Well, I just couldn't get excited about the deals today. I was even contemplating skipping my shop this week as the flyer left me feeling cold. I don't know what is wrong with me. Well, actually I do know what is wrong.
I had a horrible day.
The morning started out with my newly adopted 4 month old emptying her stomach onto my nicely pressed outfit. I then proceeded to change my clothes and feed her again and the whole scenario repeated itself. I was trying to get out the door so that I could drop my other daughter off at a local program.
I am a crazy person on Wednesday morning.
I run around the house trying to accomplish the 16 different things that I'm supposed to do before I walk out the door to drop my daughter off at 9:30am. I usually drop her off somewhere between 10:15am and 10:30am. Well today it was 11:00am.
Jason and I decided to go to lunch instead of doing our shop together because I needed to sit and talk to my spouse. After lunch, I ventured out to Maryland Farms and Nipper's Corner. I normally don't hit two stores on Wednesday but Maryland Farms was out of Glass Pluss and I wanted to include it in the shop as it was a great deal. It worked out well because I was able to use another $5/$50 coupon at Nipper's and I threw in a bunch of produce.
Ok, here's the deal (two shops combined):
MONEYMAKERS
20 Sundown $2.00-$3.99 ea (found some on clearance kiosk)
20 Sundown $2.00-$3.99 ea (found some on clearance kiosk)
-$5/2 from 07-12-09 RP
-$6/2 Publix Q from Green Advantage flyer
= FREE + $1.51 - $3.50 overage ea.
-$6/2 Publix Q from Green Advantage flyer
= FREE + $1.51 - $3.50 overage ea.
2 Beneful $2.75 ea (B1G1 price)
- $3.50/1 printable
= FREE + $.75 overage ea.
STOCKPILE ITEMS
2 Publix Egg's $1.39 ea
- FREE Q (HG Hill competitor Q)
= FREE
18 Ronzoni Pasta $.70 ea (B1G1 price)
- $1/2 hangtag from wine bottle
- $1/2 printable
= $.20 ea
5 Glass Plus $1.25 ea (B1G1 price)
- $.50/1 SS 6/28/09 or printable
= $.25 ea
4 Hot Pockets $1.49 ea
- $.50/1 SS 5/17/09
= $.49 ea
12 Benefiber Sticks (8 count) $2.50 ea (advantage buy)
-$2/1 SS 8/2/09, SS 7/12/09, SS 5/10/09 or printable
= $.50 ea
4 Huggies $1.00 ea (B1G1 price)
- $.50/1 Huggies FLIP
= $.50 ea
- $1/1 competitor Q from Whole Foods booklet
= $.87 ea.
3 Diet Snapple $4.99 ea
- B2G1 Publix Q from Yellow Advantage Flyer
- $1/1 printable
= $2.33 ea
THINGS I NEEDED
1 Similac $22.49 ea
- $3/1 FLIP
- $2/1 Q SS 5/10/09
- $5 similac check (thanks to everyone who sent me these)
- $3/1 Publix Q (baby club)
= $9.49 ea
1 NatureMade Super B Complex $7.10 ea (advantage buy)
no coupons
= $7.10 ea
1 bag potatoes $1.99
no coupons
= $1.99
1 celery $1.49
no coupons
= $1.99
1 bag carrots $.89
no coupons
= $.89
1 onion $.87
no coupons
= $.87
1 package blueberries $2.00
= $1.00 ea
1 bag plum tomatoes $.61
no coupons
= $.61
1 bag pita bread $1.29 ea
no coupons
= $1.29 ea
1 Publix Spring Mix $2.00 ea
no coupons
= $2.00 ea
1 1lb. bag Granny Smith Apples $1.57
- $1/1 Target printable
= $.57
1 package flour tortillas $2.59 ea
no coupons
= $2.59 ea
2 1lb. bag bananas $.61 & ??
- $.50 off 1 lb. Target printable
= $.11 & ??
1 bag nectarines $1.39
= $.39
2 cucumbers $1.00
no coupons
= $1.00
Two $5/50 competitor coupons
TOTAL: $258.05
TOTAL AFTER COUPONS: $2.57
SAVINGS: 99%
NOTE: My cashier didn't charge me for one of the bags of bananas. I'll go to customer service and pay for the 1 lb. bag. This is a good practice to form as a habit. One, it gives me a clear conscience and two it establishes me as an honest couponer. This practice goes a long way in bonding me with my staff at Publix.
