Michaels: Ban Lifted on Coupons for Martha Stewart

Remember when Martha Stewart papercrafting products came out at Michael’s craft store, and you could NOT use the newspaper insert coupons on her items? Well, it seems that rule has changed. As of the Labor Day Weekend ad, Michaels coupons no longer show the “Martha Stewart products” exclusion in the teeny tiny print at the bottom. However, savvy shoppers who had been patiently waiting to use their 40% and 50% off coupons for Martha’s shizzle had varying levels of success. Apparently, many Mike’s employees were not notified of the switchover and refused to honor the coupons on Martha items. (I can picture various throw-downs at Mike’s around the US: Soccer/scrap-mom shouting: “Yes, you WILL give me that Martha paper punch for 1/2 price or I WILL be speaking to your manager!”). One customer was told that the new policy was not in effect until 9/23/07. I don’t get it…I’m showing you the coupon, the exclusion is gone, give me the dang discount! To test the corporate-education levels myself, I headed to Michaels on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend with my 50% off coupon good for Sun./Mon. I planned to find a higher priced Martha item (wait, was that saying the same thing twice?) and get that baby at a big discount. However, after a full 10 minutes perusing all of Martha’s shizzle, I could not find one measley item I wanted. (I did, however, find another item worthy of my coupon in the ‘regular’ scrapbooking stuff). So I can’t report to you whether or not my Mike’s honored the coupon, sorry. And I just headed over to the MICHAELS WEBSITE and here is their COUPON POLICY that is still posted as of today (9/11/07). It states “Michaels coupons may not be used to purchase … all Martha Stewart products.” Many confused scrappers have e-mailed them for some coupon clarification and, to my knowledge, have not received a response. As much as I love Michaels {and I show my love by the amount of money I’ve spent there over the years}, they are not exactly known for their stellar customer service. I know, I know, it’s like being told your cute little puppy just piddled on your best friend’s bare foot….you don’t want to hear it, but you know it’s true.