I have had many readers email me so excited because they did not know about Target coupons. They did not know about the wonderful savings that are right there for them to take advantage of. They did not know that being creative with your coupons means dollars in your pocket. And they did not know that Target has a pretty clear coupon policy. Or so I thought.
Well tonight, we scanned, scanned, scanned and yes scanned some more. And then something different happened. She walked away. Where was she going? Who was she getting? A special scanner employee. That’s it, they hired a professional scanner to make those buggy Target coupons work. Oh but no, she came back alone. Handed me the coupon and proceeded to finish ringing me up. No explanation, no apology, just handed me the coupon.
As my thoughts raced through my head, I found the words to say “is there a problem”? “We can’t take your coupon” she answered. “Your total is $6.54″. “What, wait, what do you mean you can’t take my coupon”? I said. “My manager said if the coupon doesn’t scan we can’t take it” was her response. “But it’s a Target coupon, it’s your own coupon, you just need to key it in” I answered back. “My manager said we can’t take it” was her final answer.
Well at this point, I obviously called for THAT manager who claimed that this was a “new” Target policy and she could print the policy out for me if I liked. Well of course, I liked.
Ten minutes later she came out with some printouts. She quickly pointed to the bottom of the second page, which by the way had something cut off the bottom. What could have been there that she didn’t want me to see, I thought. Hmm?! At the bottom of the second 1/2 page it states:
“Cashiers can accept coupons printed from the internet
Fact: If the coupon scans, accept it”
Her interpertation, “we can’t accept a coupon if we have to punch it in”.
OMG, this is crazy I thought. That is not what it says nor what it implies. Yikes! It’s hard to argue when she just didn’t get it. So I took my FREE Special K cereal I had just purchased and my newly printed Target policy and left.
Once I was home and was able to digest what had happened and really read through the policy, I can see how truly wrong she was.
“When trying to decide if it’s okay to accept a coupon, use this general rule: If the coupon scans at POS, it’s okay to accept it. If hand-keying the numbers from below the left barcode works, accept it. If neither of these approaches works, refuse the coupon”.
Hello Target, I would like to register a complaint.
Nuf said.
Cindy Livesey is the force behind Living Rich With Coupons which provides its readers with all the resources they need to shop smart so they can get life’s luxuries for a lot less. Her family of 5 has saved over $11,000 a year in groceries. And you can too.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Cindy, I have had the same Target exp several times this summer. Each time I leave angry, swearing never to return. And each time it's with Target's own coupons. I wrote to Target, and the man simply clarified their policy — not helpful, since I know the policy — and didn't really do anything else. I also get tired of the eye-rolling, here-she-comes-again that goes with this experience. Mine is the Union target, but it happened in Fairfield too.
Marcia
Marcia,
It's so frustrating. This was in East Hanover. When I spend my letter to Target I will be sure to say that I already know the policy and have a copy of the coupon policy. Thanks for sharing.
Cindy, when you print coupons from a kiosk in Target or from Target's Web site, they scan fine. If you print them from a third-party site that is hosting them [[AFC, HCW, ect.]] they DO NOT scan. Those sites resize them and they don't print with the barcode at the correct size. So, you're better off to use the kiosk, print what you think you'll use, and then save them for sales later on.
you have a good point. Thanks Lisa
This is just a thought, but it may be beneficial to occasionally calibrate your home printer/inkjet, especially after inserting new inks. Calibrating ensures proper color plate registration when printing, which if off, can affect scanning bar codes. I'm not saying this is the problem with Target coupons, because it would affect all coupons, I'm just making a suggestion to do it every now and again.
Good to know. Thanks Donna.