[qpongal]

Local assis. mngr told me that sometime this year, Wag was going to do away with RR & go to having a store card (similar to cvs). I asked her about RR & she said nothing was firm but that they might do away with RR & go to some type of rebate (I assume similar to Rite Aid???)

She said because of shelves always being cleaned out the first day of sales & nothing left for other customers & this way they can put more limits etc etc

Do ya think she is on the up & up?

She said they got a corp bulletin or something like that a couple months ago & did not know when it would be implemented but she expected sometime this year.

[nikiz]

This rumor was going around a couple of months ago, it is possible, but I wouldn't really worry about it yet..

[Mom2ThreeLovesCVS]

Yeah, these "The sky is falling" rumors go around every few months. Been happening for years, never seen it actually be true though

[corundogs]

This one has some weight to it. They are getting new registers. I believe some are already in place.

They can't do ANYTHING until all stores have these new registers.

The current registers run on old IMB tecnology, and they just don't have the ability to do many things.

New registers will change everything! Not sure what the program will be of course but I do see it changing.

Of course the way it affects their bottom line will be the true test of how they implement it

What I don't understand is if there is such an issue with "stores being cleared first day of sale" why they wouldn't do something about the STOCK and fix THAT problem? The RR program isn't the problem. It's the stock problem.

But yes, I do believe there will be major changes happening this year. Based on the conversations I have had with my stores and things I have been reading from others here.

[cocoadiva43]

My Mother alway taught me,believe what you see and not what you hear.....

[marge simpson]

Been hearing the same story since..well, since they did away with the old rebate system (which was fine I think) and put the RRs in place. Personally, I'd be a much happier walgreens shopper if they did have a card system, or rebates again. Yeah, i know....we couldnt get 50+ shampoos in one week , but it would be sssooo much easier to get the one or two with a different system. omg, there are weeks I just cant go into walgreens, thinking about rolling rewards just makes my head hurt

[elena_398]

One of the managers at mine told me that at the end of last year. Hasn't happened as yet so I'm not worried about it. Just taking advantage of the deals until the time comes (if it comes)

[puterfreak]

Originally Posted by corundogs

What I don't understand is if there is such an issue with "stores being cleared first day of sale" why they wouldn't do something about the STOCK and fix THAT problem? The RR program isn't the problem. It's the stock problem.

I doubt that a national drugstore like Walgreens would stay in business long if they overhauled their entire customer loyalty program to fix a stock issue. I think it's more likely the Manager was interjecting his own feelings about "stock issues" to explain a change he heard was coming.

It seems to me that if it were the actual issue that the changes would happen behind the scenes and would affect store budgets/orders, rather than their Rewards program.

If I had to guess, I'd imagine that if there is a revamp, it is to keep up with CVS and other stores whose programs are not quite as complicated. I'm sure they receive ample feedback from shoppers.

In the end, you can be sure that any changes they make are related to their bottom line, which is to make money. I don't see how holding on to stock longer will help them make money. It just makes sense that if you can sale more of item X, you would order more of item X.

[cathyw]

I read something about elimination of RR's .

[luckymom]

[shopinmom3]

I would be happy with this and would shop Wags more if it they're program were like CVS or Rite Aid. As marge simpson said above, the whole Rolling RR thing makes me crazy and I've actually stopped going to Wags and have focused in on CVS and Rite Aid simply because it's easier....the limits don't bother me at all and instead keep me in check most of the time I think! My Wags is in walking distance....I would love to make that walk often if it was easier to get deals there.

[mbchic2004]

Some stores are beginning to run the loyalty card program. Right now it's in its "testing stage" but I'm sure it will be implemented store wide before long. We are also getting new registers which would allow us to actually use a loyalty card. These should be out to all stores by the end of this year. HTH

[cotinkandy1]

I have heard these types of rumors off and on now for some time. Guess we will just have to wait and see what truly happens. HTH

[bethcg]

I have such a hard time using my RR and getting them too for that fact that I would be more than happy if they changed over to store cards. I do feel sorry for the shoppers that have great WAGS that make it possible to get super deals with RR if theirs switches over tho.

[Candyo383]

I hope they don't change to a CVS system. I like things just as they are. The CVS stores by my house, despite their limits, is always out of whatever the great sale items might be for the week. I wonder why that is?

[Basketlover]

Used to shop CVS, finally got into Wags and love it. Few problems(esp lately)with RR. They seem to have everything going smoothly around here and seldom run out of stock, Go figure, now time to change.

[Losingitagain]

We have heard about this for months, but my AM said it is coming since they are totally revamping their stores (changing the height of their shelves, focusing on Health and Beauty and grocery items and adding more electronics and getting rid of everything else). The getting rid of everything else interests me since that usually means great clearance items! I have been frustrated by the short turn around of RR (I was on vacation last week and "had" to shop at WAGs to use up some RR and I still had $6 worth that expired!) I think I might enjoy a similar program to CVS, but let's see what they decide to roll out. I think they may be making a mistake with the expanded electronics (I usually don't shop at a pharmacy for electronics!) and less items on shorter shelves...it gets frustrating to have items not there/sold out.

