I must say I’m pretty disappointed with Target at this point. Instead of taking the time to present a well thought out price matching policy, they seem to be in a reactionary mode and updating it on a whim.
After just presenting a new version of their Low Price Promise last weekend, Target has already updated it again. Going forward Target coupons will be deducted before price matching. If the price in the competitor ad is still lower, then that price will be applied and any manufacturer’s coupons will be deducted. So basically Target store coupons can no longer be deducted after the price match is made.
It seems to me that if Target really wants to provide excellent customer service and give customers an incentive to shop their store over a competitor, they would offer us a true low price guarantee, including honoring store coupons. As far as I’m concerned, price matching at Target is already difficult enough. I’ll just take my business elsewhere.
Thanks for the info, KC Penny Pinchin’ Mama!
Emily
I shop at Target, but rarely. And I never even tried their price matching policy because it was so complicated to begin with! They’re definitely going to have to try a bit harder to keep me coming in. :)
Heather Dixey
another horrible experience over the alpha leap pal thing. i wish they would get their ducks in a row. i really like having another option outside of wal-mart. but only if they are going to make a policy and stick to it.
Bev Rossi
I think corporate has one policy and the stores are instituting their own. I was told they weren’t tsking any price matches from stores that had a customer card. That left one grocery store in all of Phoenix.
At a different Target it took me one hour to buy the Monopoly cards. I had a BOGO from the USA magazine and Target had a BOGO coupon. They wouldn’t accept it. I went to my car and came back to customer service with a printed copy of their policy and they finally reluctantly accepted it. The hassle is not worth it.
lisette
I can understand that target is trying to cover the loose ends from their policy but its kind of frustrating when they do accept one thing a week and by the end of that week they change thir minds.I think all stores(companies) they go in the game of price matching go in aware that the will be loosing money that way but its an effective way to lure costumers to shop at the stores.Now Target corporates are well educated people that know the risks of the game and should have entered prepared for that; knowing that the store offer thir own coupons. In my opinion are just reacting to things and not thinking.Its a fact that if a person is given the deal of its life they will tend to shop more ,at the store that was good with them, for their regular priced items.
darla
I saw this coming… There have been so many deals lately and people were stocking up big time. I have been hearing of people returning some of these items and making money back from them.
Melanie
I suppose they were not that interested in my business after all. Too many good deals out there for all that.
julie
I am trying to think of this from a business point of view even though I have never worked at Target and wish they would train their employee’s better. I think about some of the deals of getting items price matched with a store coupon and manu. coupon where the item ends up being 95-100% off so Target is losing money after paying for the costs of running the store and the item. Just a different point of view to think about.
Alan
My Target doesn’t honor all of their own coupons. Target Corporate always says that I am doing everything right; however, the store still does not act in accordance with the corporate guidelines. A big waste of time. I don’t shop Target anymore, Period!
eileen
I am an avid Target shopper, but will not buy gifts there unless I pay cash and give the person the receipt because even if you give them a gift receipt, they will only give you a Target gift card, not cash back, if you do have to return something. On the other hand, I love Target’s ability to look up on my credit card my purchase when I am returning it, so i don’t have to have my receipt. I have not had any problems with coupons, but I do agree that different cashiers have different policies they enforce.
Andrea
I agree with Steph above.
The thing is – although we all love couponing and getting the best deals and many are single-income families (including my own) trying to wade through this economy, I have seen so many coupon “rules” being broken by the couponers trying to get the best deal.
Like when a Target coupon CLEARLY says at the bottom of it: “Limit one offer per transaction” and people are using more than one in a transaction to be able to get gift cards, or free boxes of cereal or whatever, you’re totally breaking the rule. And yet you want to complain that Target has to change their policy because they’re most likely losing money because of coupon manipulators? I told my husband I was not at all surprised to see they had limited the coupons to only printing 2. They should! This is a learning process for everyone and they probably were not expecting to be taken advantage of since they already offer better prices and deals than most stores (in my area at least.)
I will keep shopping at Target because they still offer me the lowest prices, have helpful customer service (I know this is also probably a local store thing as it sounds like everyone has different experiences), and also refuse to shop WalMart.
AND this whole price matching policy hasn’t really even been in effect for that long – what did you do before then? Everyone needs to take a breath and stop getting their panties in a twist about it.
cheryl kiepper
Is this blog run by one of the Walmart moms? HMMM
Dani
I found this so ironic as I’m reading all of your comments, there’s a giant Target ad to the right of the screen!!
