Frances | June 22, 2011
We get emails on a daily basis how couponers are having difficulty with stores when using a coupon. Some local and some not so local.
Here is a recent news article we ran across from Fox 12 in Boise, Idaho that shocking to us, what really worried us was the manager of the Walmart who “slapped her hand away” and she had her 16 year old daughter with her. Keep in mind there are always two sides to a story and the news doesn’t report both sides and they are trying to sell you the news.
Boise, Idaho -- She was banned from every Walmart in the United States for life, and it was all because of an argument over coupons.
April Cuevas says Walmart has started “cracking down” on extreme couponers like herself who want to use coupons from other stores to save money.
Cuevas says she was told that Walmart’s “Ad Match” policy had changed late last week, and asked to speak with a store manager so she could better understand why. She decided to record the interchange — which quickly became an argument — with her iPhone.
She says the action wasn’t welcomed by the Walmart manager, who slapped her hand away and told her to pay the full price of her groceries or leave.
Which she did.
That’s when things got weird.
“I didn’t notice them following me at first until my 16 year-old daughter said, ‘Well, mom they’re following us,’” Cuevas said.
Cuevas claims that a plain-clothes Walmart employee chased her through the parking lot demanding that she return to the store because she had committed a crime.
She drove to a nearby gas station and called police.
“She said, ‘You’re leaving the scene of a crime,’” Cuevas reported.
“And I didn’t know I was banned from Walmart for life within the United States until the cop told me that,” Cuevas continued, explaining that somehow the Walmart staff had called Nampa police before she did.
April says she wonders if it was the argument, the use of coupons, or the iPhone video that got her banned from the store.
She suspects it was the video.
Her husband, Rennie Cuevas, suspects it was the recording as well.
“She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She paid for her food like she was supposed to and she left,” Rennie said.
April’s husband says he’s worried that Walmart might try to ban him, too, just for speaking out and questioning the store’s policies. He says that consequence would cost their family hundreds of dollars because the couple shops at Walmart almost every day.
They even have a special coupon book they use, divided into separate sections and filled with hundreds of coupons.
“With this economy, we have to save every dime to be able to do anything,” Cuevas said.
Channel 12 asked Nampa’s Walmart management staff why April was banned for life and if it was because of coupons or video recording or otherwise.
They supplied us with a 1-800 number for corporate media relations. The number hasn’t answered April’s questions.
“Well, I want to know why they kicked me out of the store nationwide, for one thing,” she said. “I didn’t do anything wrong and I also would like to go back to Walmart.”
Here is an email we received from a reader who was going to be “charged for using coupons”.
I had an experience at the Saraland wal greens that I wanted to warn my fellow couponers about. I read your post about walgreens and I just thought it might be helpful.
I went in Saturday and purchase 39.00 worth of Gillette products.( the ad stated that if you buy 30.00 you get 10.oo in RR, but because I used a coupon the manager told me that I would not get my RR. So I told him okay I wanted to get my money back and I would do something else. He informed me that I would not get all of my money back because I had used my coupon. I explained to him that the coupon took off a certain amount and I only wanted the exact amount that I gave him. He never said another word did the refund ( And I was really nice about the whole thing) and as he started counting my money back his refund amount was less than the amount I gave him. I told him no that is not right, I gave you 35.00 and I dont think that 28 is close to the same amount, he informed me that was the charge for using coupons! I developed an attitude really quick at this point and explained to him that I did not have anything that belonged to walgreens and I was not going to just give him money for coming there to shop. He turned around and gave me the amount tendered in the first transaction, he kept the merchandise and I left. I might add this is not the first time I have had trouble with the saraland store. I went to mobile and had not problem using my coupons on the exact same transaction. The manager was nice and polite and I just wonder if it might be the individual store managers that enter the information that causes these problems. He had a problem with coupons and I just want you to know that Saraland does not have coupon friendly stores that I have found expect the Rite Aid. They are nice but are always out of stuff. Thanks for all you do to help us. You are a household name and we do REALLY APPRECIATE you and your hard work to help us all. May God continually to bless and give you wisdom in all you do
Our advice? “Be nice no matter what” (Thanks Mamo) but that doesn’t mean be a doormat. Stand up for your rights as their customer, just be nice about it. Bring out your store coupon policy, ask to speak to a manager, if the issue is not resolved leave the groceries and call the store manager when you get home, if the issue is still not resolved, go to another store maybe even another chain depending on where you live. No coupon or deal is worth a hassle and we would rather drive 20 minutes out of our way to do our shopping then put up with the “abuse” that some of us couponers get.
Category: Frugal Fairhope Thoughts |
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You decide the size of your stockpile, it can be as big as your garage or the top shelf in your pantry. Look around your house, there is a top shelf in a clothing closet or in your kitchen that you are not using or can you move some kitchen appliances around to make room. If you are still not convinced send us a photo of your opened kitchen cabinets and we will work on it together. Think about this, what’s worth more, that shelf of shoes that you have not worn in 5 or more years or rolls of paper towels that you bought for a fraction of the cost?
