No matter how long you have been "couponing," you will on occasion have some trouble at the check stand. Sometimes your coupons don't scan properly, catalinas don't print when they should, or your kids throw your entire stack of coupons on the floor just as you go to hand them to the clerk. The best way to handle most of these issues is with a bit of humor, a smile, and some patience.

There is one problem that sometimes takes a bit more than that. Many store clerks are unaware of or misunderstand their store's coupon policies. This can be an extremely frustrating problem, especially when it prevents you from getting a great deal that you came prepared to walk away with. The best way to combat it is to (1) know and understand the store's policy yourself, and (2) carry the policy with you so you can clarify things with the clerk or a manager if needed.

Each policy I post was recieved by me personally from corporate through email.  Most have reference numbers.  I will do my best to keep these updated, but understand that I am not always notified of policy changes.  If you know of a policy change I don't have updated, please let me know!

I will try to explain any unclear wording to help you better understand each policy yourself. I will also post a link for you to download and print that policy for your own coupon folder.

A couple of suggestions:

(1) Highlight pieces of the policy that are commonly misunderstood in order to make them easier to find when you need them.

(2) Unless it is a very simple issue, it is often best (for you and the customers in line behind you) to finish your transaction in the way that makes the clerk most comfortable and then speak to a manager afterward to have the issue corrected.

(3) NEVER do anything you know or even suspect is fraudulent in any way.

(4) NEVER get angry. It doesn't help anyone. It will likely cause even more issues for you during that trip and subsequent visits. Smiles, patience and a bit of humor go a long way. Overtime, clerks and managers will learn to trust you.

(5) Be willing to walk away. No deal is so good that it is worth an enormous amount of your time fighting for it. Besides, you can always email corporate afterward and get the issue resolved that way.


For each store, I will insert my notes directly into the policy and highlight them in red for the purpose of explaining things on this blog. My notes will not be in the version you download.

Vons Coupon Policy
Albertsons Coupon Policy
CVS Coupon Policy
Riteaid Coupon Policy




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