Shopping Results--Giant Eagle 8/29 & My Experience with Using Competitor's Coupons
I've been sitting here for about 45 minutes trying to decide how I should address my experience at Giant Eagle today. I finally settled on telling you the whole story. Be prepared for an incoming rant!
I'm sure if you are from an area that has a Giant Eagle, then you are aware of the recent change to their coupon policy, mainly that they are accepting competitors coupons. If not, you can read more about it here. Today I headed to the store to grab few things before the sale ended. I had 3 competitor coupons with me. One from the new Kuhn's ad for Kraft products and 2 IP Target coupons for Hefty bags. As soon as I got to the store, I headed to the Customer Service desk to talk to them about competitors coupons and make sure I was on the same page as them. Well, when I asked the girl at the desk about it, she looked at me as if I had 3 heads! She honestly had no idea what I was talking about!
So, she has a supervisor come over. I talk to her(and she seemed to know exactly what I was talking about) and explain that a new policy was released last week stating that Giant Eagle will be accepting competitors coupons. And I pull out my copy of the the policy to show her(this is a prime example of why to carry one along). After she looks at the policy, she tells me that Aliquippa Gaint Eagle is privately owned and does not have to follow the corporate coupon policy. OK...What!?! I'm still being nice & calm but inside I'm getting pretty irritated. The supervisor tells me that they will accept my competitors coupons today and when I'm ready to check out, tell the cashier to call for her to come and push the coupons through. OK, good enough.
I go about my shopping and found just about everything I wanted and headed to the check out. When I told the cashier what the supervisor said, she was nice and flicked the switch to make her lane light blink. But instead of the supervisor coming over, the head cashier comes. Well, let me just say...she was not nice at all. In fact, she was downright rude. Now I've been shopping at this Giant Eagle for years. I've been couponing there for over a year. I never once was treated badly until today.
So I go over the entire issue...again...with the head cashier, who interrupts me mid sentence to tell me that they no longer take competitors coupons. That they stopped several months ago for a "good reason". Yes, I'm well aware of that, thank you! No need to be rude! Honestly, now I'm getting downright mad! I ask for the supervisor and she comes over to push the coupons through.
Meanwhile the head cashier is still going on & on, saying the coupon policy hasn't changed, even though I showed her the policy too. And all she has to say is...we don't have to follow that because we're privately owned, not corporate. Yep, I heard that already today, but see now I'm mad because she's being so downright rude. I say to her...OK, but you do have a Giant Eagle sign hanging over your door, right? So as a customer, how in the world am I supposed to know if you are corporate and play by the rules or privately owned and make up your own rules?...I probably should have bitten my tongue but I honestly couldn't help myself. I was being treated like I was doing something wrong...like I was trying to pull a fast one on them or something.
Finally, the store manager comes over, because he sees there's an issue. No one called for him. He's a great guy who I've talked to a few times when issues have occurred, mainly with Bonus Fuelperks or something of that nature. He's always been very polite and helpful. And today, he lived up to reputation. He asked what was going on. I let the girls tell him since I couldn't have gotten a word in edgewise anyways. Finally he stops them from talking and asks me directly what was going on. I tell him. He says to the supervisor, push the coupons through then turns to the head cashier and tells her to get back to her register. I thank him and the supervisor for helping me out. He gave a me big smile and a no problem! Too bad he wasn't around when I first got there because it really would have been no problem!
When I got home, I did call corporate customer service because this is very confusing. Basically I was told that any store, private or corporate, can change any part of the coupon policy. Huh??? That makes even less sense to me. Why should corporate owned stores be able to change the rules too? And sorry, I still feel that if there's a Giant Eagle sign above the door, they should have to follow the policies that the corporate office makes. It's like going to Wendy's, asking for a Frosty and they tell you the owner decided not to sell Frosty's at this location! In any case, the customer service rep forwarded my issue to her supervisor, who I should hear from soon. I'll give you an update after I speak to them.
