Vouchers for schools - there must be an easier way?

[SindyTellsMe]

Burning issue of the day here... I'm having a handbag/purse clear-out. A job that we all champ at the bit for.

AIBU to be annoyed about having to retrieve lots of little scrunched-up vouchers and make a pile to return to school? Can't we add points electronically somehow?

I know it results in a new goalpost for school or something and is therefore "a good thing" but there must be an easier way than this paper system, I'm sure loads get lost.

[UKSky]

Our local Tescos does a letter box with 3 local schools on it (and it's all Tescoed up so I assume other stores can do it). My DD is not yet at school yet so we don't use them, but I always get them and put them in the letterbox for the school she hopefully will be attending.

[Firkytoodle]

TBF Flisspaps they probably could collect 6000 if they advertised the fact anywhere they were collecting them-nothing on the website, nothing in the newsletters, no banner outside. You have to go into the office, ask the secretary for the location of the box and then find it in the cluttered office. I asked and they have collected a just one small box full unsurprisingly.

I guess I don't like the fact that these vouchers are printed, distributed, carried around (a percentage of which are lost, damaged or expire before use), sorted, given to the school in dribs and drabs, who then count and sort and fill in forms, then send them to sainsburys who have people who count and sort and read the forms and co-ordinate the sending out of the stuff. It seems wasteful in terms of resources, effort and time. Printing something at the bottom of the receipt seems much more logical.

It would be better if you could have something like the nectar site where you could see your total and decide where to send them to-e.g. 100 here, 100 to another school, 50 to scouts etc.

[vintageteacups]

Why don't the participating supermarkets just set an annual amount to each school in their county and then give a donation for the stuff?

They waste a hell of a lot of paper printing the vouchers.

[juneybean]

I'm constantly saying yes when asked if I'm collecting them, but I don't actually have any links to schools at the minute thankfully my mam has been taking them off my hands. I don't know why I say yes, I always do and end up with them all over my car.

[aldiwhore]

Mine refuse to touch them, I just pop them into the school reception at random moments as I remember.... they are stupid though, would be better to link it to clubcard/nectar card.

[dealer]

Giving out extras is a sackable offence at our Sainsbury's

[moomaa]

Yep I have handed in at least 600 of the things to my preschool, 300 in one go after the Easter hols. There are no other children in my family so we get mum and dad's, my sisters and loads from people at my hubby's work. (I do sometimes put a few Tesco ones in the middle of a big pile of Sainsburys ones though).

[SindyTellsMe]

I mean Flisspaps (hooting at name!)

[SindyTellsMe]

Wow that sounds like a good haul, FirkyToodle!

[Flisspaps]

Firkytoodle I'm a CM and I've managed to collect 1500 Tesco vouchers - surely even a small school of children could collect 6000? There's very little admin, and it's money that people would have spent anyway, so I get something for the children for nothing.

I've got enough for two sets of beanbags, a big tub of playground chalk, velcro gloves and bats (like the Scatch things from years ago), 6 pots of people-coloured paints, two kids tool belts with gardening tools, 3 'talk balls' and two nobbly bobbly balls. I've got more vouchers left so will be able to get more, and that's before I've started on the Sainsbury's vouchers!

I like counting all the little bits of paper, and if they're driving anyone mad, feel free to send them my way

[SindyTellsMe]

Yes, but it would be the same - "Are you contributing to vouchers for schools? Yes? - beep!" You wouldn't have to get them from anyone else in the queue etc because they would just beep theirs, too.

Blagging extra ones is a point I hadn't considered. I do sometimes get handed a massive pile for a £40 shop...

Still, though. What a carry-on.

[camdancer]

Having paper vouchers mean that the checkout person can give more out if they want to. When they ask if you want vouchers I always say "yes, and any you have spare" and usually they will give me a few extra. Near the end of the promotion they just want to get rid of them so will give you whatever they have left.

