Scan and save.
That's how a retailer's new savings app, which compares competitors' advertised prices and gives customers who paid more at their store the difference, works.
But there can be a few more steps involved to push the buttons of high-strung, obsessive types (read: me).
Wait. Wait. Wait some more.
Worry. Feel neglected. Become filled with doubt. Question self-worth. Fret. Complain. Complain again. And again.
Get attention. Feel hope. Receive sweet validation!
Then repeat. Wait. Wait. Wait some more. Worry ....
It's easy enough to get started. Upon downloading the savings app and creating an account, one scans a receipt barcode. From there, the savings app compares prices of "eligible" items with those at other local stores. If a lower price is found elsewhere, the store pays back the difference via electronic gift card.
Note: Always do price-checking with newspaper circulars too. "We do our best to match items from other stores' ads with accuracy. If you have any questions, or think we missed something, please let us know," the savings app site says.
I excitedly scanned my first receipt from a nine-item, $35.64 shopping trip and waited for the shower of savings.
And waited. And waited. But instead of showing me the money, the app only showed "Now comparing prices."
So I consulted the app's FAQ section: "[We] will send you your results within 72 hours of receipt submission."
I endured the 72 hours, checking the app continuously.
But after 96 hours, my limited patience -- not to mention my confidence, dignity, faith and dreams -- had expired.
It was like waiting for a guy to call. I could only conclude the savings app was just not that into me.
Well I could think that ... and then follow the FAQ's directions to use the "Give Feedback" option. And post a grievance on two Facebook pages, one for the store and one for the store's savings app. And submit a customer service inquiry on the store's main website.
I can't be sure which of those methods triggered an email response, but I soon received one apologizing for difficulties with the application and asking me to call a number or forward my concerns to another email address for further assistance.
Shrug. Well, at least the savings app still wanted to be friends.
But before I could call the number, I saw the long-awaited savings app notification on my phone: "We found a lower price & you get the difference!"
All the anticipation and agony had finally paid off!
Credit earned: $2.48 (the Land O' Lakes butter I bought for $4.98 was on sale for $2.50 somewhere else).
Um, that's all? It occurred to me that I had been reduced to the crazed, relentless paperboy from Better Off Dead: "I want my two dollars!"
Perhaps it was a pittance compared to sums -- $5.69, $6.03, $9.60 -- friends had reported. But still, I felt content to have the attention of the savings app and to have basked in its acceptance.
It likes me! It really likes me!
Well, at least it did.
To date, I haven't received additional refunds. Three subsequent trips produced a "No lower prices found" result, with a notification boasting its prices had won, while the two other receipts hang in "Now comparing prices" savings app limbo.
But that's OK. Any savings are great savings, right? The experience has taught me to be more patient and expect less.
I want my two cents!
Keep your end of the bargain, email:
jchristman@arkansasonline.com
What's in a Dame is a weekly report from the woman 'hood.
Style on 08/26/2014