NOTE: Some of my Ronzoni rang up wrong (i.e. the manicotti and the lasagna). Apparently, these are not a part of the B1G1 sale. Be careful when choosing your pasta this week. Check the sale tag for more information. Customer service ended up giving them to me as a B1G1 which was a nice gesture.
NOTE: the picture above is of my favorite Maryland Farms person. Her name is Stacy. She is amazing and has a terrific attitude and she likes couponers. Memorize her face. I'll highlight some of the other friendly faces around town as I have time.
NOTE: I use a calculator when I do my deals so when my balance is off then I know that I should spend some time checking my receipt before I leave the store. This happened today. My balance was almost $25. I finished my transaction and then I sat down on one of the benches and started scanning my receipt. I always do this after the transaction because I know that I can go to customer service to fix any problem that I had. I purchased the wrong size of dog food and had a problem with the pastas and I rectified everything at customer service.
FOOD COMMENT: I bought the Back to Nature cookies because I remember reading a comment that Brandy had made re: how delicious they were. I fell hard for the Peanut Butter Creme cookies.
58 comments:
I love seeing all your fabulous shops! Quick question--which competitor coupons are you using for the $5 off $50?
Sherry, I have several sources for these.
1. I found 10 entertainment books in the recycle bins once (and they each had about twelve $/$$ coupons in them).
2. The Franklin Review Appeal (local paper in Franklin) routinely has an HG Hill $5/50 coupon on the back page.
3. GFS puts out a $5/50 once a month in the Sunday paper here in Nashville.
Sherry, thanks for putting up your picture BTW. I really appreciate seeing the folks that are leaving comments.
My hope is that we will become a tight knit community that will help each other with our shops and being able to see each other is an aid to this purpose.
Your title cracks me up! I busted out laughing when I read your title and then saw your picture. But when I read your post then it made sense. :)
I'm also not excited about this week's deals, so I will probably use the vitamin overage to buy necessities such as milk, etc.. I also got a $4.00 MQ in the mail for huggies, so I might combine that one with the $3.00 PQ to buy a pack of diapers (not quite ready for night potty training).
Thanks for taking the time to do this blog for all of us. I REALLY appreciate it!!!
I am so sorry that you had a horrible day! I hope today is better!
I have a question about the Ronzoni Pasta. I printed out the coupons but they are for the Healthy Harvest and the Smart taste (brown and purple boxes). In the photo, it looks like all of your boxes are blue. Do you have to get the specific Healthy Harvest or Smart taste boxes to use the coupons?
Natasha, to be honest I didn't even realize that I used the Smart Taste coupons until you mentioned it. That being said, I probably would have used them anyway.
This is really an individual ethical issue. There is no cut and dry answer according to my ethics (with an emphasis on "my"). I will occasionally use a coupon in the same family (in this case pasta) especially if they are about the same price.
I will put in a caveat though. I probably wouldn't have used so many coupons on this item. Publix has to sell a certain number of Smart Taste pastas in order to be reimbursed for all of the coupons that I used. That's my understanding so far.
I might have used two or three of these coupons but not 9 of them (if that makes sense). It's also my understanding (so far) that the manufacturer's would like us to use the coupons for the item listed but that they are happy if we use them for a similar item in their product line (but you will hear different things from different people on this issue). Some people have called the manufacturer and have been told that they can use the coupon on another item but it really depends on who you talk to.
This is a really long answer and there are several other ethical gray areas that we can discuss here (i.e. whether or not to take peelies off of products, etc). Just keep in mind that at the end of the day you need to do what you think is right in the gray areas and you need to remember that someone else may interpret things differently.
I may do a post on the gray areas one day but I have some other things I'd like to address first. :)
One of these days I'm going to get lucky and find some Sundown on clearance. So far, I've only found Nature's Bounty. . .
Hi Stacy! LOL. She really is a sweetie. :) When she sees me, she always runs over to see how much I saved today.
oh- and yep- told you those cookies were super-yum!
ps sorry about wearing Syd's breakfast...twice. I hate that. :(
Thanks for the heads up on the entertainment book coupons--I have one in my coupon bag! I've been couponing about 4 months now, and I didn't even realize I was sitting on that money! Which recycling bin to you go to?
