I love Kroger everybody knows it ;0) And I especially love "my Kroger". The employees are fabulous, the shelves are well stocked and each department is amazing!
One of the things I have enjoyed most about Kroger is that I could use both a coupon on my Kroger card (ecoupon) and stack it with a paper coupon whether I printed it from the internet or cut it out of an insert etc.
Stacking coupons in this way resulted many times in me receiving overage, cents off of others items I was buying, sometimes as high as $3.00 I would receive off of my bill for "taking the item free". So yes that is a bit crazy and over the last few months we have seen stores here in the Mid-South crack down on this Let me give you some facts about ecoupons that you may or may not know.
First ecoupons are Manufactor coupons not Kroger store coupons. Kroger gets reimbursed for these coupons from the companies that issue them. That is why they limit how many of them can be loaded onto a card. This is also why there is no rhyme or reason to when more become available they simply offer them once they are approved.
Ecoupons cannot be doubled.
Ecoupons are triggered to come off your card after your card has been scanned and the item for that ecoupon has been scanned.
Kroger now has the technology for a store to be able to change it's register system to not allow a paper coupon for a product in which a ecoupon has already been taken off. Not all stores in the Mid South have "switched their register system over". But many stores are asking employees to watch the receipt and not allow it.
I talked with Kroger Corp. yesterday they confirmed they DO NOT WANT BOTH COUPONS USED ON PRODUCTS.
I explained the frustration of ecoupons now coming off and not doubling when a customer will then have a higher paper coupon in their hand that will double and offer more savings.
MY ADVICE:
BE CAREFUL WHICH COUPONS YOU LOAD TO YOUR CARD. I personally will not load anything under $.65. Keep loading coupons to your card as there are some high value ones even as high as $5.00 which is awesome and you never know which HIGH products may get put on Manager's Special!
Go and check your card and take off some of the lower coupons or coupons that you have higher paper coupons too.
See if your store will allow you have all your items scanned first and then give them the paper coupons you want taken off first and then offer them your Kroger card to scan with the ecoupons then coming off. Not all Kroger stores will probably want to do this but you can give it a try.
You could also (and this is a little ridiculous but I am trying to be creative) get another Kroger card and do more than one transaction. If you get a second Kroger card do not register it. Only use it as a blank card to get your the sale prices and use paper coupons for it with no ecoupons loaded on it. If you go on-line and register this card with home address all your ecoupons from your other card will appear.
Summary: Corporate Kroger does not want us to use both coupon types together, this is their official policy and I personally do not go against policies or advocate for people to try and "trick the system". I can understand why they don't want us to use both. I am of course frustrated that their system does not have a clear way for customers to choose which coupon they want to use.
My opinion, do not take out your ecoupon frustration on the hard working Kroger employees who too are grocery shoppers and many are avid couponers they too are frustrated by this shift and are limited on what they can do. You can always e-mail or call Kroger and share with them your frustration.
And you have the My Memphis Mommy site to vent your ecoupon frustrations ;0)
Looking forward to your thoughts and experiences, please know you can e-mail me with questions, comments, ideas anytime!!
And you have the My Memphis Mommy site to vent your ecoupon frustrations ;0)
Looking forward to your thoughts and experiences, please know you can e-mail me with questions, comments, ideas anytime!!
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16 comments:
I asked the VERY same question about having paper coupons that might have a higher value than what I had on the kroger card. I said, "then its better to give them paper first...then the kroger card". She said she wasnt sure if giving them the kroger card last would work to give you the sale price
. But I think it will. I have often dug around my purse for it when they have already finished scanning and it worked fine. So I will definitely give paper first. They also said you could not have 2 kroger cards per address b/c I wanted my husband to get one for the reason you mentioned. I havent tried it, but my Kroger said it wouldnt work if they were tied to the same address. So if it works, let us know :-)
Thanks for the summary of it all. The lady I talked to on the phone said they have been receiving a lot of feedback about the change. We'll just have to wait and see. If they will just fix it to allow us to choose, I will be content. Two cards is a little bit more than I can handle, but it may work for some really organized people. It was great while it lasted. :)
Let me clarify that is exactly what I am saying you cannot have the same address on the card, so I am saying just get a clank card and don't turn in the address part so you are not going to get gas points for it etc. this is not at all a solution but if one really really wanted an ecoupon card and a card for the occasional time they didn't want the ecoupons to come off they could do this...or ask for the Kroger employee to let them use their card.
