Like the Killer Bees, I remember hearing that this day was coming. The day, of course, when major grocery chains stopped doubling coupons, leaving us dangerously close to retail prices on essentials like microwave SoftPretzels and Chore Boy scrubby sponges.
Well, according to a news flash from Mister Jalopy, that sad day is finally upon us.
From my debriefing:
Tragedy has struck in
the form of discontinuation of the double-couponing at Vons and Pavilions
markets. When I got the news, I informed the checker that this would be the
last time Pavilions would have the pleasure of my patronage as I thrust a
finger in the air. Only after leaving did it dawn on me that perhaps there
was no double-couponing grocery store in Los Angeles. Hopefully, the kind
readers of blogging.la will have some input before my, admittedly, ample
supplies of 20 cent Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner, 9 cent microwave SoftPretzels
and free toothbrushes are exhausted.
What do you say, people? Can we help a brother out?
I’m pretty sure Ralph’s is still in the Double Coupon game, but beyond that I have no info. Does anybody out there know?
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Being a person who never uses coupons, I feel the value of my buying dollar increasing at this very moment!
Two words and a number:
99 cent store
Ralphs has made a point of informing their customers that they do indeed still double their coupons.
And seeing as how the customer service within all these union chain stores is about as piss poor as you can get…I can’t say that I’m really mourning the loss of double-couponing. Besides, they can never hold a candle to the excellent prices & service (not to mention bagging) at Trader Joes.
Ralphs will only double a coupon up to a dollar, and wont take more than one of the same coupon for anything. So it’s “doubling”
YES, I TOO HAVE RECEIVED MANY A FREE TOOTHBRUSH FROM RALPHS! One coupon, mang!
Double coupons at Ralphs are alive and well. And in the Sunday Times, they have their own coupons to MATCH the double coupons for extra savings.
Im a total coupon geek.
I never thought I’d feel bad for Ralphs/Vons/Albertsons, but there’s no way they can compete against the evil empire of WalMart. Grocery stores could automatically give consumers the double coupon price, and still not be able to make it as cheap as WalMat, who doesn’t use union labor and shafts their employees out of benefits in order to have cheap prices. So be grateful there’s even a Von’s around to accept the non-doubled coupon, because it probably won’t be in five years time.
I have to agree with David. The customer service and prices at TJ (Trader Joes) far exceeds Ralphs or any big grocery chain. Also, I heard that TJ accepts coupons too. Does anyone know if this is true?
Yes, they do. I’ve given them coupons for Tom’s o Maine toothpaste before (ahhh, the hipster bleeding heart liberal toothpaste that tastes like nothing) and I believe they took it!
>And seeing as how the customer service within all these union
>chain stores is about as piss poor as you can get…I can’t say that >I’m really mourning the loss of double-couponing.
No way. Customer service at Von’s, at least for the two that I go to, is great. In fact, it’s so good I wrote to their customer service address to tell them so.
Vons Hollywood has made a clear effort to be more customer friendly. Employees constantly ask if I’m finding everything. But more importantly they deploy checkers to keep the lines short at checkout. The Ralphs on Glendale is my other option sometimes, and they seem content to have a line 15 people long with one measley checkout open. If you need a gallon of milk and want to get in and out… Ralphs is NEVER a good choice.
Agreed that the customer service at Vons is generally better & friendlier than at Ralphs. The people at the Santa Monica store on Lincoln must get a beating if they don’t ask anyone who will hold still long enough, “Do you need help finding something?”
Don’t forget, the Big Lebowski did his shopping at Ralphs.
The Ralphs on Glendale is my other option sometimes, and they seem content to have a line 15 people long with one measley checkout open. If you need a gallon of milk and want to get in and out… Ralphs is NEVER a good choice.
Oh, man. Hallelujah to that! That place is a disaster. I think all Ralph’s are like that. The one on La Brea was always the same.
TJ’s is still pretty good, but they’ve since stopped selling plastic wrap & paper goods, so I am still victim to the major chains- ugh. Ralph’s in Westwood is pretty decent in the early to late afternoon hours. NEVER attempt to go to the Ralph’s in Culver City (Washington & Overland) at ANY time, even at 0200, for there’s always a line or two snaking into the aisles! Why do people put up with that?? L.A. in particular is really, really bad when it comes to service and speed. (What are those, you ask?? Haha!)