Before I begin this post...On behalf of all my Faithful & Frugal readers & alumni...I must say a great big THANK YOU to Mr. Lewis Jones for taking the time to meet with me and for being such a huge help to our couponing community! We truly appreciate all that you do to help make our coupon shopping experience in your store such a success!!! Thanks so much for your support of Faithful & Frugal!!!
Now...on to the much anticipated news!!! This is a long post...so grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in for a little while :-)
Well ladies...I met with Mr. Jones this morning at the Spring Hill Publix and we discussed all of the many emails, complaints and problems that you all have forwarded my way as of the last week. I am sad to report that there is in fact a HUGE change coming to the coupon policy. These changes will effect the way we have been able to coupon in the past, however we have to remember to look at the positive side of things, as I will point below.
I am not and I will not be posting any information pertaining to ANY Publix other than the Spring Hill store, since each store's policy could be different to some degree. So...the information detailed below is STRICTLY pertaining to our local Spring Hill store. If you are an out of area reader, please check with your store manager for information specific to the store you shop :-)
Let me clarify some of things that we discussed today...
1) The coupon policy is changing :-(
2) The trail mix instances were not at the SH store as previously told to me by the employees. It did in fact happen at a Franklin location.
3) The trail mix instances did in fact cause a problem and drew the attention of upper management, thus the changes that we experienced last week. The issue involved the amount of overage when buying so many...obviously Publix does not get reimbursed for competitor coupons and they are not in the business of giving away money either...so in the case of 90 bags of trail mix...you're talking $180.00 in overage! That is not okay, and it is seriously unethical...the store can not loose $180.00 on one transaction!!! So the District Manager had to implement some limits effective immediately.
4) The change in policy was originally meant to begin once Mr. Jones returned from vacation (set to begin this week) not last week. Now that he is back the changes are being put into motion in a more consistent manner.
5) There was a lot of confusion, even amongst the employees as to what the "new" policy actually was, thus why so many of you received different information based on whom you had spoken with.
6) Mr. Jones wants me to relay his apologies for any inconvenience that any of you may have incurred during your shopping trips this week and last week...he is in the process of sitting down with his employees and making sure that everyone is on the same page regarding the policy change. If you have any questions regarding the new policy, feel free to ask for Mr. Jones directly when in the store, he is happy to help.
7) In the very near future the policy will be posted in the store so that everyone can read it.
8) It is unfortunate that the actions of a few have resulted in changes for the majority. However the changes will be a lot smoother for everyone involved if we can be more educated ahead of time and have a little more patient with the process :-)
So what is the new policy???
Here's what is staying the same:
1) You may use 1 Manf. Q per item
2) Publix will double Manf. Q's up to $0.50
3) Publix will accept competitor's coupons from Target, Food Lion and Kroger
4) You may use a store coupon on top of a Manf. Q...You may use a competitor Q on top of a Manf. Q
5) Publix will accept money off purchase coupons ($5off $30, $10 off $50, etc) on each transaction.
Here's what is changing:
1) You can no longer stack a competitor Q, a store Q and a manf. Q!
Only 2 coupons per item will be allowed...You may use EITHER a store OR a competitor...but NOT both.
2) You can no longer buy multiples of the same item using a competitor coupon on each item. (IE. 3 Tide with 3 comp. q's) The wording on the competitor Q will be key...if it states "one per customer", "one per transaction", or "one print per customer", etc. than you can only use ONE of that coupon on the transaction. If the Q reads "one per coupon" than you could do multiples on the same transaction. You may only do one transaction per day.
3) You can no longer buy unlimited amounts of BOGO or Sale items. The new LIMIT will be 4 Sale/8 BOGO items per customer, per ad cycle.
4) Management has the right to impose "quantity rights reserved" as printed in the ad...meaning they can limit the amount of items purchased at anytime if the need arises. The manager can limit based on shipment schedules and supply in storage.
5) The Publix penny item is meant to be one per customer...so one person running multiple transactions to get more than one penny item would be incorrect. The actual coupon states "limit one deal per coupon per customer".
Bottom line...will there be flaws with this new system? Possibly....BUT that is where shoppers are held to a standard of integrity not to abuse the system. The fact remains that if we (Faithful & Frugal women of God) remain ethical and use integrity when using coupons and abide by the policy, we should be just fine :-)
The positive side of things:
1) Our Publix will accept Target as a competitor...many do not!
2) Our Publix is still accepting competitor coupons in general...the SH and TS Krogers no longer accept ANY comp. Q's!
3) Publix offers us outstanding customer service! They will even unload your groceries for you in your car...Their competitor's do not!
4) Publix offers us a penny item EVERY week. This item is normally valued at $3.00-$5.00! We only pay $0.01!
5) We are very blessed to have a store manager who is excited to have our business and also works as an advocate for all of us couponing ladies! If you have ever dealt with the management at our local Kroger, you know exactly what I mean, they are most definitely not helpful!
**I know that this is somewhat disappointing news and I am sorry that things have had to come to this :-( But truth is, it's not the end of the world and we can still have great shops even with these changes ;-) Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this policy change. I ask for your help in making the transistion, please remember God is watching how we react and how we handle things...and so are others, so let's all be good examples. Also, show a little compassion to the cashier's and management during this time too, this is has been a very difficult and confusing process for them also!**
This Sunday 9/27/09 you can expect 3 inserts in your paper:
