Following a similar move made by Ralphs earlier this summer, Vons said Tuesday that it will put a cap on double coupons.
Starting Aug. 20, Vons stores in Southern California will only double coupons up to $1.
“The grocery business is highly competitive and we frequently refine our promotions based on the market,” spokesman Daymond Rice said Tuesday. “To that point, beginning Aug. 20, our double coupon policy will be slightly modified.”
Currently, a $1 off coupon, gets you $2 off .
Starting Aug. 20, if a coupon exceeds 50 cents and is less than a $1, its value will be capped at $1. All coupons more than $1 will be redeemed at their face value, said Safeway-owned Vons.
In other words, a 75-cent coupon, will get you an additional 25 cents off. That’s it. You will no longer get a $1.50 off. Coupons valued at 50 cents or less will still be doubled.
Stores began notifying customers of the change over the last few days, prompting immediate outrage from avid coupon clippers.
“I would just love to know what these pinheads are thinking,” one shopper wrote on HotCouponWorld.com — a chat forum for coupon clippers. “The economy is really tough now and every little bit helps.”
Orange County resident Glenn Marra, who’s been “couponing” since the 1970s, said he’s upset that Ralphs and Vons are decreasing the savings shoppers get from doubling coupons.
“It’s a very sad day and costly one to come for us couponers,” Marra said.
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“I would just love to know what these pinheads are thinking,” one shopper wrote on HotCouponWorld.com — a chat forum for coupon clippers. “The economy is really tough now and every little bit helps.”
Yeah, how dare those companies try to survive in a tough economy. How dare they!
It’s a sad day when companies actually want to make money!
Perhaps this will help there bottom line, but there’s a chance enough customers, like myself, will take our business elsewhere. Von’s and Ralph’s have higher prices than other stores I shop (Stater Bros, Trader Joe’s, Henry’s). Without the double coupon incentive I simply won’t shop there. The “everyday lower prices” line has proven to be a joke at Ralph’s. I don’t see Von’s lowering their prices either. Each week Von’s “loses” around $20 on my double coupons. After next week, they will be losing the $200 a week I spend.
there=their
Sure wish we could edit!
Kroger, owner of Ralphs, and Safeway, Vons owner, have each had record profits in the second quarter (Kroger especially). Their bottom line was not in jeopardy. With these bone-head changes, they may now be. Vons and Ralphs are each overpriced. We need Wal-Mart SuperCenters and Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets in the Orange County and L.A. areas to bring prices down.
This is why I buy all my groceries at the 99 cent store!! No coupons are ever needed, and everything is affordable. Now get out there and start shopping!
This means half of Santa Ana will have to steal grocery carts from an unfamiliar store.
I shop at Vons ONLY because they double coupons. Now they have lost me. Target has cheaper prices! I will take my business there. Produce can be picked up at the Farmer’s Market and there is a butcher shop in town I’d like to frequent.
Vons earnings rose 3% in the last 6 months, prior to any of this plan. “Safeway Inc. today reported net income of $234.3 million ($0.53 per diluted share) for the second quarter of 2008 compared to net income of $218.2 million ($0.49 per diluted share) in the second quarter of 2007.
Sales and Other Revenue
Total sales increased 3.0% to $10.1 billion in the second quarter of 2008 compared to $9.8 billion in the second quarter of 2007. ”
They are just being typical greedy corporate America and taking a potshot at the Americans that need it most. That’s all.
I won’t be back.
Even with doubling coupons, Vons is still more expensive that Ralphs, and they have lost the about $100 a week I spend on groceries. I will continue to patronize Costco and Trader Joes.
I’ve noticed over the past few weeks/months that both Ralphs & Vons’ prices have totally shot up. Guess I won’t be going to either anymore. Their LOSS!
I hardly EVER shop Vons. The ones near me - 17th Street and Orange Avenue - Costa Mesa which is an old store in a crappy shopping center and the other Von/Pavillion on Bayside Drive - Newport Beach… is??? hmmm can’t figure whats going on with that store since I was in there to pick up something on the way home and the store seemed to be running out of food. Shelves were under stocked and barren. It was depressing in there too. So for me to care about their coupon program… it obvious I don’t care much for their store… anyways… have a nice day!
