Kroger: the couponing wind has been cut out my sales :(

[cody82414]

I second motherofmolly - Washington & East Peoria, IL Kroger stores are great!

(BTW, East Peoria Kroger is not very far from the eastern edge of Peoria so if you're coming to Peoria-area to shop, don't think it's out in the boonies somewhere...just keep heading down I-74E, take Rt 116/29 toward EP/Pekin and it's just along there.)

Morton, IL Kroger is also good but I don't shop there very often (a bit out of my regular path).

As far as Peoria Krogers, I've really only shopped the one in Evergreen Square (on Lake St). Never had problems there either.
In most cases, I usually stick with the self-checkouts and usually avoid problems this way. The stereotype of the mature female cashier = coupon rejector exists for a reason and usually these folks aren't tending the SCO.

:)

Great Thanks!!

[barbyq]

During the mega sale I had many scenarios go other than planned.

I had B1G1 Velveeta Shells and Cheese individual cups, which was marked down to .49 off, rather than the sale price of .99. "Because after the Mega reward, all you pay is .49."

I had the .75/1 manufacturers cupons for Quaker marked down to .49. Same thing. "Can't give you over the amount you are paying."

I tried to stack the kraft ranch dressing 1.50/1 (buying 4 at a time to get the catalina), along with two, save $1.00 on produce when you buy 2 Kraft dressings. "Nope. You would have to buy an additional 4 dressings in order to use the coupons for produce."

And the Old El Paso deal. Trying to use the B2G1 (either refried beans or spice packet). Again, no. "You would need to buy an additional 2 items to use those coupons, because you are already using coupons on the sides."


SO...
in an effort to get the couponing rules and regulations consistant among cashiers at my local Kroger, I contacted corporate. Emails seemed to go in my direction of understanding, so I again attempted a scenario yesterday - which was the last day of the Mega sale.

No go.

AND I gave the Manger on Duty the name and number of the corporate contact I had made.

Long story, short.
I lose all around.

No more couponing 'tricks'. They will follow the letter of the law as Kroger sees it.

Whatever that is,
I still don't understand.:sad:

I swear something is going on because normally I have no problems what so ever but this promo it was horrible. I was told I couldn't use the $2/3 goldfish coupons because then I would go negative, because as the cashier said I was only paying $.88 for each bag of goldfish. In the end I won that one because I was still paying $.64 total for those 3 bags of goldfish. But it took 15mins and another higher up person to approve it. (this cashier also told tried to tell me that I couldn't use the $1/2 coupons for kraft cheese because then I would go negative too, umm $1.49 after discount from the promo minus .50 for the coupon is not a negative balance)

[lucyrevenge]

Yeah, I lost my Kroger couponing "wind" a long time ago. I went back earlier this week for the first time in 6-7 months, and I was reminded why I do almost all my grocery shopping at Jewel now. They would only take off $.49 for the B2G1 Easy Mac and $.38 for the B2G1 Rotel. Really, that poses some problems, because what if someone uses those coupons outside of the mega deal? I had 5 cans of Rotel, with a $.30/1, a $1/3, and a B2G1, and they wouldn't take B2G1 with the others.

This Kroger (Bourbonnais store) has been truly obnoxious. A Chicagoland blogger recently did a carpetbag email to Dominick's executives, which brought up a LOT of customer dissatisfaction issues, especially regarding coupons. She invited people to post about their Dom's experiences on her blog, and there have been like 400 posts so far, which has really gotten corp's attention. I've been considering sending an email similar to the Dominick's carpetbag. Anyone else interested? :)

Glad I'm not the only one who has issues almost ever time I go to this store. They absolutely hate it when I do more then one transaction for doubling purposes.

I usually go late at night so forced to go through Uscan. No a big deal, but annoying to fight with the attendant and have to watch her scan all the coupons as she always missing some or not doubling. Last time I was in there they were giving me guff about my $.50/1 Sobe Qs because they had a very teeny tiny CVS logo in the bottom right corner. You can't use these here. They are for CVS. Really? Says MQ on it. Wah...wah...wah....

I said fine. Give them to me. I'll just come back tomorrow and get them redeemed. Man did that piss her off, but that's what I did. Came in during the day and had no problems with the day manager.

[Zwella Ingrid]

I think there has been some sort of corporate wide crack down of some kind on coupons, because I have noticed more "questioning" than ever. I'm still good with my fav cashiers, but I do think something has gone down...

[harperjn]

The stereotype of the mature female cashier = coupon rejector exists for a reason.

LOL! My husband and I have noticed the "menopausal/ post-menopausal" women are the absolute worst at ANY kind of customer service. Avoid like the plague!

[holamelitta]

Glad I'm not the only one who has issues almost ever time I go to this store. They absolutely hate it when I do more then one transaction for doubling purposes.

I usually go late at night so forced to go through Uscan. No a big deal, but annoying to fight with the attendant and have to watch her scan all the coupons as she always missing some or not doubling. Last time I was in there they were giving me guff about my $.50/1 Sobe Qs because they had a very teeny tiny CVS logo in the bottom right corner. You can't use these here. They are for CVS. Really? Says MQ on it. Wah...wah...wah....

I said fine. Give them to me. I'll just come back tomorrow and get them redeemed. Man did that piss her off, but that's what I did. Came in during the day and had no problems with the day manager.

If you're shopping the Bourbonnais store, then no, it's definitely not you. They just don't like couponers. I know at least one other hardcore couponer who has had major issues there too. I had to laugh when Kroger's website had a banner a few weeks ago that said, "We heart coupons!" Ummmm....no. At least not in Bourbonnais.

[holamelitta]

In the Dominick's discussion on the blog I mentioned earlier, it came up that Dom's redeems their coupons by weight rather than by face value. This is apparently an option that stores can choose in order to get a lower processing fee from the clearinghouse. Basically, it is decided that every so many pounds of coupons is worth a certain dollar amount, and the store is reimbursed based on the weight of the coupons. Clearly, this presents problems for the store, because a $5 coupon and a $.50 coupon can weigh exactly the same. Some of the issues people have at Dom's are very similar to what I have experienced at Kroger, so it made me wonder if Kroger is also redeeming their coupons by weight. In one discussion with the manager at the horribly obnoxious Bourbonnais store, I pointed out that they get reimbursed for the full amount, and the manager replied, "We get some, yes." That comment makes more sense if the store isn't actually guaranteed to get the full face value back.