Saturday CVS Deals....

Okay, I know.... I know..... I'm such a wimp...but I sent DH to CVS with the list of what to get! lol! I could have gone, but I would have had to travel to the CVS located farther away.... and I wasn't in the mood to go out tonight. On his way out the door DH said, "If I see the Asst Mgr. I'll ask her if she has any cereal." I looked at him confused.... like "Cereal? why would you ask her that?" Then he said... "Lucky Charms, behind the counter with milk.... remember?" lol! I told him he better not say that! (Geez, cause more trouble---But he made me laugh.) If you haven't read my nightmare experience last weekend at CVS you can read it HERE.

Okay, so this is what we got at CVS. I had $10 in ECB's to use up before they expired (2/10). We needed Soft Soap, and shower soap, and Murphy's Oil soap. If I bought $10 worth of those items I earned $5 in ECB's. I had coupons for all those things, plus Jennifer at All Things Frugal told me about a BOGO coupon at CVS for Dentyne Gum that expires on 2/10. It's Dh's favorite gum, so he was more than happy to run out for it. Plus he hates wasting money, so if those ECB's expired and we hadn't used them, it would have irked him. Me too...but him more. :-)

Here's a photo of everything we got. Not a big trip, but it didn't cost much Oop.... just $1.39 and don't forget $5 in ECB's back!

CVS - The Finale.

My final installment in my CVS saga. I had emailed a friend last evening and mentioned I was going to call CVS corporate regardless of my meeting with the store manager today. I just feel that if it's a manager that is involved, someone higher up needs to be aware of the problem.

So after my meeting with the manager, I called the CVS customer service line. Now let me share something funny as I was waiting on hold. Music was playing, sort of mellow (but not musak) and the lyrics to the song were, "Just let it go... let it roll right off your back...." It struck me as funny, considering my situation and made me laugh. Then when the rep came on the phone, I said, "I'm calling to relate an awful experience I had at a CVS store in my area this weekend." She immediately said, "I'm so sorry about that...." That too struck me as humerous, and I answered chuckling, "You haven't even heard about it yet, but thank you." The woman on the other end listened to all that had transpired, and after I finished, I said, "and so that is what happened...thanks for listening". I think I said that mainly because at that point who knows if anyone but my online community cared. lol! I was so surprised to hear an emphathetic voice on the other end, affirming everything I had said.

The CVS customer service rep said that this manager was indeed very disrespectful and obviously does not know the policies of CVS. (Her words not mine). You can indeed get the coupons back, they are my coupons. Especially the manufacturer's coupons. While she said, sometimes the CVS coupons could be tricky, as they will show as already scanned.... there are procedures around that as well. She said the manager was not utilizing the managerial skills she had been taught and eating food on the sales floor was unprofessional. She apologized for my bad experience and said she would be contacting the district manager to inform him as well. She asked me several other questions about my experience, and said "we appreciate your informing us of this situation. It's one of the ways we can be aware of issues going on with our stores, otherwise nothing could change and the same issues would keep happening."

I was so blown away by her response. Really.... I think it's more a feeling of being heard. She listened and heard. I went on the record to say how much we appreciate the Extra Care Rewards program that CVS offers. I told her that this program has really been beneficial in helping our family budget. We at one time never shopped at CVS and now we shop there weekly. I thanked her for her willingness to listen to my experience and for offering her feedback. And that was it.....

I wish I had gotten her name, because CVS deserves another letter stating they have a great customer service rep. who is making a positive impact on their corporation. I may just write a generic letter and send it, I'm sure they could figure out who she was.

CVS-Part Two.....

Many of you have read about my awful experience at CVS this past weekend. For those that did not Click Here. I planned to head to CVS this morning at around 9am, so that I could speak with the head store manager about what happened. I was really dreading this conversation, as I hate confrontation.... I mean I really can't stand it. I get flustered too easily. Anyway I arrived at the store, pulled into the parking lot, turned off the car and prayed. Seriously...I just prayed that my mind would be clear, that I would not get emotional, but instead could present the facts concisely. I prayed that I would remember first and foremost who I was representing.