Thought I would share a funny story with you. I've been telling my mom about all the deals I've been getting and about some of the blogger ladies like you. I'm not sure she was convinced you could save over $400 without doing something either illegal or unethical. She was visiting this week, and I had her read a couple of your posts. She's a believer now! She commented on how you would go back & pay for an item if you weren't charged for it--that really impressed her.
Thanks for all your hard work!
Sherry
Thank you for your response! Everything that you wrote made sense.
I made a trip to Publix after I asked the question but before I read your response. I got two of the Ronzoni pastas and used 1 printable coupon ($1/2). I did not have a problem.
They reason I asked the question is because I have had cashiers that really scrutinize the coupons and read them word for word.
The funny thing on this trip is that the cashier was fine with the Ronzoni coupon but had a problen with my .45 knorr printable coupon. The printable clearly read ".45 of any knorr product", but she was only looking at the picture of the knorr jar. I had to pull the knorr pasta side out of the bag to show her "knorr" on it.
Thank you again for all of your help!!!
Sorry you had a bad day! Hope your day is better, and thanks for putting up your tips! Colleen
Well for being uninspired, you still did fabulous! I am not too thrilled with this weeks ad either. I still haven't heard back from the district manager either on my terrible experience. He called me Monday and said he would call back. I guess if I haven't heard back by tomorrow, I will call corporate and see if they can give me a phone number.
Oh and thanks for your advice on what to say. I just don't seem to have any luck at Publix lately, I used the Milk coupons last night and she scanned them and saw that it took of $4.00 and voided the coupon and then took of $2.39. Geeze can I ever get overage???
What? No Blue Bell??? I thought for sure that would be on your "Things I Need" list at such a good price this week. :) Do you think it will go down more before our $1.50 off Q's expire?
I used the milk coupon also and the cashier put in 2.89 and 2.49 for both...dint want to give overage.....i asked and he said no its not allowed....i dread going to publix now ....
Mandi, sadly (crying) the Blue Bell is not on sale in our region. It must be a regional sale. Purity is on sale here (lame).
I know you're crying as much as I am now.
Colleen, thank you for putting up a picture. Your kids are sweet. Nice blog too (hope to see your savings soon)! Glad to have another Nashvillian here.
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FYI....it would help me if you would all put the city, and state that you live in on your blogger profiles so that when you leave comments I can know what region you are in.
Bethany, if you're going to buy those huggies make sure you include the $1.50/1 FLIP with your other Q's for an even better deal.
BTW, I am a pathetic cook too and I am obsessed with coffee. Next time I am in Georgia we should hook up for some coffee and Publix shopping!
Sherry, I hit several of them. I used to go to the one at Nipper's Corner but, sadly, it is gone now.
I now go to the one on Nolensville by the Kroger or to the one by the school in Green Hills (can't remember the name of the school). There is also one by Granberry Elementary but they are only there on Saturday until 12:00pm and then they take the bin away. Here's the list of drop off recycling bins in our area:
http://www.nashville.gov/recycle/Centers/drop_off.htm
PS - Thanks for sharing the story about your mom. LOL.
I live in Nolensville. About 90% of the time, I shop at the Publix at the corner of Concord & Nolensville Rd. I go to Smyrna some, so I'll hit the Publix on Sam Ridley occasionally.
LAGirl, what is your first name?
Sherry, my husband shops at the Concord store in the mornings (before work). He is usually doing the charcoal deal. I shop there occasionally. I love the staff at that store. That is one of the closest stores to my house. We used to live in Nolensville off of Sam Donald Road. I loved living there but the traffic made us move closer to the freeway (Jason works in Maryland Farms).
My name is Kelly Webster. :)
Sherry, BTW, we love to try new wines also (read that you like wine on your profile). We usually host wine tasting parties in the summer to teach people about wine. We haven't been able to do them lately though (moved twice, renovated two houses and had two kids in 3 years). Life is super busy now and couponing has become our new hobby BUT we are really looking forward to getting back to our wine tasting parties.
I grew up in Southern California and I miss my trips to Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, and the Anderson Valley (all wine regions).
Are you using the free Hg HIlls Q (this wk is 2 liter of coke) that are printed beside the $5/$50 Q?
Kelly, you should definitely plan another trip to GA soon! That would be so much fun!
Thanks for the tip on the FL Q with the Huggies. I tend to forget about those because it is such a new concept being able to use them. :)
I was very sad that Blue Bell wasn't on sale here either. Kroger had it on sale a couple of weeks ago, but didn't have my IP coupons with me.
SAD!!! I almost rearranged my whole freezer last night so that I could stock up on Blue Bell. I was considering throwing out pork to make room for Blue Bell...okay, I wouldn't really throw meat out, but the thought crossed my mind. What is the closest region where I COULD get Blue Bell for $2.50? Don't answer that. I would just be tempted and then all the money I would spend on gas would far outweight the money saved on cheap Blue Bell. Bummer.
Mandi, I was going to get rid of some pork too (seriously). We have to keep our priorities straight.
Blue Bell is at the top of the food couponing chain. You realize that each of those Blue Bell 1/2 gallons would have cost us $1.50 (2 for $6.00 minus two $1.50 coupons = $3.00 total for TWO)!!
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Katie, I didn't get the Franklin Review Appeal this week. But thanks for the tip!
Nice pic Katie. Thanks for posting it.
Which FLIP Q did use for the blueberries and bananas? Is there a new produce Q that I didn't see?
Thx!!
Katie
Katie, the bananas Q is actually a target printable (I fixed the link). The blueberries Q is the "guiding stars" printable that is a FLIP that can be used for any healthy product (i.e. produce). YMMV on the guiding stars Q. This is the first time that I have used it and the only reason that I used it at Maryland Farms is because Brandy has used it there in the past.
If you shop at a store that closely scrutinizes your coupons then you will have to take the time to explain to them what the coupon is for and how the guiding stars system works at Food Lion (not an easy task). Just be aware that the coupon is valid but you may have a hard time communicating at the register.
The Maryland Farms store is more familiar with coupons because there are several couponers that shop there and the staff is a little more trained.
Kelly, Another great post. The only thing I was really crazy about at Publix this week was the BOGO Quaker Oatmeal-to-go bars. My husband eats them daily, so even at 1/2 price it's a good deal.
Sherry, funny seeing you here!! What a small world of couponers we are! (For the rest of you, Sherry and I used to be neighbors in the same subdivision in Nolensville-I have since moved to another subdivision. But, we are still in the same Bunco group!)
I also was wondering about the guiding stars FLIP. I wasn't sure how to use it?!
Sorry you had a bad day! Great trips! I hope next week's sales are better!
Just FYI, Blue Bell is on sale at HG Hill this week 3 for $10. If you have coupons, you may want to stock up.
Just curious, why the Nature Made? Do you like it better?
Hi, Kelly! I went to the recycling bin yesterday and scored about 25 inserts! Most of them were from the last two weeks. I tried the Kroger on Nolensville Road, but it must have been emptied recently. So, I wound up at a Kroger in Smyra that has a bin in the back. I do have a couple more questions for you. Hope you don't mind all of them! : )
1. What day of the week do you usually go? Is there a particular day when you tend to find the most inserts? I was pleased to find as many as I did on a Friday.
2. Do you take some sort of step stool? I'm pretty short, so I had trouble reaching the papers. Luckily, one side had a pretty huge pile of papers, so I was able to reach all of mine from that side.
3. Any more suggestions for the recycling bins?
Thanks for your help with these!
We're in Silver Stream in Nolensville at the intersection of Rocky Fork and Rock Springs. We really love it out here!
I love those folks at the Concord Publix too! I've never had any problems that some of the other folks have experienced.
Let me know if you start those wine tasting parties again! Of course, you'll have to serve juice boxes too! : ) Our boys certainly keep us busy! And it seems to be even busier as they get older--just a different kind of busy.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Thank you again for giving us such a detailed plan. :) Jaim'e
Yikes!I went at 8:30 to the Spring Hill store and it was easy to shop, but checking out was another thing. The cashier was very nice but she didn't how to handle the raincheck/coupons I had for the charcoal deal. I had a coupon for free KC Masterpiece as the other qualifying product. Customer service came over and said it didn't qualify because I wasn't really buying it since I was getting it for free and to be sure and check that I had bought $6 or more of pork, per package, for each coupon.
