Problems with overage at COMMISSARY? READ THIS... - Page 5

charlestonmom · 08-28-2008, 05:42:39 AM

Whoa, I totally messed up your screen name, I just realized I put tiramasuez!!! LOL that is funny, guess I have food on my mind!!! sorry,LOL

tinamsuarez · 08-28-2008, 10:14:20 PM

hey ladies! this is the email i just received. somehow they figured out where i am!!! oh well. do you think that they forwarded it to the store??? do you think i should forward it to him???

btw, i received an email from the store director (the guy who was nice to me the other day) saying that he wa sorry for the confusion and they would look into everything.

here is the email from deca....

Dear Ms. Suarez, Thank you for visiting the DeCA website to address your question. First, let me apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. DeCA Directive 40-6, dated June 5, 2007 , chapter 7 paragraph 7-4n states, "Valid coupons will be entered at the value stated on the coupons." Changing the value of the coupon is not authorized. This means, when a coupon exceeds the value of the product, the difference will be refunded to the customer, i.e. when a customer presents a $3.00 coupon and the cost of the product is $2.50 the customer receives the $.50 difference. However, commissary management, in cooperation with the Installation Commander, may restrict the number of transactions per customer. As a matter of policy, sales restrictions limiting amount per purchase, e.g., limit three, may be activated by DeCA Headquarters, the Federal Food and Drug Administration, The Department of Defense, or command channels when product food alerts occur, or in instances when a sales transaction involves purchases of large quantities of a single item, or when refunds or coupon redemption involves a large amount of money. As with all types of retail establishments where the exchange of goods, services, and money is involved, DeCA store management is required to monitor activity that may be perceived as potential abuse of the commissary privilege. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify this issue. I encourage you to continue taking advantage of your commissary benefit and the 30 percent plus savings overall. If you need assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Bill Roger, Store Director, or any member of his management staff, at (787) 707-5077. Sincerely, Danna S. Eldridge HQ DeCA/DOB Office Phone: 804-734-8772, DSN 687 Fax: 804-734-8242 The Commissary - It's Worth the Trip!

Do you think that after reading this that they will restrict amounts since they are so mad??? I wonder if they would go as far as contacting the installation commander.

charlestonmom · 08-30-2008, 06:04:42 AM

Well, I have read other posts in which a patron contacted DeCA with a similiar problem, and this was their response as well. Since you are asking for opinions, I DO think that they (your store) will perhaps just make up a number and say that 3, for instance, is the limit per order. I think they will do this just to "prove" they are right and keep you from getting the overage, which is what he told you anyway--- that it would fall back on him anyway (the district manager you mentioned earlier).

That is no good! I have posted this before, but my opinion is that it is a matter of whether they change this policy (to make a distinct number of identical items resulting in overage per transaction) before the 12/31 exp. of the K-Y coupon. I do think that the time is coming where they will clearly define a "number", especially as more attention is brought to the matter.

Honestly, I really don't see what the big problem is, because they are getting full reimbursement from the manufacturer for every coupon redeemed anyway, PLUS postage. ????? Oh well, this is my opinion, and other people may not agree with me.

Good luck with the issue, and keep us all posted!

tinamsuarez · 08-30-2008, 10:39:07 PM

Originally Posted by charlestonmom

Well, I have read other posts in which a patron contacted DeCA with a similiar problem, and this was their response as well. Since you are asking for opinions, I DO think that they (your store) will perhaps just make up a number and say that 3, for instance, is the limit per order. I think they will do this just to "prove" they are right and keep you from getting the overage, which is what he told you anyway--- that it would fall back on him anyway (the district manager you mentioned earlier).

That is no good! I have posted this before, but my opinion is that it is a matter of whether they change this policy (to make a distinct number of identical items resulting in overage per transaction) before the 12/31 exp. of the K-Y coupon. I do think that the time is coming where they will clearly define a "number", especially as more attention is brought to the matter.

Honestly, I really don't see what the big problem is, because they are getting full reimbursement from the manufacturer for every coupon redeemed anyway, PLUS postage. ????? Oh well, this is my opinion, and other people may not agree with me.

