Ooooh, EXTREMELY irritated w/HT - ZVR problems

[LadySiren]

This is LONG - apologies in advance.

So, I went to HT tonight for my second SD run. I based my list tonight on the GM and Pillsbury deals, and the ZVRs I supposedly loaded to my VIC card. One of my ZVRs was the BOGO Maxwell House (the big 32 - 34 oz. containers). I pulled those out and asked the cashier to ring them first, after he scanned my card. He did, then totaled the order for me so we could see if the ZVR would work properly...sure enough, it didn't come off. I told him to take the coffee of but to also go ahead and keep going with the rest of the order, thinking that I must've grabbed the wrong size or type of Maxwell House.

Well, sure enough - none of my ZVR coupons worked. The cashier had already called a white shirt over to see what was going on with the coffee not coming off. After we'd rung up my order and saw that none of the coupons had come off, she offered to simply ring them up at $0.00, which wasn't my intent. I pulled out my phone and showed her the ZVRs online. All the ones I wanted to use were marked "Saved" on the website.

At first, this all totally confused her. She thought they were catalinas of some sort. I swear that I must've said at least three times that they were e-VIC electronic coupons. After she finally clued in, she then said because I'd loaded them this afternoon, they weren't coming off - it would take 24 hours for them to load. I expressed my doubts, so then told me that they didn't work because I had regular coupons and they wouldn't stack with regular coupons (which still doesn't explain why the coffee didn't work). I also hadn't given the cashier my coupons yet when I noticed that the ZVRs hadn't come off, so that explanation didn't fit. She told me that was part of their stated coupon policy and that she'd happily give me a copy to read right there, if I wanted. I insisted that yes, you CAN stack HT coupons with manufacturer q's - I'd just done it the previous week with the Philly Creme BOGO and my $1.50/1.

All of my protests just confused the white shirt further, so she then took my card and went to the CS desk and pulled up my eVIC offers; the only thing showing was the current diaper eVIC (I'm not even sure my eVICs would show what ZVRs I'd saved). I then said, "Nevermind, I'll just call corporate" and proceeded to do so right there. As I was dialing through their telephone tree, a blue shirt noticed the commotion and came over. My call dropped (thanks, Verizon!) but I'd finished paying for my order and was walking out and set to redial, however, I thought I'd take the opportunity to tell the blue shirt that I was having issues. I explained the problem to him. The blue shirt then explained the reason the ZVRs didn't work is because I'd already reached my 20 coupon limit.

By this time, I was so irritated and baffled, that his explanation made perfect sense. I thanked him and walked out to my car. Upon driving home, I started thinking about my order...and DUH - I wasn't trying to double my ZVRs, I just wanted them to be applied to my total like they should've been. And they don't double anyway! I immediately picked up my phone and called corporate, giving them my VIC info, the store number, and a phone number where they could call me. I'm hoping they'll call me back tomorrow.

I didn't miss out on a lot of money - it's only around $13ish if you add in the Maxwell House BOGO. But at this point, it's the principle of the thing. I was following their policy correctly and I'd decided to purchase items based on the ZVRs that I was supposed to be eligible for. As a result, I wasted 25 minutes hashing this out with a white shirt AND a blue shirt, and still ended up (IMO) shorted. UGH!

So anyway, does anyone have an opinion as to whether I'm in the right here? Am I totally misunderstanding the way ZVRs are supposed to be used? Tonight was the first time I've tried them, despite having signed up for eVIC for more than what...two years? I felt like a total idiot tonight and had to remind myself that I'm not dumb, I'm an educated, professional woman. Yeah, I'm bad at math (math is hard) but this seemed pretty straightforward to me. Am I wrong? All comments and feedback warmly welcomed and appreciated.

Oh yeah - the blue shirt was REALLY unhappy that I was calling corporate from right there inside his store. He told me he didn't understand why the white shirt didn't explain the problem to him and that he didn't want to be "blindsided" by a problem that he, as the co-manager, didn't know about.

[Melsie]

Are the ZVR's store coupons or manufacturer coupons? You wouldn't be able to use 2 manufacturers coupons on 1 item, so I if the ZVR's are manufacturer then you would not be able to stack them. However, if they are store coupons then I think you would be able to stack them like you can in the drug stores, but I need to reread their policy to be sure. Now you've got my curiousity going... what does there policy say in regards to ZVR's?

Sorry you had such a hard time today!

[Melsie]

OK I just went out to their e coupon site Harris Teeter - e-VIC Coupons and read this:

With e-VIC coupons, you can now link valuable manufacturer coupons directly to your VIC card. Look for great new offers in your Wednesday e-VIC email and browse the list of e-VIC coupons anytime it's convenient for you (we're adding more coupons all the time!).

This tells me that the evic coupons are "manufacturer coupons," not Harris Teeter store coupons and thus cannot be stacked as their coupon policy you can view here Harris Teeter - Coupon Policy states:

• We accept only one manufacturer coupon per purchased item.

Allthis makes me think that the ZVR coupons aren't worth it especially if you have a paper manufacturer Q that will double! I hope this helps you feel better, at least that you weren't shorted. And you helped me understand it better and hopefully some others too.

