By Angela Hresan-Henley Many of you have written to me about having “issues” redeeming internet coupons. Some store policies include NOT accepting them. I have been fortunate to have had success in redeeming my coupons locally but I want to give you some HELP for those that cannnot. SOME STORES do not accept ANY coupons other than their own. the list of stores that do not accept them in my area that I wish they did are BIG LOTS SAMS CLUB SALVAGE BARN *********they opt out because it would take employee hours to sort and send them in, plus coupon fraud etc they state that they do not make enough profit to warrent this……. I do not shop at these stores often because of this for groceries and health & beauty products, I can get a better deal else-where on most items! These stores are not WRONG for what they do, just are not condusive to my needs. There is such thing as COUPON FRAUD and some stores are saying they are not accepting internet coupons due to this. There are articles on the net about this situation and one site that sends letters to the stores asking them NOT to accept the coupons from the net. The following is an article about WHY stores choose not to accept internet coupons http://www.ag.state.ar.us/consumer/ca199.htm The following article talks about the MONEY LOST per year due to ALL COUPON FRAUD http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/feb03/121476.asp The following url is an info site about Coupons & Coupon Fraud, they prosecute people who misuse and abuse coupons……. they ALSO send out faxes to store headquarters about Internet Coupon issues. http://www.cents-off.com/faq.htm NOW YOU CAN SEE WHY THIS IS A CONCERN FOR COMPANIES and WHY some are choosing NOT to be involved! Coupon FRAUD is not limited to INTERNET but is ACROSS THE BOARD! ALL of the coupon activity is open to the ABUSE that occurs, THIS IS WHY FREELANCEBYU.COM ACTIVILY FIGHTS and TALKS AGAINST abuse and misuse of offers by companies, WE WANT THE SAVINGS TO CONTINUE AND BE HELPFUL not hurtful to the companies! NOW THAT WE KNOW WHY, lets work on how we can CHANGE THAT! HERE is a recent article about coupon usage and the GROWING USE OF INTERNET COUPONS! “COUPON CLICKERS” THIS IS ENCOURAGING! http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003631 There are MANY STORES (MOST OF THEM) that have their own WEBSITES (why? because they know that the internet is powerful and helpful to the consumers, CONSUMERS are what keeps them in business!) MY LOCAL GROCERY AND PROBABLY YOURS TOO…… At FOOD LION (my local) there is ADS on their RADIO in the store that tells the consumers to go to SMARTSOURCE.COM for coupons, in addition they send out THEIR OWN internet coupons! NOW if your store participates in these practices (advertising on the net, online newsletter, ads about online coupons coming from speakers in their stores etc etc) HOW CAN THEY NOT ACCEPT WHAT THEY ARE PART OF? KROGER & FRIENDS also have internet sites, and they also participate in UPONS (internet coupons) www.upons.com ALL of their stores are listed here, and SHOULD ACCEPT THE FORM OF ADVERTISING THAT THEY, THEMSELVES pay to promote! MOST of the larger companies utilize the growing internet coupon resources to cut their own expenses! AFTER ALL they are providing the savings, but NOT PAYING for printing, paper and distribution! THIS IS A GREAT SAVINGS TO THEM when we print out our own coupons and seek them on the net, so this is the WAVE OF THE FUTURE, WHY SHOULDNT IT BE, same results , same savings to the consumer, LESS COST to the manufacturer! NOW……………… HERE IS A STORE NOT IN MY AREA THAT IS ROCKING WITH COUPONS ON THE CUTTING EDGE! YEA BABY! http://www.morningnewsbeat.com/archives/2002/10/25.html PublixDirect To Begin Accepting Coupons PublixDirect, the online arm of Publix Super Markets, announced that it will begin accepting manufacturer coupons from consumers shopping over the Internet. The service, which launched in 2001 and says it has now made 200,000 deliveries, said it was responding to consumer demand in making the change. It had hoped to wait to accept coupons until online coupons became a currency of choice, but consumers forced the retailers hand. PublixDirect personnel collect the coupons while making deliveries, with the value credited to their account for their next online purchase. KC’s View: Granted, taking paper coupons at this point in the development of e-grocery services can be cumbersome. Lets call it what it is: a pain in theneck. But it seems to us that to not accept coupons is to make a strategic error, because it creates a differential disadvantage for such services. The whole point of online grocery shopping, it seems to us, is not to separate it from the brick-and-mortar experience, but rather to make it just another avenue through which to do regular shopping. It works when it is considered mainstream and integrated, not when it is separated by different policies. DO A SEARCH for your local store (use one of the contest search engines when you do, who knows maybe you will win something while doing your research, check out the WINNING section of our FORUM and you will see that I have won LOTZ from using this method! YESTERDAY I won $35 in Gift Certificates doing this!) put in your store name that does not accept internet coupons if you chose WALMART you will see that they do not run weekly ads on the internet for groceries that I can find and have a policy NOT to take internet coupons, I am not sure there is anything we can do about WALMART (it is non-union and appears to have pull in many ways, including the ability to be successful JUST BECAUSE and not because it offers excellent customer service or the best prices) the best thing that walmart does is MEET COMPETITORS PRICING so that you can get all of the sale prices in one place, but the aggrevation of dealing with walmart is not worth it to me. IF THIS IS THE ONLY LOCAL STORE YOU HAVE GO FOR IT……. otherwise my suggestion is CHOOSE ANOTHER STORE! NOW that you have found your store ONLINE and their weekly ads etc, find