small town life

[Kali]

We still have a Safeway. Walmart came to town a couple of years ago and put several smaller stores out of business but Safeway is hanging in there.

So they have this promotion going where you earn a gas card and it gets loaded with credit every so much money. The card is redeemable at Arco stations. (I don't know if that is the same company that supplies a couple of the Safeway stores in the big city that have THEIR OWN gas stations but that isn't relevant right now) Of course there is no Arco station in our little town, but I had occasion to drive to Tucson yesterday and there is one right off the interstate near where I was going. So I pull in and proceed to try to use my cards (yes plural*). I can't get either one to work so I go into the cashier and ask if she can make them work. She says "Oh, we aren't an Arco station, I don't know why Safeway keeps sending people here" I look out the window at the big Arco sign, kind of speechless and she says "We just buy our gas from them we aren't an Arco station" WTF? Then she tells me I can redeem them at the Gas City down the road (not where I am going, of course) but they are closed this morning because they got robbed. WTF?

So I apparently will need to drive 50 or 60 miles at some point in the next month (because of course they expire Jan 3) to get my "free" gas.:crazy:


*now the further screwiness: for months, if not years, at the bottom of my receipts there was always some notification of some amount off the price per gallon at participating Safeway gas stations, but since we don't have one I couldn't do much and just ignored those. I am not sure when this card thing started but one day a couple weeks ago the cashier hands me a card and says you earned $9 worth of gas. Cool - oh, no Arco in town, but maybe one of the other stations will honor them (yeah, sure) Ok I go past an Arco when I go to Tucson sometimes - no big deal.

Last week I am buying a bunch of stuff and the cashier gives me another card - no big deal but this time they also gave me a print-out receipt from the register saying a $9 credit for this new card. OK so I figure they give a new card every time. Yesterday I'm back in the store and the cashier gives me a new piece of paper kind of like a coupon off a little pad congratulating me on some more gas points. WTF? so I tell her about the morning's adventures and the fact that I have two cards etc. She says I should only have one and that they are supposed to pass out these little coupon-like thingies every time and that the cards are loaded automatically. WTF?

So I guess I will have to waste a bunch of time trying too figure out how much and where my free gas can be obtained.

I am starting with the time wasting by telling you all my boring story here.:P

[Ptah]

1. If you're headed towards downtown,

the Safeway at Campbell and Broadway has gasoline.

:hi:

[Kali]

2. Oh man I LOVE that one.

Since they remodled to a yuppie store. They have a freaking OLIVE bar in the deli!:9 :9 :9

I'm not quite organized to do major grocery shopping in Tucson but I stop by there occasionally.

Hey, if you would like to see a great bit of local entertainment for cheap, learn some natural history and support community radio check out the Petey Mesquitey slide show at Old Town Artisans on the 11th.

"KXCI's 25th anniversary celebration continues with one of Petey's legendary slide shows, outdoors at Old Town Artisans, downtown next to the Museum of Art. No advance tickets, but give yourself plenty of time to come on down and find a seat. $5.00 at the door. Old Town will be serving food and beverages for a separate price. Dress warm!"

http://events.publicbroadcasting.net/kxci/events.eventsmain?action=showEvent&eventID=823708

[hippywife]

3. Go to their website

contact them with your tale and ask them for a list of stations in your area that will accept them. They should at least be able to tell you that much.

[Kali]

5. For some reason their website is extra slow for my slow dial up,

so I am probably going to just call on Tuesday. (Tuesday is my normal "phone" day if there are no other crises happening, heh)

[redqueen]

4. Wow... what a convoluted mess.

We got a Brookshire's a couple years ago, before that there was only two gas stations, one big name and one mom & pop. Anyway the Brookshire's is running a special like that, where if you spend $100 you get $1 off gas from their station out front. So that's pretty convenient I guess, but I hardly ever spend that much.

[Kali]

6. I spend a LOT of money there.

I have three almost grown kids in the house and I'm not organized enough to make it to Costco very often so Safeway gets most of my household budget! They should give me a car instead of 20 bucks worth of gas for what I have spent there over the years!

A while back they were supposed to be giving me flyer miles but I could never figure that scam out either - I wonder where I could have gone? Probably around the world a couple times.:rofl:

I really wish stores would just have lower prices consistently instead of doing these stupid promotions.

[redqueen]

7. Yeah but then they actually have to provide savings.

With the coupon mess, they can count on hardly anyone bothering. :P

I'm just so grateful to even have a grocery store in town. :woohoo:

[Kali]

8. true dat (grateful to have one at all)

I'm such a tightwad I bought 5 bottles of pancake syrup yesterday because there was a little sign that said buy five get $5 off your total order. Of course it didn't work at the register and they had to run around trying to figure out what the hell. I always feel sorry for the poor person behind me. Yes I'm the asshole getting all my cents off shit. Sorry. I try to let you in front and you should be able to tell from the HUGE pile in my cart that I am going to be trouble - next time get in a different aisle, huh?:rofl: