Every week I’ll pose a question for you to share your experiences and tips. If you have a question that you’d like me to post, I’d love to hear from you!
On the Deal Seeking Mom Facebook page, Janet asked:
I’d love to know how you keep track of “scanned” coupons! I’m finding more and more coupons were not scanned at the store, but of course [not until] I get home! I just realized that $6 of q’s were not given to me at Meijers todayhttps://dealseekingmom.com/https://dealseekingmom.com/and I really thought I was watching the cashier!!! I need a better system to follow.
I know I have trouble with this too, especially when I’m trying to keep track of five kids while watching to make sure everything rings up properly. And some stores’ receipts (ahem…Target) are nearly impossible to decipher after the fact.
So do you have a system for making sure that all of your coupons are properly scanned? How do you check them? What do you do if you discover that one wasn’t scanned?
Join the discussion — add your two cents to previous Ask DSM Readers questions too!
Adrienne
This happens to me almost every time I go to Target. They always end up getting me for about an average of $5. Even though I watch and listen to the beeps something doesn’t go thru. It’s usually when they punch a key after it beeps. This is what I’m gonna do on my next trip. I’m gonna break my transactions down groups. I know it’s gonna take longer, but this way I’ll know when I’ve been overcharged.
Jenna
I always check myself out at Kroger and Meijer since they both have U-Scans that do not have an item limit. The only other places where I may have A LOT of coupons is Target and WalMart. I just add up the total dollar amount of coupons that I’m planning on using right before I check out. Then once all my items are rang in I look at the total while the cashier starts scanning, use the calculator on my cell phone to figure out about what the price should be, that way if it’s way off I know there is a problem and we can fix it before I pay.
Elena
I was also looking back a Target receipt for the John Frieda deal, turns out the $3/1 didn’t go through because my total for that package was $7 something, when it should of been +/- $1.00… I’m irritated a bit, but I’ll be making sure all coupons are deducted with all of the great suggestions above, thanks to all!
Melissa
I count my coupons prior to entering the checkout. That way I know how m any should have been taken off and then I can usually go back and decipher which ones are missing based on that.
debra
we count the coupons than seperate them manufactor coupons,store coupons and internet coupons so we know how many of each are being used our store has a screen easily viewable so we can count the coupons being deducted..Seems most of the problems start when cashiers are searching coupons and trying to matchup the items purchased. Handing them seperate makes it easier for us to track and for the cashier to file at the end of the transaction.
Denise H.
I have been really frustrated at Target lately! They are the worst. The last two times I have gone there as soon as I get to my car and review my reciept I find the error and have to go to customer service. Last week when I was there the customer service person informed me that they can only use 1 Target coupon per transaction. Whatever! They were mad becasue I had a bunch of the SoBee BOGO coupons and then was using 1 $.50 cents off on each SoBee I had. The customer service person tried to tell me that I can only use one of those per transaction not per SoBee. Really becasue the coupon doesn’t state that! And yes the reciept………completly unreadable!
Shawna
When I make up my store list I always write the item I am buying, then under it I write the sale price then any Q’s then the total. So my list would look like
BBQ Sauce
$2- 1Q= $1
Then I add it all up with the total that I should have at the top of my list. I keep a pen in my binder so I can make adjustments as I go along the store.Then If my total is off from what I expect then I can look at my list and compare the Q’s listed with what was scanned. Then I can go straight to Cust. Service so they can make the adjustments.
Sadie
I total up my coupons before I go. I do most of my food shopping at the commissary on base and the receipt has the total saved in coupons calculated at the bottom. (easy) But if they don’t get it right, as at Target not getting my 5 cents for my own bags I go to the refund counter and get my $$ back. I have also got back money from fruit “roll back” prices not being punched in correctly…I only have 1 child and I try to keep him intertained while I wait in line especially at walmart when there are 5 employees but only 1 working. I usually go right when the stores open or by 9:00 am at Walmart when the stores aren’t too crowded.
and I love self check out–So i can make sure everything comes up right and my coupons scan!!!
Tina
I also hate that at Target when I bring my own bags the cashiers forget to ring up the 5 cent per bag credit. I generally try to shop early in the morning before things get crowded and rushed and have taken to picking out the regular cashiers that are coupon friendly. Other than watching them carefully when you check out. I haven’t found anything else to help.
Mari
When I go grocery shopping, I use the self- checkout lane (in my store, I can use it as long as I have 40 items or less) so that I can monitor that my groceries are ringing up correctly as well as the coupons.
