Price Smart Foods/Save on Foods Rant

My facebook comments:

So I thought I could get a straightforward answer to my earlier post regarding is a customer able to PriceMatch and use either a manufacturers coupon or a store coupon - answer is up to Manager's discretion - that makes policy personal - a customer is not able to pre-plan their shopping trip, can get to the cashier and still doesn't know what is going to happen - can hold up the cashier and the li...ne while waiting for the decision - very unsettling for all!!! I will ask at customer service before I shop!!
On a similar topic - I am a member of a national couponing group - Walmart always gets the most complaints regarding inconsistency in handling of coupons and PriceSmart/Save On Foods is coming up fast in second place!!!!!
My last 3 visits to PRice SMart on Fraser Hwy in Clearbrook have been terrible - I check at Customer Service to see if they want me to go thru a regular check out or would they like to process me there or have a cashier open so I don't hold up a line!!!! Each time a different answer!!!! Last visit Team LEader Linda had to stand and oversee the whole transaction as if I was out to rip them off or it was too confusing for the cashier to comprehend!!! Linda now would like us to phone ahead to let them know when we are coming so they can ensure they have ample staff on - so for a 40 -60 item total order they have to have "ample staff" to cover this - what if I wasn't using coupons would it have been the same!!! She wants us to preorder - so I get a flyer that starts Friday and I want 20 Degree deodorant I have to preorder - call ahead when it arrives to see if there is ample staff, check at customer service to see where they want me to go - would you feel welcomed - I AM A CUSTOMER I only choose to pay with coupons and the store is getting back all the value of the coupons!!! Why am I discriminated against!!!!!
I have had just as terrible experiences at SaveOnFoods!!! My average spending at these stores is over 150.00 a week - I like it as I get points or I would just price match at Walmart!!!!
Customers without coupons can come and shop whenever don't have to preorder or ensure there is ample staff for their orders - doesn't make sense!!!!
I do not clear shelves!!!!







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The SOF that is a 5 minute drive from me told me I had to call and make an appointment to stack anything. There is no way I am making an appointment to go shopping. I now drive 20 minutes to go to another SOF location. Luckily in two months we will be moving by this location. I love that your able to stack again at SOF and the location I do go to has been amazing :)

I drive 20 minutes to a SOF and 15 minutes to a PriceSmart that are stacking friendly. Every cashier I talk to has a horror story about people who show up at the till 15 minutes before closing with two full carts of groceries and coupon stacks on almost every item. (Or they show up at 5:30 p.m. during the dinner rush to do a major stacking shop.) It's inconsiderate people like that who are causing some locations to have to institute restrictions. When I do a stacking trip I check in at customer service to let them know I will be stacking so that they can let me know if they have staff on coffee or dinner breaks which may cause me to have to wait a few extra minutes for service. My stacks are pretty immaculate, so if a supervisor stands over a cashier while they enter them, it doesn't bother me. I have found you need to have patience/spend some extra time in the store to save the amount of money we save by stacking. While it would be great if all locations had the same rules, I am just happy to be able to stack so my personal feeling is that we need to work with the system and make friends with the staff at the locations we choose as our best stacking spots. It can all disappear in the blink of an eye if it becomes more of a hassle than it's worth to the grocery chain.

As a couponer I respect the rules because they are consistant at the Save-On Foods I shop at.
When ordering a large amout of things I go to cutomer service and they let me know if there is
an experienced person to help me. Most days are so busy I wonder how anyone has the time
for this. I also ask at CS if I have a smaller amount if anyone can help and they close down a
cashier to help.The store I shop at has a large sign that states, CUSTOMER FIRST, so clearly
there is a problem at your Save-On.

