Does my office supply store really think anyone would want to carry FOUR DIFFERENT plastic cards to get 10% off toner and ink? I HAVE a business account card for your store. I had a “rewards” card for your store, but I think they finally hooked the rewards program onto my regular account card. I have a third card to prove I have sales tax exempt status. Now I’m being insulted at the cash register by your minimum wage clerk because I DON’T WANT to SAVE money by having him scan in a new, fourth card for discounts on ink and toner purchases. “So you’re telling me you DON’T want to save money on this purchase?”–out loud in front of other customers in line, this pissy geek is insulting a guy with more than $200 worth of stuff in his shopping cart. How about getting rid of half the cards and lowering the everyday prices of toner and ink a bit? That might work, too.
I’m mad at myself for not walking away from the cart altogether.
And it’s not just them.
Looking for a bag of chocolate Easter eggs a couple of weeks ago at a chain pharmacy. Tags on the shelf: Regular price $4.99–Price with Our Card $2.59. REALLY?? I walked out of the store and bought them across the street where I got them for $2.69 with no card at all.
I used to go to a chain supermarket with Saver Cards required for sale items. A new (smaller chain) supermarket that has no special discount cards. I cut one-third off my grocery bill by shopping at the no-card store that’s prices overall were lower than the store requiring me to carry more plastic in my wallet.
I’m going to actively start seeking out stores that do not ask me to sign up for a card in order to “save” money.
Maybe this is a “mini rant” and not fully pit-worthy, but I’m pissed.
I’m looking forward to the day when there is one standard card, and all your memberships can just be added to it. Maybe it will even be embedded into your skin. Or a bar code tattoo, say on your forehead. One quick scan and they’d instantly know how much you have to pay for peanut butter. (Or toner if that’s what floats your boat.)
If you have a smartphone, there are free apps that will keep all of your “rewards” card info right there in one place. I use CardStar, but it isn’t the only one. It removed about half of the bulk from both my wallet and my keychain.
I also loathe these damned cards with a passion. I’ve pitted them in the past, and I’m always surprised by how many people chime in with how great they think they are.
The entire point of the cards is to be inconvenient. That way people with a lot of money will just pay more rather then going through the hassle, but people with less money will get a lower price instead of not buying at all.
Such schemes are ubiquitous, and exist for good reasons (from the retailers point of view, anyways), but I agree they’re also pretty annoying. I wish prices were just determined by supply and demand instead of complicated obfuscation schemes.
One retailer (Penny’s?) recently tried a ‘No sales, everyday low price’ strategy and it failed miserably. I usually ignore this type of thing, except at Harbor Freight. In that case I’m throwing away the money so I figure I should throw away less of it.
I keep the Fred Meyer card for the simple fact that we shop at one of their subsidiaries on a weekly basis. For every 100 spent, you get .10/gallon off at their gas station or any Shell station. And it’s cumulative up to $1.00/gallon. Not crucial for my Prius, but when I want to fill the RV’s 30 gallon tank, it can be a substantial savings. Plus I get another dollar added to my cell phone minutes, but that’s a non-factor for me.
While we’re at it, I’m fed up with apps, especially every damn web site wanting me to download their app! It’s a web site - it’s read by my (one) browser like every other fucking web site!
You know, there are children starving in Africa who wish they had rewards cards and apps. Or an app to store their rewards cards. Point is, they’re hungry and jealous. So shut up and switch to a man-purse.
I have a card I use at Safeway, since I shop there most often. Whenever I got to a different chain, I simply tell the cashier “I need a new card” and they give me one, swipe it, and I throw it away on the way out.
Every fucking store wants you to have one of it’s goddam fucking cards. No, no, no I don’t want to stuff my wallet with your cards and I don’t even want your apps cluttering up my smartphone.
If you want to attract me as a frequent customer, you’ll have to figure something out. Like Safeway. I punch in my phone number (and I use a fake one, too), and I get great discounts on my favorite adult beverages. Love it!!
Fucking brilliant plan. The stupid cards are nothing more than a ploy to get all the personal information about you and your purchasing habits possible - and you go and give them access to all the info on your phone as well. Or do you think the clown behind “CardStar” make it available to you out the goodness of their heart? No, they do it so they can sell marketing information about YOU.
Yep. Ditto my Vons card. I’ve compared prices and I know Vons is competitive on groceries without the card. With the card I get not only discounts but electronic coupons and cash off gasoline. Yeah, they get some personal info and can track our purchasing patterns. So the fuck what? I have news for people: “they” already know everything they need to know about you if they want to. If you are on-line, you are tracked if they so please. Be reasonable about what you place out there, but what groceries you buy is hardly sensitive information. Check your paranoia and relax.
“But they’ll share your info and market to you.” And this is a bad thing why? Saves me all sorts of time looking for savings when the computer tells me when the sales are.
ETA: But the OP is right about card proliferation.
I’m not sure about the entire point. I believe a big part of it is that cards allow them to market to you and measure demographics, e.g. “women 30-40 tend to buy lots of X.”
Wasteful! If you do have one, just stick it in a drawer and use your phone number. Or try to find out what generic phone number they use when the cashier doesn’t want to bother with some old lady hunting for the card in her purse (along the lines of 555-1212).
Raley’s started this I think recently, at least I never noticed it in the years before. Annoying. Weirdly, the cashiers don’t ask if you have one like Safeway.
I still use my parents grocery store cards. I’m 30 years old and live across the country from them. Mostly its so I can donate the gas savings to them and screw with the stores computers although I’m sure they’ve figured out I’m a separate household and market me accordingly.
I’m another one using the fake phone number gambit. I don’t really see a reason to carry around any cards. I’ve also never been to any store with rewards cards that didn’t take a phone number in lieu of a physical card.
That’s one thing they’re used for, but I have trouble believing that’s a big reason why such programs exist. There must be cheaper, less biased and more reliable ways of getting customer data then offering a constant stream of discounts on store items.
I’m pretty sure they, like coupons and near-constant sales, are just another form of price discrimination.
Lighten up Francis. They get the bar code for the card, for which I have already provided some personal information. They do not get any personal info from my phone.