Kmart's Shady Business Practice

well your son should be embarassed that his parent was committing
fraud & involving him in it.

kmart did retract this... if u walk in there is a sign on the
door....and ppl would abuse this and get 100s of dollars in gift cards
and then just return the batteries....they lost a lot of money

I agree with another poster regarding you and your son going on
different lines in K-mart or any store the next time you have the same
type coupons to avoid problems. In my opinion, you didn't do anything
wrong and were spending the money to meet the written requirements on
the coupon. Now K-mart lost a customer over a $10.00 gift card, and
they come out the loser.

What I don't like about K-Mart is there refusal to take returns on
certain items. My mom bought a $10.00 costume jewelry ring in K-mart
and a few days later she put it on to wear it, but decided it didn't
fit properly, so we went to the store to return it. The girl at the
return desk told us we could not get a refund, so I asked why the
receipt doesn't state that in writing. She told me to look on the back
of the receipt, and all the items that are not-returnable are listed
there, so BUYER BEWARE.

In my opinion, listing the items on the back of the receipt is not
wrong, but it is sneaky. Who looks on the back of the receipt? I
don't shop there any longer because of that incident, I don't want to
take the time to check the list on the back of the receipt
to determine what I can or cannot return.

Well, if they wanted one for every transaction, they should have
worded it right. Why do you want an apology (especially if you are
not going back). If Kmart was ordered to apologize to you and did not
want to what good would it be. Are you going to frame the apology on
your wall or something. Also if your son felt that he did something
wrong you should tell him that it was not his fault but Kmart made a
mistake with their coupons and is not honouring it like they should.

I think they should have let your son purchase the gift card and get
the deal they promised because there was no age limit. Were you in
line behind him with the same items. This is probably what made it
obvious. You should have probably told him to go to lane 6 while you
say went to lane 11 and met him outside the store. If they did not
know that you were together then they should have let him get the
deal. He is 11 not 7, he could very well pass for someone that was
running errends for his mother. If you did not feel like shopping,
and you gave your son the coupon and told him what to get while you
stayed at home would they do the same thing.

They do have a right to say no it is one per household, but if they
screwed up with their coupon's it's their fault. They probably should
apologise, but you should not ask for one. If they spologized without
being asked it means something.

I hate when companies send out coupons and then don't accept them.
What's the point? Waste of trees. Anyway, you were right, Kmart was
wrong, and that snotty employee should be retrained in customer
service.

Actually, the month-long flier makes NO mention of any limits in the
section mentioning the coupon.

And the coupon doesn't say one per TRANSACTION, it says "LIMIT ONE
COUPON PER PURCHASE".

Which means you should be able to use multiple in one TRANSACTION,
just like any other P&G coupons.

While Kmart has the right to limit the usage, the ad states in the
small print on the back "We reserver the right to limit purchases to
normal retail quantities".

I don't know about you, but ONE is NOT a "normal retail quantity for
P&G HBA or batteries.

Also, while Kmart may have the right to change the T&C of *their own
promotions*, they DO NOT have the right to change a *manufacturer's*
promotion. That is "bait and switch" per the FTC.

Hold on a minute!

You were trying to get around the "1 per transaction" stipulation by
having two orders (whether you admit to using your son or not, you
were still trying to get past that and you knew it), but KMart is
employing "shady" practices to try and prevent you from doing exactly
what the coupon said you could not do??

Kind of hypocritical there, aren't ya?

Yeah, Kmart definitely dropped the ball here. Sounds like they didn't
realize it would be such a hot item and decided they didn't want to
give out so many gift cards.

As for the "using" your kid comment. My father used to send us through
all the time to get soda that was on sale with a limit or things like
that. If he was using us than he was using us to save money so he
could buy other things we needed so I'm grateful for that. When you
have children and aren't insanely rich you have to shop wisely and
save as much as you can.

And lastly as for the "abusing" the coupons. Some people buy 10 papers
or have more than one paper delivered. What's wrong with that? They
pay for the paper, pay for the coupons. If companies don't want to
deal with all of these smart shoppers they really should discontinue
printing coupons.

Don't you have to be of a certain age to enter into a purchase
agreement?

I mean kids buy stuff like candy, etc all the time, but actually,
don't they have to be either 16 or 18 to really buy something? This
could be a good reason they wouldn't sell batteries to a child.

Wow! I can't believe how far people will go for a lousy ten dollar
gift card!

Just out of curiosity, I rooted through the paper for K Mart's ad. I
have to agree, it clearly states one per transaction. Although I do
read the usual caveat about typos and certain limits apply, nothing is
specified that clearly states "one per household".
I've seen this happen quite a few times and the retailer DOES have an
agreement with the product makers and they should all be honored as
long as they have the products in stock.
I have to believe K mart is at fault for not having some kind of
signeage on the shelves, or at the register. What's bugging me is, the
cashier should have SHOWN you the retraction memo, IF it exists.
Good Luck in getting a resolution!

Wow... Kmart certainly has dropped the ball. If it is their intention
to revoke or limit this coupon, it should be posted and not left to
the cashier to face it.

I'm curious as to what exactly P&G said when you spoke to them. Did
they tell you it was an issue you needed to take up with Kmart?

it sounds like the ad people didn't think this through very well and
then when they realized the potential for lost revenue they tried to
backtrack. i agree that it is not fair to change the rules in the
middle of the game. yes, you are being an opportunist, but i've done
it too. you didn't make the rules, you just saw a way to cash in. as
i said, i've done it too, maybe next time, they'll think things all
the way through.