[LoveForOne]

Originally Posted by puterfreak

I doubt that a national drugstore like Walgreens would stay in business long if they overhauled their entire customer loyalty program to fix a stock issue. I think it's more likely the Manager was interjecting his own feelings about "stock issues" to explain a change he heard was coming.

It seems to me that if it were the actual issue that the changes would happen behind the scenes and would affect store budgets/orders, rather than their Rewards program.

If I had to guess, I'd imagine that if there is a revamp, it is to keep up with CVS and other stores whose programs are not quite as complicated. I'm sure they receive ample feedback from shoppers.

In the end, you can be sure that any changes they make are related to their bottom line, which is to make money. I don't see how holding on to stock longer will help them make money. It just makes sense that if you can sale more of item X, you would order more of item X.

I have to agree with you, puterfreak. Wags isn't going to implement a new system b/c of stock issues since there's a simple solution to that. Furthermore, CVS still has stock issues and they have a loyalty card system.

Wags wants/needs to remain competitive and so they're doing what any smart corp would do - make drastic (yet, hopefully smart) business moves. That said, those moves may not set well with couponing consumers like us (at least, not at first), but as long as they stay ahead of the game, listen intently to their customers and make adjustments where necessary, their bottom line will continue to increase in a positive direction.

The changes may be painful at first, but let's just hope it's all for good!

[rlkim1974]

Originally Posted by Losingitagain

... I have been frustrated by the short turn around of RR (I was on vacation last week and "had" to shop at WAGs to use up some RR and I still had $6 worth that expired!) ...

This is the one things that frustrates me about WAGs also. If WAGs and another store have a similar deal and the WAGs deal includes RR then I usually go to the other store unless I need a lot of that item (ie diapers).

[Pookeybee]

I hate how you have to use up the RR in like two weeks. At some CVS stores even if your ECB was expired they would take them but that is the case with RR at alot of my Walgreens stores. I also can't ever recall clearing out a self of any item just because it had a RR because it's such pain.

[momofthree3]

I've read an article in the Wall Street journal, about the new card. But it didn't necessarily say that they would be doing away with the RR in that article just they were testing a loyalty card. They can make money selling the details of your purchases with those loyalty cards (grocery stores have been doing it for a long time now to firms that analyze demographics).
I guess don't worry until it changes. Why would they care a bleep about stock moving? Doesn't that equate to sales, and sales are a good thing last time I checked. Especially RR sales since some of those things seems really marked up when they are FARR (if you aren't an awesome coupon shopper that is, I'm thinking of last week's toothpaste at $4) Actually there was an article about Wags having an excellent profit in today's Wall Street Journal.

[freegroceries4me]

I can only imagine what Walgreen's will save in reduced customer service complaints if they do away with the complicated RR system that most of their employees do not fully understand. It will mean less deals for those who do understand the system and whose stores train their employees well.

[Schnicks99]

This is from Reuters. I included the link at the bottom.

Exclusive: Walgreen CEO confident despite consumer angst
Jessica Wohl
CHICAGO
UPDATE 3-Walgreen posts surprise Jan. same-store sales drop
Wed, Feb 3 2010
Walgreen posts surprise January same-store sales drop
Wed, Feb 3 2010CHICAGO (Reuters) - Continued caution from consumers has pressured Walgreen Co's sales, but Chief Executive Greg Wasson is pleased with how his company stacks up against CVS Caremark Corp as the rival drugstores work on evolving into larger healthcare entities.

"We are certainly feeling the effect of the economy," Wasson, who became Walgreen's CEO a year ago, said in an interview on Tuesday.

Walgreen's monthly sales at stores open at least a year fell in December and January, disappointing investors who had anticipated increases. Meanwhile, CVS said on Monday that its same-store sales rose 4.9 percent during the last quarter of 2009.

"When I look at the October-November-December period that they just reported, and our October-November-December period, I feel good," Wasson said of his company's performance in general merchandise and the pharmacy segment.

Bringing Walgreen's same-store sales back into positive territory will depend, in large part, on the economy, Wasson said.

One strategy that could help drive sales is a loyalty card. Walgreen plans to test different loyalty strategies, all including cards at first, in three to four unnamed markets this spring, he said.
CVS has seen success with its ExtraCare loyalty card program, which has millions of members.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Exclusive: Walgreen CEO confident despite consumer angst | Reuters

[Rayny]

I can't argue; perhaps, with their overall business plan, but it's silly to say that they're doing this in part because the shelves clear of sales items only on in the sale. Maybe they should take a walk into Rite Aid, because their shelves are cleared early too.

[lululu888]

I don't think they are doing the loyal cards thing just to solve the empty shelf issue, if anything they are trying to drive sales! Shelf issue should be logistics management related.

At my local wag, ever since they have this new AM who's in charge of ordering for up coming sales, the shelves are almost always loaded with the FARR items..... last few weeks, on Saturdays they actually "begged" for ppl to buy them all cause they still have so much left! Dove for men, razors, Colgates, Quaker oatmeals... just to name a few.