CVS Receipts Are Too Long
Since it's Black Friday and all, figured I might delve into the consumer-affairs arena.
This afternoon, I strolled over to ubiquitous retailer CVS's Adams Morgan outlet, at 1700 Columbia Road NW. There I purchased a 99-cent bottle of aspirin and two packages of AAA batteries---2-for-1 deal today!
For my $7.32, I not only received the aforementioned goods, but 22¼ inches worth of receipt. Just what am I getting with all that paper?
- About 5½ inches is your usual receipt stuff---store address, date and time, items purchased, subtotal, tax, cash, change.
- One-half inch is for a bar code. Yeah, apparently receipts need bar codes now.
- Three-eighths of an inch is for a "TRIP SUMMARY" informing me I've saved $5.99 today.
- Three-eighths of an inch is for a Flexible Spending Account summary, which might be helpful if I had one.
- About 1½ inches is for a 40-word statement explaining exactly why the Flexible Spending Account summary might be helpful.
- One inch is for a "REMINDER TO PICKUP A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE SITTER, HAIR DRESSER, TEACHER, PAPERBOY, GROOMER OR CO-WORKER. WE'VE GOT SOMETHING IN THE RIGHT SIZE FOR ANYONE!"
- Another half-inch is used to remind me that I can "SHOP 24 HOURS A DAY AT CVS.COM" and to thank me for spending my drugstore dollar at CVS.
- Three-quarters of an inch is used to inform me that I've spent $30.38 at CVS in Fall 2008.
- Now, the next five-and-three-quarter inches is for a coupon for a free $25 gift card with a new or transferred prescription. That includes:
- One and three-eighths inches for another CVS logo and an "extracare/coupon" logo
- One inch to tell me what the coupon is for, and an expiration date
- Another half-inch for a bar code
- Three-eighths an inch for some unexplained nine-digit number
- A quarter-inch for my ExtraCare Card number (actually only the last four digits---the rest is all asterisks)
- Two full inches for a 59-word disclaimer explaining that this doesn't count if your script is paid for by any government program or if it's for a controlled substance in Louisiana, among other restrictions
- A quarter-inch for another inscrutable number, this one 11 digits.
- After that is a second 5½-inch coupon, for $1 off any Cottonelle or Scott Bath Tissue 4 or 12 pack. This includes all of the elements on the other coupon, though the disclaimer on this one is only 1¼-inch. ( It does note that the offer "EXCLUDES PRESCRIPTIONS, ALCOHOL, GIFT CARDS, LOTTERY, MONEY ORDERS, POSTAGE STAMPS, PRE-PAID CARDS & TOBACCO PRODUCTS"---not sure how that applies to a toilet-paper discount offer.)
- And, for good measure, a half-inch of plain white space.
I appreciate all of this added value, CVS---don't get me wrong---but what I'd appreciate more is if you could keep the receipt to, say, five inches, cut your paper costs, maybe take a nickel off that pack of batteries, and give me a receipt I can actually fit in my wallet.
Thanks!
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4:05 pm
Only two coupons? It seems like my CVS receipts usually have at least five, at most one of which is even conceivably useful to me. Of course they may be mistargeted, since I've been using a CVS card I found on the sidewalk a few years back. I'm sure I've had a yard of receipt before for just a few things.
8:33 pm
One time I actually had more than 10 coupons on my CVS reciept. Completely unnecessary.
I wish they would give you a coupon summary at the bottom of the reciept and just take off the coupon when you buy the product. Waste 1/10th of the paper.
8:46 pm
Funny thing about that...if you knew anything about the extracare program or those worthless paper-wasting coupons, cvs probably woulda paid you $7.32 to take that crap outta the store. Get a clue...but make sure you buy it w/ a coupon.
10:44 pm
Where I cum from, we try to has the longerst receits evar. The longer the receit, the more extree books you git.
8:34 am
well iffen you got some extra quepons, I could rightly use a few here n there fer me an d the missus, since we could use some o that thar gel that the younguns on the dirty channels, KWIM, keep a touting as a cure fer whatever ails you south of the border, KWIM, but I digress of course.
4:10 pm
I work for CVS in NJ and I agree that the receipts are indeed too long, and completely agree that as a customer the computer should keep track of your coupons to allow you to use later. The problems with this is that the customer will be at the register longer trying to figure out which coupons to use rather than having the coupon in hand at home so they can decide what they need to buy beforehand. This would then result in longer lines and more dissatisfied customers. On top of that, in order to even make a program like this would not only take at least 6 months minimum to write and test, it would also cost a significant amount of money. If CVS sees this as too much to develop and roll out, they will stick with paper coupons. As far as wasting paper goes, who says it gets wasted? It is a recyclable material and I know in my store at least we try to recycle as much as we can. My final point will be this, if you used an extracare card that was assigned to you, you should only get coupons based on what you have purchased in the past, so you should have a reason to use them. I know everyone gets the "$10 off a purchase of $50 or more" and the like, and most people dont want to spend $50 in one trip. Those I can see doing without, but I personally like the idea of getting coupons for products I would buy anyway.
9:16 pm
Is there a retailer on Earth worse than CVS? They buy up & force out virtually every competitor, then put in stores that are rarely restocked & that are staffed with some of the rudest workers known to humanity.
If it weren't for the fact that there's often nowhere else to go, I'd never go there at all. Boycott CVS - please.
3:26 am
Umm... the bar codes are so the cashier can scan your receipt for refunds. If you don't like the receipt, throw it away- just don't come crawling back for a refund. Idiot.
12:14 pm
I recently used $1.50 in ExtraBucks to knock down the price of some premium packing tape. It was the first time in my life, the great majority of which I've spent as a CVS customer, that I ever remembered to wring value out of one of those receipts. Still, I'm not convinced that the name-brand tape is any better.
3:48 pm
Why not just get rid of the stupid coupons and give me the discount. It would be cheaper than tracking all that crap.
5:09 pm
This is a widespread problem and it DRIVES ME CRAZY!!