My husband has his own Kroger card and back in the day it kept it seperate but not anymore...
Well said Shana!! Love the part about not taking it out on us! Thank you
Someone told me to give them my paper/printed internet coupons first, so those will be doubled. Then show them my Kroger card bc those dont get doubled anyway. Im very new to this couponing thing, help this helps or plz explain,
Thanks,
Shana,
I wrote an email to Kroger Corp today asking for clarification of this policy. I also complained that there was no advanced warning about the policy change which is VERY frustrating when you spend a large amount of time planning a shopping trip! I will let you know if they send an answer back. Good while it lasted...but really bad the way they ended it! We are great customers and deserve better treatment! Not going to take it out on the wonderful cashiers for sure!
Thanks for the great work you do and I look forward to next cooupon swap!!!
Janiece
dsgnmomonline.wordpress.com
This is upsetting. So now, if I use my card, I am at risk of losing either a high valued paper coupon or one that doubles. Not only that, should I opt to only use my paper coupon instead of my kroger card with the ecoupon it, then I also lose out on the points for gas. In todays economy, of all times, this change does not help... but hurts. Not only do we lose... but they lose as well as they now become "just another store" and take away the advantage for my family to walk into their store. This just does not make sense to me. =(
for the comment about giving hte paper coupons first yes that worked fine when they were allowing both but now it is very clear they don't want us using both, so I strongly encourage people not to try and use both, as a cashier might not catch it one time and the next cashier does and then you as a customer will feel frustrated, just count on not using both.
Thanks MIndy! Have you seen the comments on Facebook people RAVE about how great the employees are at Kroger, please pass it along, we LOVE Kroger employees they are helpful and kind and supportive and this is NOT THEIR FAULT!
Janiece
I also complained about not having an advance warning of policy change, and as the Kroger corp. supervisor explained it is not a change in policy but an enforcement of the policy they have always had, but for us customers and the employees very frustrating!!
Yes please let me know if they answer back!
I think the more people who call and express the frustration this is causing the better!
Shana
Hey Jonathan
It is frustrating but again they never meant for us to get both but I think they were ok with it as long as they were getting reimbursed but if the companies are complaining, the companies who provide the coupons well there is not much Kroger can do but enforce the policy they have always had corporately and not give local stores the option to set their own standard on ecoupons. I encourage readers who are frustrated by this to call corp. ask to speak from someone in the Delta region (they have to connect you to the regional office you can't directly call Delta) and let them know the frustration this has caused you!!
Shana
I haven't found a way to remove coupons added through Cellfire and Shortcuts. Am I missing something? Kroger really needs to figure out a way to give you an option. Why couldn't they set it up so that a paper coupon would override the e-coupon? Or at least double the e-coupons. At any rate, Kroger won't be seeing as much of me now.
Also Shana, I just wonder, what's next? Are they going to say we cannot stack the paper "store" coupons that they have printed and mailed to us with the "manufacturer" coupon? If not, what's the difference? The e-coupon is a "store" coupon just not printed, right? That just doesn't make any sense to me. I look forward to an answer to my email to Kroge Corp yesterday and will definately let you know what they say!
Thanks for this discussion.
Janiece
Yes taking off cellfire and shortcuts is not possible at least not yet...
Jamiece the ecoupons ARE NOT STORE COUPONS they are manufactor coupons distributed by the companies they reimburse Kroger for the coupon it is not a Kroger coupon. Notcie the "Kroger coupons mailed to you" most of those are not Store coupons just becuase it has the Kroger logo does not make it it a store coupon, it must say STORE on it at the top or MANUFACTOR, the only KROGER STORE coupons are on KROGER brand products you can use the "Kroger logo" coupons that say Manufactor at the top anywhere.....does that make sense?
Yes that makes sense. I guess the point is the reimbursment. I know they have to make money to stay in business, it just doesn't make sense to me that if that was the "policy" all the while, that stores ever allowed the stacking in the first place. And now they are deciding to enforce the policy... sounds strange that the policy was in place and that the managers were breaking their own policy. Does that make sense to you?
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