This is a guest post by my buddy John!  He sat down and wrote a phenomenal article on what he does in preparation for his Publix shopping trip.  John and I employ very similar methods but I typically have a two year old and a three yeard old in tow 🙂  I think this would be a great read for new couponers and may even offer the seasoned couponers a few tips too!!
1. At home, I usually prepare my shopping list. I do it in an Excel spreadsheet as I can note the item cost, qty, coupons, etc. My spreadsheet allows me to know what I am planning on buying and how much the bottom line will be. I then use that spreadsheet as my record-keeping for how much I spent/saved each week/month/year. I sync it to my mobile smart phone so I can use my phone as my shopping list and check off items as I put them in my cart. It also helps to know how much my pre-tax total should be so I know if there is an issue with an item price or coupon not scanning. Also, a great tip offered by sariah3110 is to shop at off hours. I do this too. I rarely shop on Sunday morning unless very early. I prefer to shop midday during the weekdays as it’s not as crowded. Sariah3110 shops later at night as the cashiers and customer service seem more laid back and less busy.
2. I usually bring my coupons in an envelope when I shop….just the coupons I am planning on using in that trip. I also bring my own bags. So I take my coupons out of the envelope when I get there and lay them on the bag in the child seat part of the shopping cart. I then put each coupon in the envelope after I place the matching items in my cart. This avoids the mistake I made when first couponing — handing over a handful of coupons which included things that I ended up not buying b/c of price or no stock. This way, I ensure no coupon is put in the envelope until I place the item in my cart.
3. If I have a coupon that is a questionable match, I ask customer service before getting in the checkout line. They will be the arbiter if the cashier questions it and I want to know that I won’t have any coupons rejected.
4. Before getting in line, I usually order my coupons all MQs first, then Publix Coupons, then Competitor Coupons. Two reasons for this: First, because most cashiers I know like to scan coupons in this order and second because I like to separate those coupons that are stacked that cause overage as it makes it less obvious that there is an overage when the coupons are “far apart” in the pile vs. right next to eachtother. Also, a great idea offered by jderosa and christinef is to call out any “free” coupons (like BOGO) by placing the coupon on that item, making it easier for the cashier to manually enter the coupon value.
5. I choose a line that has my favorite cashiers. Even if this means burning another couple mins going up and down the ailses getting blinkies. I have no kids so this may not work for those with kids in tow and just want to get out asap. Most cashiers where I shop are my favs but there are a couple I’ll avoid because they are either rude or they habitually forget to scan some coupons. If I am at a Publix where I don’t know the cashiers, I’ll just gravitate to the youngest cashier. Call me an agist but I find the older the cashier, the less happier they are that I am getting a good deal.
6. When I get in line, I place my bags at the front of the conveyor belt and take the coupons out of the envelope and on top of the bags….up front. Some cashiers will just put them aside until the end of the transaction, others will quickly scan them first so they can mentally match as they go, while others lay them all out in their work area as they like to match and scan as they go. In this last case, I try to help and point out each one as they scan the item. While the last approach is the most time consuming, I really don’t mind when they do this…if anything me be assured each coupon has been properly deducted from my total.
7. I have the luxury to usually not be in a rush when shopping so if someone gets in line behind me with only a few things, I offer to have them jump in front of me since I may take a while with all my coupons. If they have a lot of things, I just let them know that I have several coupons so it may take a bit longer (in case they want to jump to another line). Some stay and watch in amazement as my total drops to 10% of the before coupon total. At my regular coupon-friendly Publix, some of the baggers who are available gather to see how much I saved this time.
8. I personally don’t usually use fillers when I have more coupons than items….I just let the supervisor over-ride (they all know me and don’t seem to mind). But when I plan my list at home I count the item/coupon ratio and if it’s off, I have $x/2 coupons that result in free item that I can use to balance the ratio. This week, it’s carnation evaporated milk $.50/2 (which doubles for me) making it free…so that can be a filler. Other weeks, its the J&J $3/2 blinkie that I get travel sized band aids with. It’s a money maker and balances my coupon/item ratio. But most times, I don’t knock myself out trying to avoid the supervisor over-ride.
9. If any question comes up on a coupon and there isn’t a manager readily available, I offer to skip that coupon and I’ll just take it up to CS after the transaction is tendered for a final judgment. This keeps things going smoothly when things are busy at the supermarket. If the judgment is in my favor, they can pay me then the value of the coupon(s) in question. If the judgment appears unfair or inconsistent with the store policy as I understand it, then I go home and write a letter to the store manager. This helps me calm down and gather my thoughts and state my case. This has helped me change store policy on things like giving overages, including target as competitor. Managers are open to feedback and are certainly trained to make you satisfied so it can’t hurt. If I get nowhere there and I really feel the judgment is unfair, I write corporate. I tell them I’ve already spoken with the store manager as they typically just pass you to the store manager…so this will get the district manager. If all else fails, I can choose to shop at the many other Publix or other supermarkets within spitting distance of my house.
10. For times I have an overage for the entire transaction, I add a Publix gift card in there. That get’s my total in the positive and is a win-win since I’ll spend the money at Publix anyway. Some slick cashiers know I do do this and why and while raised with CS once, it was blessed since buying a Publix card is no different than buying an item to fill the overage. Of course,it can be any gift card….not necessarily Publix. When I have a gift card, I include it up front with the coupons so they can ring it up first. This avoids the possibility that they ring up all other items, then ring up coupons, encountering a neg balance (and hence supervisor over-ride needed). It also helps because the gift card ties up the communication line used by the keypad so if I am using a card to pay, I have to wait until after they ring up the card (else I just need to swipe anyway).
11. During the checkout I like to bag myself. This positions me in direct line of sight of the cashiers screen. I prefer this as I can watch them scan the items, see the price, see the cashier scan the coupons and see that they haven’t missed any coupons. I know there is a screen facing me too but it’s harder to there to keep an eye on both the screen and the coupons. But when baggers are there, I will usually let them bag if I know the cashier.
12. When I get home, I reconcile the receipt with my spreadsheet to ensure no coupons were missed. If missed, I usually don’t take them back for credit (although you can) because I just feel it’s hard for them to know if you used the coupon or not. Exceptions to this for me are Publix coupons (as those are clearly marked on the receipt with the name of the item the coupon is for…so it’s obvious it was not rung up) and for exceptionally high value coupons (like the $7/2). I try to mentally note any high value coupons when shopping and ensure they are on my receipt before I leave as it’s easy then for them to know if it scanned or not and if it’s in their coupon bag. I reconcile because this helps me keep track of my spending/saving and it also helps me identify cashiers who consistently “miss” coupons so I can avoid them.
Thanks so much John for allowing me to share this wealth of information with all of my readers!!