Walgreens has always been my pharmacy of choice. It was cleaner, better laid out and just plain nicer than the dingy Duane Reade and CVS stores of the city (prior to all the recent renovations - now our local Duane Reade looks quite spiffy). And not only that, they had the awesome Easy Saver Rebates. (RIP Easy Saver Rebates.) I picked up so many toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and shampoos from the free rebates.
I know what you're thinking - what incentive did they have to continue that program if it's basically giving the store away for free? Well, in my opinion, the manufacturers had an incentive. There were some products like Crest Pro-Health Rinse that I tried from the rebate and then bought (with REAL money and in BULK) after trying it. And for the store, it created loyalty. I loved it. I always went to Walgreens unless I had no choice (i.e., before the Walgreens opened up in Times Square).
I was really missing the Easy Saver Rebates and the ability to try new things without risk when I saw the Black Friday ad mentioning Jingle Cash. Sounded like the gift card option from the old rebates. I was all over that. I picked up lots of stuff and was excited to try them out.
I never noticed the expiration dates on the Jingle Cash coupons until I looked this morning. And I don't remember them talking about the short expiration dates (a mere 2 weeks from purchase) or all the restrictions on the coupons in the ad. It probably said some vague BS like "some restrictions may apply" but you wouldn't know what the restrictions were until you already purchased the product and got the coupon. At least I don't remember seeing anything (and if it was all there, then my mistake for not noticing during the Thanksgiving frenzy or the bleary eyed Black Friday morning.
Knowing the expiration dates now, I took Jingle Cash coupons to work with me intending to stop by the store to pick up cough drops, coldeeze and maybe some candy. I had $6 to work with. And then I started reading the fine print. And then I went to the store and had hassle after hassle (I feel bad for the poor worker constantly voiding the items every time I had to go back to change something).
Here's what happened. I found that Walgreens brand cough drops were 2 for $3. Halls were $3.19. The Walgreens ones would give me a whopping 80 cough drops to the Halls 25. Well, easy choice, right?
Not really. Here's what I learned about Jingle Cash:
(1) It expires quickly. See above. 2 weeks at a very busy time of year for many people?
(2) Your total number of coupons (Jingle Cash + manufacturers coupons, not that I had any) must be equal to or less than the number of products you are buying. Therefore, you can't use 2 coupons to buy one bag of Coldeeze. Annoying since I really thought Jingle Cash was just that... cash, but it's not.
(3) Individual coupons have different restrictions so you have to read the fine print on every single one. For example, paraphrased, "Thanks for buying a P&G product! This Jingle Cash coupon can't be used on P&G products." WTF? You reward me for wanting your product by telling me if I want to buy another one I can't use the coupon, but if I buy your competitor's brand, I can? How is that helping you P&G?
(4) Coupon must be less than the amount purchased, NOT less than or equal to the amount purchased,. For example, my cough drops, nope, can't use the coupon, because they're not $3.01.
I've already ranted on Twitter but you can only say so much in 140 characters.
So, no Walgreens brand cough drops.
And on top of the entire debacle, the cough drops which were $3.19 per the tag rang up at $3.49. I know it's 30 cents but after everything that happened, 30 cents annoyed me. For 30 cents I could almost buy that pack of tissues downstairs (I think she said it's 32 cents). I'm not just giving the store 30 cents for nothing when I'm frustrated. Especially when I knew FOR SURE after examining the tags for an extended period of time and comparing prices that it was not $3.49 and that it was $3.19. I went back to take a picture of it to prove it and ended up getting my cough drops for 19 cents. I bet next time the tags will be updated and it will cost $3.49.
All I wanted was a stupid bag of cough drops. So much hassle and wasted time over a bag of cough drops.
I'm never going through this again if I can help it. I'm going to use up the rest of my Jingle Cash coupons. Then I'm going to very critically look at every other promotion from Walgreens before doing it even if it looks like a good deal. Maybe I will stick to Rite Aid and their rebates instead since that's a check, except unfortunately people descend on our local Rite Aid like vultures for rebate items.
And as for regular shopping, I think I'll take advantage of my many scanner apps and figure out who has the best price. There's a million Duane Reade stores around here, some CVS, some Rite Aid. Instead of just blindly going to Walgreens because I love(d) Walgreens, I'm going to get the best deal instead.
I debated on posting this now or waiting until I used up my Jingle Cash, in case they ban me from the store because of it. But I decided to post it because I think it's a legitimate complaint and something people need to be aware of, since among people I know, I'm usually the one reading the fine print. A lot of people don't read the fine print. I think they need to know how the coupons work before they get to the store and try to use 3 coupons on something expensive and find out they can't. What a disappointment. But let that be the lesson: read the fine print... immediately. Caveat emptor.
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