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Friday, July 31, 2009

Dollar General: $0 Out-of-Pocket = Frustration


A brand new Dollar General store just opened about 2 miles from my house. They mailed out $5 off a $20 purchase coupons, and I've been holding onto one from my mom for a while. We thought we'd stop by this afternoon just to see what they had and if the coupon made anything a good deal.

I was really excited to find Finish dishwasher tabs for $3.50 a box, because I had a bunch of $2.50 off coupons! Paired with my $5 off coupon, this was a sweet deal.... Until I got to the register.

My cashier rang up my order (which was over $20) and scanned 2 of my manufacturers' coupons. When he scanned the $5 off coupon, he proceeded to tell me that my subtotal wasn't $20. I couldn't use my coupon. Hmmmm.....

As it turns out, the Finish was on sale for $3 a box (even better!). I ran back and grabbed another box to raise my subtotal.

When I handed him my extra coupon for the extra box, he told me that I could only use ONE of my Finish coupons. The coupons say "one per purchase." I tried to explain to him that "one per purchase" means one per item purchased. He assured me that it was one per transaction. I started to explain further and then stopped.

And he was shocked when I politely collected my coupons and told him that he could void the whole transaction. I could tell that he wasn't going to budge, and I didn't have time to talk with the manager at that moment. I think I'm going to call back or stop back when there's a manager there. The only bad part about that is that the $5 off coupon expired today. Maybe the manager will make an exception and let me use it later... who knows?

Check out the transaction that I had worked up .... had my cashier known coupon lingo!

6 boxes Finish dishwasher tabs - $3.00 each (less than I thought!)
1 4-pack Angel Soft bath tissue - $1.25
1 hang bag Lifesavers - $1.50

Coupons:
-$2.50 x 6 Finish tabs
-$1.00 Lifesavers
-$5.00 off any $20.00 purchase

Out-of-Pocket: FREE with $.25 overage (plus tax)
I seriously was just going to have to pay tax... and not even all of that with the $.25 overage.

Next time I'll start by handing over my $5 off $20 coupon FIRST. And we'll work on the one per purchase issue before I stop back. I truly have never had this happen. I've read about it happening to others, so I knew exactly what he was doing. I just couldn't convince him quick enough that I was right. ** sigh **

So, that's my shopping summary for this week. I didn't shop. We were busy. And when I did shop.... well.... you just read how that went down! How did you do this week?

5 comments:

BargainFun said...

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Unknown said...

I am sorry that happened to you. I have been there before and I know it drives you crazy. I would talk to the manager and see what he would be willing to do and explain to them they need to train there cashiers better. Better luck next time.

A Busy Mom of Two said...

Wow! What an experience! That is so frustrating. It is amazing how a cashier can make or break your day. What should have been an awesome, high inducing deal turned into a deflating experience.

cksknitter said...

This happens to me every once in awhile. Whenever a cashier starts reading the fine print, I know there will be a problem. I know this wouldn't work in your situation because you had a $5 off the order coupon, but I usually say fine, I will check each item out separately (one coupon per purchase). At that point, the cashier sees that his/her stubbornness will just make more work and accepts my coupons.

Megan said...

Uhh, I hate when that happens. That would have been a great deal!