Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Another Fine Mess......

I went to Rite-Aid last night.
And as Oliver Hardy use to say, "Well, that's another nice mess you've gotten us into!"

I just looked it up and though this short film they did was entitled "Another Fine Mess", the actual catchphrase that Hardy used was "another nice mess...".
And thus ends our lesson in the history of comedy for today. lol

At any rate, my trip to Rite-Aid turned out Laurel and Hardy style.
Here is what I ended up bringing home.....


And here are the "normal" deals I got.

*The Dryel was $8.29, but $6.63 after Gold discount and I had a $5 IPQ, making it $1.63 AND it's a monthly +Up Deal this month, so I got a $2 +Up Reward back.

*The Sharpies are BOGO this week(these particular packs reg. price $4.29), and there is another monthly +Up Deal of $2+Up Reward back for each one you buy.  So I spent $4.29 and received back $4 in +Ups.

Now on to the "problem children"....lol

*I was chatting with one of the friendly managers on duty.  She was restocking and blocking the aisle with her cart I wanted to get the Neosporin from, so I asked her to grab one for me.  She hands it over and says be sure and use the coupon in the sales flyer on it.
Huh?, I said.
She said the shelftag has written on it that there is a $1 sales flyer Rite-Aid coupon to use on this product.
OK.....so I scan the sales ad and there is no In-Ad Q for this item and I show her.
She says to me she'll have the cashier modify the price down $1.
So this is why I paid $11.99 for the Neosporin Essentials Pack and not $12.99.
And there is a full rebate on this item, so in the end, I'll have paid nothing for it. 8-)

*I grabbed a bottle of the 1 Liter sized Listerine.  It's on sale for $3.99 and counts toward the J&J Spend $30/Get $10 Promotion AND the Jan. Spend $100/Get $20 etc. Promotion.
My Load2Card has 2 electronic Qs on it for this size product--a $2/1 Q which is older and a $1/1 Q which is new in the past couple of weeks.  I also have an IPQ for $2/1.

Before I handed over any Qs I had the cashier print out the receipt to see if either of the L2C Qs came off.  Neither had.  The manager from before was up at the register so I pitched a hissy fit.
Ok.....maybe not a hissy fit, but I said something derogaroty about this whole L2C set-up.  It seems like I am calling them every week or two and the reason why something doesn't work right is always changing!  It's really getting quite tiresome.....

The manager scanned my Wellness card and she could look at my Wellness account on the register and see every L2C coupon I had!  As a matter of fact, she could see every L2C coupon I had EVER clipped to my card since the program started!  I had 15 pages of Qs(most expired though)!LOLOL  She found both the $2 and the $1 Listerine Qs sitting in my account.  So she price modified the Listerine to $1.99(which is what I'd have to pay if the $2 Q came off).  At that point, I couldn't hand over my $2/1 IPQ too since the price of the item was less than the Q.
So instead of using a L2C and a IPQ on the item and getting it for free, I was going to pay $1.99.
I was ok with that, especially after they had taken the time and effort to make me happy.
Who could NOT be ok with that? 8-)

So I handed over my Dryel Q and then I started doling out the +Up Rewards until I was left with .90¢ to pay(on the gift card, of course), and my receipt with $6 in +Ups printed out.
And before I left the store I saw something on the receipt--seems the $1 Listerine L2C Q had attached to my bill after the cashier had hit total or something!  It wasn't there when we printed out the receipt before.
So I ended up paying .99¢ for the Listerine.  Not quite free but that's ok. ;-)

Now for my tracking for the Promotions....
I have $13.98 for the J&J Deal(need $30).
I have $20.99 for the Jan. Promo(need $100).  I had $19 going into this transaction so that means only the Listerine at $1.99 was added.  The Sharpies are part of the deal but they didn't attach.  I should have $25.28  Grrrrr

I "spent" $18 in +Ups, got $6 +Ups back and I am due a cash refund of $11.99.


