In the new coupon policy that went live on the website March 14, 2013, Walgreens is now officially allowing store management to set limits on how many identical items can be purchased by a customer.
Many Walgreens stores have already been informally restricting the amount of identical items bought in a single transaction, so this wording just makes it clear that the corporate customer service team will back that decision made by its stores.
Here's the new language:
When purchasing multiple items, Walgreens accepts multiple identical coupons for multiple qualifying items as long as there is sufficient stock to satisfy other customers, unless a limit is specified. Management reserves the right to limit the quantity of items purchased. Customer and employee purchases of excessive quantities of advertised items is not permitted. An excessive quantity is any quantity above and beyond normal household usage.I am a little concerned about what 'normal household usage' might mean, as I feel that's a pretty vague term that could be wildly different to two different people.
For example, in a household with just two adults and no kids, I might feel like a limit of four items per transaction was normal household usage. Someone with four kids, on the other hand, might reasonably be purchasing eight items at a time, expecting to use those items fairly quickly.
For those Walgreens shoppers that do coupon in bulk, I recommend reaching out to your local store manager to see in advance how s/he will interpret this new coupon policy.
It's better to have that information early and be able to plan with it, than to get to the store expecting to make a large haul and be denied in front of other customers.
I also recommend printing the new Walgreens coupon policy for your coupon binders.
What do you think of the new Walgreens coupon policy restricting bulk purchasing? Do you think it's a sensible policy that will help more customers, or do you think it will be too restrictive? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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I am actually for it; I think it's wrong that people clear shelves off & leave none for others. Many stores don't have sufficient room to store over a certain amount of products. Why should one person benefit the rewards of the sale prices and/or coupons & no one else?
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ReplyDeleteThe limitations were never part of the policy before but management or even cashiers had the "authority" to put a halt on awarding points or RR if they felt items were being purchased in bulk for resale. I was asked a few times if I was reselling at a flea market.
ReplyDeleteI think this is wrong that they blame it on coupon users...as in ''shelf clearers''. Because every time I go to my local walgreens they always have only 2 products in stock, Even when there is a BIG sale! How is that fair...and then say there is a coupon out there that requires to buy two products to use the coupon...so people do and then they are considered shelf clearers! Doesn't make sense! I think they should just stock the store better, cause they make money off those who use COUPONS!!
ReplyDeleteI do think that they should have a company limit, and state the number like Target does. I don't like shelf clearers either, and have gone to the store the first day of the sale and days the truck comes in, only to have them out of stock. When I asked obout preordering, I was told that they don't do that and have ordered enough for the sale. WRONG.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time, so take that you Smash and Grabbers. I been in stores where a couple literally wipes out the entire stock for the rest of the week because of the overage they would be getting by combing both a wags coupon and a MQ, So hopefully this will stop it
ReplyDeleteearly bird gets the worm. if you arent willing to go early on the first day you are out of luck. I go early on the first day of the sale if i am really interested. If not and they dont have any of the item MY FAULT. They restock on thursday fyi to those mumblers and grumblers hehehe. FYI when there is an item I want I get at the most 4 of it total.
ReplyDeleteThe Walgreens on Medical Drive was already doing this last year. On all the RR items they have a sign, One per customer. They enforce it as well
ReplyDeleteAs a Walgreen's employee,
ReplyDeleteMy manager told me the reason why Walgreen's is implementing this rule is because the manufacturers who put these coupons out will no longer be reimbursing Walgreen's for coupon's that are being abused.
