Kroger Mid Atlantic: Wake Forest NC store no longer doubling more than 2 like Qs due to smash and grabber couple

[SabrinaM]

So I go to my closest store to get my typical 10 pkgs of Cottonelle along with the other goodies and the cashier informs me that they no longer accept more than 2 like coupons because of a husband and wife who would come in and clear the shelves. Not only were they clearing the shelves, but they were bragging to store employees that they were reselling it!

I have seen them in the store before and have commented to them that filling up the cart with 50+ Cottonelle (no exaggeration) was rude and going to hurt us all. (Harris Teeter already limits the number of like coupons, I had a feeling Kroger wasn't going to be far behind.) His response was always "they'll restock tomorrow."

I'm not sure if this applies to all of the stores in this area (Raleigh etc) or just this particular store. Anyone else in this area have problems using more than 2 like coupons?

One bad, greedy apple ruined it for the entire bunch.

[mindisue]

The Greenville NC store has been limiting everyone to 1 like coupon for a few weeks now. You have to ring multiple transactions if you want to use multiple coupons. They have signs posted at all of the registers. It seems kind of silly to go from unlimited to one! Many of us in the Greenville area are boycotting the store entirely. No deal is worth that much hassle IMHO!

[Andra]

I have not been told that about 2 like coupons only, but I have had problems with the Kroger in Raleigh too. The cashiers are not trained very well on coupons and are always rude to me. I don't really waste my time at Kroger anymore unless the deals are really good and there are no deals at any other stores (which rarely happens with Lowes, Harris Teeter, Food Lion and Super Target to shop at). I've tried for the free TP several times and they are always out (probably because of the couple you mentioned) and stay wiped out until my coupons expire. If they had told me only 2 like coupons and there happened to be TP in stock I think I would have done individual transactions.

[cmricha2]

The one off of Six Forks has never limited me. Of course, I had the good sense to use nor more than 6 of the cottonelle (afraid of a limit being imposed).

[reincarnation]

:sad: . ..##@$&!!

[SabrinaM]

cmricha, that's my backup store, so I guess I'll have to start shopping there. :(

Thanks for listening, guys. :)

[ScrappyDoo]

Don't bother going to the Garner Kroger. That couple must have been there too because they made a 3 like coupons per customer rule and then when I asked if I could pre-order stuff to keep from clearing shelves thwey told me NO WE CAN"T ALLOW THAT!

[ScrappyDoo]

When do they normally shop? Is there a pattern? I am NOT above getting a group together to make a scene if need be. I'm serious here....these people are gonna kill us with the stores around here.

[slickcat79]

That's a bummer :sad: I've always had good luck with the Durham stores. Well, except for the one cashier who didn't understand the difference between a purchase and a transaction. I've never had a problem finding cottonelle either.

I've always tried to limit the number of like Qs I use because I've been expecting them to impose a limit too...

[cmricha2]

Makes me want to find that couple and give them punches in their heads.:fight37: Okay, not really as I wouldn't ever hit anyone. But that's the threat I use on my DH and my really mean face when he's being annoying.

I mean it is such a shame that these 2 individuals has ruined such a great deal for all of us. Clearing shelves and bragging they are re-selling the stuff. That kind of behavior just encourages stores to stop doubling coupons.

:nono77:

[katncaed]

The Greenville NC store has been limiting everyone to 1 like coupon for a few weeks now...

We are in Greenville too. We haven't been in too much since they imposed their new rule. They used to be great. I used to special order things to use coupons on, but I haven't in a while. Our main stores are Food Lion and Harris Teeter, but Kroger does have some great deals every once in a while.

[Jillibean]

Don't bother going to the Garner Kroger. That couple must have been there too because they made a 3 like coupons per customer rule and then when I asked if I could pre-order stuff to keep from clearing shelves thwey told me NO WE CAN"T ALLOW THAT!
Oh no! That is the Kroger I go to, but I don't make it there very often. I was going to go tomorrow to get some cottenelle (only have 4 coupons), but now it might not be worth the 15 minute drive. Thanks for posting this!

[GardenGnome]

Oh no! That is the Kroger I go to, but I don't make it there very often. I was going to go tomorrow to get some cottenelle (only have 4 coupons), but now it might not be worth the 15 minute drive. Thanks for posting this!

I go to the Maynard & High House Rd. (I think that's the intersection it's at) store in Cary. I've never had a problem with limits but I've only used 4 Cottonelle coupons and that was only once! I was worried about limits too. Of course, I would probably just point to the AD that says it is "unlimited". I know they have a right to limit us anyways though. It makes my blood boil when I hear about couples like that. It makes us all look bad to retail employees.