The coupons are usally for (food) you shouldn’t eat anyways.
Learn how to eat healthy and you will never need another coupon.
Joe- my family eats clean–no processed food other than occasional Whole wheat pastas. I save over $300 a month using coupons. Perhaps you should take a closer look.
Sad Times!
It has nothing to do with their bottomline. It only has to do with the pockets of upper management getting a big bonus. I doubt any of the increase fictional profits are going to benefit the low end employees. Vons/Pavilions has looking for ways to get rid of long term employees and replace them with cheaper younger works with limited benefits and reduce pay.
Coupons bring in customer and help them saves. People love to save money.
Vons/Pavilions/Safeway get higher profits, the upper management get big compensation screwing the shareholders as a compensation expense as stock options.
So Safeway is screwing customers, low end employees, shareholders and just about everyone else.
One thing I respect is at least Vons announced the change more than a week in advance…
…compared to Ralphs, which announced theirs in mouse type on the back of their weekly flyer the day before they made the change a couple of months ago.
2 words (and 2 digits):
99 cents store
I used to do the coupon game but then I discovered the 99 cents store and it blew away any savings I made at the grocery store. You will not get a better savings unless you steal the stuff.
It’s four years after the Strike and the grocery chains are better now!
Prices are lower and service is better! All you cry babies who crossed the picket line are getting what you desirve. The business’s are just watching out for their bottom line! Right? So screw you! Now the stores are staffed with idiots who are making peanuts and don’t know any better. Welcome to the adjusting business market! I loved hearing that one. Bitter you bet. But misery loves company, so come on in.
20 year grocery worker-AKA Banana Scanner
Alex,
Perhaps if you learned the basics of sentence structure and the rules for capitalization you wouldn’t be a banana scanner. I completely respect the right of any company to change their business practices in any way they see fit. I also respect my right to shop where I please. The only responsibility of a company is to “watch their bottom line.” I merely suggest pissing off thousands of customers isn’t the best way to increase it.
Well what a surprise! Vons is overly priced,and as one previous commenter said I’m waiting for Walmart to start attaacking with their supercenters. I’m an avid 99 cent store fan, but lets be honest, they’re limited compared to the big boys. And btw, did you guys here what they’re trying to do to remain competitive? It was on this website today.Anyway, I haven’t really been in Ralphs since the whole double coupon situation and Vons is a joke! I go to Walmart supercenter in Chino Hills,Target,Food for Less,Winco with an occasional trip to Traders thrown in! Can’t get any better than that. For produce just go to the farmers markets or those cheap surplus produce places that are just about everywhere. We’ve go to show these A -holes who’s really boss! If enough customers boycott these places, soon they’ll be tripling coupons! Just think about it……………
Start a letter writing campaign! I am not talk about writing to Vons/Pavilions to stop their changing of the coupon policy. It most likely will never happen. Write letters to Henry’s Market, Hows Market, Trader Joe’s and even desperately Walmart (Supercenters) to expand in Southern California. Best thing to hurt Vons/Pavilions bottomline is more competition.
With more variety markets, more competition. In some communities especially middle class to upper classes, there is not any really competition, Ralphs, Vons/Pavilions and Albertson. . Working Class neighborhood has Latino Markets, Skater Bros and Food 4 Less too. The upper affluent areas will have Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, Gelsons. etc. Don’t forget the Ethnic markets help create competition too.
I, for one, will not be shopping at Vons/Pavilions anymore. Pavilions has always been a place I could go to for unrivaled customer service, convenience, and a wide variety and selection of common and unusual foods and goods. No more. The customer service at both the Pavilions in RSM and Mission Viejo has plummetted. I can no longer justify shopping there. Trader Joe’s, here I come.