On smaller trips to places like Walgreens, CVS, or Target, I write down the value of each coupon and, when the cashier finishes ringing me up, I double check to make sure that each one was deducted from the total bill.
iveliss
I also pick the friendly cashiers (usually the same person since i do my groceries the same day/time of the week) then organize my groceries and put together the ones that are the same.as the cashier is scanning them i will hand her the coupons for that entire group.if she scannes 4 boxes of cereal i hand her the coupons that corresponds to the cereal and so on..at the end my receipt shows the item followed by the coupons. it helps me count and know i have exactly the same amount of coupons and items. never fails!!I
Stacy
I shop once a week at Target and have a huge stack of coupons. When I am about ready to check out getting my gum and candy items, I let the cashier know I am coming their way and to prepare. Once in line, I ask them to wait until my cart is unstacked on the conveyor belt before ringing up so I can review prices. The cashier and service help have been very kind and accommodating since I have been giving them a heads up before entering the line. They usually shut off the light for that line while they ring me up. Once the initial total shows, I note that. I ask the cashier to let me see the reduction for each coupon being taken off the total. It takes the register forever to reduce the price for each coupon, but I watch it come down and have an estimate for my total coupon savings.
I typically keep like item coupons together, but recently began doing all BOGO items in one transaction. Target implemented a new search feature that makes the cashier hunt for the item to apply the coupon toward. That took forever and now a smaller transaction simplifies it for both of us. While I like BOGO, the full price coupons are easier to use. The $1 off Snapples I got last month come to mind. Some of my stores won’t do any free item with a printed coupon, BOGO included.
Thanks for the Q&A. These are very informative and I appreciate the broad range of responses.
Jessica
Smaller transactions. I might have to go through more than once, but it usually saves a headache in the end.
Carol
Like a lot of you I count my coupons and I know how much I am spending too. I can’t tell when they do scan them if they’ve come off or not because the register still beeps but when I get the register receipt I count how many coupons were taken off and if there are free items I make sure that amount is correct. I work hard at getting great deals so I don’t want the cashiers to miss any. Especially if the cashier seems new you want to check the receipt to make sure they got them all. I think it is also a good idea to check the register receipt before you leave the store because if you don’t find the mistake until you are home bringing it up when you go back to the store may not work. They don’t have to believe you.
I don’t find a particular store that is not good at catching all the coupons, it’s the inexperienced cashiers that I worry about.
Lucy Josephine Potter
I always know how much I’m supposed to spend, because I write up my shopping lists with the prices in the week’s ad, minus the coupon amounts. When I hand my coupons to the cashier, I make eye contact and say how many there are, then watch the screen to make sure each one comes off. If the total is not what I had planned, I check my receipt to make sure the prices rang up correctly. Kroger’s policy, for instance, is to refund your money and give you the product free if the price does not match the shelf tag.
Nicole
I NEVER hand over my coupons at oncem as most i would assume don’t. I always hand over two at a time & i verbally tell the cashier each time how many coupons i’m giving to him/her. I will say, “Here’s two coupons”. or i will say, “I have three of these coupons”. I aways hand them 2 to 3 at a time & use verbal communication. If i have 3 or 4 of the same coupon i will just say how many i have also while handing them to him/her. That way they know they have three to scan or whatever. I have found that this works everytime. I use to have problems handing over my coupons all at once or just a few at a time, and i would leave and get in my car and notice some of my coupons weren’t scanned. Which i would be consumed with frustration. But since i have been doin the hand & mention method, as i call it. I haven’t had a problem since. And i always watch them scan each coupon & look at the screen each time they scan a coupon to see that each one is being scanned & recorded on the screen. Haven’t had a problem yet since i have been handing my coupons over like this. Hope it helps someone else.
DIANE
I went to Target tonight. Bought 4 scrubbing bubbles and handed the cashier the $5 gift card. They would not take it and said I had dollar coupons for each item. They would not give me the gift card, so I am going back and doing a smaller transaction. As it was, my bill came to $45.89 and I had to pay $2.61 and not get my gift card. Sometimes we just need to educate the cashiers. I am going to bring the coupon policy with me next tim.
Ann
I always count how many coupons that I will using when I am standing in line or before I get in line. That way I will know if they were all scanned. I will also take my coupons and crumple them up a little to make it harder for them to stick together. And many times I only hand over a few coupons at a time. After all is said in done I pull my cart over, out of the way and check my receipt and count how many coupons were deducted. If I find a mistake and I go straight to customer service. I know this may seem like a lot to do but we all clip coupons for a reason, to save money. I want every last penny to be deducted!