[3STOOGESPLUS1]

I had a cashier say 2 like limit at the New Falls of Neuse Kroger. I had never seen her before and wondered if it was true since a couple days before another new cashier told me she could only double 1 nesquick q because it said 1 per purchase. She said she could take the other 3 but could not double them. She tried and tried to get them to not double, finally I just took the one. Her reasoning was crazy but I'm not one to argue and a line was forming. I like the deals at Kroger especially Manager's special but the cashiers are always sooooo serious! Just about everyone at this store seems unpleasant or I should say unhappy. I don't mind the limit just wish it was 3 or 4 like q. Oh, well.

[SabrinaM]

I go to the Maynard & High House Rd. (I think that's the intersection it's at) store in Cary. I've never had a problem with limits but I've only used 4 Cottonelle coupons and that was only once! I was worried about limits too. Of course, I would probably just point to the AD that says it is "unlimited". I know they have a right to limit us anyways though. It makes my blood boil when I hear about couples like that. It makes us all look bad to retail employees. Exactly! I stockpile shop (as most of us here do, I'm sure) so buying in quantity is what it's all about. I never clear the shelves and I never buy more than I think is a reasonable amount. There are 4 of us in our family, so I usually buy 4 of something in a trip. I would never go nuts and draw attention to myself.

I had a cashier say 2 like limit at the New Falls of Neuse Kroger. I had never seen her before and wondered if it was true since a couple days before another new cashier told me she could only double 1 nesquick q because it said 1 per purchase. She said she could take the other 3 but could not double them. She tried and tried to get them to not double, finally I just took the one. Her reasoning was crazy but I'm not one to argue and a line was forming. I like the deals at Kroger especially Manager's special but the cashiers are always sooooo serious! Just about everyone at this store seems unpleasant or I should say unhappy. I don't mind the limit just wish it was 3 or 4 like q. Oh, well.
That's the store I went to yesterday to do the $5/10 deal!! I called my husband from the parking lot and was venting to him about the lazy, lazy employees. I *attempted* to use the SCO but the cashier manning the SCO told me to go to another another lane. :rolleyes24:

I bought 10 vegetables, 5 Halls ($1 each - .50 coupon FREE), 5 Mentos @ $1 - $1 coupon, 6 mustard, 4 Ken's, 3 Colgate, 4 Cottonelle, 5 Nailsaver sponges - $1 peelie FREE and a small toy thing for my daughter. The entire time the cashier is scanning my coupons he's saying "it's just too much" while shaking his head. Ummm... I tried to go to SCO but got directed to you, dude. Then when he handed me my receipt and showed that I had saved something like $80 or something I said "Hee hee! My best yet is $200 saved." I was being 1/2 serious and 1/2 sarcastic only because he gave me such an issue about having such a big transaction. Then when I took my cart and walked away the older bagger said "I'm glad you didn't save more!" WTH?! The store was DEAD! It's called JOB SECURITY when customers come and shop in the store whether they pay with cash or coupons. SO weird!! Shoot! I'd rather scan and bag my own stuff if it's such an issue. I'd even scan my own coupons if they'd allow it! :biggrin:

[ElizabethGville]

I don't know about the rest of the NC stores but he most frustrating part in Greenville NC is that I have talked with the Store Manager, Mr. Jeffries, and was told by him that the new coupon policy was NEVER intended for the regular customer/coupon user and that we would be allowed to have 4 Q's per like item per day doubled in one transaction. I know other couponers who have spoken to him as well and have been told that. Then you go to the store and the cashier says no, you explain what the store manager said and they get mad.

At this point I just want them to make a rule and stick to it. As the store manager, telling the customer one thing and the staff something else is HORRIBLE customer service, bad business and makes an already rude staff even more so.

I refuse to give up though. I just insist when I go that I speak to the store manager, explain what I was told, and politely refuse to give on the issue until my coupons are doubled.

[katncaed]

I don't know about the rest of the NC stores but he most frustrating part in Greenville NC...

I got a reply from corporate to the email I sent them. It looked like generic response. Said something like they were sorry for my experience. Blah blah blah...wackity smakity... The "director" is suppose to contact me personally. :rolleyes24:

Yeah, whatever...:shrug7:

Me and my wife went Saturday night armed with coupons for the Mega Sale. We did 5 transactions, each with 10 items each and 10 different coupons per transaction. :biggrin: We played by the rules and came out pretty good. I think we ended up spending about $28 for:

6 Frank's Red Hot
2 Velveeta
4 Rotel
4 Totinos Pizza Rolls
3 Cap'n Crunch
4 Armour Meatballs
5 Kraft Shredded Cheese
4 Orville Reddenbocker Natural Popcorn
5 Green Giant Steamers
5 French's Mustard
4 Cattlemans BBQ sauce
4 Hormel Chili

Not too bad of a haul, it was just a pain to do 5 transactions. It makes you feel like you're breaking the law or something. :whistle67:

[katncaed]

Here is a copy of the email I got back from them regarding the Greenville, NC store:

Dear Cory:

Thank you for contacting The Kroger Co. I do apologize for your experience I
will be forwarding this report to the store director and I will ask them to
contact you back explaining the limiting on coupons. It may take a few business
days but someone will be in contact with you. Thank you for taking the time to
e-mail us. We appreciate your business.


