WALGREENS CASH REWARDS Carthage Missouri

As a former manager for Walgreen's we absolutely HATED This program. Even when the customer did everything correctly they would not print about 35% of the time. The manager who said that nothing could be done if the machine would not print out the coupon is wrong. Simply re-ring the purchase, enter the total as cash and it will always print this way. You then need to void (total 34 enter) the sale. This was done at all the stores I was at as it is so problematic. Loss prevention can go F themselves if they have a problem with the voids. They could not figure their way out of a paper bag much less provide good customer service to customers.

There are 2 different kinds of register rewards, One is a store coupon. It says something like "$5 off your next purchase" and it has a green stamp saying "walgreens dollars" The other is a mfg. coupon. That says something like "$5 off you next purchase" But in small print in says "curiosity of Procter and Gamble", or what ever company is offering the coupon.

Now you can't use two mfg. coupons for the same item. Procter and gamble makes hundreds of products. So if you buy an item and use a coupon from the Sunday paper the try to use a register rewards from the same company, the computer won't take it. If your buying a product that is offering a register rewards and use another coupon for the same item, the computer will not print the register rewards. If you buy an item that is advertising a register rewards and it doesn't print for some reason or another, then the manger is supposed to print a form from store net and the customer is to send that in to the address listed with the receipt and they will send a coupon to them via mail.

Plus the number of register rewards you can use in one transaction can not exceed the number of items you purchase. So if you buy a $20 item you can't use 10 $1 off coupons (for example). And just to remark about re ringing the item and total 34 it just so the coupon can print, This will throw off your on hands and screw up your ordering for that particular item and cause shrink for the store. Now I have, in the past, to make the customer happy and save a lot of time and heartache, done a refund under a generic department like grocery, and given the customer a w card.

Excludes alcohol, postage stamps, tobacco, prescriptions, prescription copays, gift cards, pre-paid cards, transportation passes, charitable contributions and items prohibited by law. Purchase amount of $25 or more must be before taxes and after all manufacturer and Walgreens coupons and discounts. Limit one coupon per customer per offer. Cash value 1/100¢. No cash back.

Those are the rules of the program.

You MUST be over 25$ before tax and after all manufacturer and walgreen's coupons and discounts.

Seems pretty simple to me. I am betting with all your coupons and manipulation of the total you are breaking one of the above restrictions.

I am not management at Walgreens, but I do work for our local store and am very familiar with the RR program.

First off, there are a LOT of misconceptions about what they are and how they work. Walgreens is not the 'owner' of the RRs, they are a manufacture's coupon that can be used just like cash for just about anything in the store. There are restrictions, look on the front of the RR coupon to see them listed. For example, in our state they can't be used for tobacco products of any kind (including stop-smoking aids), postage stamps, prescription co-pays, or gift / phone cards. In some states, you can't use them on dairy products, but that isn't so here in Oklahoma. One thing you CAN use them on, but really don't WANT to, is on the same item (or group of items) that brought you the RR in the first place. This is because of the "limit 1 coupon per transaction" clause, which is listed in fine print in the ad -- generally just under where the RR savings box is printed. Basically, for example, the maker of Tide doesn't want to give you a RR when you buy Tide, then allow you to use it to buy ANOTHER bottle of Tide, and so on. However, you CAN use a Manufacturer's coupon (MQ) for the bottle of Tide and receive a RR to use on your next purchase of something OTHER than the Tide in the ad. You are only allowed to use one MQ per item, any more than that it is fraud. You may use a store coupon (starts with all zeros in the upc) and a MQ on the same item, as well as use 2 coupons on a BOGO deal -- provided you have picked up 2 items IN the BOGO category. If you want to use a RR and a MQ from the same company (not the same product that is printing out the RR for purchase), you MUST have another 'filler' item, something to make sure that the 'one coupon per item' limit is being adhered to. This may sound confusing, but it is legal. Basically, the RR is a form of 'cash' the Manufacturer is giving to you, in the form of a coupon. They are 'paying' you to try their product, sort of an 'instant rebate', you might say. Another glitch ppl run into is this: if the cost of the items (before tax) goes into the negative, the coupons will not be accepted by the registers. It can go to Zero, but it cannot go 'negative'. The states demand their taxes for goods sold, folks -- nothing we can do about it, except (maybe) at the polls. Another thing, you CAN use more than one RR in a transaction, as long as the '1 coupon per item' rule is being followed, and it (once again) doesn't dip into the tax amt.

I have had to personally explain to my some of my own mgrs and fellow cashiers what the RR program does / does not allow you to do, as well as how MQs work. I've also made it a sort of 'mission' of mine to educate our shoppers on how to effectively shop Walgreens using RRs, MQs, BOGOs, store specials, clearance items, etc. Please, don't let a bad experience sour you from being able to take advantage of the great savings Walgreens can offer you in this tight economy.

PS -- just for the record, in my own PERSONAL shopping at our local Walgreens, I bring over $1,000 to the store every month in coupons, RRs and cash out-of-pocket -- which, since Walgreens is reimbursed by the Manufacturers for every coupon I use, amounts to a LOT of business from one single individual -- but that's also why I know how the RRs and MQs work.

Let me start off by apologizing that you had a problem at a Walgreens' location. I am afraid that at times the Register Rewards program can be confusing, as there are indeed a few stipulations:

1) You cannot use the R/R for any items explicitly excluded on the coupon.

2) While a R/R may be used for the same manufacturer for which the R/R was printed, a new R/R normally does not print out.

3) The total number of manufacturer coupons/register rewards cannot exceed the total number of items purchased. Many customers are able to bypass this by picking up a candy bar or another small item.

4) Register Rewards items, if used as stated above work about 90-95% of the time. For the other 5-10%, a manager should review the receipt, make a determination on whether or not a coupon should have been printed, and if so, then finding a solution that is both fair to the customer and does not break Walgreens' contractual obligations to the manufacturers supporting these programs.

5) If a Register Rewards item is returned, the coupon must be returned as well.

The $5 off $25 program is a similar yet different program that runs occasionally. As another poster has stated, the transaction must be at $25 or more after ALL coupons, discounts, etc.

Hopefully this clears up any questions, and if employees are not following this protocol I apologize.

Cheers,
-Chris in Portland