[mbatusic]

I just started shopping at Walgreens (this is my second week to try it). So far I've gotten some pretty amazing deals even though I messed up a few times and my $10/$40 plan didn't work out this week. But today I got bombarded by two assistant managers and the cashiers for trying to fix a $5 coupon that they had missed on my purchase. It took over 20 minutes to fix (with my husband and two babies sitting in the car waiting on me) and they lectured me on using coupons the whole time even though I had used them correctly. (They tried to say the coupons from the Easy Saver catalog were manufactor coupons and I can't use them) And then they didn't even apologize for it taking so long or say "Have a nice day" or anything. So I'm trying to decide if the hassle is worth the amazing deals. For you ladies that have been doing this longer than me - is it worth it?

[therbel]

I think it is worth it..... These mishaps only occur occasionally!!!! Keep going.... It gets easier!
Some days are a cake walk, while others you need a drink by the time you leave the store!!!!
Don't give up!!

[Mom2ThreeLovesCVS]

Ditto on what Therbel said!

The hard part is that you never really know what sort of day it'll be when you go out! All in all it's worth it for me, for every bad trip I have, I have at least 10 good ones.

Stick with it, it only seems to get better!

[mbatusic]

Thanks. I would hate to miss all the free stuff... LOL I'm a bit addicted to it

Originally Posted by therbel

I think it is worth it..... These mishaps only occur occasionally!!!! Keep going.... It gets easier!
Some days are a cake walk, while others you need a drink by the time you leave the store!!!!
Don't give up!!

[mbatusic]

Maybe they'll be nice to me the next 10 times or so then. That would make up for it! Thanks!

Originally Posted by Mom2ThreeLovesCVS

Ditto on what Therbel said!

The hard part is that you never really know what sort of day it'll be when you go out! All in all it's worth it for me, for every bad trip I have, I have at least 10 good ones.

Stick with it, it only seems to get better!

[therbel]

Don't let one jerky cashier stand in the way of your addiction!!!!

[joshmamabear]

here's my opinion on issues involving deals, not just at WAG, which don't work as I planned.

I step back and ask myself, are these items "must have" for now? if YES, then I try again another store. if NO, I don't do it. I choose my battles, even calling/writing corporate takes time and energy, do I want to waste my time doing it and miss on doing other productive stuff? if not, I choose other options.

I weigh the situation(s) if its worth twisting my undies and ruining my day for something we don't really need. Do we need all the shampoo/conditioner/deodorant/haircolor/bodywash/whathaveyou when we have at least 2 yrs supply of these? is it worth the risk to be embarrassed in public for things I plan to donate to different organizations? when I ask these questions and answer them truthfully, I get right back on track.

We have different circumstances, we just have to do what is best for us.

[stefani1]

Sometimes it's worth it and sometimes its not. If I'm buying stuff I really need then it's always worth it!! I know I'm not doing anything wrong and I don't care how long it takes for them to fix it!! Other times when I'm just trying to get a great free deal but it's stuff that I could really care less about, then the hassle isn't worth it and I've walked out with my Q's and without my stuff before. i know a lot of people who just say forget it, give me back my Q's and take off. Depends on a lot of different factors. I would say that 85% of the time its worth it. I really could care less what anyone thinks of me, so that's never my issue, I just hate when they act like I'm doing something wrong or illegal and I feel like I have to "prove" that I'm not. I'm starting to learn to just keep my mouth shut more and let them say whatever they want. As long as I walk out with the things I want at the price I know I should be paying (or not paying) then I've had a good day!!! Keep it up - I started in May and it's gotten easier for me.

[jmarshall]

I agree with all the others. Plus I just started shopping at WAGS about 4 months ago. After 63 pack of diapers, 10 boxes of Cheese Its, 5 boxes of Rice Crispy snacks, 5 boxes of Nutigran bars, razors, 3 tubes of toothpaste, 60 bottles of Gatorade, 4 tubes of face wash, 10 bottles of men’s body wash, 6 packs of panty lines, 4 packs of tampons, 8 deodorants, 20 boxes of Zantac, 3 different packs of baby flash cards, 6 bottles of hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, 3 bottles of Soft Scrub ALL FOR FREE (I am sure I am missing things.), I think it is very worth it.

But I have learned to leave DH and DS at home. Every time I bring DH with me, I end up having issues with coupons.

[Mom2ThreeLovesCVS]

Oh, and another thing that seems to help push them to move a bit faster when something doesn't work right...

I shop with my 3 children, I think they realize that the slower they move, the longer my 3 noisy kids are in the store!

[fluffkin79]

It is worth it.

I have had bad expiences and good ones. I got rudely accused of fraud as they were "pushing the coupons through, but only this time". Fraud? Pushing? I was using legitimate coupons legitimately. And if they had to "push them though", why didn't regisiter beep? And why would they allow me to commit fraud anyways, even just this one time? Sigh. Unfortunatly that was my favorite store. As much as I wanted to crawl in a hole and never come back I stood my ground, held my head high (I hope) and went back the next week. It seems like the same nasty cashier has been there everytime since. She seems to be everywere I go and is at whichever register I check out at. I haven't tried anything complicated there since then. I smile and give her easy coupons like $1 off a $3 product, nothing that could look remotely suspicious. I think she is finally losing interest in me.

I have a new favorite store now. And I know 3 awesome cashiers that will cheer me on. I am always on the lookout for them. It is so much nicer to check out with a happy cashier than suspicious one.

[lifeworthliving]

Funny you would ask that! I feel the same way! And then I have 5 amazing trips that remove that bad one. Keep your head high and keep on going. It won't always be easy, you will leave at times with nothing. Not because you messed up, sometimes you will run in to 'them' that will make it to hard. So just get your Q's and leave. Stand up for whats right, always be honest. And you will get the best deals out there.

[fluffkin79]

Originally Posted by Mom2ThreeLovesCVS

Oh, and another thing that seems to help push them to move a bit faster when something doesn't work right...

I shop with my 3 children, I think they realize that the slower they move, the longer my 3 noisy kids are in the store!

LOL been there, done that!

I try to not take my kids shopping, especially at Walgreens. It gets complicated enough without them! There have been a couple occasions when I have quit trying to control the kids in the checkout lane. They weren't being THAT naughty. I mean they were having a sword fight with toy swords, it's not like they were using something breakable! Honestly, I would rather have to pay for the possible broken foam toy than threaten, bribe, or restrain my kids for 20 minutes while they try to figure out how to do their jobs. And I get to leave with happier kids.

[mbpnursy]

Originally Posted by jmarshall

I agree with all the others. Plus I just started shopping at WAGS about 4 months ago. After 63 pack of diapers, 10 boxes of Cheese Its, 5 boxes of Rice Crispy snacks, 5 boxes of Nutigran bars, razors, 3 tubes of toothpaste, 60 bottles of Gatorade, 4 tubes of face wash, 10 bottles of men’s body wash, 6 packs of panty lines, 4 packs of tampons, 8 deodorants, 20 boxes of Zantac, 3 different packs of baby flash cards, 6 bottles of hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, 3 bottles of Soft Scrub ALL FOR FREE (I am sure I am missing things.), I think it is very worth it.

But I have learned to leave DH and DS at home. Every time I bring DH with me, I end up having issues with coupons.

OK, Now what was the TOTAL AMOUNT of Money saved on all these FAR products? That is the Bottom Line to me, ladies. I keep track of the price of sale items versus the original price, if I used a q w a sale item, just a sale item alone, or just used qs. I'll add up the $ amount of qs off the receipt then look @ an item's reg price & subtract the sale price to get the difference I saved. The difference, along w the total amount of coupon values, are added together & put into Excel for that day of the mth., along w the store name. I am slow @ getting June, July & now August done, but as of June 1st, I have saved a little over $3,000. This is for ALL stores: Target, Shopko, WalMart, Walgreens, Super One, Econo Foods & our little market, the Chatham Co-op.

[joshmamabear]

^^ I wish I can do it like that. I have not kept track of all savings but I just know I have shopped zero OOP for over a year now at WAG just paying with coupons, RRs, and the balance paid via WAG GC. I converted all my RRs into GCs when they still allowed them. I only spend these GCs when I have no balance left on my ES rebate GC and there are hot deals generating more RRs.

as to the FAR items, if its like Colgate TP, Crest TP, Revlon foundation, nailpolish, shampoo/conditioner or other stuff I can get free instantly or get paid to buy them, I don't let my GC money sit on these items UNLESS I need them as fillers when x/xx WAGc comes up. that's the only time I buy them. aside from using coupons to buy them, they're way better than free because of the add'l WAG x/xx money added. I'm now selective of FAR items, I'm at the stage where I can say pass even if they're free.

[NJMom]

I figure I win some, I lose some. If at first you don't succeed, try again (possibly somewhere else). Yes, there are days when it is so frustrating, but don't let it get to you. Most trips work out wonderfully and those are the trips to focus on!

