Stepping Outside Your Bargain Box

Okay, so this week's bargain hunting adventures have left me frustrated and more than highly irritated at a couple of stores and being a blogger... there's a post that can come out of almost every situation and I thought I would share.

Anyone who reads PPP knows that I pretty much shop at 3 brick and mortar stores for my food and drugstore type items... CVS, Kroger and Target. I do sometime shop at Walgreen's depending on the deal, but CVS is more convenient to my home and it's a small little store with a very hometown feel, so I usually go there. I shop at other retailers online and a places like Penney's and Kohls, etc., but these are my go to stores for good deals on the food and toiletry items.

Why do I shop at these stores? Well, there are lots of reasons. Here are just a few reasons why I like these stores: I like the deals that I am able to get at all of these merchants, they readily accept all my coupons (printed from the internet or clipped from the Sunday paper), they offer me above and beyond customer service and are very family friendly. This may not be the case for these stores in your area, but in my hometown, these stores do a great job.

This week I was feeling enthused from all the great deals I have been reading on other bargain sites and I decided to step outside of my bargain box, so to speak. I read so many great sites online and love it when other moms share their great deals. I started thinking that this week maybe I should step outside of my typical bargain box and see if I could save money at some other stores. You may be wondering why I haven't done this before. Well, I have, but it usually it winds up being a bad experience because items don't ring up properly or they have issues with my coupons, etc. and because of this, there are certain stores that I have written off... no matter what kind of deals they have.

Well, this week I put all previous negative experiences aside and went to two stores that have been on my "do not shop" list. I won't name their names because I share this experience not to be derogatory towards any company, but to hopefully help others who many have similar frustrating experiences. I will say though that one was a grocery store and the other was a mass merchant type store.

So, off I went into these stores armed with coupons and a shopping list ready to save. The overall shopping experience at both stores was fine(this has not been the case at one of the stores in the past, they have been undergoing a remodel and the environment has been annoying to shop in and what I consider and unsafe environment for my family with all the paint fumes and jackhammer noise.. but that's another story).

Anyhow, I did notice that these stores were much higher on items that we buy all the time, so I stuck to only "sale" or "closeout" type items. I was able to pick out some items which were on sale and a good price... the problems didn't occur until check out.

Being a very active coupon user, I do expect to deal with issues with coupons from time to time. Whether it's someone behind me who is frustrated... this happens when you are using 20+ coupons. I just smile and say something like "wow, look at how much I am going to save this week!" The rolling eyes, etc. don't bother me one bit. I am organized with my coupons and do everything I can to make things smooth, that's just part of it. Also, from time to time I do expect to have a problem with a coupon not ringing up and the cashier having to manually enter the amount, again... just a small price you sometimes have to pay in order to save.

As I mentioned above, both of my problems this week were coupon related. At one store, I bought two of something and had two coupons and the system said I couldn't use the two coupons, that I had reached my coupon limit. The other store refused 2 printed manufactures coupons. After 15 minutes or so, I was able to get the one store to let me use the 2 coupons on the 2 different items, but I was not able to get the other store to accept the printed coupons, even though they do not have a policy against accepting valid manufactures internet coupons.

I won't be returning to the store that accepted the coupons finally... they were on my "do not shop" list for a reason. My husband was able to have a first hand experience with the store and now he knows why they were on my list... it wasn't just me overreacting. Saving money is great, but at what cost? My time is important as well and I don't want to ever leave a store feeling like I did something wrong by using a coupon.

As for the store who flat out refused my coupons? Well, I probably won't be going back there either and I have already e-mailed their customer service to share the experience with them.

So, what's the point to this long drawn out story? I thought that by sharing this story I could also provide you with a list of tips on how to make sure you don't experience coupon issues at a store, but also to let you know that sometimes... no matter how educated and in the right you are, you won't always win in every situation and that's okay.

It's up to you to decide what's important. For me, saving money is important... it's usually at the top of my list, but buying quality items from a store that treats me with respect and values my business and tome, as well as provides a clean safe environment for my family is also just as important.

Here are some tips for shopping with coupons that might help you if you decide to step out of your bargain box:

Shopping Successfully With Coupons

• Coupon Policies: Know the coupon policy at the store before you shop (i.e. do they take internet coupons, expired coupons, etc.). I would suggest printing a copy of their policy out and tucking it in with your coupon organizer. If you can't find it on their site, e-mail their Customer Service and ask them for a copy, they should be more than glad to send you a copy.


• Make Sure Your Coupons Are Valid: Make sure you are buying the correct item (i.e. size,quantity, etc.) that is listed on the coupon and make sure your coupons are in date. Some stores will accept expired manufacturers coupons, it just depends on the store. If you have a bunch of expired coupons that you don't know what to do with, check out this article on Coupon Cravings. Apparently our military overseas can still use these coupons and you can find all the details on the Overseas Coupon Program on Coupon Cravings.


• Be Organized: Knowing what coupons you have for what items before you head to the store will not only save you money, but time as well. I like to make a list of items that are coupon items in addition to my shopping list... the two are sometimes one in the same because I don't tend to buy items that I don't have a coupon for.
• Tips For Printable Coupons: Be sure when you print a coupon online that it is a valid coupon from a valid source. Also, make sure when you print it that it's clear and legible. A tip that I have learned along the way... I ran out of white paper once and printed some coupons on yellow paper... really throws people off, so I would suggest printing on white paper.
  
• Don't Hesitate To Ask For Management: Store managers are there for a reason so don't be intimidated to ask for the assistance from someone in management. A store management position is a career path, this is not always the case for a cashier... it's sometimes a more transient position and you don't always wind-up with someone who knows the store's policies or cares to know the store's policies. Plus, as a person who worked retail all through college, sometimes the cashier is relieved to have someone else help out.


• Go Above The Store Level: If all else fails and you could not get the store to uphold their store coupon policy, contact Customer Service. I remember contacting a companies Customer Service one time and was told that it was obvious that the store manager needed to do some more training on store policies and haven't ever had a problem in that store since.

Hopefully these couponing tips will help those of you who are new to the world of bargain hunting and couponing. If some of you seasoned pros out there have a suggestion or tip, be sure and leave a comment to share!

Stepping Outside Your Bargain Box