[tbop72]

I had some really bad confussion today at the Suffolk location
Cashier wouldn't double my q's that said Do Not Double
I canceled my order, went to my car called corp. cust. serv. I was so mad I didn't get the girl's name - explained situation she said yes they should double & that she'll call the store manager & call me back.
Meantime I go back into store talked to mgr he said he doesn't think they should double. I reply store policy or your opinion? Then the mgr from Diamond spring road calls me - WTH! I am in suffolk? He talks w/the mgr on my cell phone. Suffolk mgr says he'll let me do it this time but he's researching it!

Next stop Churchland store
cashier ringing me up & mgr is bagging
cashier says what do I do if I scan a q that says DND & computer doubles it? Mgr says we still double it
I tell him Thank you for being there

Back home I call customer service corp because I want to know the deal
& woman on phone says NO doubling if q says DND. She doesn't know who would have told me yes because she uses coupons too & if says DND not any store should be!
So what is the policy
Does anybody know????
Thanks for the help

[joshmamabear]

technically, regardless of policy,

what is written on the coupon should be followed. there's a similar thread on this at another store (Giant, IIRC) and the OP shared the website she found the reason why stores don't double these coupons.

individual stores have the discretion to double coupons regardless of DND/DNT wording. its great if they allow it, but if not, I don't think its worth fighting to double a coupon that states clearly Do Not Double.

M2C.

[limellama05]

We always shop at the Suffolk FF on 17. The trick is to avoid the old lady that works there. Everyone else will double your coupons but she sits there and reads every single one and if the register automatically doubles it, she will take the extra dollar off. It drives me crazy. If you see her working, find a different line or shop a little longer until a line builds up and you can get to another register. good luck next time!

[saving_sense]

Today it actually says in the ad "Excludes coupons that state 'Do not Double'"

[Annieflies]

I wrote an email to corporate about this issue, asking them why they did this. I received in the mail this response:

Thank you for your recent email. We appreciate your interest in Farm Fresh.

Your comments regarding teh double/triple coupon redemption have been forwarded to our management staff for thier review. We have been advised that your statements are correct about Farm Fresh absorbing the double or triple amount howeer, there are coupons that are dispensed at the store shelf level from a company "Smart Source" that state "Do Not Double" and they actually have a different bar code that prevents the register from doubling or tripling the amount.

Now what I think is that someone saw the double coupon advertisement in the paper, then came in the store and pulled a blinkie from a shelf, a DND9 blinkie, which a large portion of them are, and got all upset when it wouldn't double for them. I think that disclaimer is exactly that, a cya move to legally protect the store from irate customers who don't know how coupons work. We all know that DND9's won't double, but the average shopper has no clue. That being said, my opinion is that their intention is to prevent upset customers, not to prevent anyone from using coupons. In actual practice, I have not had ANY coupons rejected at my Farm Fresh store. They are too busy to stop and look at every coupon, and if it doesn't double automatically, they usually just do it manually. You do have to use your own judgement regarding which checker to use, and I have my favorites, but overall, I don't have any problems with this issue. What does burn my britches is why in the heck the manufacturers even put "Do Not Double or Triple" on there in the first place! It doesn't matter! The store could QUADRUPLE the coupon and the manufacturer still only has to reimburse the store for the original face value of the Q, plus S and H. Any store that chooses to double the amount is, in effect, offering a 1::1 match, just as if they had printed their own store coupons for those items and allowed stacking, only without the hassle of printing costs. There is NO LIABILITY whatsoever for the manufacturer, only the store chain. A tripled coupon would be a 1::2 match, with the manufacturer paying a third, the store absorbing the other 2/3. Sorry if this is dizzying, it's just a pet peeve. I plan on calling the lady who sent me the letter someday and discussing this with her. Well, time for bed! Hope this didn't confuse anyone worse!

[tohimipray]

Originally Posted by Annieflies

I wrote an email to corporate about this issue, asking them why they did this. I received in the mail this response:



Now what I think is that someone saw the double coupon advertisement in the paper, then came in the store and pulled a blinkie from a shelf, a DND9 blinkie, which a large portion of them are, and got all upset when it wouldn't double for them. I think that disclaimer is exactly that, a cya move to legally protect the store from irate customers who don't know how coupons work. We all know that DND9's won't double, but the average shopper has no clue. That being said, my opinion is that their intention is to prevent upset customers, not to prevent anyone from using coupons. In actual practice, I have not had ANY coupons rejected at my Farm Fresh store. They are too busy to stop and look at every coupon, and if it doesn't double automatically, they usually just do it manually. You do have to use your own judgement regarding which checker to use, and I have my favorites, but overall, I don't have any problems with this issue. What does burn my britches is why in the heck the manufacturers even put "Do Not Double or Triple" on there in the first place! It doesn't matter! The store could QUADRUPLE the coupon and the manufacturer still only has to reimburse the store for the original face value of the Q, plus S and H. Any store that chooses to double the amount is, in effect, offering a 1::1 match, just as if they had printed their own store coupons for those items and allowed stacking, only without the hassle of printing costs. There is NO LIABILITY whatsoever for the manufacturer, only the store chain. A tripled coupon would be a 1::2 match, with the manufacturer paying a third, the store absorbing the other 2/3. Sorry if this is dizzying, it's just a pet peeve. I plan on calling the lady who sent me the letter someday and discussing this with her. Well, time for bed! Hope this didn't confuse anyone worse!

I am assuming the manufacturer puts out DND9 cpns to protect themselves in the event that a store tries to be compensated for their doubles promotions. Has nothing to do with the customers.

[Annieflies]

The only way a store can be reimbursed is if they turn in a coupon. All coupons from one store are bundled and sent all together to a clearinghouse (sometimes overseas). There, all the coupons from all the stores are scanned and processed, according to barcode, and then the total amount for each manufacturer is billed to the manufacturer, and a check for that amount is transferred to the store that submitted the coupons by the clearinghouse. The only money a manufacturer can get 'charged' for is the printed amount on the face of the coupon (plus the shipping and handling). There is no way for the manufacturer to ever get charged for more than the face value of each coupon as it goes according to the barcode. A store could GIVE the product away, and the manufacturer would still only be liable for the face value. That is why I don't understand why the manufacturer would even put do not double on their coupons. It is a moot point, and none of their business what a store does anyway. The store is liable 100% of the time for the doubled amount, they absorb it. It's called a loss leader, something they use just to get you in the door. Somewhere is a really fascinating explanation of how the clearinghouses work, wish I could find that link!