Although there was no one in line when this discussion began, there are now three people behind me. So, I politely mention to the cashier and customer service rep, that I hate to hold everyone up. They move my cart over to customer service to handle the charcoal deal and the rest of my coupons.
Someone else from customer service comes over. The first lady says to her that I'll have to buy another product, like the Glad, to qualify. And here's the real issue, I think - she said when she checked out and did this deal, that the barbeque sauce didn't count when she did it. The second lady says it counts because I am buying it. The first lady tells her I didn't buy enough pork anyway. (My two packages were each about $4.50) The second lady says that's o.k. Now the manager comes over and says yes, all my coupons were o.k.
She also questioned that I used 2 .75 coupons for the two Welch jellies and then used the .75 off milk when you bought the jelly. Then she would ask, "Did you buy 4 vitamins?" I would politely answer each yes to each question. I wanted to say, "You have the receipt feel free to check it."
As I was leaving the second lady asked if she could help me out with my cart, was very polite, and said that the deal was fine the way I had done it.
I bought $140 worth of groceries and paid $45 with tax. So, not close to your level of saving, but much better than I was a few months ago! Thanks for your ideas on how to save more and allowing me to vent! LOL
Hope to get my picture up soon. School started for us last week. . .
Karla
Hi everybody!
I did my weekly shop today at Publix, and per the advice went first to the customer service center and discussed overages and what I was planning to do.
I asked "I have several manufacturer's coupons that exceed the purchase amount of the product. Since Publix is reimbursed fully by the manufacturer, I would like that overage amount to be applied to other product I am purchasing. Is that OK?"
At first, they said no. I mentioned that at least one other Publix store in Murfreesboro did that, and I would hate to drive there because this store is closer to my house and everyone here is so nice.
She went to get the manager to double-check.
The manager came over, I repeated my question, she said no, because we don't get reimbursed...
She stopped, and said, "Wait, that's right, we just received a letter from corporate that said it WAS OK and that we shouldn't be marking down customer's manufacturer's coupons."
I used the Knox coupon as an example, and they all agreed.
The cashier at checkout was about to mark them down, and I told her I had checked with the manager and she said it was OK. She went to double-check, but after that rang in everything I had.
Long story short, I was able to get all of the overages today!! I didn't want to push my luck, so I only bought 6 SunDowns for $9 overage, Knox for $2.xx overage, and 4 bags of Purina Beneful for about $2 overage.
All in all, I paid $28 and saved $110.
Thanks again everyone for the tips, and I'm already looking forward to next week!
Bryan
Jennifer, I talked about using the guiding stars FLIP in the comment section above your post. :)
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Karla, thanks for trying to get your picture up; I really appreciate it.
One more tip for you: I'm sure you're doing this but I'm going to mention it anyway. Make sure that you are ALWAYS polite even when they are questioning you about items. Be cheerful and show them that you bought 4 vitamins for example. You are going to be shopping at this store for a long time and you want to leave a happy impression. They will eventually learn your ethics as a couponer and you won't have trouble. Keep in mind that they see many people walk into their stores and hand them coupons for items that they didn't even buy (it really happens all the time). This doesn't mean that they should treat others like they are "stealing" per say but it does mean that we should consider their side of the story. I promise that if you shop at the store often enough word will get around that you are an ethical couponer and you won't have problems.
Get to know your management and form relationships with them. Say hello when you come into the store. Praise their employees. Be visible. Communication goes a long way in establishing relationships.
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Trinaartist, thanks for the information sharing about the Blue Bell sale at HG Hill. You rock! I buy the NatureMade Multi for Women and the Super B vitamins because they are water soluble (they get into my bloodstream faster). They are a great brand (expensive usually but on Advantage Buy this month and FREE with overage).
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Sherry, Saturday is usually a good day to go because most folks empty their recycling on Saturdays (the late afternoon is better especially during the summer; too hot to go midday). I don't take a step-stool but that is a good idea. My only other advice is to be careful of the metro employees. My husband was practically accosted today while trying to get inserts. He is going to complain to metro and we'll post what happens. The guy practically threatened him (physically). I KNOW this shouldn't be happening.
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Bryan, you are going to be my example for the week. You did exactly what I have been telling everyone else to do and got results. Bravo. Great shop.
