Rite Aid - Load2Card +ups - Nationwide 9.2.12

Quote from rekcah : Were they able to scan VVs without scanning your wellness card? I tried to do this today, and the cashier refused to scan the VV before the card and said that it wouldn't work. I didn't want to argue with an elderly cashier and the rude SM.

I didn't have any vv Q or RAQ, so I don't know. They just said first MQ, then RAQ, wellness card, then my ups.

Here is a good post on the Rite Aid wall. Let's see if Rite Aid responds to this person:

In your test markets, what is the PURPOSE of not having your +UPs become activated until 6 am the day after they are earned? As you have probably surmised from the hundreds of posts on your wall the last several days that that idea is a great turn off to a great number of customers. If you continually make it harder and harder to shop at your stores and play too many games, customers will vote with their feet and shop elsewhere and your company can enter bankruptcy sooner than later. Rite Aid, if it ain't broke don't fix it!

Quote from MrVietnam : Here is a good post on the Rite Aid wall. Let's see if Rite Aid responds to this person: In your test markets, what is the PURPOSE of not having your +UPs become activated until 6 am the day after they are earned? As you have probably surmised from the hundreds of posts on your wall the last several days that that idea is a great turn off to a great number of customers. If you continually make it harder and harder to shop at your stores and play too many games, customers will vote with their feet and shop elsewhere and your company can enter bankruptcy sooner than later. Rite Aid, if it ain't broke don't fix it!

Response:

Rite Aid Hi, Daniel. Our wellness+ program is one of the richest customer loyalty programs available. In order to continue to deliver the value and offers that you appreciate, we need to manage the program in a way that encourages our customers to come back to the store again and again. +UP Rewards are added value, above and beyond our normal promotional pricing, intended to reward frequency of shopping and customer loyalty.

Uh, I think they really missed the mark on this one.... Have they not gotten by now that this is not going to encourge shopper to come back, it's going to encourge them to walk away for good?
I can work with delay, but if that is the case they need to have a longer expiration, and the MUST be in my hands... NOT on my card!

This just posted on FB by Rite Aid: We appreciate all of the feedback we’ve received about our Load2Card +UP Test. As with any test, we continually explore different program options. We are currently exploring a way to allow you to choose the +UP format that works best for you – register receipt +UPs or Load2Card +UPs. In these test markets, +UP activation will still be at 6 a.m. the day after the +UP is earned. We will let you know when the paper receipt option is also available. In the meantime, please click on this link to view some helpful program FAQs: http://bit.ly/znzOgQ
http://bit.ly/znzOgQ

Quote from Msblue422 : Response: Rite Aid Hi, Daniel. Our wellness+ program is one of the richest customer loyalty programs available. In order to continue to deliver the value and offers that you appreciate, we need to manage the program in a way that encourages our customers to come back to the store again and again. +UP Rewards are added value, above and beyond our normal promotional pricing, intended to reward frequency of shopping and customer loyalty.

They are showing exactly how dense they are. Thank you for posting their response, Msblue.

Quote from Msblue422 : Response: Rite Aid Hi, Daniel. Our wellness+ program is one of the richest customer loyalty programs available. In order to continue to deliver the value and offers that you appreciate, we need to manage the program in a way that encourages our customers to come back to the store again and again. +UP Rewards are added value, above and beyond our normal promotional pricing, intended to reward frequency of shopping and customer loyalty.

Here is the original poster's response to Rite Aid's response:

You can do as you like as it is your company, BUT instead of seeing customers come back "again and again" (as you fantasize about) with this new policy, you may just very well see a permanent dip in sales as your best customers shop at other stores. I know if this new policy of not activating +UPs until the next day and putting +UPs electronically on your Wellness card goes nationwide, I will shop elsewhere as I am sure will be the case for thousands of others. When you first started +UPs and the Wellness program I was very excited but gradually I have seen your company make it more complicated and cumbersome to shop at your stores and now this new idea about not activating +UPs until the next day will be the last straw for this customer.

