The problem with Zellers

[monctonmoneysaver]

After a horrible visit to the Zellers on Mountain I wrote to head office:

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to let you know how absolutely disgusted I am with
a Zellers location in Moncton, NB. The store I am referring to in the
Mountain Rd location, and this is not the first time I have had a
negative experience at this store. Because of the typical negative
experiences with this location, I rarely enter and chose rather to price
match any flyer sales with local competitor Wal Mart. I did however
visit last night Friday July 16th, to take advantage of of 30,000pt
reward for purchasing certain products (febreze, mr.clean, dawn,
swiffer) when you spend $15 before tax. I had with me about 10 coupons
to use from p&g on these products (I seen advertized under this 30,000pt
promotion, to use your p&g coupons here). The cashier informed me I
could use 2 coupons PERIOD. I was flabbergasted, I had read Zellers
coupon policy had had seen NO limit on the number of coupons I could
use, all the coupons I had were different, no doubles. I had asked to
instead split up my transactions, she said NO, 2 coupons per person per
day! Then she showed me a note from the manager, stating this 2 coupon,
person per day rule and that at no time is a customer to get an item for
free or nearly free buy using a coupon. Because of this she would not
accept a coupon I had for $3 off Purex, because the Purex was on sale
for $3 so it would make it free. Well instead of arguing, I played by
these clearly made up rules, payed for my purchase, did NOT receive the
30,000pt bonus. As I was leaving the cashier than remarked to me DON'T
come to zellers if you are going to use COUPONS, well I will take this
advice, I WON'T go to zellers, I will go to Wal Mart to price match
zellers prices and use my coupons with NO issue. This store is clearing
alienating people who use coupons to save money and are treating us like
criminals when we do. I am sure I am not the only one who will no longer
shop at zellers because of these outrageous coupon rules.


Their reply:

Thank you for your email sharing your feedback about your shopping
experience at Zellers Moncton Mall.

We sincerely apologize for the delay in response and the inconvenience
caused as you were not able to use the coupons and the service that you
received at the store.

Please provide us with your telephone number so that we may have the
store manager contact you to address your concerns.

The following is the criteria for the acceptance of coupons at our
Zellers stores.

. The coupon has not expired.
. The coupon applies to the exact item being purchased (including size
illustrated, regardless of whether it's actually stated on the coupon).
. The coupon is valid for redemption in Canada (and not just valid for
redemption in the USA).
. The clearing house address is a Canadian address and not American.
. The value of the coupon should never result in the customer receiving
the product for free or almost fee.


Note: most vendors generally handle free or almost free scenarios with
'mail in rebates'. In this case, the customer is required to purchase
the item and then render the rebate with their proof of purchase to
obtain a cheque back from the vendor.

There are some important exceptions such as; certain vendors have
declared that they do not post any of their manufacturer coupons on the
internet. Consequently, these vendors reserve the right to inform
retailers that we should not accept any internet coupons for redemption
towards any of their products purchased in our stores. The manufacturer
generally states on the coupon how many can be used and if the coupon
can be combined with any other offers or promotions. If an item is on
promo and if the coupon that is being redeemed does not result in giving
the product for free then the coupon will be honored

Should you require further assistance please contact Zellers Customer
Service at 1-888-226-2225 Monday through Saturday 8am to Midnight,
Sunday 10am to 9pm EST.

Again, thank you for providing us with your sincere feedback and we
trust that in the near future we will be able to make Zellers your
shopping destination.

Regards,

Phalguni
Customer Service Representative

My reply back:

To whom it may concern,

Upon receiving your reply and the acceptance policy of coupons at your zellers location, I see exactly why I have so much difficultly using coupons there.

If I have a coupons stating $x.xx off ANY ex. colgate tooth paste, I should be able to use it for ANY colgate tooth paste, regardless of what the company has decided to brand picture on the coupon.

I recently had a coupon as I had stated in my original email for $3 off purex laundy soap, zellers had it on sale for $3, this was NOT a mail in rebate coupon, it was a $3 off ANY purex laundy soap. This will be refused because it makes it free, even thought zellers will be fully reimbursed for the $3

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me,

I see the cashier was right "DON'T come to zellers if you are going to use COUPONS", I WON'T go to zellers, I will go to Wal Mart to price match
zellers prices and use my coupons with NO issue.

You have just lost a customer.

__________________________________________________ _____________

I hate Zellers

[KrazE]

I have also sent them a message recently (no response as of yet) due to the sheer attitude of their employees when you use coupons. Also the part where their coupon policy sent to you effectively says "don't use coupons in our store, period".

