I think each Joanns store manager has their own way of letting customers use coupons. I keep mine in my purse and usually use them to stock up on packs of cutting blades, batting, etc. I know it's a pain in the butt but while in the store you need to check your coupon's % off against the sale price of the items you are thinking of purchasing and decide which is the better bargin.
I received a Joann's gift cert. for Christmas and am planning to take a trip there tomorrow with my coupons, list of items I need and a few blocks from the quilts I'm presently working on. I need to find borders for those quilts. May in Jersey