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NOTE TO EVERYONE: I've allowed the posts explaining what has been happening at the register but I am going to stop allowing them from now on as I believe that you should start taking action. Please don't post that you are having problems at the register anymore until you have:
1. Challenged (politely) your cashier during the transaction.
2. Gone to Customer Service either before or after your transaction to discuss the problems that you had.
3. Talked with the Manager of the store if you don't feel satisfied with the answer that you are receiving from Customer Service.
4. Emailed Corporate about the problem that you are having.
When you have accomplished all of the above and still do not feel satisfied THEN you may post a complaint here on this blog. I understand that many of you are trying to "figure it all out," however, I have expressed the steps necessary several times on this blog and it's time that you all started taking matters into your own hands to ensure that your experience at the register is a good one.
If you have a successful time with the above you may post that here so that we can all be encouraged by the information sharing. A big kudos to Bryan for communicating with his staff.
Bryan-that's interesting that they said they got a letter from corporate. I wonder if that was directed at that store, or company-wide? Cool. Great shop!! I'm glad you finally got it worked out and you don't have to drive further than your store to get your overage. :)
I just got back from my weekly Publix run. Not near as good as you, but I went from $182.72 to $33.34 after coupons!!
What Kroger on Nolensville Rd. has recycling bins? I've never seen any there.
I'm the family picture taker, so I have no pix of me, just tons of the kids. I'll work on it though.
Thanks for all the help.
Kelly,
You're right. Being polite is the right thing and the smart thing to do. I have only been couponing in any consistent way since April and need to realize it may take longer to check out using this many coupons.
Karla
shannon1254, all of the bins for Nashville are here:
http://www.nashville.gov/recycle/Centers/drop_off.htm
So, I went for my weekly Publix shop today, calculator and Q's in hand, before Q total $164.66 after Q (-11.37)+9.70 tax making my total OOP (-1.61) that Publix gave to me in cash. Apparently I miscalculated tax with my overage and received this "gift" for shopping. I was ecstatic that I had did so great with my Q's and calculation, but on the way to my car Chris and I started feeling like we had done something wrong. I know this is just an opinianiated question but I was just wanting to know how you and others feel on this topic. I try not to go into negatives like this (which this was my first time) but at the same time didn't know if I should feel bad for using my Q's correctly?? HELP and ADVICE wanted! thanks again and God bless.
Katie, here is my view on this topic...
I don't think that it is wrong to go into the negative.
That being said, I try VERY HARD not to go into the negative for several reasons:
1. It draws attention to you both in the store and when you leave the store.
2. Some cashiers will never understand the kind of couponing that we do and they will be upset that you are "stealing" from the store (usuallly women over 50...and, yes, I'm generalizing).
3. I think it looks better and is more fun for the cashiers and baggers to see how low you can go on your balance (in terms of what YOU pay out of pocket). When you go into the negative some cashiers don't really know how to react. They think that they are doing something wrong to give you money back. Their smile turns to concern.
4. If I can see that my balance is going to go negative(and this happens to me all the time) then I will start to rearrange the last few coupons that I am handing to the cashier. If my last coupon, for example, is going to make me negative then I don't give it to the cashier. The last time I went negative I went ahead and purchased one of those sheets of coupons that they have at the register. This brought my balance into the positive.
Just my thoughts based on my experience.
Katie, so proud of you for bringing a calculator with you to the store.
I know I need to hold onto my coupons instead of handing the cashier my entire stack, but everytime I try, the cashier asks for the whole stack and I'm afraid I'll sound rude if I tell them I want to hold onto them and give them a few at a time. I went to Maryland Farms again, and Stacy helped out the cashier bc she wasn't aware of how to input rainchecks and comp Q's. They both seemed excited for me until I went into the negative, and then I got the "concerned" look. LOL She was very nice the entire time, as she is everytime I see her, She even compared me to you! Nice proud moment to even be compared to a coupon queen as yourself! Maybe next time if happens I'll just grab a candy bar! Thanks again!
Who did you say you give your extra vitamins too?
BTW, I now have my dad interested in couponing!
Katie, I give the vitamins to Siloam (it's a health center in Nashville).
Just wanted to post a funny story from my shopping trip today. It goes hand in hand with being friendly with the staff and making sure they know you....