[mbpnursy]

Originally Posted by NJMom

I figure I win some, I lose some. If at first you don't succeed, try again (possibly somewhere else). Yes, there are days when it is so frustrating, but don't let it get to you. Most trips work out wonderfully and those are the trips to focus on!

& congratulations for those of you that have more than 1 Wags close by to go to. I applaud your efforts.

[myoung]

I've been going to wags so long now, I know which stores/employees to avoid and which ones do a great job and are friendly, so I just go to those. Give it more time, you'll soon make "friends" with the cashiers.

[KeizerMom]

I started in July and earned a whopping $4.40 - I've done enough of an "initial investment" in just July/August to be able to get all the Sept FARs with my GC and keep rolling, getting free stuff each month.

I tried to turn WAGS into a mini-math lesson for my daughter the other day, and this is how I explained it....

Say you started in January of a year with $100 that you spent on FARs....

Feb you'd have $110
March you'd have $121
April you'd have $133.1.....

and on, until December when you'd have roughly $285 on your GC that you could, as I'd love to do, spend $195 on Christmas presents that WAGS just "bought" for your kids and "reinvest" another $90 so that you'll have $99 in Jan and start all over. OR you could just keep rolling, and you'd have over $300 the following Jan. - but I highly doubt you'll ever have $300 worth of FARs to spend it on.

Keep in mind that in addition to the $200'ish in $$$ to spend on Christmas you'll also have all kinds of FREE stuff, for, you know, personal use, gift baskets, donations, etc.

Like I said, I'm still wet behind the ears on this, but so far I've collected free shampoo, light bulbs, water filter, vitamins, storage bags, make-up, toothpaste.

What bank gives 10% interest every month on an "investment" of $100? If you know of one, please let me know too! What bank ALSO gives you free toothpaste/shampoo/medicine every month?

That's JUST doing FARs, your savings on all the other stuff? You're looking at saving easily $1,200 a year on stuff from WAGS AND making $$$?

Yes, to put it simply, it's worth it to me.

[arose]

I've had such hassle at my walgreens, even been accused of making my own coupons and committing coupon fraud. After a call into corporate offices, things have gotten better, I have to say. But, the trip I made this last weekend made it worth it to me. And the cashier was so nice! there are two really nice ones, the rest give me a hassle, two of them even make it a point to talk about me when I walk past them. While I am still within earshot....

this past weekend, I used the coupons a really nice AFC person gave me to get blood glucose monitors for free.
along with 5 trips through, I got 4 monitors, 3 sewing machine kits, 1 steam cleaner, 11 12pks of soda, 14 bottles of shampoo, 7 bottles of clean and clear, 2 lip balms, 1 calculator, 1 toy, 1 light bulb, 5 glade fabric refreshers,3 bags of 3 musketeers mint, 1 box of cocoa via, 2 arizona teas, after rebates, and $9 in register rewards, I will have been paid $12.05, I think, to haul off all this stuff from their store!
I had only intended to make one transaction, however the coupon on the blood glucose monitor would only allow me to use it once per transaction, and the girl said I could buy them seperately. The coupons then would not work, but we finally figured out that the monitor was ringing up $14.99 instead of the $19.99 it was marked, and thereby, it rejected the $20 off coupon. when she keyed it in as $14.99 it worked fine.
I am so thankful to the lady that gave me the coupons, my MIL and her DH both are diabetic, and they moved here last November from NC, and stored their monitors away in mini storage, with their belongings, and have not found them since, and can't afford to buy new ones. her husband ended up in the hospital, over not keeping his in check, and my DH is a diabetic, my boys are both insulin resistant, so the free monitors are quite a blessing!
I may start shopping late at Walgreens, though, for the nicer cashier!
This was going to be my last try at good deals there, if they were rude or mean. thankfully, this trip went well, and I will go back again.

[mrialsjr]

It is worth it to hang in there. It wasn't until recently that the IVC Q's said on them that they were manufacturer coupons but until they change that guideline at the corporate level you can still use them together.

I suspect that they will be changing that soon but until then...not our problem their policy allows the combining of them.

[prncesbetz]

It does seem to take Walgreens people a long time to fix problems. I went in last week to buy some things and there was a new cashier. I gave him one $4 RR and he ended up scanning it twice. I didn't notice until I got to the parking lot. I went back in and told them what happened...it took them 10 minutes to find a manager and even then it was a phone conversation. I was just trying to be honest about the whole thing. I was tired of waiting so I just left the girl $4. Hopefully it ended up in the register!

I went back the next day though. It's always worth it...you just have to find the right store and/or cashier!