This trip to Rite-Aid--
OOP....$0.00
Value of items.....$37.15
+Ups coming into this trip....$28.50
+Ups used....$18.00
+Ups earned......$6.00
+Ups at the end.....$16.50

 
**GRAND TOTALS FOR JANUARY-so far**

Out Of Pocket....$0.00  cash
Value of items bought.....$62.00
Savings Rate of  100%
Rebates due......$0.00
Savings Rate after Rebates.....100 %

+Ups at beginning of month...$32.50+
+Ups used....$25.00+
+Ups received...$9.00+
+Ups currently...$16.50+  



Sluggy

17 comments:

  1. Totally lost me. But sounds like a great deal! It definitely makes a difference when managers/staff is friendly and are willing to work with customers. A lot of the store managers I meet up with about a price mistake or a coupon that wasn't scanned right are rather mean and unhelpful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean Tanner. There is 1 particular R-A in these parts that I refuse to set foot in. The employees there are hateful and dower. It really helps to have a good relationship with your store employees. Taking mine homemade fudge at Christmas doesn't hurt... lol

      Delete
  2. Now, you are speaking another language! L2C? I must catch up. Good job.

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  3. I'm taking a break from Rite Aid for a few weeks. Need to build up my deal tracking mojo again. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I still have +Ups to spend down.
      And then they go and hook me with a Spend $100/Get a $10 +Ups Deal.
      Sometimes I hate Rite-Aid..... ;-)

      Delete
  4. that hurts to think of all that. LOL

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  5. I have run into multiple issues at rite aid regarding sale prices, items not ringint at sale prices, L2C coupons not being deducted from my account..etc. I don't go there anymore because of the frustration. Sometimes I feel like the employees don't even know the store policies. Glad things worked out for you but it sure can be maddening!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe I am a masochist but I still go back. I love my employees tho, so that helps.

      Delete
  6. I had this awful scenario last week where 2 of my Ziplocs rang up at 2/$4, but the other two didn't. Larger size, but no specification of size in the ad. The manager and the cashier agreed with me, worked and worked on the transaction to void and then re-ring at 2 more for $4, but ALAS. When I got to the car, I noticed the voids didn't "take," and I spent $8 on two boxes of Ziplocs. I am horrified someone will come take away my Coupon Ninja card, but I am abashed about not catching it in the store and reporting it there, and therefore will probably not return them. And my very 1st transaction of 2013, too!

    I haven't used L2C yet. You guys have scared me away!

    Heather near Atlanta

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have no shame....I'd return them. Was the shelf tag not there for the ones on sale? If stores don't get all the appropriate tags up it just makes it that much harder to make sure you are buying the correct items. I've had that problem too.
      Don't beat yourself up over this and wear that QNinja card with pride! ;-)

      As far as the L2C Qs....I approach them now as a "well, IF it comes off great, but I am NOT counting on it" attitude. Sad but true.

      Delete
  7. We are heading to cvs and target tonight with my coupons. Time to stock up on girl things and make up and such for college. But I have my cvs bucks and coupons plus more cvs coupons that printed out.

    Then target had a circular with there coupons which I can stack with my regular coupons. My daughter has made me promise not to talk to her as we do all of this :/

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    Replies
    1. LOL....oh the fun of shopping and doing deals with teenagers who don't want to be there. lol
      Have fun!!!
      Hope you get some deals....

      Delete
  8. ok I have been reading your blog for about a month and dont understand your gift card u refer to?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marsha,
      My Rite-Aid gift card(well it's really gift cards still).....back in 2010(or was is 2009?)R-A had many many Promotions and Single Check Rebate Deals that gave back R-A gift cards loaded with R-A cash instead of giving back rebate checks. I did just about every one they offered that year+. It was something like $200+ worth of R-A gift cards!
      And since then, I've been spending them down on the small amounts I owe at R-A after using +Up Rewards to pay.
      After I use up the one I am using presently, I am down to my last $25 gift card. I am sending for a $15 P&G gift card this week, which I will use like the R-A gift cards I have had. But until it gets here, I may have to start spending out of pocket at Rite-Aid.

      Before I had all these gift cards saved up, I would save the Single Check Rebate money received, one month to the next and use that for the out of pocket I had to spend, so as long as the SCR checks were more than my OOP each month, I still didn't have to "spend" money at Rite-Aid.
      But with the SCR ended, I can't even do that. sigh.

      It's been a good long run for me at Rite-Aid getting everything for free in the end, but as they have changed the game, it's coming to an end.
      But you can still do amazingly well keeping your cash in your pocket if you work the angles at Rite-Aid or either of the other chain drugstores!
      I hope this answers your question. 8-)

      Delete
  9. thank you for taking the time to explain I was starting to think i wasnt at my max saving s lol

    ReplyDelete

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