Target Shopper
well, it’s a price MATCH offer, not a price BEAT offer. All they should be expected to do is the same as the competitors, not beat someone else’s ad price with store Qs
Emily
I must say Im not as distressed as some people are over this change in policy. I believe and will continue to believe that Target is a better option, a more responsible option to shop at than say Walmart. I shop at my local Super Target every week and have had absoluetly no problem…. ever!! THere has to be a limit to stop the couponing abuse and they have changed it to protect them….lets face it they are a for profit organization!! (so is Walmart!!) To me Walmart is such a hassel the people restocking the shelves in the middle of the day making in near impossible to navigate through the isles just adds to the overall ambiance which is horrible!! Target may have slightly higher prices in some things… but is well worth the pennies if you consider the amounts of $$$ they delve out to local charities. I feel the quality is unbeatable and the prices competitve!
Lisa
I am sorry but I have to disagree. It is unrealistic for us to expect Target to give items away. This policy is in reaction to items in the toy book and the Target coupons in it. Instead of lowering prices on some items, Target offered coupons. Toys R Us lowered the prices instead of offering coupons. Now ‘we’ want to get the Toys R Us price AND use the Target coupon (and sometimes a manufacture coupon too) and get $30 toys for $.49!! I do think it is confusing, but some people are just abusing the system and Target is loosing too much money. My local Target is working hard to be sure cashiers are properly trained and friendly while avoiding GIVING away the store. They are in business to make money after all and we should be realistic in our expectations. I think this is another example of a few people ruining it for everyone.
Tania
People act like they are only talking a few pennies. There have been products I’ve gone to Wal*mart to get $10, $20, even $50 differences. No one is trying to scam the store and the policy was clear in the firs place. Stores decided to make their own rules. Kroger does the same thing–for example–my local Kroger’s do not accept coupons PERIOD though their corporate office continually swears they do.
Samantha
I am another person that sees both sides of this. I will admit, I stocked up on free Chex Mix, etc. using Target coupons, but I bought a little bit at a time each shopping trip; and not more than my family uses. I am not a shelf clearer. =)
I had just gotten the hang of printing coupons off the registry kiosks and although there weren’t as many coupons there, it was nice to use that option, especially if I forgot to print something from home.
I am disappointed that I can’t use more Target coupons and although I haven’t used the price matching much, it was always exciting to use 2 coupons on a price matched product.
That being said…..
I will now use my 2 Target coupons per computer and any my mom, etc. doesn’t want just like I do on manufacturer’s coupons. I don’t think I will suffer very much!!! Also, I TOTALLY understand the viewpoint that Target does not get reimbursed for their Target coupons and it is more like an in-store sale or promo. If I was a business person, I think I would have made the rules the same way.
As long as they are still accept the manufacturer’s coupons after price matching (if they change that, I ‘ll just go to the store advertising the sale!) , then I will stick with Target.
My main frustration has just been lack of knowledge on the part of cashiers and managers when it comes to accepting coupons. Let’s hope they are not as confused as the shoppers! =)
Amanda Stribling
Ladies,
I sincerely apologize for any I may offend, but I do need to speak my mind. I have been truly disappointed by some of your posts. I too and discouraged by Target’s constant changing of their coupon policy and my Target is never stocked with anything that is on sale. However, in the past two weeks, I have seen people go absolutely buck nutty getting at least a hundred of a single item because they could get it for free. Do you really think that places like Target, Walgreens, CVS, etc. are just going to let some abuse the system and not do anything to stop the hemhoragging?
I don’t begrudge anyone an excellent deal, and like almost everyone else, pinching pennies and getting the most bang for your buck is important. Is it truly THAT important to walk out of Walgreens with SEVEN cases of kleenex because you could get it for free? Or TEN cases of tomato sauce? or 152 packs of baby wipes from Target? Is your life going to be truly crushed because you didn’t have ALL of that? Where is the moderation?
As much as I hate what Target is doing and the fact that my WM treats me like a criminal when I use certain coupons, I have to be honest and say that it’s not like we couldn’t tell it was coming. It only takes 1 bad apple to spoil the bunch, and in this case, to change corporate coupon policies.
I love to chase deals and stretch my dollar as much as anyone. However, after seeing these three instances in the last two weeks, I am SERIOUSLY reconsidering couponing in general. I think we forget one thing in our efforts to get as much as possible for our dollar- everywhere we shop has store employees and families, all of whom depend on whatever measly salary they may receive from the store. When you get those 152 packs of baby wipes or 7 cases of kleenex, the profit loss has to come from somewhere, and that is usually the employees.