Please, if you decide to use competitors coupons at Giant Eagle, talk to customer service first. That way you'll know where they stand on the new policy! And please carry a copy with you! I can't stress this enough! You can print it here. Now for the shopping results, which ended being really great!
I spent $21.76 for $66.17 worth of groceries & household products for a savings of over 67%!
Transaction #1
(10) Kraft Shredded Cheese(8 oz) $2 each (Reg. $2.99)*
Special Promo from Coupon Network: Buy 10 participating Kraft products, receive $10 OYNO(Read more here.)
-(1) $5/10 Kraft--Kuhn's In Ad Coupon
*Cheese freezes great, so stock up when you find prices this low!
Total after all Coupons: $15.00
Total Savings: $14.90(49.83%)
Catalina Earned: $10 OYNO
Transaction #2
(2) Huggies Wipes (60ct) $1.99 each (Not on Sale)
-(2) 50¢/1
Final Price: 99¢ each
Giant Eagle Whole Milk-Gallon $3.77
(2) Hefty Storage Bags $2 each (Reg. $2.59)
-(2) 55¢/1
Final Price: 90¢ each
(2) Hefty Storage Bags $2 each (Reg. $2.59)
-(2) $1/1
Final Price: $1 each
(3) Good 'n Natural Bars $1.25 each (Not on Sale)
-(3) One FREE Bar
Final Price: FREE
(2) Hershey Simple Pleasures $2.89 each (Reg $3.99)
-(2) $2/1
Final Price: 89¢ each
(1) Helluva Good Dip $2 (Not on Sale)
-(1) $1/1
Final Price: $1
Giant Eagle Large Eggs 99¢
(1)Schwebels Whole Wheat Flatbread $3.09
-(1) 35¢/1 (DND)
Final Price: $2.74
Total After all Coupons: $6.76
Total Savings: $29.51(81.36%)*
Catalina Earned: 0
Fuelperks! Earned: 10¢
*Keep in mind, if you redeem a competitors coupon at Giant Eagle, it will NOT be reflected in the "Total Savings Today" section of your receipt. To find your true savings, simply add Total Saving plus total of all competitors coupons!
Live Frugal. Live Happy.
I'm sure if you are from an area that has a Giant Eagle, then you are aware of the recent change to their coupon policy, mainly that they are accepting competitors coupons. If not, you can read more about it here. Today I headed to the store to grab few things before the sale ended. I had 3 competitor coupons with me. One from the new Kuhn's ad for Kraft products and 2 IP Target coupons for Hefty bags. As soon as I got to the store, I headed to the Customer Service desk to talk to them about competitors coupons and make sure I was on the same page as them. Well, when I asked the girl at the desk about it, she looked at me as if I had 3 heads! She honestly had no idea what I was talking about!
So, she has a supervisor come over. I talk to her(and she seemed to know exactly what I was talking about) and explain that a new policy was released last week stating that Giant Eagle will be accepting competitors coupons. And I pull out my copy of the the policy to show her(this is a prime example of why to carry one along). After she looks at the policy, she tells me that Aliquippa Gaint Eagle is privately owned and does not have to follow the corporate coupon policy. OK...What!?! I'm still being nice & calm but inside I'm getting pretty irritated. The supervisor tells me that they will accept my competitors coupons today and when I'm ready to check out, tell the cashier to call for her to come and push the coupons through. OK, good enough.
I go about my shopping and found just about everything I wanted and headed to the check out. When I told the cashier what the supervisor said, she was nice and flicked the switch to make her lane light blink. But instead of the supervisor coming over, the head cashier comes. Well, let me just say...she was not nice at all. In fact, she was downright rude. Now I've been shopping at this Giant Eagle for years. I've been couponing there for over a year. I never once was treated badly until today.
So I go over the entire issue...again...with the head cashier, who interrupts me mid sentence to tell me that they no longer take competitors coupons. That they stopped several months ago for a "good reason". Yes, I'm well aware of that, thank you! No need to be rude! Honestly, now I'm getting downright mad! I ask for the supervisor and she comes over to push the coupons through.
