Today was the expiration date for those $10/$20 Kohls coupons and I still had four burning a hole in my pocket, so dragged out PITA and BOY  (He got boots, which aren’t shown here.).  PITA got leggings, ’cause even though her clothing rivals The Gap in quantity, apparently she was missing those fashion essentials:  leggings!  Yeah, putting a 90 pound weakling in leggings is like putting tights on toothpicks – a very odd look.  So here we have four pairs of leggings, broken down into two transactions to use both a $10/$20 coupon and a 15% off coupon on each.  Total OOP was $9.75.  (BOY’s boots were, after subtracting the above coupons and $10 in Kohls Kash, $22.08, which isn’t bad for 11 1/2 men’s boots.)  I handed over the last $10/$20 to the guy in back of me as a RAOK.

Last August, Kohl’s ran a fantastic promotion where every purchase of a buck and over earned you $10 in Kohls Kash.  People were running out and buying tissue paper and greeting cards for a buck and then amassing Kohls Kash war chests.  I wasn’t that bad; I realized that we desperately needed bath towels, so decided to pick up a few wash cloths for $1.99 each.  How few?  16, or $34.24 OOP (with tax), earning $160 in KK, which I then turned around into bath towels, hand towels, bath rugs, lots of clothes for the PITA…a lot.

Flash forward to present date.  The towels, Vera Wang, so you know they weren’t cheap, are in horrible condition.  The threads have completely separated and the worst of the towels looks like a cat’s scratch pad – nasty.  I returned to Kohls without a receipt (well, who keeps towel receipts for six months!?) and received a store credit of roughly $120, which I used tonight to pick up the following items:  8 bath towels; 3 hand towels and 4 wash cloths.  This time I chose the Chaps brand (Rachel had good luck with them).  I had 10 of those Spend $20 Get $10 off coupons they were distributing in the hispanic suburbs up north.  I handed one to a guy in line who was just buying a couple of pairs of jean.  He thanked me and when he paid, handed me the $10 Kohls Kash he got for spending $50 or more.  I was honestly shocked, since I was only trying to be nice.

How much did I spend?  $70.11 and I still have four more coupons, $10 Kohls Kash and $63 left on the gift card.  I must say here that anyone with whom I have ever had contact, either in the Woodridge or Downers Grove location, has always been exceptionally considerate, polite and helpful.   can’t imagine why I never shopped there all these years…

I have never ordered online from Kohls, but the Kohls Kash $10 was due to expire the 6th, so decided to see what was lurking in the clearance section (surprise).  Picked out two items and then attempted to pay using both the Kash and the gift card.   hahahahaha.

The system first asks for mailing info, etc. which is perfectly normal – this is where  normality ends at Kohls.  The coating over the pin number on the gift card has to be scraped off – and it’s really caked on.   Scrape, scrape, worried I’ll scrape pin off…scrape, scrape, starting to feel like Bullwinkle (sometimes I don’t know my own strength!).  Once everything is entered, it still won’t go through.

Decided to call the toll-free number for assistance.  wait, wait, wait.  Turns out that 1) you need to give them credit card info even though you are using a gift card.  They claim that they will not charge the card (and I believe them), but I dislike giving out more info to yet another retailer; 2) the system timed out while I was waiting for cs to answer the phone so had to go through the whole process again; 3) when I completed EVERYTHING the system said it couldn’t accept my credit card.  4 was when I gave up and had the cs place the order, but even that was screwy, since she asked for the gift card info first and then said she couldn’t use the Kash (although I had t0ld her from the beginning that I was using both) since the card had brought the order balance down to zero.   Start over  and finally complete the damned two-item order.

Total time on computer attempting to order: 25 minutes.  Total time on phone completing order:  28 minutes.  If I wanted this much aggravation, I’d shop Sears.

