walgreens Help Please ~ Rejected coupon at WAGS

[melbournebookworm]

I went to wags tonight to pick up some items on sale. I had a few q's, but not a lot. They were running Tampax Buy One Get One 50% off. I had 2 manufacturer q's that said Redeem this Q at Save A Lot. It did NOT say Redeem this Q ONLY at Save a Lot. The cashier refused it because it said Save A Lot on it. I explained the difference between man q's and store q's. She called over the male manager and he also refused it. He said it read "redeem ONLY at Save A Lot." When I pointed out it said no such thing, (more politely than that), he again refused to take it. I again tried to point out the difference with man q's and store q's, but the guy refused to talk to me and walked away.

At this point, I had 3 people in line behind me (2 of which were more men) so I didn't want to stand there and stamp my feet over tampax. KWIM? So, I bought the things without the q's. To add insult to injury, I noticed on the receipt when I got home that the 2nd box wasn't even discounted 50% like it should have been. It was discounted something like 38%. Grrr....

So, before I rip off a letter to corporate about how mortified this guy made me, I wanted to check with the experts. Am I crazy, or should the q have been OK?

TIA!

[warcraftbaby]

Ummm I think they were right and you can't use that q. From what I understand, when a q says AVAILABLE at Save-a-lot (or wherever) you CAN use that q anywhere, the store name is just advertising. But when it says REDEEM at Save-a-lot you must redeem it at Save-a-lot. It is not a suggestion, it's telling you where you are allowed to redeem it. Actually I think I have that q book your q came from (P&G?) and those are to be used at Save-a-lot.

[Mom2Natalya]

I think you're correct. I have always understood it as the fine print tells me where I can use my q's.

"Redeem ONLY at Save-A-Lot" tells me I can ONLY use this coupon at Save-A-Lot, despite the fact it's a manufacturer coupon.

"Redeem at Save-A-Lot" is suggesting that you use the coupon at Save-A-Lot, but really, you can use it anywhere (almost all, if not all, RR's and Wags cats have Redeem at Walgreens on them, but I know for a fact other stores get reimbursed for them)
Of course they want you to use it there because they cooked up a deal with the manufacturer to get kick-backs for the coupon being used at their store. But it is scannable and will be reimbursed to other stores as well.

Good luck! (I think this boils down to a ymmv thing) I had one rejected that said "redeem at Publix" on it (this was the not-so-great Wags) becasue it beeped. But it beeped b/c the mq started with a 9. The cashier wasn't buying that though.

[QponClippinQueen]

I think wags was right. I have had this problem all to many times and have never been allowed to use a q that says redeem at save a lot vs available at save a lot.

To me they mean different things but the stores are never going to accept a qpon (unless they take competitor qpons) that have another stores name on them.

Just remember these cashiers get into trouble when they take qpons they are not supposed to. It's "shorts" their drawer and can be fired. I know I'm not one to usually agree with a store and qpons but this time I do think they are correct.

Short story..
Awhile back CVS and wags had hangtag q's for coke 2 liters (not sure the details of the q) but it was a Manufacture qpon. I tried to use a CVS one at wags since they were identical including the upc and all. It was a complete no go even though I proved my point with them being identical except for the name (cvs vs wags) and still I was told no.

I didnt argue to much since I did have a wags one to use but my point was it's the same q. So I'd word it much more as a question when you call/write corp and then go from there. If they agree with you take the letter back to wags and rub it in his face.

[melbournebookworm]

I appreciate all the responses so far, but boy am I still confused. Anyone else want to weigh in on this?

I've written a note to P & G to see what they say about the intent of the coupon. Maybe that will help when I approach Walgreens corporate.

[CW&M Mom]

I have used those very save a lot coupons at family dollar and dollar general & Walmart. They should be able to be used at walgreens....but when you have a jerk manager...not sure what you can do.

Do you have a save a lot in your area?

We do....so the stores know I can just turn around and use that coupon there at save a lot and they'll lose the business. If you don't have a save a lot in that area...they may figure they really aren't losing the business KWIM.

Oh and for sure Dollar General knows it says Save A lot...and do not care. They have had to push them through on the LUVS one...not sure why but that one does not ring there...but they have not given me any issue over it...and I also was using 2 of the Gain's ones there...and only one would work...they couldn't figure out why...so they just made that Gain product and coupon a separate purchase instead.

[motherofmolly]

if they say redeem at xxx, then you have to use it at that store.. if it just has the store logo on it, no redeem at, purchase at, only good at, etc and say manufacturer on it then you might be able to use it at a different store. this is one of those things that i find is just easier to avoid.

[johnfdeluca]

It's a interpretation thing. Clearly your mileage will vary on this....some interpret this as you may redeem it anywhere (since it doesn't say only at x). Others interpret it as you may only redeem at x. While I usually interpret these as they can be used anywhere (since they don't say only), I never depend on being able to use that coupon outside the store name listed....I consider it a bonus if they accept it but I won't push it if they don't.

[jen276here]

I think this is strictly a YMMV. I completely understand your frustration, but I also understand the store's reluctance. We all know that cashiers and managers are not always very coupon savy, but I can see where using a Q (even a mfg Q) that says 'Redeemable at ____' would make the most coupon friendly store question it and possibly refuse it. I personally just stear clear of this issue by only using Q's like that at the store they were intended for unless I am shopping a store that accepts competitor coupons.

[melbournebookworm]

Well, like I said, I have emailed P & G. But I don't see this as a YMMV kind of thing. Either P&G *wants* the coupon used anywhere, or they don't. If their intent is to restrict it to just Save A Lot, then I was off base and probably owe the wags mgr an apology. But I don't really think this should be a store by store interpretation. I don't consider coupons a grey area. Either you can use them, or you can't. Ultimately, it is the mfg. paying the coupon amount, so they have the final say, IMHO.

Can you tell I am a very left-brained kind of person?