Arggh!! Target!

barbiegal7 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 01:23 PM

Just had to VENT about my Target experience yesterday. I bought MANY items that didn't have coupons, might I add. I had five coupons for a free can of Edge Fusion Shave Gel. Every place I had been, they were about $3.29 a can, and my coupons were for a maximum of $2.99. I had been told it was $2.99 at Walmart, but I'm not the biggest fan of Wally World, and it's much farther than my Target. Eureka! It was $2.99 at Target.

So when I get to the register, the girl is eyeballing ALL my coupons like I was trying to spend counterfeit money, for goodness sakes. Finally, she looks at the freebies and says, "these say one per purchase." So I kindly try to explain that EVERY coupon says one per purchase - even pulling some others out of my purse to show her. I told her it means you can't put multiple coupons on one item. So she calls over the manager who also tells me NO, one per purchase. I asked if I had had five coupons for $.25 off instead of free, would it still be one per purchase? She said YES, they cannot take multiple items with multiples of the same coupon. Then she started examining the coupon I had printed from the TARGET WEBSITE for the M&M's candy and asking if I had bought the right size, the fun size, the right ounces because it wasn't taking it off. She took the M&M's out of my bag, examined them, agreed they were the right candy but then had to tell me how they weren't going to get PAID for that coupon but she'd give it to me anyway.

Best part? She said I could go out and come in four more times and individually buy the other cans of shaving cream if I wanted to. Is that the most ridiculous thing you've ever HEARD?

So I email corporate last night, and they say I should call Guest Relations, but while they have me in an email, they send me the coupon policy:

- We accept two kinds of coupons: Target-issued and manufacturer-issued.
- We'll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
- We can't give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in this case, we're able to adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.
- We can't accept coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in our stores.
- All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier while you're checking out.

NO WHERE in there does it say I can't use multple identical coupons.

So when I get on the phone today with guest relations, the gist of the conversation is that the stores can individually decide the limits they'll set on the number of coupons they'll take. I asked why that wasn't in the emailed coupon policy I received, and she was flabbergasted that it wasn't. I told her I could read her the policy, and she abruptly said, "NO, that's okay," but "regardless, that's the policy." I asked her why on earth they would care how many I bought since the manufacturer is reimbursing them for the value of the coupon??

Her answer?

"The store can decide how many they deem an appropriate quantity for your family."

EXCUSE ME??? So some cashier or manager at Target gets to look at me and decide what my family situation is, how many people I may have, what my financial situation is, how I might or might not be helping OTHER family members and decide that I'm just not good enough for more than one can of free shaving cream? Wow, presumptuous much??

Basically, I got the "I apologize for the inconvenience" which is the same as "screw you lady, you're getting no help here." I left it that in these economic times, they better get their act together and figure out just WHAT their coupon policy is since she clearly didn't even know (or the person who emailed me the POLICY didn't know).

I wrote back to guest relations with the email attached, indicating my "experience" with the person on the phone and what she told me the policy was.

Infuriating. I also told them I guess I'd have to go to Walmart to use my coupons. Geez, I wonder what kind of grief I'll get there over my remaining four free coupons??

couponfreak09 · #2 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 01:58 PM

I never have problems using cpns at walmart! Granted they sometimes don't have the stuff I want but I never ever had a cashier even read the cpns lol! Love it! I rarely shop at target cause it's nothing but hassle!

barbiegal7 · #3 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 02:16 PM

That's great to know! I will definitely head over to Walmart. They just expanded to a Super Walmart, and I haven't been to check it out yet. I really like Target, so this was a major bummer that they deal with things this way. Boo, Target!

tiffinpa · #4 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 02:31 PM

I feel your pain. So many of us have been there dealing with 'idiots' at Target. Regarding limiting the amount of items a customer can get; the only situation I've encountered with that is with price matching. My local Target has set a limit on 4 per item, per person, per day. According to corp they have the right to do that. I see what you're saying though, and it's not right what they told you. Not at all. It has gotten to the point that I will do
'cashier profiling' when I go there to shop. I've found that young men will usually not give any grief over q's also if a cashier is smiling and I can start up a cheery conversation with her/him it's usually a good experience. On the other hand there are certain cashiers I will never go to...EVER!!! They act like you are taking money out of their own pockets and have no clue about q policies. I've called corp several times in disgust over the way I was treated and the hassle I was given. I can't not go there anymore because their deals are too good to pass up so I have to put up with it. Good Luck.

smo1g · #5 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 02:36 PM

I haven't had problems at my local Target (keeping my fingers crossed that I never will) however I did have an issue at Walmart. I called corp and they said that although they have an over all coupon policy stores also have the right to make up their own. However when I went back to look at the Walmart's coupon policy and asked for a copy all they had was the one on the Walmart's website so they had to follow it plus I got a gc for the trouble. I wonder which other stores this applies to.

By the way, I haven't been back to that Walmart since, so not sure what the coupon policy is now.

barbiegal7 · #6 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 03:55 PM

Tiffinpa, interestingly, the cashier I had was a cute, bubbly little girl who was friendly. Her problem was she was as dumb as a box of hair, so she had to get the manager involved. There's a GREAT guy in there I normally always go to, but he wasn't there yesterday. Agreed - I'll have to do a better job of my cashier profiling in the future. LOL!

Thanks for the info on your issues with Walmart, smo1g. I'll do my "profiling" there as well.

Honestly, I have a wig and costume business, so October is my absolutely worst and most stressful month. Had I not already been cranked up about 50 notches above normal, I probably wouldn't have made such a big deal out of it and realized I just needed to come back. It's not like we needed all five cans of shaving cream YESTERDAY. I've been couponing for years, so I know the issues that comes with it. I've just never had THAT issue, especially not at a Target. Southern California has been so much better overall than the experiences I had in Virginia before we moved out here, so I really can't complain. Yet I do! LOL!

Thanks for letting me vent, everyone.

AlInAz · #7 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 09:20 PM

Sorry you went through that! Maybe you should put corporate on speed dial as many others here have done.

Then make sure you call them right from the line if the manager can't resolve the issues.

Allison

tiffinpa · #8 (**permalink**) 10-27-2009, 09:55 PM

barbiegal7: You have a wig and costume business? That is so cool. I can imagine how stressful you are during this time of year. Hope it's going great for you.