Consumers Sound Off Over Store Coupons
Shoppers certainly aren't neutral on the subject of Safeway's club-card program. Since last week's column on Safeway's return to offering coupon specials for non-club-card members, I've heard from consumers with pro and con views by phone, fax, snail mail and e-mail.
Some folks complained that they don't like a two-tiered pricing system and still resent not getting all of Safeway's discounts unless they have a card. Others said, no big deal.
Safeway spokeswoman Cherie Myers acknowledges that to be eligible for all savings available in Safeway stores, consumers must be club-card members. But she adds that customers with privacy concerns can now enroll using the name "Safeway Customer" instead of their true name or address and they can substitute any 10 digits for a phone number.
Myers said that's been true for some time, though it wasn't widely publicized.
So how would customers know about that option?
They would have to ask a Safeway employee.
Here are a few readers' comments from various viewpoints:
Mickie Meyer: "Safeway is making a small move in the right direction by re-introducing the coupon books. On the other hand, weekly savings are still only for the distinguished holders of the dubious club cards. In the weekly ad for Oct. 31-Nov. 9, there were 134 items, 105 of which can be purchased at the special price only if you are a club-card member. . . . Safeway is trying to lure some of its lost customer base back into its stores by dangling the coupon book in their faces. I for one will not be lured."
Maria Hernandez: "Safeway club cards are the greatest thing since sliced bread! In all your talk about the Safeway club card in your columns, why hasn't the fact that these cards have been a major convenience, time-saver/headache eliminator ever been brought up? . . . Reading your column makes me seriously worried that Safeway will cancel the club card and take us back to the dark ages of coupon clipping."
An anonymous male caller chastised me on similar grounds. "Thank you, Shelby, troublemaker. I can't believe you have done this. Lines at the supermarket are long enough and now we'll have coupon people in line again. Thank you Troubleshooter!"
Deborah Braden questions whether Safeway really did a turnaround on its club-card promotion by offering nonmembers the coupons. "I was excited that their disgruntled customers' voices had been heard. However, when I went shopping I noticed not all their `specials' are in the coupon book."
Dick Dunbar: ". . . My wife and I registered as `Safeway Shopper' and have since used their darn card with increasing frustration as our checks still link us to our purchases. I resent the continued invasion of our privacy almost as much as I resent the forced friendliness of their harried clerks. As I hand them my card, I tell them how dumb I think the card is, smile and ask them not to tell me how much I `saved' as both Safeway and I now know how much I've spent and on what."
Jackie Verbowski says she is frightened by the amount of direct mailings her family has received since they closed a sale on their house. "Also the amount of baby food coupons, diaper samples, etc., that arrived after I gave birth to my last child. . . . Do I care that Safeway knows that I prefer Pampers to Huggies, or that I like the store brand baby dill pickles? Not a bit. Does it disturb me that information about my private life was treated like a commodity and sold without my knowledge or consent? You bet."
Adele Samels says it's a nuisance to balance cash, coupons and a club card in the checkout line. She used to watch the prices as her groceries were scanned so that errors could be corrected. "This is no longer possible and necessitates close scrutiny of the sales slip upon returning home, with a return trip to the store if an error has occurred." Samels also believes the 5 percent discount Safeway gives after $250 in purchases discriminates against senior citizens like herself, who routinely buy less than families with youngsters.
Robert Condon has a different shopping strategy. "I got the Safeway sale booklet with those coupons you talked about in your column last Wednesday. I took some to my nearby Albertson's because they accept anybody's coupons. All three of the items I had saved the coupons for were priced lower at Albertson's than the coupon price from Safeway."
Albertson's confirmed that it honors coupons from other chains.
Speaking of Albertson's, there was a "wedding" last week of two in the food industry, but "guests" didn't throw rice. Instead, they tossed grocery club cards into a barrel to benefit a charity.
I'm talking about the name change and merger of Lucky stores and Albertson's in California and Las Vegas. The merger actually occurred last June, but last week the "bride" and "groom" got serious about their relationship. There was coffee, cake and punch in wedding tents. And the 400 Lucky stores involved took Albertson's name. Additionally Albertson's discontinued Lucky's club card in favor of its own "bonus buy program" method of discounting items.
"We've actually had customers turn in competitors' cards," said Jenny Enochson, an Albertson's spokeswoman. Enochson said the corporation did some research before the merger, because Albertson's has not had a card system.
"The message from customers was that they wanted savings and they preferred not to have a card," Enochson said, adding "privacy is certainly an issue."
In return for the cards, Albertson's is making a donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation toward a maximum of $500,000.
Shelby Gilje's Troubleshooter column appears Wednesday and Sunday in the Scene section of The Times. Write to Times Troubleshooter, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111. Phone, 206-464-2262, fax 206-382-8873, or e-mail address, troubleshooter@seattletimes.com