Samantha
PS– I avoid Walmart like the plague, too!
melissa
I also agree target should want to be competitive with other stores. So if the price is lower next week, what do they do then? take the coupon? Walmart or Meijers will match and still take coupons off. I only go to target if they have a really good deal. Once in a great while. I can not stand a store that everyone is not on the same page. Training issue big time.
Judy Workman
Hello Everyone:
I have had great experiences at Target. I don’t use coupons there, but had good results with returns. Bought a food processor at one location and when I got it home to use, it was broken in the bottom. Took to another location to return and get a replacement, no problem. The manager was there and listened to what I said was the reason for return.
However, I won’ t walk back into a Walmart ever, The same problems you are experiencing with Target, I get at Walmart. Too much trouble to shop and try to guess what there policies are at this moment i.e., returns or coupons. In the paper today, they say they will match competitors coupons. I laughed because (1) how long will it take them to get this done, (2) there sales people will not have a clue how to do this or if the store is doing this, (3) I did write to corporate, talked to the store manager and corporate is going to talk to the store manager. I don’t care, because I still won’t go back there. I hope by reading these comments I find that Target has changed their policies. Yeah, Walmart changes for the worst. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.
I have’t used coupons at Target, but I like there merchandise most of the time and they do have go0d sales on electronics.
hallie
How much money can they really be losing? I think they should suck it up and allow for the Target couopn to be used after the matched price. I know that even on my BEST behavior, I end up buying more than just the lost leaders. Not to mention that I have hit up the 75% off clearance toy sales for the past two years. If they are still making money on those items, they can suck it up and lose a few bucks to keep customers happy. Target will make up the difference by having a happy year round customer.
Tara Kuczykowski
I think some of my comments have been misinterpreted, and I just want to set the record straight. My issue lies in the fact that Target seems to be changing their policies on an almost weekly basis instead of sitting down and thinking through everything to put together a cohesive policy. This has to be incredibly confusing for their employees, as well as the customers. I don’t expect a company to sit back and lose money, but as I said, at this point they’re just reacting instead of looking at the overall policy.
When I said I’ll take my business elsewhere, I was referring to any price matching business. The process is far from smooth as it is, and without the added incentive of being able to use Target store coupons to reduce the price further, I’d prefer to go to a store that offers a hassle-free price matching customer experience.
And finally, yes, I am one of Walmart’s Elevenmoms, but at no time have I ever stated that I shop exclusively at Walmart. In fact, I’ve been quite open about the fact that I shop at Target FAR more frequently than Walmart. I am not a shill for Walmart, and the program does not preclude me from talking about its competitors.
Whitney
Target shopping has become very frustrating for me as well. I will, as well, be shopping elsewhere for my holiday shopping this year. I have gotten hassled at Target too many times this year.
Paula
I have done several price matching deals at Target in the last couple of weeks and even with a good attitude they have been painful and time consuming. Without the added bonus of using Target coupons I’m not sure I can see the value of waiting in line at the service desk. (My store does not price match at the registers.)
I am new to couponing but I think I am going to look for another store with price matching. Sounds like Walmart prices matches.. I would love for Meijers to price match. Any other suggestions? Kroger?
Wow
“Target coupons will be applied before the price match is made. ”
Thats Rediculous…
Kelly
That leaves no incentive for me to price match there. The only reason (for me) that is was a good deal to price match there was because you could also use a Target q. Now, I’ll just get the deals at the store that offers them. I avoided Target anyways before this price match thing came out since they are the WORST in my area with using coupons. I hate to waste my time planning trips if you never know how the cashier will respond to your coupons – it was always so variable. I’ll just go back to not shopping there.
Jess
Yeah, it’s a bummer, but it was coming. They were essentially beta-testing their store coupons and price match policy. Now we’re in Store Coupons and Price Match Policy versions 1.0.
My only gripe is while we have 2 computers, our second computer is Windows 7 (came that way) and the Target coupon printer doesn’t support that (but it supports Vista, blech. lol). So I can’t get my 2 extra that I would be allowed. I’m gonna miss on the Nabisco, Pepperidge Farm, and Del Monte deals, and I could really use those. I gave all of those items I had already gotten to my grandparents who are on fixed incomes (one taking care of my 4 year-old cousin) and really, really need them. Guess I can’t get any for myself. Oh well. C’est la vie.
Heather Dixey
wow i hope you included a link to this blog so who ever gets your letter can read all the responces of their customers and former customers.
Shannon
Well said, Tara! I rarely shop at Target as it is because I get so frustrated when I shop there. First their strict return policy, then this. Are they TRYING to provide bad customer service?!?