Then they end up in the bottom of my bag until the closing date has passed and they are useless.

Paper vouchers also mean my mum can collect vouchers for my DS's preschool even though she doesn't live anywhere near us. And you should see my Mum try to get extra vouchers. She is shameless!

[SindyTellsMe]

Just out of interest, does anyone have DCs who really want to take the vouchers into school/scouts? Anyone consider it a badge of honour? Mine are "meh" and likely to forget them for weeks.

[SindyTellsMe]

So far the only valid point in favour of paper ones as far as I can see is that people can share them out amongst their DC. Fair enough, but still an awful lot of hassle for 1/100th of a football.

The receiving organisations don't have to have an electronic voucher receiving wotsit. They could maybe apply for a share of whatever funds are generated in that area.

So at the checkout, it would be a case of applying a point for every £10 spent towards the local area's schools & groups.

The figures would look a lot more impressive for the stores, too. "Last year this store donated £6,000 of computers to the schools of Little Fiddling" looks much more impressive on a poster in the shop than one at the local playgroup showing that xxxx hours of collecting, sorting, folding and returning resulted in "3 hula hoops."

I should charge for this, this is red hot PR strategy I'm dishing out here

[alizee]

are you talking about the supermarket's school vouchers? our local tesco's has a collection box for them next to the exit.. so it's basically "are you collecting school vouchers?" "yes" then as we walk out pop them in the collection box..

[CurrySpice]

All perfectly valid reasons cat64 but none of that overrides my personal annoyance at a cluttered purse :o

[CurrySpice]

The easy answer would be for the government to fund sport and the like in our schools properly

I felt like Ben Elton - little bit of politics there

I agree - they are a PITA and I have receipts from work, receipts from personal stuff plus a whole load of other random crap to cart around anyway

[snoozin]

I agree. The current system seem ridiculous. An electronic card, or even a code on your receipt that you can pop on a web-site has to be easier than all these bloomin' tickets!

[ExpectoPatronum]

And please spare a thought for those of us whose job includes counting up all the bloody things and returning them to Tesco / Sainsburys.

You have to make about a billion little piles of them with 10 in each, or 100 in each, or whatever number they decide this year (but it's guaranteed that the two supermarkets will never be exactly the same).

And some people think they're being really helpful to you by sending them in already paper-clipped together in groups of 35 or some other random number.

And then someone comes into the school office and lets the door bang and they all float all over the place like ticker-tape, and you have to start again.

Or you find someone has nestled 20 Tesco vouchers in the middle of their pile of 100 Sainsburys ones.

And then you have to package them all up and send them off to the relevant supermarket, with the relevant paperwork.

Last year I sent off the huge package of Tesco vouchers, went back to my desk and found all the paperwork identifying how many, which school, etc. still sitting there because I'd forgotten to put it in .

[Firkytoodle]

YANBU. I have lots cluttering up my handbag atm but never remember to give them in.

I had a look online and one football is 87 vouchers and a football set- few balls and cones is 6000. Thats £60,000 spent in that supermarket for a £20 set for the school. I'm surprised its worth it for the school with all the admin etc, there is no way our small school would get 6000.
What a waste of paper too. Electronic transfer of points sounds much better-then the school dont have to have someone counting them and sending them off either.

[SindyTellsMe]

Exactly, musicposy and cakeandcustard.

I don't think it looks great for the supermarkets, either. When vouchers time rolls around each year, I don't think "Ooh, lovely, generous supermarkets," I think "Oh FFS, one more thing to keep track of."

[cakeandcustard]

You could collect points like clubcard points and be sent one voucher at the end of the promotion to give to the school of your choice, I can't cope with all the little bits of paper slowly composting in the bottom of my bag!

[musicposy]

Added to the fact that when you get to secondary it's not cool to take them in - secondaries must lose out big time.
I wish they had some sort of voting/ box token system in the supermarket - a bit like Waitrose do for charity.