Quote from Mayflowergirl : This just posted on FB by Rite Aid: We appreciate all of the feedback we’ve received about our Load2Card +UP Test. As with any test, we continually explore different program options. We are currently exploring a way to allow you to choose the +UP format that works best for you – register receipt +UPs or Load2Card +UPs. In these test markets, +UP activation will still be at 6 a.m. the day after the +UP is earned. We will let you know when the paper receipt option is also available. In the meantime, please click on this link to view some helpful program FAQs: http://bit.ly/znzOgQ http://bit.ly/znzOgQ

They could be trying to helpful or just trying to stop the flow of angry posts One thing is clear, Rite Aid would rather be talking about candy.

Quote from Mayflowergirl : This just posted on FB by Rite Aid: We appreciate all of the feedback we’ve received about our Load2Card +UP Test. As with any test, we continually explore different program options. We are currently exploring a way to allow you to choose the +UP format that works best for you – register receipt +UPs or Load2Card +UPs. In these test markets, +UP activation will still be at 6 a.m. the day after the +UP is earned. We will let you know when the paper receipt option is also available. In the meantime, please click on this link to view some helpful program FAQs: http://bit.ly/znzOgQ http://bit.ly/znzOgQ

From the FAQ linked here

10. Q: If I have coupons to use, will my Load2Card +UPs come off after the coupons?
A: +UPs are deducted from total purchase after coupons and wellness+ restricted items
have been deducted.

What does this mean? Because I went for the first time today since I got UPs loaded onto my card and the loaded UPs came off as soon as I scanned my card (the cashier would not let me use my RA Qs before scanning my card). So I'm not sure how they get deducted from the total purchase after coupons?

Quote from Lakebreeze : I didn't have any vv Q or RAQ, so I don't know. They just said first MQ, then RAQ, wellness card, then my ups.

Tested this today, it doesn't work.

It would work with the MfgQ, but not the RAQ. When the RAQ is scanned it beeps asking to scan the Wellness card first.

I'm more then a little irritated with their last post saying their, "exploring a way to let you choose the UP format that works best for you."
Yeah, it's called opt out and you already told us, in the informational pamphlet, and the employees, in the employee hand book, that there IS an opt out. Sounds like their feeding us a bunch of BS. Either their half baked load2card program is not fully functioning so they can't 'turn on' the opt out, or they are are lying to us and just choosing to keep the opt out function off for now. It really seems to me that they are shooting themselves in the foot with this whole thing. Even people who were willing to give it a chance are getting upset because the program is messing up constantly. Seems like it would be best for them to just turn the whole thing off till it's actually working properly and has the opt out functioning available.

For me it has been very simple.
I have gone to RA twice to use up the paper UPs I had. And I will not set foot into the store again until this mess is sorted out. I have explained this to several employees who apparently transferred that info. to the store manager. It is NOT the employees fault so I tried to be as polite as possible.

If RA arranges it so I can choose paper UPs and IF that actually works CORRECTLY then I may reconsider going back there. However, for several months the deals have just not interested me as much as they used to. This is just me, but I hate all those deals where you must buy $50 or $100 worth of goods to get an UP. Just not my thing. So I tend to not do those at all. I know some of you do really well, but I never could work them in my favor and I hated to have a $20 to use at once, anyway. With our high sales tax it has become harder and harder to get anything truly free anyway. I have been reading everyone's current issues and I am glad I have chosen to just withdraw!

I have a really good stash going for all my health and beauty needs so there is no urgency to accumulate more. I will use what I have. Shopping at RA or any other store, should be easy and be pleasurable. As soon as I have to be overly vigilant to ensure RA didn't mess up once again, then it gets way too frustrating. Too much other more serious things going on in life. I don't have the energy to deal with RA incompetence! My store employees and manager are wonderful but they do not control RA policy and unfortunately will take the brunt of all this mess. That's too bad!

So staying away is my solution. It is unfortunate that RA doesn't realize the damage they have created. How long will it take them to recover financially? Me, I was doing RA SCR since the early nineties (if not eighties???? can't even remember that far back!) and they are so close to losing me totally. This is a poor way to care about long term and faithful customers!!

Has anyone been able to Ritch in the test market.

Quote from couponsyes : Has anyone been able to Ritch in the test market.

Yesterday I got 3 soft lips. I got (2) $3 +Ups "has been loaded to your wellness card", but online it only shows one. So I guess it's not working...