While we can all agree that Crest does have really great pricing I came across something very disturbing on my visit to one of their stores yesterday. Upon checkout, my cashier had an issue with one of the coupons I was using. Keep in mind that most of the coupons I get are printed from places like direct merchandisers and coupon sites like CoolSavings.
The assistant manager came over to help and to the surprise of the cashier that was helping me as well as those cashiers around her, we were all informed that Crest is NO LONGER ACCEPTING PRINTED COUPONS!!
He said that he found out a couple of weeks ago from another manager!
Odd how no one chose to communicate this to their cashiers nor is anything posted anywhere in the store or front of the store that due to fraud, they were no longer accepting printed coupons.
I talked to the same assistant manager in the parking lot as well as filling out a comments card. I told him that he needed to talk to his direct manager and tell them they need to post on their doors they are no longer accepting these forms of coupons. And that they definitely need to tell their cashiers as well. I told him that where I completely understood about them not accepting the coupons that it is a BIG disservice to their customers not to let them know.
I used to do most of my shopping at Wal-Mart until Crest moved into our neighborhood(Rockwell & Hefner), I generally spend between 150 to 200 every 2 weeks - big family. Well I have to say, guess I am going to be going back to Wal-Mart because they always accept my coupons and I have never had any problem there.
My coupons are legit, they are colored and they are not duplicated. Besides, if you read a coupon, the stores that honor them make money...anywhere between 5 to 10 cents per coupon honored plus the reinbursement of the discount.
Here's to going back to WalMart to save money!!

Fraud??

I hardly think so. For fraud to occur, you need to have actually bought the stuff thinking that the coupons were being honored. That didn't happen.

Poor business practice? Yep. Fraud? Nope.

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It's a friendlier OKCTalk!

Apparently they have had customers that duplicate the coupons. I informed the assistant mgr that most of the sites that you print coupons from do not let you print them more than 3 times. They simply won't let you. Sounds like someone was putting their copy machine to work to duplicate coupons...who knows. Its pretty sad though because over the last couple of days I have had coupons sent to me via email from companies themselves, like Splenda, Purina and Pedigree to name a few. And now there are stores out there that won't accept them!
I just checked one of the coupons I printed and the companies give the stores not only the face value of the coupon but 8 cents on top of that. Doesnt sound like much but we all know it adds up!

I quit doing business with Crest years ago, for their poor business practices as well as the way they treat their employees.

Albertson's accepts all printed coupons and they are becoming competitve with Walmart on prices - at least in MWC!

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Unions - the folks who brought you weekends!
Proud Army Mom

Their business practices aren't any worse than Wal-Mart's, and there are some of us in the world that actually aren't wealthy and cannot afford to shop at places like Albertsons. And even when I am wealthy enough in the next few years, I'm not ignorant enough to pay higher prices for the same thing I can get for less at Crest.

On the topic of coupons, I can see where Crest is coming from. How can you differentiate a printed coupon from a photocopied frauded coupon? Answer: you can't. They have to protect their own interests.

I praise Crest for their great customer service. One of the few places I know where I never have to wait in a line, and I always get great customer service.

You can say they treat their employees bad, but I disagree. I think they just want their customers to give an honest hour of work, and treat their customers with the respect and courtesy that anyone would want. They have high standards for the customer service they offer. And actually, they pay their employees better than Albertson's does, so I guess they're not too bad of a corporation.

Problem is, if the coupon is a fraud, they aren't making any money off of it. And when a coupon is printed on a sheet of paper, you can't really tell whether it's legit or simply a photocopy. And color doesn't matter. Take any MFG coupon from the paper up to Kinkos and they can take care of that for you.

I think Crest may have also seen some altered coupons that gave the customer more money off then what the company had agreed to give. With the right software I can turn a 35 cent coupon in to a 75 cent coupon. If a coupon says a dollar off of two packages, I can change it to a dollar off one item.

Most people have access to printing software that can do some pretty amazing things. That is why the Treasury Department has changed almost every piece of paper currency. The trained eye can catch the fraudulent coupons. The 16 year old cashier is not going to look for a fraudulent coupon. They will more than likely key it in and go about there business. They probably took a significant loss so that is why they stopped.

Banning the coupons tells me they are making additional efforts to keep the prices low. They could continue to accept the coupons but, that would mean raising prices to cover the loss.

Crest is business just like any other grocery store, the goal is to make money not give it away. If you want to be upset with someone blame the coupon provider.

Wealthy or ignorant???
Neither, but if you read my entire post, you will see that I wrote that Albertson prices have been reduced and they are becoming competitive with Walmart. (I'm disappointed that you choose to lower yourself to name-calling, Patrick - its not like you:respect: )

Maybe Crest has great customer service where you shop, but not in MWC.

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Unions - the folks who brought you weekends!
Proud Army Mom

First of all, sorry if you took me that way. I didn't call you a name, but I can see how you could take the statement I made as directed towards you, when I meant it to be more of a general statement.

Do I think it's ignorant to pay more for something when you can get it for less? Yes and no. You probably have a valid reason for paying more to shop at Albertsons, like you like the shopping environment better, or they accept your coupons, or it's closer to you, or whatever. What's ignorant is when people are clueless about price differences and have absolutely no idea how to be fiscally responsible.

I myself avoid Wal-Mart too. But, I think my reason is valid. Everytime I leave Wal-Mart, my blood pressure is raging, I'm stressed out, I have a migraine, etc. Seriously, I think I can add a few months to my life avoiding that place.

One thing I will say though....if you think Albertson's prices are anywhere close to Wal-Mart's, you're sadly mistaken. Yes, they do have reduced prices in their ads, but it's generally known that Albertsons is typically 33%-50% higher than Wal-Mart on prices. Homeland is in the same league.
Buy For Less is a step below directly competing with Target, and Crest has positioned itself to directly compete with Wal-Mart's prices.