Supermarket courtesy card games

[John105]

This is Shop Rite. I was well aware that when they said "limit x," it meant that you could get 2 times x, per day. Not when a digital coupon, but sale items discounted with the card.

Yesterday, when they said porterhouse or t-bone for $6.99/lb, I wanted to get some. This price is at all 3 groceries over the last 2 weeks.

I accidentally grabbed the "angus" that is $8.99/lb, so I returned it, no problem.

Here's another thing that they do--"limit 5 lbs."

Every package is about 1.8 lbs to 2.1 lbs. Good luck finding a combination that will not exceed 5 lbs if 3 packs. Anything over rings up $3.00/lb. higher. It recoups the sale discount if you will.

Anyway, this is a first.

I get the right product, under the limit. As soon as I scan the courtesy card, it says, "exceeded daily limit," needs mgr. override.

I haven't even scanned any products.

The clerk told me one can only use a courtesy card once a day, but he overrode that?

What the.....

p.s. I also noticed that at Giant, they now link the use of paper coupons to the courtesy card, to enforce limits.

Again, I know for a fact that Shop Rite used to allow a customer to buy products that were limited, 2 times per day. I tested this by trying to buy 3 and that triggered the need for an override, maybe 2 years ago

 

[Kira]

Do the "1.8 to 2.1 pound" meat packages appear normal?
If so, the >5 lb. limit was just arbitrarily set to keep most purchases to 2 packages. No big evil in my estimation.
Now, if the meat was usually packaged in 2.4 pound packages, you'd have a beef.

Also, in my experience, there have always been limits on sale items.

Also in my experience is Shop Rite never playing any games with their sales or Price Plus card offers.
A super price requiring a $10 minimum purchase isn't evil, for example.

The only bad thing I have noticed are shelf signs showing a digital coupon offer with no such offering in the email or in the paper circular.

You want irony? Stop & Shop dumped their everyday cards, claiming you get the price automatically.
Then digital coupons came along and they had to resurrect cards.....

 

[walterjay]

Shop Rite tends to play games. They are a bit sneaky. Almost impossible to buy 1 lb of their ground beef. Packages are all .83lbs or something like that. Other wise you have to buy a 1.43 lb package to get a pound of gb. One pounders do not exist unless you buy the pre packaged stuff from who knows where.

 

[Kira]

Shop Rite tends to play games.

Not in my neck of the woods. Top notch stores run by Inserra and Winterglass and others.
No connection, I have.

 

[walterjay]

My store is operated by Kliens. You always had to be on the lookout from their inception.

 

[John105]

I find it odd one can’t swipe a courtesy card more than 1X per day? Say I’m having a bbq. Got steaks on sale. A couple hours later I forgot to get salad dressing. Now, I can’t get it on sale without an override? Seems to defy common sense.

But again, in my case I got the right product, scan my card, no items, and it said exceeded daily limit. Odd no matter how its spun imho

When supermarkets have sales or digital coupons let’s face it they’re less than Costco. But even we have shopped at Costco more since the pandemic….

 

[Leo99]

There are discount/coupon abusers/fraudsters. The stores have policies to combat that.

 

[John105]

There are discount/coupon abusers/fraudsters. The stores have policies to combat that.

Understood…but I’m mostly noting the draconian change.

Say in the past it was ground beef $2.99/lb, limit 5 lbs. you could get 10 lbs a day if separate transactions.

But if it were $1.99/lb digital coupon, limit 5 lbs., one time only. All good.

But to say you were here already you should have gotten everything in one shot. Now you have to come back 12:01 AM EST tomorrow to get any sale pricing, that’s weird

 

[Leo99]

Understood…but I’m mostly noting the draconian change.

Say in the past it was ground beef $2.99/lb, limit 5 lbs. you could get 10 lbs a day if separate transactions.

But if it were $1.99/lb digital coupon, limit 5 lbs., one time only. All good.

But to say you were here already you should have gotten everything in one shot. Now you have to come back 12:01 AM EST tomorrow to get any sale pricing, that’s weird

The policy stops the lowly cashier from having to potentially deal with fraudsters and makes it up to the supervisor/manager to allow the override.

 

[dishdude]

All of the traditional supermarkets are playing these games with the loyalty cards, wanting you to have the app on your phone to digitally clip a coupon, one day discounts and having to buy in multiples to get a discount. Tired of the games so now shop at Aldi, Trader Joe's, Costco and Target.

 

[John105]

The policy stops the lowly cashier from having to potentially deal with fraudsters and makes it up to the supervisor/manager to allow the override.

makes sense. I’m thinking they didn’t think this one through, ie can only scan a courtesy card 1X per day. That has to do with ale pricing, not quantity limits.

I’m going to try it again. For all I know there was a malfunction and the supervisor may be wrong.

 

[Dave Hess]

Publix has lots of Buy 1, Get 1 Free deals + digital coupons (use fake phone number).

I stock up on things that are non perishable.

 

[John105]

All of the traditional supermarkets are playing these games with the loyalty cards, wanting you to have the app on your phone to digitally clip a coupon, one day discounts and having to buy in multiples to get a discount. Tired of the games so now shop at Aldi, Trader Joe's, Costco and Target.

You know how I've said that health care for public workers proves that $0 deductible and 0% coinsurance can still exist in 2024.

Those retailers you mention, prove what you are saying, there can be everyday low prices. I don't know why but Aldi and Lidl have super low prices on cheese, every day. Lower than the supermarket sale prices. Same thing with snacks. Corn chips (bad for us) are super expensive even at warehouse clubs. Aldi and Lidl, low prices every day.

Trader Joe's is to me, the Costco of food. Fair. Not the cheapest. But the attitude of the employees makes it a pleasure to shop there when I do.

How about capitalizing on our seeming inability to divide? Sometimes the larger qty item (Walmart does it a lot), has a higher unit price than the smaller amount. Or instead of BOGO, buy two, get one. I get that it's caveat emptor, but sometimes it's not the best thing to take advantage of people just because they didn't read the fine print....