I wasn’t a Kohl’s shopper before all that free Kohl’s Kash they were handing out a few months ago.  Then I discovered their extraordinary clearance section.  Jeans at 80% off?  Count me in.  If you haven’t signed up for their emails, you really should because they send lots of good deals this way (they also send a ton of crap, but I digress)…

Either on-line or in the store, use the THXGIVING15 code to get an additional 15% off your total, including clearance stuff.  Guess I’ll have to make a stop with the PITA for leggings.  She currently has at least 12 pairs of jeans so I thought I was safe, but nooooo, she doesn’t have any leggings, so now her life is a tragedy.  Welcome to my world…

*Based on merchandise totals after transaction discounts and special promotions. Surcharges may apply due to size, weight or special handling required. If your item has a surcharge, it will appear on the product page. **OFFER VALID IN STORE & ONLINE. 15% offer is nontransferable and must be presented at time of in-store purchase or Promo Code must be entered at Kohls.com to receive discount. Dollar-off discounts applied prior to percent-off total purchase discounts. Offer good on all sale-, regular-, and clearance-priced merchandise. Offer not valid for price adjustments on prior purchases, Gift Card purchases, payment on a Kohl’s Charge account or in conjunction with any percent-off discounts, including the Senior Citizen discount. Offer also not valid on the purchase of Kohl’s Cares® cause merchandise or other charitable items. Excludes sales tax and shipping. See store for details. ***REDEEMABLE IN STORE AND AT KOHLS.COM 11/29-12/6. Kohl’s Cash® is not legal tender. No cash back. Customer will receive a $10 Kohl’s Cash® Coupon for the first $50 in purchases. An additional $10 in value will be added to the coupon for each additional $50 spent in that single transaction. Kohl’s Cash® Coupon is earned on the amount of customer purchases after all applicable discounts are applied and before tax is imposed. Eligible customer purchases include sale-, regular- and clearance-priced merchandise, but exclude the purchase of Gift Cards. Offer can be redeemed with any other offer, but cannot be redeemed for cash. Kohl’s Cash® will be applied prior to percent-off total purchase discounts. Kohl’s Cash® Coupon may not be redeemed (1) on purchases of Kohl’s Cares® cause merchandise or other charitable items; (2) to reduce customer’s Kohl’s Charge or any third party charge account balance; (3) as price adjustments on prior purchases; or (4) to purchase Gift Cards. If merchandise purchased earning a Kohl’s Cash® Coupon is subsequently returned or price adjusted, the value of the Kohl’s Cash® Coupon previously earned and/or the amount of the merchandise refund may be reduced to reflect any unearned value. Return value of merchandise purchased with a Kohl’s Cash® Coupon may also be subject to adjustment. Offer is nontransferable. This mailbox is unattended, so please do not reply to this message. If you no longer wish to receive e-mails from Kohls.com, unsubscribe here. Please allow up to seven days for your e-mail address to be removed. For other inquiries, e-mail us at [email protected], or write us at Kohl’s Department Stores, Attention: Customer Service, N54 W13600 Woodale Drive, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051. Find a Kohl’s near you! Free Standard Shipping offer good through November 24, 2010. 15% Off Shopping Pass offer good now through November 28, 2010. Happy Thanksaving Days Sale prices good now through November 27, 2010. Early Bird prices good online November 25 to 3pm (CST) November 26, 2010. Early Bird prices good in store 3AM to 1PM (local time) November 26, 2010. Kohl’s Cash offer good November 24-28, 2010. Redeemable November 29 through December 6, 2010.

I admit to never having been a Kohls shopper in the past – no reason, probably ’cause I never grew up with them.  That all changed when they had that fantastic deal last August: get $10 Kohls Cash with any purchase over a buck…you already see the possibilities, right?  Fast forward a few months.  I signed up for their email alerts and today looks like a good one:  15% off everything, including clearance merchandise, both online and on site.  Their clearance clothing section is half merchandise, all heaven.  Jeans at 80% off!  Yes, stuff that my PITA will actually wear!  They have even lower prices on the “Night Owl” deals which start at 3 pm today.  Kinda odd they consider you a night owl at 3 pm, but at least I can still claim to be one.

I’ve heard that Kohls has great deals if/when you sign up for their credit card, but haven’t yet gone down that path…