They put coupons out so that customers can a.) save a little money and b.) have their product reach new potential customers. So, when someone comes into our store with 30 coupons and 30 items (and this is just OUR store, this does NOT include every Walgreen's or other stores operating in the US) and this purchase is more likely than not a one time purchase, the manufacturer is losing money because a.) you do not intend to continue to loyally purchase this product, rather, you bought it because you only had to pay 2.65 for 30 of them and b.) this product that you used 30 coupons for pretty much screwed 29 loyal or potential customers out of buying/sampling the product. So imagine how many potential life-long customer's this manufacturer would have had had these "29" other people been able to utilize the coupons you hoarded. We're talking thousands of dollars here. This can become quite frustrating for manufacturers as they are trying to survive in this tough economy as you are. If they keep losing money due to people abusing their gift of savings to customers, they will then have to raise the prices of their products which will avert MORE people away from purchasing it.This will then only domino as higher prices= less customers= less products being produced because they aren't being sold= employee layoff's to eventually the company closing it's doors. (Did I just blow this out of proportion, quite possibly, but I am a realist). You know what I mean? It's a rather simple request for Walgreen's to put their foot down on couponing, I would like to assume if you ran a business and you gave coupons in an attempt to attract more customer's you would not want someone coming in and buying 30 products from you and then walking out only paying 2.65, right? I would hope so....
This is not a matter of "first come, first serve". A customer of OURS should not have to set their alarm clock for 6 a.m. just to make it to OUR store to buy a much needed product out of fear that it will no longer be in stock because someone just bought all of them that morning. Okay? Our job at Walgreen's is to ensure that we have product available for our customers (and our store ALWAYS does, if we don't we get it). It is a matter of respect for one another.
So now you have been formally educated on the new Walgreen's coupon policy, as well as the financial effects couponing has on the business industry.
And on that note, thank you for shopping at Walgreen's, have a nice day, and be well. :)
I think it stinks! In my household there are my husband and myself, our 6 sons aged 11-21 and my 2 parents. Thats 4 adults and 6 kids. Actually my 21 and my 18 year old are adults now so imagine that and imagine how much of that 99 cent DAWN I go through in a week. There are 10 of us in this house and I cook for 10 people to have seconds at almost every meal 3 times a day. I essentially cook for 10 EVERY SINGLE DAY. If someone told me that I couldnt go and buy all the 99 cent DAWN i wanted, Id have a cow. NO ONE not even a WALGREENS Cashier gets to accuse me of hoading coupons when I buy them and print them off of the internet. Its not my fault if someone cant make it to Wags and get the deals I get because they sleep until noon on Sunday and Im up at 7 because I go to 8am mass and get out at 9 and Im at Wags by 9:15. They are there to sell product-THAT IS STRICTLY WHAT WALGREENS IS THERE FOR! and if they cant keep up they need to order more stock and start offering rainchecks. Thats MY honest opinion.
ReplyDeleteMy Daughter works for Walgreen's. And she explained it to me like this......if you come into the store and purchase 30 bottles of Dawn using coupons, the manufacturer is only going to honor 2 or 3 of them as they say normal household use therefore Walgreen's loses around $26 that's just on your purchase. Now what if 50, 60, 200 or more customers do the same imagine how much of a loss Walgreen's has to take! Now the average family consists of a Father, Mother and 2 to 3 children and yes now more and more we are seeing families taking care of their elderly which is great......but it is not Walgreen's fault if for whatever reason you decided to have a huge family!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen a store sends their big bundle of coupons to a processing center there is no way that the manufacturer knows whether those coupons came from one customer or a hundred customers. I don't buy that as an excuse. I see the big advertised sales with low stock as just a way to get the customer in the door at Walgreen so that they might buy a replacement product at full price and potentially other full price items in addition.
DeleteWalgreens, at least our store, is known for not having much of a stock. I have complained and complained here as to why it is that I have to shop on Sunday in order to get the good deals. (And sometimes even after church is too late!)
ReplyDeleteThe manager gives me the same story every time---that they aren't in charge of how much they get, corporate sends their stock.
I'm not one who does multiples often, and especially not now that I lost my source for extra Sunday papers free. I'm all for the manager's putting a limit!
At one point there were signs all over that the RR deals could only be done once per day per FAMILY. I liked that as well.