I am writing to you today to express my disappointment in your Zellers store in Kanata Ontario. It appears that those of us who shop using coupons are viewed very poorly by your staff, and treated as such.

This is not just limited to the Kanata location, but it is rife across Canada.

You have added an item to your coupon policy which effectively stops most coupon usage - for example, I recently received a coupon from Purex for $3 - this was directly from the Manufacturer. Your stores also had Purex on sale for $3 - which would require me to only pay the tax; this is unacceptable to your company even though you are reimbursed for the $3.

You are, and will continue to lose customers across Canada due to the way you train your staff on coupon use so that you are refusing the use of as many coupons as possible, and you are also setting the stage for the employees to treat couponers like filthy trash.

I have had one bad experience too many with the Kanata location, including in the presence of my children!

You have lost me as a customer due to this, and I will instead take your Zellers flyer & price match with Walmart who gladly accepts a my business, my coupons & treats me with respect.

Regards,
Kimberley

[ange1]

wow ..I just thought the Miramichi checkouts were antsy ... .they just lost me as a customer too , WM must be making a fortune from zeller's "lost customers"

[NBGurl]

Woo HOO!!! You tell em'!! I absolutely love that you did this!!

[C.RoyCanada]

great job telling them exactlt what I thought. I never go there. Not even for points. They can stick it where....lol...

[Bargain Seeker]

Geez looks like Zellers is already on the way out! Maybe they are trying to allienate their customers so that they can close down earlier!!

[KrazE]

My semi-canned response from Zellers HO (a lot like what was posted above)

Thank you for your email sharing your feedback about our revised coupon
policy and the service you have received at the Zellers store in Kanata.

We would first like to thank you for taking the time to communicate to
us and allow us the opportunity to address this issue. It is true that
our coupon policy has changed so that more number of customers can use
coupons and we can minimize the fraudulent activities.

The following is the criteria for the acceptance of coupons at our
Zellers stores.

. The coupon has NOT expired.
. The coupon applies to the exact item being purchased (including size
illustrated, regardless of whether it's actually stated on the coupon).
. The coupon is valid for redemption in Canada (and not just valid for
redemption in the USA).
. The clearing house address is a Canadian address and not American.
. The value of the coupon should never result in the customer receiving
the product for free or almost fee.


Note: Most vendors generally handle free or almost free scenarios with
'mail in rebates'. In this case, the customer is required to purchase
the item and then render the rebate with their proof of purchase to
obtain a cheque back from the vendor.

IMPORTANT EXCEPTION:
Certain vendors have declared that they do NOT post any of their
manufacturer coupons on the internet. Consequently, these vendors
reserve the right to inform retailers that we should NOT accept any
internet coupons for redemption towards any of their products purchased
in our stores.

For how many coupons may be used for each item: The manufacturer
generally states on the coupon how many can be use and if the coupon can
be combined with any other offers or promotions.
If an item is on promo and if the coupon that is being redeemed does not
result in giving the product for free then the coupon will be honored.

However, please accept our apologies for the behavior of the store
associates and obvious shortfall in our customer service efforts.

Please be assured that the Zellers is continuing to place emphasis and
resources consistently in providing service levels to our customers that
will differentiate us from the competition.

Please provide us with your telephone number so that we may have the
store manager contact you to address your concerns regarding the
customer service you have received at the store.

Should you require further assistance please contact Zellers Customer
Service at 1-888-226-2225 Monday through Saturday 8am to Midnight,
Sunday 10am to 9pm EST.

Again, thank you for providing us with your sincere feedback and we
trust that in the near future we will be able to make Zellers your
shopping destination.

Regards,

Lipika
Customer Service Representative
[email protected]

My response to her email:

Lipika:

Thank you for taking the time to respond, but it appears that you are not understanding coupon usage which is not just limited to Canada, but certainly exercised by any coupon user; I will explain each issue in bullet point from your policy. Your response is in Italics, my response is in red.

The following is the criteria for the acceptance of coupons at our
Zellers stores.