Sincerely,



Nicole Belcamino
Consumer Affairs

Reference: 6308439



CUSTOMER COMMENTS:
The local Kroger in Greenville, NC has recently began limiting coupon usage to 1
like coupon. I am a regular Kroger shopper, yet this new policy that does not
follow the corporate policy has made me rethink my shopping habits. There are 3
other grocery stores in Greenville, NC that do not have this policy. Until the
Greenville, NC Kroger revokes this "local" policy and returns to the corporate
policy, I will no longer shop at this Kroger. Thank you.

[largeeyes]

What is the current situation in Greenville, NC? I'm heading up today and was hoping to nab some free sobe to get me to my goal for the free snowboard, but this ain't lookin good!

[ElizabethGville]

What is the current situation in Greenville, NC? I'm heading up today and was hoping to nab some free sobe to get me to my goal for the free snowboard, but this ain't lookin good!

If you went to Kroger yesterday I guess you already know the answer to this but .. lol
Only allowing 4 like coupons per item per transaction and only the 1st of the 4 will double. Other 3 taken at face value. I believe they are also now limiting to one transaction. The store manager told a couponing friend of mine that *we* ( as in couponers) are the reason his store is on the list for possible closing due to poor performance. He told her they had tracked the losses back to the coupon usage. When she told me that I laughed so hard. I guess if he really believes that then he is just as ignorant as we thought and his store will get closed. He didn't want to hear that it was more like the HORRIBLE customer service and cashiers that were probably driving the customers away.

So what he has done is make me mad and now I only go to get my free TP or the deals I know are loss leaders. No more regular shopping for veges, meat etc and he has lost that regular business but is still gonna eat the *loss* on the coupons. I hope he and his EXTREMELY rude staff enjoy the unemployment line if it happens. :hysterical:

[toppincl]

I think we're all in the same region--I'm in WV :D Our stores recently started limitting coupons, too, but NOONE knows the policy!! The posted signs say two LIKE $0.50 coupons doubled per order, the cashiers say two COUPONS doubled per order, the registers don't double ANY coupons, and the managers refuse to overide the registers, telling me that i should either contact corporate or the manufacturer!!! Sorry, but quite frankly if Kroger isn't going to double coupons, then I'm better off shopping at walmart--yeah, it's a pain in the tush, but shopping at our Kroger is just as bad lately. I am actually typing up an email to corporate in another window, letting them know that until the policy reverts back to the original, they've lost this customer.

Also, as to the original post-- IMO, there are MUCH better ways to keep people from clearing the shelves than limitting coupons. In fact, it makes more sense to limit purchases on sale items--several of our local stores do this frequently, and the item limit is printed in their sales circular. Some say per order, some say per customer, some say per day, and some say with addition $10 purchase or some such. And if you purchase more than the 'limit' you pay regular price for it. The night I discovered the 'new' coupon policy at our Kroger, the (very rude) woman working the customer service desk specifically commented on people clearing the shelves, and hubby pointed out to her that first, with three children in the house ten liquid hand soaps wouldn't last us two months and second, that even though it was Friday when we were shopping, there were still thirty or forty bottles left on the shelf. *OUR* stores are not having problems with most items being cleared out in my experience (we tend to shop late in the week, and they are rarely sold out of the things we want) but they changed their policy anyway. I feel bad, because I would like to see Kroger survive this economy, but this is NOT the way for them to do it :(

[SabrinaM]

*snip

So what he has done is make me mad and now I only go to get my free TP or the deals I know are loss leaders. No more regular shopping for veges, meat etc and he has lost that regular business but is still gonna eat the *loss* on the coupons. I hope he and his EXTREMELY rude staff enjoy the unemployment line if it happens. :hysterical: This is OT, but along the same lines in a way. My Mom ended up taking Sears to small claims court over her $2000 Kenmore sewing machine that they dropped and broke while cleaning it. My Mom also had service contract that she PAID for so that the machine could be replaced if broken. Sears refused to abide by the contract after my Mom fought with them FOR A YEAR over it. She took them to court to make it right. During one of my conversations with one of the many DM's I spoke to on her behalf I told them that with this type of customer dis-service they would end up closing. He laughed on the phone. This was 2 years ago. Last I heard, they weren't expected to make it through 2011. :hysterical:

[toppincl]

This is OT, but along the same lines in a way. My Mom ended up taking Sears to small claims court over her $2000 Kenmore sewing machine that they dropped and broke while cleaning it. My Mom also had service contract that she PAID for so that the machine could be replaced if broken. Sears refused to abide by the contract after my Mom fought with them FOR A YEAR over it. She took them to court to make it right. During one of my conversations with one of the many DM's I spoke to on her behalf I told them that with this type of customer dis-service they would end up closing. He laughed on the phone. This was 2 years ago. Last I heard, they weren't expected to make it through 2011. :hysterical:

I'm always torn. On the one hand, more stores closing is fewer jobs, fewer choices, and in the long run, worse prices. On the other hand, if you want your store to stay open, take a class in customer retention!! Rude, uninterrested cashiers, managers who change store policies without considering the long term consequences, poor stocking policies--these stores SHOULDN'T stay open.

Of course, that pretty much describes every single walmart I've ever walked in to, and they're certainly not closing any time soon . . .

[ElizabethGville]

Just a little update about Greenville NC: I went in this morning around 9:30am to get my free TP and check for Manager Markdowns on bread. The store was a GHOSTTOWN. I mean empty. I think there were maybe 10 customers in the whole place. There were more employees!!! Normally grocery stores are BUSY on Saturday mornings. If this is any indication, I would say Greenville is definitely in trouble.

[mindisue]

So, it sounds like you finally gave up, too! I know that I have...no more Kroger for me - except for free TP and unreal deals!:biggrin:

[maahke]

I shop the New Bern Ave Kroger and have never been limited on like coupons. I have used up to 10 at a time. I was lucky enough to snag a tearpad a sobe rep was trashing, and used 10 at a time along with a good stash of tp coupons without problems. I also tend to shop on Tues morning and try to get the same sweet older lady. Would the self check be easier for those that do have problems?

[3STOOGESPLUS1]

WF staff are rude but I still wouldn't wish unemployment on them. Besides wouldn't job loss and financial stress make them meaner and you never know if you'll run into them somewhere else.

[ElizabethGville]

I shop the New Bern Ave Kroger and have never been limited on like coupons. I have used up to 10 at a time. I was lucky enough to snag a tearpad a sobe rep was trashing, and used 10 at a time along with a good stash of tp coupons without problems. I also tend to shop on Tues morning and try to get the same sweet older lady. Would the self check be easier for those that do have problems?

Not for our store. When it comes time to enter coupons at the self checkout you have to hand them over to the attendant and they scan them. You are lucky to have such a great store and manager!

[smartshopper08]

I'm in WV too, and after being here and shopping Kroger for 7 months they are finally "cracking" down on the so-called policy. I hadn't had any problems with any of my coupons, but I don't go overboard. I know when too much is TOO much, I know how to moderate myself. Heck, this is a small town... I could make a trip everyday and not lose any time or gas! lol
Anyway, I've kind of slipped up and told a few people maybe *too* much when it comes to couponing because right when they started getting heavy, things started heading south.
Signs posted about the limit of two .50 coupons doubled per transaction (hey, doesn't say anything about .49 and under limitations!! woohoo!), then the cashier told me two IP's per transaction. Knowing this cannot be the true policy I asked to see it and I read it myself, straight from corporate (dated 2006, btw), it stated;

Two like Manufacturer coupons per those two items per transaction.
So, means I could still use unlimited IPs, just two of each. Sounds good to me.

[nikarphar]

The store on Highway 64 is terrible.I tried doing a deal on the Glade around Jan they refused to allow me more than 2 coupons.That was the last day I ever went there....

That is why so many krogers have closed in the Raleigh/Cary area.I was used to the very friendly krogers in Roanoke VA and was shocked when I tried the ones out in Cary.I guess that is what happens when you tick off customers.:(

[clippyclippy]

The store on Highway 64 is terrible.I tried doing a deal on the Glade around Jan they refused to allow me more than 2 coupons.That was the last day I ever went there....

That is why so many krogers have closed in the Raleigh/Cary area.I was used to the very friendly krogers in Roanoke VA and was shocked when I tried the ones out in Cary.I guess that is what happens when you tick off customers.:(
That is my store as well. I was hearing rumors about limiting to 2 coupons, but I didn't believe it until I saw it for myself.
So sad. I've only shopped there a few times in the past several months.