Crazy Target Trip, $11.09 Money Maker

Word is that the deal is being honored, as stated in the ad! :)

Disclaimer: This will likely be a DEAD DEAL and/or sold out at any moment (if not already)!

Drama at Target today!  Target's ad advertises a FREE $5 gift card when you buy any oral care item pictured.  The picture included 3 packs of Crest toothpaste and 4 packs of Oral B.  The items are $5.99 each and we have $1/1 coupons, so these items would net FREE.  I got my butt up early and ran to Target!  I got there about 5 minutes after they opened and the oral care aisle was packed.  Someone had grabbed the few packs of toothbrushes available and 3-packs of Crest were nowhere to be found.  There was an employee doing some stocking and he had no idea if they had any.

I decided to run over to customer service.  The customer service lady was clueless and called the manager.  Apparently the manager had already been attacked by others because it took her a good 10 minutes to come over.  They both tried calling around to find the items.  Finally, the manager figured out there 12 packs of the toothpaste in the store, but she had no idea where.  That's when I remembered the bulk area in the back of the store and asked if that might be there.  The CS lady seemed to have no idea what I was talking about.  Really?!?!  The manager called back, but I decided to run back myself.  I was so excited to find the items.  (NO thanks to the THREE employees.)  Seriously, a manager and a CS employee don't know their store?  Anyway...

I go to checkout and of course the gift cards are not prompting.  It appears this is a typo because it prompts after 3 items.  A lady the next aisle over had gotten her items because the manager okayed it.  Of course my cashier is saying it has to be a mistake, blah, blah, blah.  The manager called to make sure there had not been an urgent message from corporate saying it was misprint.  There had not, so finally I got my items (as did some others waiting.)

In all the craziness, the manager and cashier working on my order seemed to have only rang up 9 items.  I don't even feel bad with the lack of customer service and complete attitude I was given.  I'm happy with my money maker!  Here's what it looked like:

4 Crest 3-packs, $5.99 each
Used 4 $1/1 from 4/28 P&G
7 Oral-B 4-packs, $5.99 each
Used 4 $1/1 from 4/28 P&G
Used 3 $1/1 from 3/31 P&G
Subtotal: $43.91 (didn't ring 2 items), Total: $43.91...just noticed it says no tax.  Very weird.  Paid on gift cards.
Got back 11 $5 gift cards ($55)
$11.09 Money Maker

Jewel-Osco Shopping, $0.24 Money Maker

4 Covergirl Outlast, Clearance Priced $1.99 each
Used 4 $2.50/1 from 9/16 RP

2 Cottonelle Flushable Moist Wipes (42 ct), $2.39 each
National Catalina: Buy 2, Get $2 OYNO Catalina
Used 2 $1/1 Tear Pad coupons found at Kmart*

Subtotal: $.74, Total: $1.76
Got back $2 Catalina
Net Cost: $0.24 Money Maker

*The Cottonelle coupons said "Redeemable at Kmart."  It is Jewel-Osco's policy to accept coupons and Catalinas that have this wording.  They will NOT accept ones that say "Redeemable only at <another store>."  I had to go over to Customer Service and have them pull out their coupon policy to prove that this was the case.  If you encounter problems such as this, I recommend asking to see their coupon policy and reporting it on the Jewel-Osco Facebook wall.  You can read my latest rant on their wall here.

Major Thumbs Down for Staples Back to School Promotions for Teachers

So I wrote to Staples to share my disappointment with their new Back to School teacher promotions.  Below is their response which outlines how their new promotion works, compared with last year:

Hi Erin, I received your email regarding teacher pricing for our Back to School (BTS) season extreme
deals.

We believe that our country's teachers deserve the very best. While our BTS promotion for teachers
for 2012 will be different from last year?s, we will continue to support our educators by offering
exclusive savings opportunities as illustrated below.

Previous Teacher benefit (using a hypothetical purchase of twenty-five $1.00 folders on special for
$0.01, with a limit of three):

Teacher - can purchase 25 at $0.01 each for a total cost of $0.25.

Non-teacher - can purchase 3 at $0.01 each; an additional 22 would cost $1.00 each, for a total cost
of $22.03.

New Teacher Rewards benefit (using the same scenario):

Teacher - can purchase 3 at $0.01 each; an additional 22 would cost $1.00 each, for a total cost of
$22.03; teacher receives $22.03 back in Rewards for net cost of $0.00.

Non-teacher - can purchase 3 at $0.01 each; an additional 22 would cost $1.00 each, for a total cost
of $22.03.

Thank you for this opportunity to respond to your inquiry. I hope you will continue to look to
Staples with confidence and satisfaction for all of your office supply needs.

If you would like to contact one of our representatives, please reply to this email or call us at
the number listed below.

Cheryl
Staples Customer Service Supervisor

Am I reading this correctly?  Are they really trying to convince me that it's better to spend $22.03 out of pocket and file rebates than to just pay a quarter out of pocket?  Because really, as a teacher, I'm rolling in dough to spend that money out of pocket...and at back to school time, I'd rather fill out rebates than concentrate on creating a positive learning environment for my students.  (Sarcasm intended.)

Again, you can contact Staples here, if you are as displeased as I am with this new promotion.

Quiznos: Another Day, Another Rant

So last Thursday my boyfriend and I were hoping to use the the great Quiznos coupon I had posted about.  We popped by the Quiznos in Waukegan, IL at 8:30 pm, only to find it locked.  The hours on the door clearly said they were open until 9pm.  We saw an employee so my boyfriend knocked and the employee shooed us away!  Me being me, I called corporate.  They were apologetic, took my information, and said I should hear from the manager.  I asked how long it would take and was told usually 2-3 business days.

Fast forward to today, 8 days later.  I called corporate to follow up.  They sent another message to the store and said I should hear back within 2 business days.  Surprisingly the manager, "Steve," called me within a couple hours.  He apologized for the employee and said he gave him a "stern warning."  Ooooooh.

He went on to ask if I had ever been to his store before and that if I came in during the day when he was there, he would "take care of me."  I explained that I had been there once before with a Groupon and the employee had complained about how they were losing money with that deal.  He laughed and said yes they did.  He said Quiznos comes out with too many coupons and they lose money.

I explained that it really turned me off to be given a guilt trip to use a coupon.  He tried giving a sob story about how times are hard.  I told him then they shouldn't be locking the doors before closing time and turning customers away.

Again, he offered to "take care of me" personally if I came in during a day when he was there.  I questioned what that meant and he said "maybe (he) would give me a free drink or something."  I laughed and said no thanks, that I would write on my blog about his store and post on yelp and other review sites.  He then practically begged me to come in and told me how valuable my time was.  I told him that if he felt that way, he would have called me back the first time I called corporate instead of making me call a second time and be on hold for 23 minutes.  He kept pleading, but by then I'd had enough and told him no thanks and hung up.

Now, I don't want to give all Quiznos a bad name because I know they're franchise owned.  What have your experiences been?  Personally I won't be visiting any more, as this is the only once close to me.  Are there others still interested in their coupons?