Home for the Holidays and Vons Coupon Policy

[ChipL]

On Sunday, I wrote to Vons customer service through the Safeway website after I spent $25.16 before coupons on qualifying items for the Home for the Holidays promotion and my $5.00 Cat did not print out.

Last night, I received a reply, and evidently Vons has either changed its policy from what I recall from previous promotions, or in the past its computers did not process manufacturer coupons correctly and Cats spit out even if you used coupons against your total qualifying purchase:

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding our coupon policy as it relates to promotions.

Any promotion that we have that requires our customers to spend a certain amount of money always excludes any type of coupon, both Vons and Manufacture coupons. So with the Home for the Holidays promotion you would need to spend the $25.00 after all discounts and coupons.

Although we do get reimbursement from the manufacture for their coupons, we treat manufacture coupons as a discount and not as a form of payment.

Not the news I wanted to read, but at least now we know.

[grandmajoanne]

Originally Posted by ChipL On Sunday, I wrote to Vons customer service through the Safeway website after I spent $25.16 before coupons on qualifying items for the Home for the Holidays promotion and my $5.00 Cat did not print out. Last night, I received a reply, and evidently Vons has either changed its policy from what I recall from previous promotions, or in the past its computers did not process manufacturer coupons correctly and Cats spit out even if you used coupons against your total qualifying purchase: Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding our coupon policy as it relates to promotions. Any promotion that we have that requires our customers to spend a certain amount of money always excludes any type of coupon, both Vons and Manufacture coupons. So with the Home for the Holidays promotion you would need to spend the $25.00 after all discounts and coupons. Although we do get reimbursement from the manufacture for their coupons, we treat manufacture coupons as a discount and not as a form of payment. Not the news I wanted to read, but at least now we know.

ChipL; ty for feed back from Vons " Not good news "

thanks again for sharing "


Holidays promotion you would need to spend the $25.00 after all discounts and coupons


we have the Heads -up...:sad: NOW " on promo~s




joanne
o/c

[deeann7]

I don't even see the HFH in this weeks ad starting 11/11
The only things I bought this week were potroast, O'Organic apple juice, and $5 turkey.
I now have 3 turkeys in the freezer.
This weeks ad starting 11/11 IMO is boring.
These are the things I see worth picking up at vons
Avocados 3/$1
Pears $.38 lb
Turkey $5
Chinet plates $2.99 if I can hit $20.00:shrug7:
I'm hoping Staters has a good ad this week

[ocean_brez]

Originally Posted by ChipL On Sunday, I wrote to Vons customer service through the Safeway website after I spent $25.16 before coupons on qualifying items for the Home for the Holidays promotion and my $5.00 Cat did not print out. Last night, I received a reply, and evidently Vons has either changed its policy from what I recall from previous promotions, or in the past its computers did not process manufacturer coupons correctly and Cats spit out even if you used coupons against your total qualifying purchase: Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding our coupon policy as it relates to promotions. Any promotion that we have that requires our customers to spend a certain amount of money always excludes any type of coupon, both Vons and Manufacture coupons. So with the Home for the Holidays promotion you would need to spend the $25.00 after all discounts and coupons. Although we do get reimbursement from the manufacture for their coupons, we treat manufacture coupons as a discount and not as a form of payment. Not the news I wanted to read, but at least now we know.

That's interesting that Vons treats manufacturer's coupons as a discount for us considering that VONS gets paid for every coupon they remit to the processing +8¢ each. Ridiculous! They are thinking that we are double dipping when in fact they are now doing that themselves.

What is interesting is that when I spoke to Catalina the other day regarding my problems with the Albertsons promo, they mentioned that certain stores are now requesting that Catalina set up their promos so that the promos will not work if "related" family coupons used, bring the promo total below the minimum threshold required for the promo to print the catalinas. :sad:

[vodreaux]

It Looks like Vons is playing around with Accounting GL. Manipulating numbers by using policy changes to get few extra pennies of profits.

Again, it is Vons/Pavilions. We should not expect to much friendliness to Coupon User and Sales shoppers. They are Wholefood Wannabees or at least Bristol Farms.

[ChipL]

What's really sad is that I've got five stores within a stone's throw of one another -- Vons, Ralphs, Albies, Fresh & Easy and Stater Bros. -- and the employees at Vons are by far the friendliest. I go to my Vons and I am constantly asked "Can I help you find something?" or just simply greeted. They're wonderful people.

