I went to do a quick Safeway run. This was an interesting trip-
4 packages Johnsonville Smoked Sausage $1.99 ea- used (4) $.55/1 coupons= $1.44 each
5 packages Granola Bars at $1.77- Used (5) $.50/1 coupons= $1.27 each ($6.35 total and got a $3.50 back in a cat)
5 Fruit Snacks $.99 each- Used $1.50 in coupons= $3.45 for all 5 and got a $3 cat back
White Beans $1.69
Vitaminwater $1- Used $1 off coupon
Sierra Mist $1.79- used free item coupon
4 Cucumbers at .79= $3.16
2lbs Carrots $2
Mushrooms $2.50
Athenos Hummus $4.49- used free item coupon
Total is $24.91 and I have $6.50 in cats to use for next time- so the net is $18.41. Also I was charged $1.99 for the fruit snacks instead of the advertised price of $.99. I went to customer service and they gave me the difference in cash. I decided to call Safeway corp on the way home because my understanding is that if items under $5 in price that do not ring up at the correct price are free. This happens all the time and I almost never get the item free. So anyway, the customer service agent credited $5 to my club card for the error. So I actually did get all 5 boxes free.
*Believe it or not the free item coupons came from Safeway! I received a cat for $1 off Vitaminwater on a recent trip and the others were just left hanging at UScan by the person that used the machine before me. That is my favorite thing about UScan- when people have left cats hanging- you never know what you will find! In this case I got about $7 in free groceries! Tonight I got another free coupon for Scott Flushable wipes so I will get those next time.
Then I just went to a different Target to get the Chobani yogurt and of course my store was wiped out. I did get a raincheck for next time though!
And I grabbed a few things
2 Coffeemate on clearance $1.25- used (2) $1 coupons
whole wheat tortillas $2.09
Grand total for the trip was $27. I have $6.50 in cats and a $5 credit so actually not too bad.
(And for those that are new to MFA- I try to buy several of each item when they are very low in price. So the sausage will probably last in our freezer for the next 2 months. The fruit snacks and granola bars will also last about 2 months. .57 per box for granola bars and $1.44 for Johnsonville is about as low as it gets so I do buy several that will last until they go on sale again. I could have had a more impressive trip if I purchased huge quantities of these items but I really only try to buy what our family will actually eat plus extras here and there that I donate.)
i’ve gotten free item coupons from safeway too! sierra mist, refreshe soda and minute maid juice. so far it’s all been beverages, but i’ll take it!
I used to work at the costumer service at Safeway awhile back and when an item rings up wrong and the transaction is final. You are suppose to get the item FREE. If you buy 2 or more of the items the first one is free and the others they will give u the difference…..Most of the time and this was from my experience they would tell us to try and give the difference and not the full refund. But that could have been just one really bad manager. My advise when this happens is to state in a friendly manner “isn’t this item suppose to be free since it rung up incorrect?” I’m so glad they gave u a $5 credit 🙂 I did they same deal today I have doubles where I live and I got 10 boxes for $5.90 and two $3.00 cats back …so they paid me 10 cents to buy the fruit snacks!! 🙂 Love couponing and love ur site!
Mary he explained the whole thing to me and it was confusing. The first item is free and then something about a $5 courtesy gift card blah.. blah.. I wouldn’t have made a stink but I wanted to follow up since I have had questions here about this a few times. Plus good grief that customer service lady could not possibly have been any slower. It was 17 minutes before she gave me the $5 back. I figure they owed me for my time ;P
Is there possibly a limit of 4 on the fruit snacks? I know in the past (at Safeway) when I have tried purchasing over the limit the sale price stops at the limit and then starts ringing full price. I started to notice this at CVS recently too when I bought 6 bottles of Diet Pepsi and the limit was 5.
great trip! I haven’t gotten any frees lately at SW but hopefully when I go today they pop out
At my Safeway people leave them all the time..that’s why I like self-checkout. I got 2 vitamin water coupons for $1 off and I got a free 2L of Safeway brand soda.
Kellly I was thinking that too but the ad says “must buy 4 or more” so I think something went wrong just for me. I don’t think anyone else has had the problem.
Charlene-Do you know if Target has the same policy? This has happenned to me TWICE the last two times I shopped at Target. On Friday I was charged for two boxes of Niqual (I only purchased one) and yesterday I was charged for two packages of Bounty paper Towels (each at $9.99!! I only bought one package). The Friday purchased I was in was car on the way to the mountains when I noticed the error. I had to call the store and they said to come back in and they would credit me the amount. So on Monday I returned to customer service and received my credit and then did additional shopping (I bought the Special K deal, lunchables and the Simply Juice deal..and paper towels) and AGAIN this happenned to me with the paper towels. This time I caught the error as I was checking my receipt on the way out of the store. They got a manager to give me a credit. This is quite an inconvenience as I’m usually in a rush to exit the store (aren’t we all???). Anyhow, do you know if TARGET has a similar policy? I could not find anything on their website to indicate they did. All I got was the credit and an apology. Sorry for the long post!!! Love your site…it has already saved me lots of $$$ as I rarely used coupons before finding your site!
I did 2 seperate transactions of 4 each on the fruit snacks and it worked fine for me. I used the CAT from the first transaction to pay for the second one, and I got a second $3 CAT.
I did the fruit snacks 3 times,myh kids love them:) I also got 5 boxes of the granola.Charlene,are those the sweet and salty ones that you bought?
Naomi I bought the Cranberry Pomegranate and I think a Dark Chocolate Almond one.
Krista I don’t think so. I hear ya too because this sort of stuff infuriates me. I actually left Safeway and had to turn back around at 8.30 and then sit for 17 minutes for the slowest lady on the planet. I almost wanted to say heck with it because sometimes it isn’t worth the time. I would just call Target customer service when you have a moment or email them. You might explain that you are consistently overcharged from the same store and you would hate to have to take your business elsewhere- or to alert your local news station to the problem ;). What really kills me is to think of all the people that aren’t as vigilant about checking receipts as we are! They probably have tens of thousands of dollars in errors at these stores and for some reason I suspect the error is usually in their favor.
The yogurt was like $6 at my target 🙁
Jennifer did you by chance price check? There is a chance they caught the error and you just missed it or maybe they took the signs down 🙂 If you feel like making one last effort- I don’t have the DPCI number but I have the item number from my raincheck. This is for the strawberry flavor. If you did not scan them, you can try calling and give them the item number and ask for a price check:
284101155
My raincheck says “Reg $5.99 @ 80% off $1.20 each”
If you just call and ask for a price check I don’t think an employee would be willing to go the extra mile and scan it just to be sure. Hopefully the item number they can pull up in the computer and tell you.
It seems like everything has changed at Safeway, so I am so confused! A cat is a catalina, right? But what is UScan?
Nope no changes at all Madeline. Cat and catalina are one and the same. U-Scan is available in some stores as a self checkout option. Other stores might not have self checkout.
Thanks, Charlene! My store (on Blue Oaks) doesn’t have self checkout, so that makes sense. 😉
My Tom Thumb (Safeway) is notorious for overcharging me! I’ve kept track this year…12 times…at least that is 12 times I remembered to write it down. Every time I bring it to their attention, they try to just correct the price. Then I question their price-right guarantee and if it’s supposed to be free. I get the same response every time, “Oh,…oh yeah.” : ( I never leave the store(s) without checking my receipt because of this. Kroger & Target are horrible too. At least Kroger has the same price-right guarantee.