The era of the big markets is over in our home! We formerly shopped exclusively at Ralphs and Vons but have lately discovered that Sprouts, Trader Joes and the ethnic (Mexican and Persian) markets have much lower prices on produce and meat. We used to double coupon and now we can’t. Our strategy now is to shop ad priced products and close-outs at the big markets and then shop the other markets for produce and meat. I think we eat healthier that way too.
We are retiring soon and will move to Baton Rouge where we are buying a large plush home in a gated community. The home is on a lake and a golf course and includes country club membership all for less than the cost of the cheapest, oldest tiny condo anywhere in OC. Taxes are much lower and the price of power and gasoline are much lower too. There is more than one way to save money and live on a budget! Interesting is that in Baton Rouge groceries are less expensive but shoppers bag their own groceries even at Albertsons there. I can’t live on the water here. There I can!
Again, no change in shopping strategies for me. I’ll use the weekly ads to check for sales prices. I’ll continue using the double coupons savings that Vons and Ralphs offer, as usually more than half of my coupons are 50 cents or less.
In my neighborhood we have the big three, Albertsons,Ralphs and Vons. I used to work with a lot of latinos that lived in the poor/working class neighborhoods and always overheard them discussing where they shopped. That’s how I found out about Food 4 Less! I may go into these stores still when I have a coupon,but I’m sure they’re still cooking up ways to screw us customers. I’ve noticed each week that there are more coupons in the paper, but for less off,hmmmm????
Nobody shops at Vons anymore. They’re making too much money.
First Ralphs, then Vons. Walmart in Rosemead, CA here I come. I will also shop at Target in Rosemead and Costco Montebello. What is the point of taking all that time to clip coupons, organize them, throw out the expireds, etc when nobody will double the big ones.
Joe. The best coupons are for higher price items like cleaners, soap, and other non-edibles.
Isn’t it ironic that one of the reasons for the last strike was the possibility of losing business to Walmart and here they are pushing customers to the hassle free shopping at Walmart.
Just returned from VONS where I used 11 coupons valued at $1 or more. I asked the checkout dude why they weren’t doubling. There was no indication in-store or anywhere else of their new policy. Their new ad even has “double coupons” (no asterisk) at the bottom. Did I miss something? I felt pretty misled to lose out on $11.
Also, pretty annoying when the special deal meat I’m looking for (boneless beef top sirloin, this time) is always out of stock.
Vons used to get my business, but after their remodel they got very expensive, so moved on to Ralph’s when I had the coupons to use. Now will pretty much stick to Henry’s - their produce is superior and always much less. And go to Costco for the rest of the stuff. Both Ralphs and Vons jumped their prices on everything, not just a little, a lot. But, now cutting the limit on coupons? Come on, the consumer is not that stupid, oh wait, some are!
There will be one less reason for me to shop at Vons anymore. For everyday shopping I go to Fresh & Easy, Trader Joe’s, 99 cent store, and Superior Super Warehouse.
NO to Vons and Ralphs. We do most and now all of our shopping at Superior. Have heard good things about Albertsons. But never again with Vons/Ralphs after supporting them for years.
I haven’t shopped at Vons since they made this change, double coupons was the only reason I shopped there. Shopping there now, doesn’t make sense, they are too expensive. I now take my coupons to Walmart , and get some good deals. I think Vons will lose a lot of business……
Opps, I forgot. Here’s another suggestion, I usually find good deals for my produce at Superior or Winco (Walmart selection usually isn’t very fresh and more expensive than these two). CVS is also a good place to get some deals on personal hygiene items, etc. use their CVS card to get extra bucks and combine manufactureers coupons for extra savings. It’s a little extra work shopping at four different stores and keeping track of ad specials and coupons, but it’s worth it. I’m tired of the consumer having to lose out, it seems everywhere I go company’’s are posting the same sign (dear consumer, due to rising cost in blah blah blah, our prices are being incresed we’re sorry blah blah blah). Well, I’ll just take my business elsewhere.
I just discovered this policy tonight after using a bunch of $1.00 coupons (I guess I don’t do this often enough). I like Von’s produce, but Sprouts is cheaper and right across the street. I guess it’s back to Staters for the rest of the stuff.