Darla
AT our store when the clerks were regularl forgetting to pull the coupons off items (I don’t because they are easy to use).. I went in and asked to speak to store manager and asked if they had time for a 5 minute chat? they said yes and we actually sat down.; I asked about coupon policy for clerks and then explained my situation and said that the clerks needed to be educated or something about pulling coupons off product. Manger was receptive and the situation improved and now a couple of years later a few have to be reminded but mostly they still catch the coupons off products.
Katy P
I used to count the number of coupons- but now I am adding up the dollar amount & mentally taking it off the subtotal before I hand over the coupons. That way I know something is wrong if the total is too high. I have a lot of problems with coupons not being given, even when they beep, and some stores I can’t watch the screen to see if the coupon was given. This has seemed to work best for me.
Tom
re Wal-Mart Neighborhood Stores: learned (the hard way) that when the cashier is confronted with a $1.00 coupon they must scan it (like any other coupon it will beep) but then they must press enter into the keyboard to verify that the coupon is really a $1.00 coupon rather than a .10c coupon before the $1.00 is deducted from the running total. So if you just hear a beep it doesn’t mean that the coupon was deducted. On that trip I had 6 $1.00 coupons for 6 of the same items but found that only 2 took, a $1.50 coupon was rung up at .50c and 2 of 3 .50c coupons actually took. So out of 10 items with related coupons the cashier messed up 6. As I calmly explained her errors and explained how to handle the “verification” process for the $1.00 coupons, she retrieved the missing coupons from TWO different locations. I suspect she was from the one-for-you and one-for-me theory of cashiering. If this sort of things happen on a 10 item order that is as easy to follow as it comes, imagine what they can get away with on a large order and they do seem to know that. (So, if you have a”good” coupon for something they like there is a better than even chance that your coupon will get lost.) But when we finally got it right I did end up with a bag full of 10 items for an out-of-pocket of $1.37. (So count the $$ (if there are $9 worth of coupons there should be a $9 deduction or there is going to be an audit at the register. lol)
Brian
As I am getting ready to check out, I will count my coupons (sometimes adding them) and when I get my reciept will double check and see if the number I had was the number of coupons deducted.
Dona
This probably sounds like a lot of work, but so is finding the coupons and the sales in the first place! As I shop, I have a list (on a clipboard) that I write down the price of each item and beforehand have written in my coupon amount. When I have finished shopping, I find a quite place in the store and add up my items (including sales tax where applicable) and then deduct my coupons. I know exactly how much I am paying before I get to the register. I lay my clipboard on the counter as I am watching the cashier scan each coupon. It is a lot of trouble but I haven’t had a cashier “loose” any coupons since I started this approach. It is more work and I don’t expect everyone to do this, but I was so frustrated when I would get home and realize all of my coupons had not scanned. :)
Jenelle
Ugh! Target! I just left from there and I could not read the receipt! I was checking because the price seemed off and the cashier definetly lost / did not scan in my $4 off airwick coupon which was the whole point of my trip!
My strategy in keeping track of coupons is to go over the prices before I go find out what the oop will be. Then I make sure I count how many coupons I will be using and be sure to check the receipt and make sure this is what was used.
carrie
at target i have noticed that if it’s a target coupon the value with not show up on the screen but a normal mgnft. coupon with show the amount off. On the receipt : when using the target coupon it will show the discounted price to the far right and coupon amount off under the item. If it’s a mgnft. coupon the discount will show at the bottom.
Marlene
Even though this may seem quite annoying to cashiers I always hand over coupons one by one. Especially at Target.
Dina
I’ve actually laid my coupons out on a shelf and taken a picture with my camera phone to match them up later at home. Usually I just count how many I give the cashier and check the receipt to make sure that many were scanned. Just the other day I almost lost 3 $1+ Qs because I think they stuck together. For the first time I checked before I left the line and saw they hadn’t scanned. I was in a hurry so I just asked for them back. I don’t mind so much most of the time if they don’t get scanned, I just don’t want to lose them.
Lisa
I tried couponing at Target for the first time two days ago and could not believe how hard it was to read the receipt. I also wondered if all of my coupons were scanned, but had a really hard time figuring it out from the receipt. From now on I will start adding it all up before checking out.
Dani
I’m so happy to see these posts!
I feel as though some of the checkers at Target are actively attempting to cheat me. Many times I have found that some of my coupons were not scanned and when I mention it, the unscanned coupons are retrieved from some random place. Now I watch like a hawk–and still sometimes miss the shenanigans. I’ve caught checkers just putting the coupons to the side of the register if they beep (instead of entering the info the register wants) and dropping some coupons on the register ledge and not picking them up (at least during the transaction).
Lisa
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one with concerns about Target. I too have encountered the butter-fingers cashier who drops more than she keys in. Sooo frustrating!