Good luck with the issue, and keep us all posted!

i am really confused. i copied the email and went to the store yesterday to discuss the situation. the one cashier seen me and said "oh, you are okay, you can go get the ky's." she said if i still wanted to talk to the manager she would get him. i told her if i would be okay i will not worry about it. i did pick up a few items, but no ky. i bumped into the store director (the nice guy) on the way out. he said that i can get the ky's if i want but they are still discussing it since there is a problem with verbage in the directive. he said that coupons with overage are fine but not the ky ones. huh??? i pulled out my email to show him since he had not seen it yet. he told me that he does not think that they will start limiting items since if someone was to have a bbq, it would be stupid for the store to say that they could only buy three packs of hamburgers. i told him that since the coupons were good for now that i should use up all the ones i have so that we will never have to worry about the dreaded ky coupons anymore. i do my weekly grocery trip tomorrow (or tuesday if i am busy) so we will see how that goes.

PMFan · 08-31-2008, 12:05:41 AM

the 3/1 ky don't exp until 12/31!!!

Originally Posted by tinamsuarez

we will never have to worry about the dreaded ky coupons anymore.

tinamsuarez · 08-31-2008, 07:39:12 AM

Originally Posted by PMFan

the 3/1 ky don't exp until 12/31!!!

oh i know, i was just talking about using up all the ones i have. i mean if i get my hands on more i will use them.

charlestonmom · 09-07-2008, 05:25:20 AM

So.....things have been going pretty good lately with overage at my commissary. Until......the last 2 trips have been a huge pain in the .......! I made the mistake of going through the self check-out with several coupons the other day. It didn't help that the cashier there did not know much about what she was doing. It took me almost an HOUR to get out of that store, from the time I was in the checkout!!AHHH. The cashier didn't know how to enter the coupons, and accused me of using them incorrectly because they weren't scanning, she said that I was going to break the register! ????what?? She was trying to enter the coupon value for glade, $4, and entered .44. Then she could not figure out how to fix that, then she entered $40. Ahhhh. Anyway, lmost an hour later, after she asked 2 managers about overage and told me she could not do it, (was corrected by managers), after she threw my coupons in the floor, tried to figure out the coupon box as it said it was full, etc.....I finally got out of there. I hate making a scene though. The baggers came in, and out and in and out and in and out!!! I was still there. anyway, today, same thing.....it didn't help that I was in there right at closing with a buggy full of stuff, with 72 k-y coupons (case) and 7 cases of glade warmers! blah, blah, "we can't do that", "I know what you are trying to do". "check with the supervisor", etc....."where did you get these" blah, blah.....I guess I was just too lucky for a while to have not problems. It is getting to where I hate going in there. Oh well, ---DeCA policy is what it is. They are going by it even if they are not happy about it.

luvbug07 · 09-07-2008, 06:58:46 AM

Sorry you had those problems. I only go through self-checkout now with a few coupons. It was just becoming too overwhelming with more and is it just me, or are the cashiers that they put on the self-checkouts often some of the least qualified and they know the systems the least?

charlestonmom · 09-07-2008, 07:35:03 AM

Originally Posted by luvbug07

Sorry you had those problems. I only go through self-checkout now with a few coupons. It was just becoming too overwhelming with more and is it just me, or are the cashiers that they put on the self-checkouts often some of the least qualified and they know the systems the least?

Yeah, learned that lesson really quick! No more self-checkout unless I only have a couple of things, and very few coupons. AND if I recognize the cashier as capable of getting in and out of the rain!! The one that I had the other day acted like she was born with a bucket on her head!!! She did not know anything about how the register's worked, coupons worked, coupon box worked, NOTHING. She could not even figure out what to add to .44 to make it $4 since she accidentally typed in the wrong amount of the coupon. uhhhhh, that would be $3.66, and I had to tell her that. Oh well, --
actually, one of the supervisors came up to me first thing today and asked me not to go through th self-checkout with alot of coupons anymore. ...Don't worry about that!!

cartermomof4 · 09-13-2008, 12:38:16 AM

I am totally happy usigng overage towards groceries! In the end they are giving you money back i have a family of 6 i spend atleast 400 monthly on gorceries and getting those for free free's up $400 i didnt have before so in a way they do give it to you =) And I also agree that they eventually would change the policies if it were abused great thigns like this dont last forever,lol.