).
So this is what happened to me:
I was purchasing the Life Cereal and the All Mighty Pacs. The coupons had to be used that day as they were expiring (9/6). I had a $1 insert coupon off ANY All detergent and a $2 off the Mighty Pacs. I had not planned on getting the regular All. I put the coupon on the shelf for someone else. Then my husband came around the corner with the coupon and a bottle of All Liquid Detergent.
I get confused easily when I don’t stick to my plan. So, not thinking, I gave the coupons over to the cashier. The $1 coupon was scanned and the $2 coupon would not come off. The person in charge came over and tried to fix it. She tried to manually take it off and said that it was because it was on sale that she couldn’t or it would go too low. I explained that the price is $3.50 and the coupon is only $2. (Not getting into their overage policy.) Then she tried to say because it’s expired. I explained that “today” was Sep 6. She said something to the effect that it expired today. Sigh. So after telling me over and over that it was expired and that she could not do it manually, I asked to please take it off. I paid and stood there with my receipt to check it. The $1 coupon was removed from my order too, so I had no coupon come off for the All liquid that I did buy.
I realized what most likely happened. The $1 off ANY All attached to the Mighty Pacs, because it is also “any”. So, when the $2 off the Mighty Pacs was scanned, the Mighty Pacs already had a coupon attached and the All liquid didn’t match the remaining coupon. The person in charge who gave me all the excuses on using the coupon checked out right behind me … and I stepped around to the other side of her and told her my $1 coupon was removed from my order too. I tried to explain that they would need to be scanned in a certain order but she kept stopping me from talking saying that she had to return everything first. So, she gets the $1 coupon off the cashier and I ask her to get the $2 one too. She said she gave it back. Nope. So she asks the cashier where the coupon was and he said that he threw it away. I said can you get it. He said he tore it up. She said, “because it is expired”. I said, can you tape it back together. The answer was “no”. I said can you take it off manually? She said that she, “can’t make a coupon out of thin air”. So, obviously, I did not end up with the All Mighty Packs. I also didn’t see the reason to return everything I purchased including cereal and a couple penny items. And at the end she told me he tore it up because it was expired and I couldn’t use it anyway. I said, “I could have used it at an other store. It expires today.”
So, my tip is to give your coupons after each item to be sure that they ring up correctly! But, of course, if you are doing a Saturday $5 off $25, you will need them to total your purchase 1st before handing over any paper coupons. So, be aware if you have a coupon that will attach to more than one product to hand over the “limited” one first.
I hope that all isn’t too hard to understand. And, yes, I am going to do the survey. I lost out on $2 off a product that was completely legit.
I also want to state that this was not my local store as they are amazing when it comes to couponing and ALWAYS fix problems that occur. Shout out to BV!
Happy shopping!