. The coupon has NOT expired.
This is never done, at least not knowingly, and if it's noted that the coupon expired, it is certainly not used.
. The coupon applies to the exact item being purchased (including size
illustrated, regardless of whether it's actually stated on the coupon).
This is not clear enough for your store employees as they believe that this means a coupon user can only buy EXACTLY what is on the coupon picture, even when the wording states for ANY of that product (Gillette for example). You need to be much less vague in your wording so that ALL employees better understand what you are telling them.
. The coupon is valid for redemption in Canada (and not just valid for
redemption in the USA).
Canadians only use Canadian redemption coupons, all stores require a Canadian redemption address, but, if you are stating that as long as a coupon HAS a Canadian redemption address, but was issued from the USA, it can be used?
. The clearing house address is a Canadian address and not American.
Same as above
. The value of the coupon should never result in the customer receiving
the product for free or almost fee.
Here's the problem - coupon users do not use a coupon just for the sake of using it. Coupons are typically used on sale items, and this exact scenario is what closes Zeller's doors to couponers. As I said in my first email, having a Manufacturer's coupon for $3 off Purex, which is also on sale at Zellers for $3 would look like this at the cash in Ontario - $3 (product) + tax (13%) $3.38 minus $3 coupon = $0.38 out of pocket. In this scenerio, the product is "almost" free and the coupon cannot be used.
Your "almost" free policy is very vague, and left open to interpretation. What is "almost free"? Is it under $2, $1? And then there are coupons the Manufacturers send out to get a product for free UP to a certain $ amount - this means that you also will not accept those.

IMPORTANT EXCEPTION:
Certain vendors have declared that they do NOT post any of their
manufacturer coupons on the internet. Consequently, these vendors
reserve the right to inform retailers that we should NOT accept any
internet coupons for redemption towards any of their products purchased
in our stores.

For how many coupons may be used for each item: The manufacturer
generally states on the coupon how many can be use and if the coupon can
be combined with any other offers or promotions.
If an item is on promo and if the coupon that is being redeemed does not
result in giving the product for free then the coupon will be honored.
You're going against the words in your own policy - because now you're saying that as long as the product is not free, you will honour it, yet your policy states "almost" free; you need to be crystal clear rather than semi-vague and leaving your entire policy open to interpretation by the individual employees.

It is my hope that with a better understanding of the world of coupons, stores will be more open to receiving business from coupon users, provide clear and public coupon policies, and better train their staff not only for the use of coupons, but how to behave in a professional manner regardless of what their personal view on the use of coupons.

Regards,

Kimberley

[ange1]

WTG Great response to them well done Kimberly ty for writing that response ,when I get to checkout i usually am + just because I feel as though they think I'm trying to do something wrong ....

dollarama is a wee bit like that too but I think its because they have such limited vague guidelines and CT each store makes up their own policies because its a franchise (I left most of my last purchase behind there )

[shannon8066]

I won't shop at Zellers....I alway PM at Walmart.....have never had any issues at WM with any coupon that I wanted to use

[AWELLS]

After my expierience last week at Zeller's trying to get the purex, I absolutely refuse to go back to Zellers.. I didn't like the store before I just went to see if they had clearance items and such, but I wont go back, I make my list with their flyer and go to Walmart where I've NEVER had a problem with coupons.

[neesci]

Yeah no wonder i don't even shop at zellers. if they are going to be doing that to people im going to shop somewheres else. i had a problem with them before on mountain road about a Neopet plushie that didn't have a code tag. I wanted it for cheaper and the girl wanted to charge me like 10 bucks and they didnt even retail for that much like stupid, then she refused and said i couldnt have it for cheaper because it didnt have a tag, it was considered damaged, so therefore no one would buy it, why not make it cheaper so it will sell. I got angry and left the store, and that was about 6 months ago. i will never go back because that cashier wasnt polite and treated me like a piece of poop she just stepped in.

[C.RoyCanada]

I figured while I was at S.S. on main I'd try to get some Iams dry cat food at Zellers with the $1.50 coupon. It was refused. She called the cashier manager to see if it was o.k. then told me she couldn't accept any coupons that are worth more then the purchase. I told her it was 50cent less then the product and she stil said she couldn't. I said "no problem but just to let you know you should advise your higher ups that you are loosing alot of customers with those rediculous rules". I told her she should check out this site and she will know what I meen. She replied "that's alright" like she didn't even care. Now I am certain that I will never go there again. Even if they changed their policy. I want to contact head office and complain, but figure it would be a waste of my time.

[NLosier]

I really never liked Zellers either, their stores are always so messy, now just one more reason not to go. We don't even have one where I live anyways, certainly wouldn't drive an hour (where the closest one is) with that kind of customer service.

[nutritionic]

I've had the same issues with the Zellers on Mountain Rd. Only 2 coupons per day max and had to argue with an old lady about how a picture does not matter and you must READ the coupon! Mgmt sucks there! Although, there are some really nice young girls that work there and will accept coupons no problem! I managed to get my purex 3x that week!