This too is Yonkers–By Eric Schoen
What did I hear on the radio the other day? Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBB) is reevaluating sending out the blue and white coupons we have so come to rely on. You know, the BBB coupons that arrive via snail mail, email, text alerts, even little birdies drop them off[1] at our house just like Santa comes down the chimney with gifts during his flight with Rudolph Christmas Eve!
It’s rare that you see anyone shopping in BBB without a stack of coupons in their hands. They come in to our homes, we pile them up in the house, car, wallet or simply anywhere we know we can find them when we need them. Then we are out and about, realize we need something and no where is a coupon to be found.
But don’t worry, store policy allows you to make a purchase and bring the receipt back with a coupon and they will adjust the price for you. It doesn’t happen very often but it’s good to know we have a back up plan to save those precious dollars.
Don’t think for a minute that it is just little people like us who use BBB coupons for our purchases! About a year ago I ran into a top New York State politician (she’s even more important now) shopping in BBB. We chatted about things Albany, but as I saw she had items in her cart and I had lots of coupons I asked her if she had enough coupons for the purchases she was going to make.
Now I must admit I didn’t see her coupons but she told me she had plenty and thanked me for my offer. Which leads up to another important thing about BBB coupons: It’s nice to share! Believe it or not there are some people who shop at BBB without coupons. Some people don’t know they exist.
How could that be? I always find it fun to give a shopper online a coupon and the surprise they get when their $100 item costs $80. I ran into the deli man from Stop and Shop at the BBB in Mount Vernon. He was getting ready to buy a comforter. It was with great pleasure that I gave the man who slices my turkey and cheese and packs up my broccoli and chicken salad a coupon that I hope he used to save some money on his purchase.
Getting to reach that $50 threshold that allows you to get $15 off of a $50 purchase can be fun. I thought I had reached the $50 threshold the other day but when the cashier went to apply the coupon it wouldn’t work. So I had 2 74 cent boxes of New York Yankees and New York Giants breath mints when added to the order brought me above the $50 I needed to use my coupon. The joys of couponing!
Most BBB coupons don’t expire except the ones texted to you on the phone which ‘disappear’ after their expiration date. On Monday I had a texted coupon I forgot to use and went to use it and it disappeared. But wouldn’t you know later that day I got another coupon texted to replace the one I didn’t use. Yes friends, the retail world is watching you!
Some things to remember when using BBB coupons. They don’t expire. I would like to know the oldest coupon the store has ever redeemed! The coupons can be used at Harmon Stores and Christmas Tree Shop stores. If you have a number of things to buy and want to use a bigger coupon ($15 off $50 or higher) you can buy BBB and Harmon items at the combined stores (ones with Harmon in BBB).
There are various types of BBB coupons. 20% work best on big items, $5 off $15 give you the biggest discount percentage wise. Lately they have been sending out coupons that have tiny red writing that says ‘Not for Use in Harmon Stores.’ You can use them in the combined BBB and Harmon Stores, the stand alone BBB stores just not in the Harmon only stores. We don’t like them or the $5 off $20 Harmon coupons which aren’t as good as the $5 off $15 coupons.
Stores like Value Drug accept certain BBB coupons. See the store for details.
Now as for coupons we don’t like, the CVS coupons spitting out of the coupon machine or on your register receipt! They are annoying. CVS needs to give us coupons for items we use, not items we will never use!
BRIEFS:
-This week marks Auschwitz liberation’s 75th anniversary. We pray for those who lost their lives. We know we will never let it happen again. Sadly anti-Semitic incidents in this country and in our area are on the rise. Terrible, Terrible, Terrible! I had the honor of having Rabbi Abraham J. Klausner as my Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El in Yonkers. His work with displaced persons after the war saved many lives. He did not follow Red Cross rules about reuniting people. He is Featured in the movie ‘The Long Way Home’ Narrated by Morgan Freeman.
-He ran the food concession at the CYO for years. Then he ran CYO wedges on Nepperhan Avenue in Yonkers. I can see the frost encased refrigerator that held the cold cuts to be sliced for sandwiches now! He created the Pizza Wedge, Italian bread with sauce and mozzarella cheese toasted to perfection. In the middle of all this he created a safety seat for children seated in a car.
Oops, I forgot the hot dog wagon he had for many years on Yonkers Avenue near Sinatra Funeral Home. I ran into our old pal CYO Joe (don’t know his last name!) at Burger King the other day who told me he just turned 90 years old! Wow how time flies! Happy Birthday CYO Joe and many happy returns of the day!
-I can’t end without commenting on the loss of Kobe Bryant at such a young age along with his beautiful daughter eager to follow in his father’s footsteps. I guess we will never know why despite weather warnings he decided to take to the sky in a helicopter which crashed initial reports say due to inclement weather.
What a terrible loss of a talented man after a wonderful career in basketball where he brought so much love to California and this country. He was just getting ready to blossom in a new career. This tragedy reminds us if conditions are poor and we are warned to heed the warnings as life is too important and yes, way too short!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
