A few weeks ago, I read that CVS was going to reward customers for not using plastic bags, thus jumping onto the green bandwagon. But based on what I saw in the store the other day, and the fine print from their website*, it looks like they're not really going green, they're going washed acanthus.
Sure, twenty-five cents for not using a plastic bag sounds good, except unlike, say, Kroger, who gives me a straight five cents per bag off my total right then and there, CVS only gives you "extra bucks" credits. And of course you have to collect four bag credits before you actually get a coupon for $1. Which has an expiration date.
Oh, and did I mention that just having the CVS Extracare Card isn't enough? (Kroger and Ukrop's don't require a card.) No, you have to buy a "green bag tag" for 99 cents, so it's going to take four transactions before you even start to break even. Possibly more, I haven't bought a tag so I don't know if they'll charge sales tax.
It gets better. If I take my growing collection of reusable bags to the grocery store and need six of them, I'll get 30 cents right back in my pocket. And if I went back to the same grocery store later that day and needed two of my bags, I'd get another 10 cents. At CVS, you are limited to one twenty five cent credit per person per day.
How many marketeers did it take to come up with the plan? They want to look "green", but they're really no more than washed acanthus.
*To earn Extra Bucks® for a transaction in-store, your ExtraCare® card, Green bag tag, and reusable bag must be presented with purchase at checkout. Limit of one Green bag tag use/scan per day per household. Every fourth purchase your Extra Bucks reward will print at the bottom of your cash register receipt as a $1 coupon good for your next purchase. Extra Bucks can be used until the expiration date shown on the coupon.
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