I forgot my calculator at home, very rare!, and became frazzled when several items for overage where not in stock. (covergirl, sundown) I misplaced one coupon between the two carts, and my son was getting hungry and antsy. When the customer service manager saw me struggling pen and paper, she offered me the a calculator. Think 80's calculator, GIANT, about the size of the fax machine. As she was unplugging and starting to move it, I laughed and thanked her and said no worries. She then offered to type in all my totals per item to make sure I got back on track! I wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time.
I completely agree with Kelly about being polite and friendly. The managers now know be by sight, love to watch my weekly savings add up, and generally rush to help if I need anything. So much better than trying to 'fly under the radar.'
Kelly,
I noticed the Guiding Stars FLIP says "Limit 1 print per customer". Since you listed both your transactions in 1 post, did you use 1 in each of your transactions? Or did you use them both in 1 transaction?
Sorry for my crazy posting name. I need to fix that. Went to Concord Publix, frazzled that my daughter was up 20 times the night before (during my couponing org. time)so I went ill prepared but had to shop since I have 15 people coming to town this coming weekend. (I work full-time with a 2-hour commute during the week) BUT, with my knox, dog food, and vitamin Q's I still saved over $170on a $50 purchase. Most of my NEED IT NOW items I didn't have a Q for so I was thrilled.
Question though, I bought 8 Cover Girl products that I thought were $2.50 before Qs. (slim picking). It wasn't until after I got home and reviewed my receipt that I realized they were actually $5.49 each so I ended up paying for them, even after advantage buy and manifacturers coupons. So I returned them, and received back $17.00 (cost less Green Flyer Q). This was fine with me but I always wonder about returning an item and still getting to keep the cost savings of the manufacturers coupon. Thoughts?
unxgdzer, I wouldn't worry about it.
I wouldn't agonize over a return that rang up wrong. It's very difficult for them to go and find your coupons and they will get reimbursed for them anyway as they sell enough Covergirl to cover those coupons.
Last week when my dog food rang up wrong the cashier walked me over to customer service and she was able to take off the man. Q's and then give them back to me because she had them in hand. This is rare though as it would be a pain for someone from customer service to go back to the cashier's station and dig through her coupons to give them back to you.
If you didn't care about getting the coupons back then you could just have them take off the amount of the coupon when returning the item but if you wanted that savings then I wouldn't worry about the return.
unxgdzer, nice savings ($170).
What covergirl item rang up wrong BTW?
Oh, it was an eyeliner and actually my fault. The sign was posted for $2.50 AFTER using in-flyer coupon.
Yes, I was thrilled with my savings even if my out of pocket expenses were $50. Can't beat feeding 10 adults, 8 children over a weekend on $50. (plus stockpiled items). BTW- my name is Lori so you don't have to tupe that crazy name in. I also ordered my son's birthday cake so my new goal is to pay with is through overages! You have inspired me LOL!
I have gone negative a few times and the cashier gets the concerned look. LOL. I do the same- grab a few candy bars. :D I really try NOT to do that though!! (I hate the concerend/confused look)
Brandy
Checking in...Having issues with overage down here in AL. :-( I am going to try again tomorrow...
Can't wait to see what you do with this weeks ad--HUGE and GREAT!!!!
Shannon
SCG, "HUGE" and "GREAT" is an understatement. I'm pretty stoked. Can't wait to get to the store tomorrow!
Kelly,
I have not been having trouble with overage until yesterday. Here's where I am a bit different...mine is with the Publix coupons. I know that they can adjust their own, so what do you do when they do? I have been buying the vitamins and using the overage on the PQ and the MQ to 'pay' for my other groceries. But, last night and then again today (different stores), they wouldn't allow me. I politely listened (last night I left my groceries) and today, I bought them, but no such luck with the overage. How do you handle this?
Bethany, are you handing them your Manufacturer Q's first? If so, then I would hand them your Publix Q's first (they can adjust these; the most they would have to adjust this Q is to $5.98 if you were to buy the vitamin D at $2.99 each). Then hand them your Manufacturer Q's at the end of you set of Q's. They should not be adjusting the man. Q's.
Bethany, go and talk to your customer service desk, then to your manager, then to Publix.com. If you're still having a problem come back here and post it in the comments.
The cashiers do all kinds of crazy things.
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