at SOF it depends how many coupons you are stacking with how many items ,
when i was doing crest,glade, febreze all in one trip, they refered to the "phone ahead to make sure enough staff " etc etc, whatever i still bought all the stuff
but all that was complicated because of all the "WUB 2" and "WUB 3" coupons to make sure all the math was right (i wrote the math down on a piece of paper so they couldnt say i was overlapping the same coupons with eachother)
and then the other day i pricematched nofrills flyer for the 20 count finish powerballs for $5 box, but i only had three $5 coupon stacks, so it was only 3 products, no big deal,
so i just did it at a regular cashier

from now on i do my SOF stacks that are not complicated at regular cashier, because i KNOW this one woman who is always at CS doesnt like me :D

My whole point is why I am treated different at a busy time, 1.2 hour before closing o whatever - if I was a non-couponer shopper with a basketfull full of groceries it will take the same amount of staff, time etc - and in Linda's the Team Leader case - now she is using 2 staff to process one order - go figure!!!! No Sense!!!! Spending money at their store and paying cash, credit, coupons etc is the same thing and they are making money - not doing me a favor!!!! Why do you think they allow stacking??? Why do you think they allow price matching - to get business!!!!!

no....if you were a non-couponer, they can just scan items, put in bags, finished

with coupons they need to read them, make sure you are not using 2 of the same coupon in a stack towards 1 item , then input the amount into register, it is time consuming.

and since there is usually only 3 registers with line-ups on them on busy days, they would prefer if people with lots of coupons came on "non-busy" days or to phone to make sure there is enough cashiers so that a couponer taking 30 minutes-1 hour (depending on how "extreme couponing" they are) does not shut down one register, causing the customers to get aggitated.

a couponer who stacks maybe $200 worth of stuff every so often, does not compare the 100s-1000s of customers (depending on how big the city or town is) who just come to buy the average $250 a week on groceries. they dont want to lose the normal customers.

and..technically they are doing you/us couponers a favor, stores dont HAVE to accept any coupons

I'll agree to disagree - 2 customers - order takes 25 minutes to put thru for each - one is using cpns one isn't - hmmm

I try and pick really quiet times to go (eg. lunch time) and only do a max of 10 items for stacks. I went in the other day and got a few items for stacking, plus chicken (using a coupon, but no stack) and it took a good 20 minutes. It may not seem like it, but when they take 30-60s to read a coupon x how many coupons, it can add quite a few minutes to your transaction time.

Hopefully you are able to find a solution that works for both the store and you. I stack on Nordel at Save On and it's nothing but sunshine and roses for me there! LOL

processing a couponer takes longer then processing a non-couponer.. thats just a fact no way around it.. it takes less time to scan bag and be done then to read the coupons.. look over the stack, check all coupons valid, make sure the coupons don't exceed the value of the product (often using math skills to add up the coupon stack and figure out the selling price on the till since the item scans in at regular price minus club price savings vrs just listing the sale price) all this takes time.. each store is run a little differently and it's always important to talk to customer service get to know the staff a little for your specific store (for example my store is pretty stacking friendly BUT they request pre-orders be done-and they will only place the order for pre-orders once a week, in store only NOT over the phone, and only full cases, they also do NOT price match-very few stores do, and there are a few cashiers who are very stack friendly even on the coupon groups they share their work schedule and suggest couponers to come in at that time these cashiers are couponers so they very familiar with current stacks and coupons making processing that much quicker)

SOF is doing couponers a favor by allowing stacking they do NOT have to allow stacking and if it's abused it will go away (i've said this dozens of times.. and it has happened before) sometimes they do lose money on the stacks.. and they take a risk of companies pulling their products (i hear LD is in a bit of an issue with P&G over stacking) they hope that if your in store stacking coupons that you will pick up non-couponed items while your there (milk, eggs, produce, deli, bakery.....)

I will gladly follow Save Ons requests as stacking is a privilege not a right. I don't expect to be as valued a customer as the the ones that don't coupon and are dedicated to Save On Foods due to the fact they are much more profitable consumers, buying what they need at premium prices.This a place of business and they can run it how they choose.