Genuardi's new double coupon policy

[Siageah]

Did anyone else see this little gem?

Ugh.

From the new ad:

Double Coupons
No Rain Checks Issued

We double manufacturer coupons up to 99c...yadda, yadda...

<here is the new part>
Only one coupon will be doubled on multiple purchases of same product (including participating varieties) Additional coupons redeemed at face value and terms.

Genuardis is going to now be shoved back on the shelf next to Giant for me now. I am *very* annoyed. Has this been around the last couple of weeks and I missed it? I haven't been looking at the ads too closely the last month or so.

[jlk77]

NO, this has not been around--it's new. And, I am super annoyed as well. How the heck can they afford to do this when they #1 have the highest shelf prices in town, and #2 they have tons of competition. At least all the Genuardis that I know of are around other stores: Acme, Walmart, Shoprite... Even Pathmark (terrible) doubles up to 4 coupons! This is TERRIBLE!

And, what does it mean, no rainchecks issued? On anything? On sale items? On sale items with coupons?

[Siageah]

This just reminds me of all of the craziness that went on when Safeway bought them. Then they came back all apologetic about how they went about the changes because their sales tanked. Well, I'm not sure the couponers will make a big difference in their sales but for one, I won't be purchasing anything from there that isn't free or darn close to it. No more discretionary dollars to them.

This is just nuts for the most expensive store around to pull. I've sang their praises through all of their ups and downs. Not now. The service at my store has been going down over the last year and a half or so, but still I stayed. But this is the end.

The rain check thing says:

Sales limited to stock on hand. We reserve the right to limit quantities. No rain checks.

Which isn't terribly different than the normal "small print" verbiage, but this time they have the "No Rain Checks Issued" in bold right under that new ugly "Double Coupon" stamp. So my guess is, if it is on sale...you are SOL.

I'm writing letters. Their policy is the same as Giant of PA, but worse than everyone else now. And their prices are higher. I'm not sure how they can justify this junk in this market.

[nwfdrool]

So, is this policy for Safeway stores also? Or, just Genuardi stores. Anybody in NOVA can tell me if Safeway doubles up to $.99? Or, only to $.50?

[Siageah]

Originally Posted by nwfdrool So, is this policy for Safeway stores also? Or, just Genuardi stores. Anybody in NOVA can tell me if Safeway doubles up to $.99? Or, only to $.50?

From what I have read on another board, the policy has changed for the NoVa-MD stores as well. They will double up to 99c, but only one of each coupon. The rest are redeemed at face value.

[momsak]

It seems to me that it was illegal to advertise an item on sale and not have stock of said item during the sales period. At least that was the law a number of years back in the state of Ohio. It was the reason that rainchecks started--to protect consumers from advertisers trying to draw them to their stores when they actually did not have the item.

I wonder how they are legally getting around that now?

I know that if they sepcify there are at least xxx number in a store that circumvented the law, but this wording is too vague to get by. I see a lawsuit in the future unless Safeway has somehow snuck in some new legalese to cover their butt.

I'm with you guys--Genuardis and Giant-PA have the worse coupon policies and I will NOT give them my $$$s for things that seldom go on sale, like milk. Looks like Acme has successfully swung my business their way.

Also, my Genuardi's store have the absolute worst cashiers. Their fulltime/daytimers all need major attitude adjustments--adjustments that will have to be made when they lose their jobs. I know my closest store has very little business and I anticipate that this store will be the next grocery casualty. Good riddance!

[Siageah]

I was pretty miffed by this. I e-mailed Jim Donovan from CBS3 the other day. He e-mailed back with some clarifying questions, but that was it. But still...how many people shop Genuardi's and won't know til they get home that it all changed? And in this economy with stores trying to lure business from the next guy, Wegman's in the area, and *almost* every other store with a better coupon policy and this is what they choose to do?

Hmmm. I guess I am still pretty miffed. ;-)

[jlk77]

I emailed Safeway via the comments section on their website. Here is their canned response. Blah.

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding your local Genuardi's store.

You expressed your concern regarding our coupon policy at your local Genuardi's stores. We appreciate your taking the time to provide us with your feedback. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.

You also expressed your concern regarding the prices of the products at the store. We are sorry to hear that we are not meeting your expectations. The Pricing Department continually reviews the costs of products to ensure that our prices are fair and competitive. Where necessary, price adjustments are made company wide.

Your comments are important to us and have been forwarded to our Marketing Department and the Pricing Department for their review and consideration. Thank you for taking the time to let us know how we can better serve you.

If you would like to discuss this further, please reply to this email or call our toll free number at 1-877-723-3929. One of our associates will be happy to assist you.

We appreciate your business and look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you for shopping at Genuardi's.


Sincerely,

Stephen King
Customer Service Center

[shannonpa]

Before I started using coupons, I NEVER shopped at Genaurdi's because their prices are ridiculous, I find their selection to be awful and their produce section is pretty pathetic. (At least our local store in Kennett is) I have gotten some good deals there since I started using coupons, but this will pretty much put an end to that. Thank you for pointing this out, I will probably stop shopping there all together.

[coupondazed]

Um yeah... I wont be shopping there anymore