My Sister's trip to Safeway

This is most of a conversation I had with my sister today (on Skype IM) It has been cleaned up a bit and I removed her name for her privacy.  Her name is Kim.  Where I spoke It begins with my skype name - the rest is her.  She lives in PA, is a SAHM and knows her coupons - she's the one that got me started.

Have any of you had a similar experience at Safeway?  What would you recommend?

KIM:  I had problems at Safeway yesterday.  I gave them my card and told them keep it.......I will not be returning.
I had my purchases and there was the self checkout, the express lane and one regular open open. 
I got in the regular because of the problems I had last time. Safeway has this stupid rule that in order to use a Safeway coupon, you need to spend $15 on groceries that do not have a Safeway coupon attached to it.
They had a coupon where if you spend $15 on any frozen items in the store, you get $5 off your order instantly. 
I purchased 6 Tabasco sauces, 3 mustards, 3 Gorton's popcorn shrimp, 2 loaves of bread, 2 pounds of bacon, 6 Greek yogurts and 1 package jimmy dean sausage sandwiches.
I also had 2 franks red hots sauces
of course I have a coupon for everything.........

Stacey Knapp: right ;P

I stand in line 10 minutes and its a long line I said the heck with this and decide to go to self checkout
then I realized I forgot their rule about only one Internet coupon....I solve that by putting one thing of Frank's on a shelf and coupon back in my box, one coupon for bread went back in box.
oh i forgot i had a pack of feta cheese with no coupon
I start scanning and save the frozen items for last, it's well over $30.
I start scanning coupons.  Last week, the lady told me to scan the coupon, set it aside and put them all in the box when done so i do that..........
Witch lady comes over and says I need to put them in the slot NOW, fine......I do that.

Stacey Knapp: did she think you were re-using them?

Who knows?So I keep doing that and she comes over and watches.  I give her coupon for bacon and tell her it didn't work she digs through my bags........2 things of bacon were on top of bag, in bag but on top.
she takes that off then says something else as I scan yogurt coupon I turn my head to face her and she says......HOW MUCH DID THAT TAKE OFF??? REALLY NASTILY AS IF IT DOUBLED IT OR SOMETHING.

It was a blinky machine coupon and I really didn't know what the barcode started with, you normally only find the ones that start with 5 in Food Lion or areas where they don't double.  I tell her I don't know, I was looking at her. She gets in front of the computer and starts punching things in, turns out it didn't double, only 75 came off once, I turn to her, hand her my coupons and tell her, you know what, since you have such a problem with my coupons........you scan the rest of them in.  I'm not trying to steal anything and I don't need you acting like I am. If there is a problem..go ahead....you ring them in.

Stacey Knapp: did you get her name?  I'd shoot a letter to Corporate

no it gets better that Safeway employees don't care about their customers

Stacey Knapp: it is this stupid "extreme couponing" show that makes couponers look like thieves

She goes and gets the assistant manager, I explain to her what happened and she finishes scanning the coupons. I'm fine with that but my $5 didn't come off instantly - you wanna know why?

Stacey Knapp: because you wouldn't be paying enough?

Because the frozen Gorton's popcorn shrimp is seafood.....not frozen

Stacey Knapp: are you kidding me?????

Then the lady from last week is yelling in the background.......ARE THEY ALL THE SAME COUPONS???
I got them from the freezer section in the seafood department, but i only got them so i could get the $5 off.........wasn't getting them because I wanted them, So I tell her then if they aren't frozen, and your offer says any frozen items in store, I don't want them, I want my money back.

(remember I was buying an additional $15 worth of stuff so I could get in on that offer)

She tells me no you can't because you used coupons.......I'll have to go through all your coupons

Stacey Knapp: meanwhile she made you put them in the slot.

This was the assistant manager..........I say fine........she says move over here to another register and she goes and gets all the coupons out of the slot.  Now i had already paid for the groceries.....the items were mine
she takes all the coupons and starts sorting them out....tells me i didn't buy enough yogurts? Huh ?  I bought 6, there are 3 coupons for 75/2.  She tells me that I used too many tabasco coupons?What??? there are 6 look I show them to her......she looks on receipt...........then she says.....(now get this)
You can use that many free coupons

Huh? they weren't free..........they were $1.59 she said yes but the 75¢ doubled so they were almost free.  I say no, they were 9 cents..........she rolls her eyes and says SAME THING.

Then she looks at coupons and tells me i used 3 Gorton's coupons but only got 2 items.  I tell her no........and show her third.  Ok so then she figures out that i get $8.97 back..........the price minus the coupons, plus she gives me the coupons back...........but.......she only gives me $6.97.
And while she was getting the money out, she asked the manager about my tabasco coupons and he told her there is no limit, as long as I have the items.  So then when she hands me back the extra $2, she tells me that the best thing she can say is next time I use that many coupons to not use self checkout.  I told her but there was only one line open and I stood in it before  getting in the self checkout  I then tell her, you know what and hand her my card........keep this because I will not be back.

Stacey Knapp: did you try sending an email?   Maybe the store employees have a thing for giving customers a hard time

I'm not gonna bother,  I do not need to be treated like a criminal because I'm using coupons I won't be back.......forget them, their sales aren't all that good anyhow and if a sale is that great......there are Safeway's towards Baltimore city if the sale is so good its worth driving to, then it'll be worth driving to  Baltimore for it