Family Dollar Coupon Policy & Issues

 

TO: All store managers

FROM: Barry Sullivan

RE: Coupon Acceptance

DATE: January 30, 2012

Over the past several weeks we have received several customer complaints about stores not adhering to the coupon policy.

Here is a list of some of the important key points from the coupon policy we would like to bring to your attention.

1. Coupons are legal tender. As long as you send the coupon in the blue coupon envelope every other week the supplier will reimburse the store for the value of the coupon used. Do not act as if the customer is trying to rip us off. If you have the product to sell and the customer has a coupon for the product, accent the coupon and thank the customer for shopping in our store.

2. We DO accept all forms of coupons. Including manufacturers printed, internet printed, mobile coupons and Family Dollar coupons.

3. Most coupons state the verbiage "one coupon per transaction." This statement means that a customer can use one of these manufacturer's coupons per item purchased, not per register transaction or store visit. EXAMPLE: A customer wants to purchase 10 cans of dog food and the coupon states $.25 off a can of dog food "one coupon per transaction." The customer can use 10 coupons, one for each item purchased.

4. Coupons can be redeemed for items that are equal to the price of the item and reduce the price to free. These coupons have a dollar value on the coupon and are accepted regardless of the price of the item that is for sale. EXAMPLE: "$4.00 off a Scrubbing Bubbles kit" and the kit retails for $4.00 or "$1.00 off and Cover Girl item" and the price of a Cover Girl Queen item is $1.00. ACCEPT THESE COUPONS!

5. Coupons can be redeemed if the value of the coupon is greater than the price of the item. In this case, the value of the coupon will be discounted to match the price of the item. EXAMPLE: A customer wants to purchase a bag of Lay's chips that are $.75. They present a coupon for $1.00 off any bag of Lay's chips. The "Manufacturer's Coupon" button will be used to apply the discount. Apply a $0.75 discount to the price of the bag of chips. The customer can only redeem the value of the coupon up to the retail price of the item sold.

6. The picture on the coupon does not dictate the item the coupon can be used on. The verbiage on the coupon is what dictates what the coupon can be used on. EXAMPLE: A Cover Girl coupon has a picture of lip gloss. The verbiage on the coupon states "$1.00 coupon off any Cover Girl item." In this and all cases, the customer can use the coupon off ANY Cover Girl item(lip gloss, nail tools, nail polish, etc.)

7. Our current POS(point of sale) does not allow all coupons to be scanned. But, we DO accept all coupons listed on the coupon policy, regardless of whether the coupon scans or does not scan. In this case, use the "Manufacturer's coupon" button on the POS keyboard to manually enter the coupon. In some instances, you will have to split up the coupon value over two or more items to apply the discount. EXAMPLE:A customer wants to purchase two Cover Girl Queen items, one for $1.00 and one for $1.50. The customer has a coupon that states $2.50 off any two Cover Girl items. The "Manufacturer's Coupon" button will have to be used to apply the discount. Apply a $1.00 discount to the $1 item and a $1.50 discount to the $1.50 item. This will equal the value of the coupon, $2.50.

8. Coupons that are buy one get one free are accepted. The coupons will state "buy X get X free." A number of these coupons will have to be manually entered. The "Manufacturer's Coupon" button may have to be used to apply the discount. EXAMPLE: A customer wants to buy two Reach toothbrushes. The customer presents a coupon that states "Buy one Reach toothbrush and get one Free." The coupon CAN be accepted. If the coupon will not scan then the discount can be manually applied to one of the item for the full retail value. The "Manufacturer's Coupon" button will have to be applied to apply the discount.

9. We do NOT accept coupons that are for "free" items that do not require a purchase at this time. The coupons will state "Receive a free X"

Bottom line is the use of coupons is a common practice in today's retail environment. The entire store team must be familiar with coupons, the coupon policy, and how to apply them at the POS register. If we are not we will lose customers and sales.

The coupon policy is available on Portal. Use the word "coupon" in the search tool. If you have any questions about coupons, the coupon policy, or how to apply coupons in the retail POS, please contact your DM or the ETC at XXX-XXX-XXXX

Please remember that customer service is our number one priority. Treat all customers with respect, regardless of that form of payment they are choosing to use.

Please review the information with ALL team members to ensure that everyone understands our coupon policy and how they are processed at the register. Once the information above has been reviewed with each team member, mare this Project Management task as completed.

Thank you.

Barry Sullivan

Executive Vice President

Store Operations

Family Dollar Stores