I walked into the store and noticed that the cashier who waited on me yesterday, spoke to the manager and nodded my way. I'm sure they were expecting me. The manager asked if he could help me, and I asked if he had a minute to talk about a situation that happened in the store the previous day. He acknowledged that he did, and we moved off to the side, so any customers who came into the store, could be waited on. So, I proceeded to tell him everything that happened which I detailed in my blog (click above). I stated the facts, and told him that I felt CVS, and he as the store manager, should know how his store is being represented. After listening to all I had to say, he apologized that I had that experience, and said he would refund me the $10 ECB since I had to go to all the trouble etc. So, that is what he did. I have to tell you that I wasn't really getting a good vibe of "I'm really sorry, and we'll deal with this situation". I actually had to ask if he would be speaking to this employee about this. He did say, "Yes."

So, I left feeling the transaction was corrected, but my faith in the management at that particular store was not restored. I really will not be going back at all. If I have to drive 20 minutes to a CVS friendly store then I will... as I said in my previous post.... "Because Nice Matters".

Part Three of the Sequel Coming Soon- A Call to Corporate

Customer Service...It just keeps getting better and better...

Let me preface this post by saying that this rarely ever happens to me. I mean rarely! To have two incidents of poor customer service in one week, really makes me want to shy away from the retail sector. (to see the first click Here) I’ve certainly lost my faith in good CS. Anyway….here is what happened to me today at a local CVS. (I will be going back to speak to the head manager tomorrow).

I went into CVS for a quick trip to buy the Excedrin 100 ct and get the $10.00 in ECB’s. I had some ECB’s that needed to be used before they expired as well as manufacturer’s coupons. Plus the $3 off $15 expired today as well. Well the Excedrin rang up as 8.99 instead of the advertised $6.99 So, the manager had to come and void the transaction. Not helpful at all, she had no idea why it was doing that and didn’t bother to see why either. Then the cashier pulled all my coupons and ECB’s out of the register to try again, this time altering the price to what the CVS flyer says. It came up to the right dollar figure, but only printed $6.00 in ECB’s not the $10.00 (again as advertised.) The manager comes over again, and looks at it shrugs and says “I don’t know, you’ll have to call and find out”. (I’m thinking, “why are you putting the burden on me, to find out and fix the problem, it’s your store and your register.”) Instead I say, “I'd like you to just void the transaction and I’ll take my coupons back” Do you know that she would not give me my coupons back? She said it was company policy. I was incredulous, and said, “But I’m not taking any merchandise. I should be able to leave the store with everything I came in with.” She would not do it at all. I said, “so I am losing my $3 in ECB’s and my two manufacturer’s coupons?” She kept saying, “Well you already used them, you can’t use them again”. But I’m not taking the merchandise with me!! I asked if there was a manager higher up and she informed me that he would not be in until the following day. I will be there first thing in the AM to speak to him. She kept two $3.00 Excedrin Manufacturer’s Coupons, $3 worth of ECB’s and my one $3 off $15 CVS coupon, which was expiring anyway. I ended up taking the merchandise, as I didn’t want to lose out on even more money by leaving it there. I’ll try to sort it out with the head store manager tomorrow. She was only going to refund me $4.00. Unbelievable!

I will be letting the head manager know the following:

• She was very rude and couldn’t be bothered to go out of her way to help a customer, or figure out a problem. Instead she put the burden on me, the customer, to do that.
  
  
• I don’t like the way she treats those who use any coupons or utilize ECB’s and CVS deals. I am doing nothing wrong; I never stack coupons, and expect nothing more than what they advertise. I know this isn’t the case at all CVS stores, many have very friendly employees, this manager has a history of this behavior.
  
  
• She was eating a big bowl of Lucky Charms behind the register area, with the box and a half gallon of milk there too, as if it were her kitchen counter, instead of a place of business.
  

I think CVS needs to know how their company is being represented. So, I will be breaking out my pen again, with a letter to corporate. It certainly has been getting a lot of exercise lately. But if I don’t inform someone, how will anything change? How many letters have not been written, as people just shrug their shoulders and chalk it up to rude behavior etc.?

Tell me am I crazy? Do you think this was good CS and management? Maybe my expectations are too high? Do you think I have a big magnet on my forehead, just attracting trouble? (sigh) I’ll let you know the sequel tomorrow……