[LadySiren]

Are the ZVR's store coupons or manufacturer coupons? You wouldn't be able to use 2 manufacturers coupons on 1 item, so I if the ZVR's are manufacturer then you would not be able to stack them. However, if they are store coupons then I think you would be able to stack them like you can in the drug stores, but I need to reread their policy to be sure. Now you've got my curiousity going... what does there policy say in regards to ZVR's?

Sorry you had such a hard time today!

I've been looking at their policy but I can't find anything that states you can or cannot stack the e-VIC coupons with mfr. coupons. However, that wouldn't explain the coffee problem - I had the cashier scan both items and total it before any coupons were ever applied.

Here's what I could find about the e-VIC coupons on the HT site (Harris Teeter - e-VIC Coupons):

• 
  
  1. Join e-VIC today
  2. Click the Weekly Specials link in your Wednesday e-VIC email to go to your personalized e-VIC page.
  3. Click the tab:
  4. Click the icon on any of the displayed coupons.
  5. You will be redirected to a page where you must accept that Harris Teeter is sharing some of your information with a third party vendor. This information is restricted to your email address and the password you will create. You will only do this 1 time. On subsequent visits, clicking the icon will save the coupon.
  6. Click Accept, then Go to Profile.
  7. If you have an existing Profile, login and verify your profile. Then click Submit/Signup.
  8. If you don't have a profile, complete the Profile and click Submit/Signup.
  9. Your profile will be created and the Coupons will once again be displayed.
  10. Click the icon to add a coupon to your VIC Card.
  11. Shop at your local Harris Teeter and purchase the items. Your receipt will print a line similar to this when the coupon is applied to your transaction: MC 1001 ZVR Huggies Diapers 1.00-F
  
  

I'm so confused.

[LadySiren]

OK I just went out to their e coupon site Harris Teeter - e-VIC Coupons and read this:

With e-VIC coupons, you can now link valuable manufacturer coupons directly to your VIC card. Look for great new offers in your Wednesday e-VIC email and browse the list of e-VIC coupons anytime it's convenient for you (we're adding more coupons all the time!).

This tells me that the evic coupons are "manufacturer coupons," not Harris Teeter store coupons and thus cannot be stacked as their coupon policy you can view here Harris Teeter - Coupon Policy states:

• We accept only one manufacturer coupon per purchased item.

Allthis makes me think that the ZVR coupons aren't worth it especially if you have a paper manufacturer Q that will double! I hope this helps you feel better, at least that you weren't shorted. And you helped me understand it better and hopefully some others too.

Ahhh, this makes me think that I am an idiot (d'oh!) and didn't understand how the ZVRs work, especially as this is the first time I've tried to use 'em. I do wish the folks at HT could explain it a bit better - it might've saved me from being all kinds of irritated with them. /sigh

ETA: Thanks also, for the assist - I left you some reps for the help and for not laughing at me (well, at least not out loud).

[scoobydoo]

You're not wrong. My e-VIC didn't come off for the Green Giant veggies. The store accountant refunded the $.60. This was the 2nd itme it didn't work. I let it go on Wednesday (bought Green Giant veggies then too) since I was in the store early & no one was available at customer service.

I'm fortunate that most of the personnel know me from years of shopping so I have few problems but it's a major pain that these promos don't work. That's what computer program testing is supposed to fix.

I wish HT would get back in the business of being a grocery store & out of the attempted micro-management of their customers. This is why Target now gets more of my grocery dollars than in the past.

Good luck!!

[Jesseroo]

nm seems you figured it out

[LadySiren]

You're not wrong. My e-VIC didn't come off for the Green Giant veggies. The store accountant refunded the $.60. This was the 2nd itme it didn't work. I let it go on Wednesday (bought Green Giant veggies then too) since I was in the store early & no one was available at customer service.

I'm fortunate that most of the personnel know me from years of shopping so I few problems but it's a major pain that these promos don't work. That's what computer program testing is supposed to fix.

I wish HT would get back in the business of being a grocery store & out of the attempted micro-management of their customers. This is why Target now gets more of my grocery dollars than in the past.

Good luck!!

Ack, wait - so are ZVRs stackable with mfr. coupons? OMG, this is way too difficult for my pea-sized brain. Help! I think I'm gonna avoid ZVRs until I figure it out.

[LadySiren]

ZVR's are manu coupons done through HT, and the policy is to allow both ZVR and paper coupons. So that's not the issue...


you did click each of the individual coupons to add it to your card right?

Yep, I even pulled up my ZVR page to show the white shirt. The page shows "Saved" under each of the offers I clicked on, and if I go to "My Saved Offers", they're all there with a button underneath that says "Remove". I'm assuming that means they're loaded to my card. Oy vey...

[Jesseroo]

Ack, wait - so are ZVRs stackable with mfr. coupons? OMG, this is way too difficult for my pea-sized brain. Help! I think I'm gonna avoid ZVRs until I figure it out.

ZVRs are just extra. They don't interfere with anything else. Not using them is less savings for you!