SDM and printable coupons

[melissa.k]

Does your SDm accept printable coupons?
i've always used them here and today the woman said they don;t accept them at all.... (and they were in colour, which I thought would help)

Should i speak to a manager?... no motrin for me

[missbobloblaw]

I think that it depends on the store. SDM has printables for points so technically they do accept printable coupons. I have never had a problem w/ them.

[lekate]

This store may have had issues with fraudulant coupons, it's unforunate, but I can see why they would stop accepting printables(other than their own).

[Poirot]

Does your SDm accept printable coupons?
i've always used them here and today the woman said they don;t accept them at all.... (and they were in colour, which I thought would help)

Should i speak to a manager?... no motrin for me

I had trouble with printed coupons at the Shoppers near me.I emailed Shoppers they said it's up to the store location if they take printable coupons.The other Shoppers no problem.I used a B&W $1.50 Saputo mozzarella coupon just yesterday.

[Valiant]

Take along a printed web-page with the coupon offer, and show it to the cashier. If that doesn't work, ask to speak to the Manager. Sometimes you have to prove your coupon is legit, especially if the cashier is inexperienced or difficult .
Be positive, and don't take NO for an answer, until you've tried all avenues of explanation and persistence. In the end, you win some and you lose some.

[Litesandsirens911]

i used 8 printables on the Motrin for my hampers last month and 10 of the stayfree all at once.I have never had issues with my SDM's accepting the printables, and I use them lots.

[barberella]

i know we were asked (walmart) if the printable coupon was photocopied...we have colored ink so they said it must be photocopied...

[etherealone]

I emailed them this first:

"Hello,
I am asking for someone to clarify your coupon policy. It is very tiring when one SDM differs from another in regards to whether printable online coupons are acceptable.

Could you please clarify this so I know once and for all. If they are accepted than I will use them. IF not, I can redeem them elsewhere. I would just like to know because I the wasted trips are a nuisance.

Thanks so much!"

the response was this:

"Hello Ms. Beatty,
Thank you for writing to us. We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.

With regards to accepting computer printed coupons, it is up to the discretion of the store manager whether the store will accept these types of coupons. We would suggest speaking with the Front Store Manager directly with any further inquiries or concerns you may have.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Customer Service Call Centre at 1-800-SHOPPERs should you require assistance in locating store contact information.

Regards,
Angela
Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix Customer Service"

my email sent back to them yesterday was this:

"Thank you for replying.

I do have more questions now though.

Why is it up to the discretion of the Front Store Manager?

Why does SDM refuse to employ some sort of universal continuity with your policies, be it for printable coupons or other?

Why is there not a certain criteria that ALL stores should follow to avoid confusing the customer?

Why does SDM think that the customer should have to take on the confusion and inconvenience of having to "keep track" of what SDM stores take for printable coupons?

Why is the customer taking the brunt of an inconsistent coupon policy that you employ for products that SDM chooses to charge and offer to its supposed loyal customers?

I would appreciate a reply to all of these questions. I understand this may take some time and will wait patiently.

Thank you for your time thus far"

Lets see what kind of reply I get back. I guess my opinion is that SDM is in no way hurting. I did some research on coupon fraud and it is no where near or remotely close to a fraction of what shoplifting is. Not saying that certain policies should not be put into place BUT the bottom line is this. THe merchants and the companies who make/suppy to merchants should be working this out, NOT the loyal customers!

customer service is non-existent these days i fear.

On another note, I contacted Rexall about using coups on sale items cuz i had a few bad cashiers who said they would not honor on sale items and Rexall got back to me by phone, and were excellent! goes to show you the smaller companies are usually better.

[polina]

Great letter! Great questions! It'll be interesting to see their reply.

[Natalka]

Ours does. However, there's a BUT. The coupon cannot be even one penny over the product price. So no $5 motrin coupon for a 4.99 product.

[etherealone]

well, this was the reply I got from SDM this morning:

"Hello Pamela,
Thank you for your reply. As all coupons are different and the conditions may vary from one coupon to another, we do not have a standard policy for our stores when accepting coupons of any type including computer printed coupons.

As our stores are individually owned and operated, we cannot guarantee that each and every store will accept your computer printed coupons. It is best to speak to the Front Store Manager of the store should you have issues when presenting a coupon to determine why it is not being accepted. Again we would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Customer Service Call Centre at 1-800-SHOPPERs should you have any further questions or comments or require immediate assistance.

Regards,
Angela
Customer Service"

and this was my reply to them:

" Thank you for your reply.

You are unable to answer most of my questions and I guess I will just have to accept that.

I regret that SDM chooses to employ a pat solution of "all stores are independently owned and operated therefore we cannot hold universal accountability."

All McDonalds, Tim Hortons, Rexalls, I.G.A stores, to name just a few, for example, are all independently owned and operated and they all manage to maintain a strong form of cohesion.

This was a dissapointing reply to say the least, but at least I do know now that your official policy is "no policy at all."

I will be sure to pass this on to my fellow SDM customers.

The sad thing is that this is truly a matter that should be resolved between YOU and your SUPPLIERS (the companies that issue these coupons). How you believe that passing the buck along to customers and having the customer, like me, make vain attempts at working out something that is clearly a "production" issue, is beyond me.

FYI, I made the same inquiry to Rexall/PharmaPlus and their reply was MUCH different. I suggest that you pass these messages along to someone with higher authority, in fact, I insist. You might also want to make the same inquiry to Rexall and see just how different your replies are. You will also see why I will now be driving across town and changing my prescriptions over to them from now on.

Thank you for your efforts."

I think in the long run, it makes a difference to let companies know of your concerns....lol

oh well, for me, there are so many SDM's in Barrie that I couldn't keep track, and even if I could, I wouldnt bother...lol