I’m in marketing, so I understand the basis of what you’re saying. However, ZIP code information gathered at the store is essentially worthless.
Why? Well, look at the variables you just threw out in your post. The store has my home ZIP code. Great. But I’m shopping at the store across town. Why? Well, as you said, maybe this store is close to my workplace. Maybe I was in that area of town when I remembered that I’d promised my child a video game, and I popped in the closest store to buy it. Maybe my butt was on fire, and while using the hydrant outside the store to douse the flames I suddenly decided to buy a computer.
The point is, the company has NO EARTHLY WAY of knowing why I went into that particular store, and without that knowledge the ZIP code info is about as useful as a broken fire hydrant when your buttocks are smoldering.
If Best Buy (and other retailers) want meaingful demographic data on customers, there are multitudes of ways to gather it. Pissing off actual customers who want to give the company money is among the single most ineffective ways to do it. The only reason Best Buy uses this tactic is its monetary cost, which is zero. What they don’t understand is the cost in customer goodwill, which is considerable.
This is, hands-down, the funniest thing I’ve read in weeks. I am going to attempt to relate it to MrWhatsit when he gets home, but suspect that snorts of laughter may hinder my progress.
On topic: I hate Best Buy for reasons already gone to in detail in this thread, and will not shop there for pretty much any reason, whether my butt happens to be on fire near one of their stores, or not.
This is a fair point, and I won’t argue with you about it, since marketing is your bag, not mine. OTOH, people here are not upset that their time is being wasted for a largely ineffective marketing survey. They are upset that their “privacy is being violated”, and insult people who willingly participate in said survey by calling them “slave” and a “corporate dream come true”. If it was just a time wasting thing, they (like I) would most likely just fire off a zip code (real or imaginary) and be done with it. Instead, they prefer to argue with the minimum wage clerk and waste even more time.
Since the latter quote is from me, it would be helpful if you read the entire post that inspired it, notably “I’d let them install cameras in every room of my house if they thought that such research could better my living experience.”
That goes a wee bit beyond filling out a survey*.
Saying “No” takes even less time than reeling off a zip code. I would rather go elsewhere to shop than argue, but I also recognize that passivity just means more of these annoyances will proliferate.
*this and remarks by caphis about having a chip implanted and the like are probably designed more to fetch a response than a reflection of actual beliefs.
You’re correct that no real personal data is being gathered when a ZIP code is provided. I also agree that it’s not a privacy violation. My problem with gathering this data is it’s stupid.
I would honestly be interested to see what sort of tactical and/or logistical changes are being made by Best Buy corporate (or any other retailer) based solely on ZIP code data gathered by clerks at checkout stands. I would be willing to wager considerable sums of money that any such decision would be wrong.
For one thing, we know that many customers will give incorrect ZIP code information, either intentionally or not. But even if the information is correct, what exactly do we gain from knowing it? I seriously doubt that Best Buy is going to stock a store differently based solely on ZIP code data. It would also be foolish of them to open a new location solely based on ZIP codes of current customers, as I mentioned earlier.
So, we (in our role as Best Buy Marketing VP) have a data-gathering process that serves no purpose. We know that this process upsets a percentage of our actual, in-the-store customer base, because we get letters about it. We know that each letter actually written represents a higher percentage of people who don’t like the process, but aren’t hacked off enough to write. So, the obvious decision in this scenario is to incent our managers to push the ZIP-code gathering process as much as possible, right?
If you can’t spot the logical disconnect in the previous paragraph, please send me your ZIP code. I’m creating a geographical representation of ignorance in the U.S. I’m guessing the concentration will be highest around the corporate HQ of Best Buy.
Believe it, Broomstick. Caphis is the perfect slave. He doesn’t even put up a fight. Quite the opposite; he wants to be a slave. He’s the quintessential pod person.
There are many robots that live among us. They Do As They’re Told[sup]TM[/sup] according to dictates handed down from their government and corporate Gods. Caphis is just one of them.
I don’t give out my zip code! Know why?
Because then they’ll know all about you, then they’ll start to follow you. They’re watching you know. Those evil corporations! First it’s a zip code, what’s next, will they want to know who i’ve slept with over the past 10 years!
When I don’t give my zip code I know they’re watching me on their hidden cameras going “Bah! The rebels have foiled us again! Until I can get their precious zip code we will never achieve earth domination!”
But seriously. If you don’t want to give your zip code then don’t. The cashier will give you a big :o and the company will give you a big :o while you leave thinking you really stuck it to the man.
I do, however the zip code I give is “12345”. I usually get a strange look, but that is about it. I guess they are not gonna accuse me of supplying false info.
So we are to believe that Best Buy in all its benevolent gratitude to its loyal customers would NEVER sell or use our personal data for financial gain?