out their WRITTEN POLICY ABOUT COUPONS, does it specifically say NO INTERNET COUPONS? DO THEY SEND OUT INTERNET COUPONS THEMSELVES? DO they allow advertisers to talk about their internet coupons ? BETTY CROCKER, PILLSBURY, SMARTSOURCE, UPONS etc………. if they do this needs to be brought to their attention! NOW! I have included all of my stores that accept internet coupons without question and a copy of the inquiry I sent the ONLY time I have had issue with internet coupons and the POSITIVE response I rec’vd as well. I have also written and included a more updated FORM LETTER that you can feel free to use below it…………please change the XXXXXX’S to reflect your own personal information when using this letter……….hopefully this letter will be effective and will help change the companies mind about their current policies……if not, what did it hurt to try? FEEL FREE to use any of the resources I have mentioned ANYWHERE in this letter in your own letter as well….. my form letter is just an EXAMPLE ………. YOU CAN WRITE YOUR OWN! HERE ARE THE STORES IN MY LOCAL AREA THAT HAVE ACCEPTED INTERNET COUPONS from me: Dollar General IGA Food Lion Walgreens CVS Kroger Rite Aid Eckerds Ukrops I have had one issue with denial of a coupon at DOLLAR GENERAL, a quick note to the company confirms they DO accept the coupons and they would “fix” the issue. Here is the corrospondance: MY LETTER TO DOLLAR GENERAL CUSTOMER SERVICE was sent through PLANET FEEDBACK http://www.planetfeedback.com I sent my daughter to the store with $1.00 coupon that was sent to me by GENERAL MILLS via email for their LUCKY CHARMS cereal… she attempted to use it at your store and was told that they could not accept coupons that were printed out as it appeared “copied” this coupon was completely valid and SCANNED just fine on your register. My daughter was HORRIFIED and EMBARRASSED by this experience. We frequently shop at your store because ofconvenience (area wise) even though we would prefer a credit card accepting store which is just a few minutes down the road that I redeemed this VERY SAME COUPON with the same day , with a SMILE AND A THANK YOU! with the growing use of internet service around the globe you would think that most stores would rise to the growing technology and accept VALID MANUFACTURER COUPONS from the internet. If this is not rectified my family will not mind a bit going 2 more minutes away from home to spend our dollars. THEIR RESPONSE: Thank you for your e-mail. At Dollar General, we place a premium on customer service. Please be assured that the situation in Powhatan will be immediately investigated and addressed. Your e-mail has provided us with an opportunity to adhere to our mission - serving others - and we sincerely appreciate that. We apologize for how this experience made you feel and welcome any opportunity we have to serve you in the future. You are a valued customer here at Dollar General. WE DO ACCEPT COUPONS, INCLUDING INTERNET COUPONS and the problem will be addressed immediately Kind regards, Crystal Cantrell Customer Correspondence Representative, Customer Relations FORM LETTER ***I have had success using www.planetfeedback.com and do suggest you use that venue to make sure that the letter goes to the RIGHT PERSON and is getting viewed PUBLICLY …… TO: XYZ GROCERY OR DRUGSTORE FROM: YOU THE CONSUMER I have been a customer of yours for (XXXX amount of time) and like your store for the following reasons XXXXX YYYYY ZZZZZZ I have recently visited your store, to buy several items and this included XXXXXX product. I presented the cashier with a coupon for this proudct from XXXXX manufacturor who in good faith is promoting their products on the internet and offering a savings to their loyal internet consumers. THIS WAS MY EXPERIENCE: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX THE INTERNET and PROMOTIONS on the internet are the wave of the present and the future. It is shocking that a company such as yours, believes in the power of the internet, which is evident in your own use of this tool, yet does not allow me to take advantage of its resources! here is your own internet site www.XXXXX.com (example www.foodlion.com) here is your own use of internet coupons www.XXXXX.com (example: www.upons.com ) here is an example of a product you promote that offers online coupons www.XXXXX.com (example bettycrocker.com) With the growing use of the internet (almost everyone these days has online access) it is surprising and disappointing that I was denied this right to use these savings in your store from LEGITIMATE RESOURCES! I understand that you may be concerned about “fraud” with this type of coupon, but did you know that there is fraud with all types of coupons, not just the internet coupon? Are you aware that fraud occurs in every company and that you can deduct your losses from your gains on your taxes? AND I BELIEVE that if you accept ALL coupons your gains will INCREASE because you will have more customers ! READ THIS ARTICLE FOR REFERENCE http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?1003631 THANK YOU for reading my letter, it is my hope that you will DISCONTINUE this practice which is both ARCHAIC and DISAPPOINTING to the TECHY SAVVY SHOPPERS That would love to continue being your customer if this change occurs! PLEASE KEEP MY INFORMATION and LET ME KNOW when and if you are changing your policy to reflect the wave of the FUTURE and ENCOURAGING internet customers to frequent your stores. SINCERELY XXXXXXX (your name) XXXXX@EMAIL.com (your email address) XXXXX *PHONE # XXXXXXXXXX (ADDRESS) XXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Learn to Live Lavishly For Less without compromising your Lifestyle with SAVINGS SPECIALIST, ANGELA HRESAN-HENLEY featured on the TODAY SHOW and Many National Publications http://www.freelancebyu.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Angela_Hresan-Henley http://EzineArticles.com/?Redemption-of-Online/Internet-Coupons-at-Your-Local-Stores&id=85003
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