But their prices are so high it's ridiculous. Their regular, non-Vons Club price on a 6-oz. can of French's french fried onions is now $5.49. Can you imagine? Now I have to treat Vons the way I treat Albies -- as a place to go to get the deal of the week and nothing, nothing more.

Stater Bros. is not a factor, as evidenced by the lack of activity on the board here. You can look at the flyer and see the one or two deals a week (if that many) they might offer.

Fresh & Easy? Oh, please. There's nothing easy about bagging your own groceries after you've selected from produce that's already been covered in Saran and two brands of peanut butter. Coupons? Well, how 'bout that, no, they don't take them. Doomed. They'll be gone, or radically overhauled, within a couple of years.

As angry as I have gotten at Ralphs over the years (no longer doubling more than one coupon; no longer doubling $1.00 coupons; etc.), Ralphs still saves me more money over my entire shopping experience than anywhere else.

The good news is that Vons is strictly a follower in Southern California: When Ralphs stopped dollar doubling, Vons followed suit two months later; when Ralphs tripled MQs, Vons did the same thing two weeks later. When Ralphs continues to eat away at Vons market share, Vons may actually do something about it. And, lo and behold, we'll be able to use coupons as a form of payment toward their threshold promotions.

In the meantime, I will use the $5.00 gift card Vons gave me (for the Cats that didn't print out) and use it to buy cheap Hillshire Farm sausages and Safeway-brand hamburger and hot dog buns (69 cents each this week) and be done with Vons for a while.

Until the next deal, that is . . . sigh . . .

[TanyaMT]

I don't think that is quite right:

I bought $26.22 before coupons, less than $25 after and mine printed ok (not counting those that doubled even, so just less the manu printed value off came to less than $25).

Details:
2 C&H brown sugar @1.69 ea - $0.35/1 x2
2 Safeway sugar @ 2.19 ea - no coupon
8 Bush beans @ $1 each - no coupon
2 Carnation can milk $1.25 ea - $0.50/2
3 DH brownies @ $0.99 ea - no coupon
1 Nestle dough @ $4.99 - $1/1 coupon

Total before coupons $26.22 - after coupons (without doubles) $24.02 - and it printed

[ChipL]

Originally Posted by TanyaMT I don't think that is quite right: I bought . . . total before coupons $26.22 - after coupons (without doubles) $24.02 - and it printed

Good for you, Tanya! I'm glad it worked for you. I also agree with you that this is the way it's supposed to work, despite what Vons customer service told me.

I wish Vons would re-design their receipts the way Ralphs has, to put a little + indicator by promotion items -- because now there's no easy way of knowing if at my store the computers were set up to process MQs as discounts that wouldn't count toward the $25 threshold . . . or if in fact one of my items wasn't actually a Home for the Holidays promotion item (or wasn't programmed into the computer correctly; please see multiple issues for other posters at Albies forum for details!).

[ocean_brez]

Originally Posted by ChipL I wish Vons would re-design their receipts the way Ralphs has, to put a little + indicator by promotion items -- because now there's no easy way of knowing if at my store the computers were set up to process MQs as discounts that wouldn't count toward the $25 threshold . . . or if in fact one of my items wasn't actually a Home for the Holidays promotion item (or wasn't programmed into the computer correctly; please see multiple issues for other posters at Albies forum for details!).

I was thinking the same thing this past week and wishing that Albertsons was set up the same as Ralphs. If Ralphs has the capability of doing this with their promos, then the other stores have the option to do so as well. It's all in the software programming and I know for a fact that each store has employees that are dual-trained to add/edit/fix their own individual stores software programs, especially when it comes to promos.

[vodreaux]

Originally Posted by ChipL What's really sad is that I've got five stores within a stone's throw of one another -- Vons, Ralphs, Albies, Fresh & Easy and Stater Bros. -- and the employees at Vons are by far the friendliest. I go to my Vons and I am constantly asked "Can I help you find something?" or just simply greeted. They're wonderful people. .

I disagree. Vons are friendly only if your not using coupons. I have see, witness, read from many customers especially Coupons customer being treated poorly and even treated like a criminal.

Some Vons stores are extremely unfriendly to coupon shoppers.

Many shoppers has share many horror stories on the internet, in the media and some times in person.