Roundy’s, the parent company of Rainbow Foods, Copps and Pick N Save has updated their coupon policy for each of the stores. I appreciate Roundy’s corporate sending me a head’s up and a request to help educate customers about the new policies.
In my reading through it, I find it to be more thorough than what existed before. There are some changes (more details below) and a few things that are worded in a fuzzy, not-so-clear-to-me-exactly-what-they-intend sort of way. I’ve sent my feedback back to Roundy’s corporate with a request that they clarify a few of the points of confusion and consider re-wording the policy ever-so-slightly in a few places. As I get more information from Roundy’s, I’ll pass it along.
One Difference
The coupon policy across all three chains is identical with one exception. Rainbow Foods’ coupon policy includes the phrase “Limit of 5 of the same coupon per household per day.” I confirmed with Roundy’s that the phrase is intentionally excluded from the Copps coupon policy and Pick N Save coupon policy. Should Copps and Pick N Save ever introduce an unlimite coupon doubling program, then you’ll see that phrase added into their policies.
New Coupon Policy
Before I introduce you to Rainbow Foods’, Copps and Pick N Save’s new coupon policies, let me make one observation. Twice within this new policy it says something like, “Roundy’s may change these rules at any time. Rule changes may become effective without advance notice or advertisement.” Hear that customers? These are the rules right now, but they are subject to change and they don’t have to tell you in advance. Just sayin’…
Most notable changes include:
- Merged existing two policies. They used to have a manufacturer’s coupon policy AND a separate internet coupon policy. They have been combined into one.
- New coupon types mentioned. Catalina coupons and digital coupons like SavingStar and uPromise are both addressed in this policy.
- $25 requirement for coupon doubling. This policy clearly, like its predecessor, says that you must spend $25 in a single transaction in order for your coupons to double. Unless they have re-programmed their registers (which is possible), this policy has never been programmed into the registers this way.
- Store gift cards cannot be used to reach $25. You can no longer purchase a Roundy’s store gift card to reach your $25 spending threshold. Gift cards for other brands sold via the in-store Gift Card Mall kiosk can be used toward the $25 spending threshold.
- Limit on identical coupons (only applies to Rainbow Foods stores). This is the item that exclusively applies to Rainbow Foods stores. The new policy limits you to using 5 of the same coupon per day. That does not say per transaction, but per day. (I am seeking clarification about whether this should actually read “5 coupons for a single type of item per day” or if it really means same coupon. Couponers know that you can sometimes get coupons for the same product from the newspaper, from Coupons.com, from SmartSource.com, etc. Couponers would not consider those to be the “same coupon”. Stay tuned for a clarification on this point.)
- Internet coupons must scan. It is now clearly stated that internet coupons must scan in order to be accepted. If your printer ink is low, they may not print dark enough to scan properly (ask me how I know)
- Acceptance of manufacturer’s catalina coupons. Under this new policy stores will accept catalina coupons issued by other retailers as long as they are manufacturer’s coupons and do not say “redeemable only at {insert store name}.”
- Inclusion of SavingStar and UPromise coupons. There isn’t much specified here about these, but we know that these digital coupons cannot be doubled or combined with another manufacturer’s coupon.
Your turn: What questions do you have about how this policy works? What changes are you glad to see? Which changes are most disappointing to you and why?
About Carrie Rocha