K-mart has the right to limit quantities to normal purchase or retail
size. The policy--K-mart's Advertised Merchandise policy--is listed on
the back of every ad that is sent out.

It would have been nice if they had posted a sign or two to inform the
customers of such a change, but most of the time associates are simply
told of the change and it's their duty to inform the customers.
(personally, I'd have made signs.) The cashier showed you a
retraction/promotional correction.

The reason K-mart had to change this policy is the simple fact that
people are greedy. I read on a couple of those "good deal" websites
that people have gone through ten or twenty times and got loads of
gift cards. Many people stated that they would rip off loads of the
coupons to save for later. Doesn't that seem greedy to you?

Limiting the promotion to one per household really doesn't help.
People just go in seperately and get away with it that way. This is
why I have heard from my K-mart co-workers that they have taken off
the battery coupon tear sheet from the floor and limited to the folks
that actually bring in an ad. Then, the cashiers keep the ads so
customers can't do it again, unless they have multiple copies, which
are a little harder to come by, you know? That sounds awful, I know,
but it's a way to make sure that everyone can have a go at this really
great deal.

K-mart is legally allowed to limit quantities and retract promotions
and correct errors. Loads of other retailers do the same and I believe
Wal-mart has a similiar policy. Sears has one too.

It just sucks that they had to change it because so many people were
abusing it. I'm not saying you were (two is not abusing, IMO and if I
was the cashier, I would have let it slide) but it's those people that
do it five, ten, or more times that caused this to happen.

I agree with you, I think. I know that my mom and I (after I had
become an adult) have "manipulated" store ads to suit our purpose.
Once Safeway had a special buy on laundry detergent. It was the brand
I used, but not my mom. I bought the limit (two) and my mom did, too.
In the parking lot, I gave her the money and she put the detergent in
my car.
I have a vague memory of doing something similar with my aunt when I
was much younger, but I don't remember the specifics.
If the coupon said "one per transaction", then it should have been one
per transaction, regardless of who was on the other side of the
counter for that particular transaction. The cashier had no way to
verify that this was not just a child running in to get something for
his mom who may have been in the parking lot.
I work in retail and from time to time I have seen ad retractions
posted and they have (in my experience) always been posted both by the
products in question as well as at every register.
Based on what the OP said, it seems that KMart was in the wrong. I
would be very interested in hearing how they respond to this letter.

Is there another Kmart you could go to?

Wow there has been alot of complaints about this Kmart and PG coupon
thing. You think they would get it fixed.

It would not have been any different if I had gone in and done it one
day and then the next. I also was purchasing things for my kids for
shool, including clothing, which they now lost the sale to Walmart on.
P&G AND Duracell (which is also a part of P&G) say they had NO right
to limit a MANUFACTUERER coupon and it was certainly NOT a misprint,
and I was entirely right. I was teaching my son to stand up for
himself and to stand up for what is right. One per transaction means I
can do as many transactions as I want. That is not shady, nor
dishonest. Not honoring a manufacterer coupon is dishonest. I am a
person on a budget. Period. I as following the coupon to the LETTER,
THAT is not dishonest. I told them he was my son, THAT is not
dishonest. I am not a dishonest person, I do not lie, and I teach my
children their rights.

How sad. They told you there was a misprint and that there was a
retraction. What compelled you to continue arguing? Poor example to
be setting for your child, too. No wonder we live in a world full of
freebie-addicts. Shady business practice? Splitting up your
purchases to make two transactions is shadier.

I just began Christmas shopping today. I buy batteries while I'm
Christmas shopping and toss them in with the presents when I store
them away. Seems reasonable to me.

I had no idea. I guess I am just behind the power curve.

This reminds me of the penny sales we have. It says the limit is X
amount and people have all their kids go through just so they can go
over the limit. This sitatution seems valid but I don't know....

First, the time stamp on this letter is off. It obviously was not
written at 12pm on the 27th as that is still in the future currently.


I think Kmart should either honor their add and deal with their error,
or print something publically somewhere if they are changing the terms
of the sale, even putting up signs at the register explaining their
error even if just for clarification.

I understand you wanted to do two transactions. I'm not sure if you
were having your son do it for convenience, or teaching him about
sales, but, I think I'd prefer to first ask the clerk if she
could/would ring them up separately for myself. If she said no,at that
time, I'd ask her to clarify her reasons why since it stated "per
transaction". I wouldn't be in line behind my son right after he
participated in the sale, but if she said yes, he could ring his up
after me if you were using this as a teaching tool. I hope your son
isn't shaken up about it.

Your's is not the first letter about this ad; there have been a couple
of others complaining that K-Mart is not honoring the promotion.

Your's is a little different though in that it sounded like they were
willing to honor it, just not in the way you wanted. I agree that if
the coupon says one-per-transaction, then it is just that:
one-per-transaction, and if you have two transactions, then you have
two.

Instead of using your kid to try to "get by with something" you should
have just gotten your stuff once, and then gone back through another
line with another cashier. (Same result, less potential for hassle -
which you ended up getting)

To me, doing what you did would be like having 30 items in your cart
and splitting them up into two orders just so you can use the "15
items or less" express lane.

Sure, it doesn't specify somewhere EXACTLY that you can't do that, but
it goes against the spirit of the express line, just as your actions
went against the spirit of the promotional offer. I figure that's how
the people at your K-Mart felt anyway.

You tried, it didn't work... perhaps you could try again at another
K-Mart since you have 10 more coupons. You could open up a beauty
shop by time you get through all of them. ;-)