Meanwhile the head cashier is still going on & on, saying the coupon policy hasn't changed, even though I showed her the policy too. And all she has to say is...we don't have to follow that because we're privately owned, not corporate. Yep, I heard that already today, but see now I'm mad because she's being so downright rude. I say to her...OK, but you do have a Giant Eagle sign hanging over your door, right? So as a customer, how in the world am I supposed to know if you are corporate and play by the rules or privately owned and make up your own rules?...I probably should have bitten my tongue but I honestly couldn't help myself. I was being treated like I was doing something wrong...like I was trying to pull a fast one on them or something.
Finally, the store manager comes over, because he sees there's an issue. No one called for him. He's a great guy who I've talked to a few times when issues have occurred, mainly with Bonus Fuelperks or something of that nature. He's always been very polite and helpful. And today, he lived up to reputation. He asked what was going on. I let the girls tell him since I couldn't have gotten a word in edgewise anyways. Finally he stops them from talking and asks me directly what was going on. I tell him. He says to the supervisor, push the coupons through then turns to the head cashier and tells her to get back to her register. I thank him and the supervisor for helping me out. He gave a me big smile and a no problem! Too bad he wasn't around when I first got there because it really would have been no problem!
When I got home, I did call corporate customer service because this is very confusing. Basically I was told that any store, private or corporate, can change any part of the coupon policy. Huh??? That makes even less sense to me. Why should corporate owned stores be able to change the rules too? And sorry, I still feel that if there's a Giant Eagle sign above the door, they should have to follow the policies that the corporate office makes. It's like going to Wendy's, asking for a Frosty and they tell you the owner decided not to sell Frosty's at this location! In any case, the customer service rep forwarded my issue to her supervisor, who I should hear from soon. I'll give you an update after I speak to them.
Please, if you decide to use competitors coupons at Giant Eagle, talk to customer service first. That way you'll know where they stand on the new policy! And please carry a copy with you! I can't stress this enough! You can print it here. Now for the shopping results, which ended being really great!
I spent $21.76 for $66.17 worth of groceries & household products for a savings of over 67%!
Transaction #1
(10) Kraft Shredded Cheese(8 oz) $2 each (Reg. $2.99)*
Special Promo from Coupon Network: Buy 10 participating Kraft products, receive $10 OYNO(Read more here.)
-(1) $5/10 Kraft--Kuhn's In Ad Coupon
*Cheese freezes great, so stock up when you find prices this low!
Total after all Coupons: $15.00
Total Savings: $14.90(49.83%)
Catalina Earned: $10 OYNO
Transaction #2
(2) Huggies Wipes (60ct) $1.99 each (Not on Sale)
-(2) 50¢/1
Final Price: 99¢ each
Giant Eagle Whole Milk-Gallon $3.77
(2) Hefty Storage Bags $2 each (Reg. $2.59)
-(2) 55¢/1
Final Price: 90¢ each
(2) Hefty Storage Bags $2 each (Reg. $2.59)
-(2) $1/1
Final Price: $1 each
(3) Good 'n Natural Bars $1.25 each (Not on Sale)
-(3) One FREE Bar
Final Price: FREE
(2) Hershey Simple Pleasures $2.89 each (Reg $3.99)
-(2) $2/1
Final Price: 89¢ each
(1) Helluva Good Dip $2 (Not on Sale)
-(1) $1/1
Final Price: $1
Giant Eagle Large Eggs 99¢
(1)Schwebels Whole Wheat Flatbread $3.09
-(1) 35¢/1 (DND)
Final Price: $2.74
Total After all Coupons: $6.76
Total Savings: $29.51(81.36%)*
Catalina Earned: 0
Fuelperks! Earned: 10¢
*Keep in mind, if you redeem a competitors coupon at Giant Eagle, it will NOT be reflected in the "Total Savings Today" section of your receipt. To find your true savings, simply add Total Saving plus total of all competitors coupons!
Live Frugal. Live Happy.
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