I agree with you Sampiro. I refuse to carry one. I have enough crap in my wallet and attached to my key chain, I don’t need more. If they want my loyalty, give me the best price you can. If not, count on me going to your rivals too.
What really bugs me about Boger’s, or is it Kraker’s ( a formerly working-class,formerly locally owned store called Baker’s that was swallowed by Kroger and taken upscale), is the false declaration of one’s savings.
I hate buying an item on special at Baker’s for $.89 that I can normally get at No Frills or BagNSave for a buck and being told “Your Baker’s Plus Card just saved you 79 cents.”
No, I paid 79 cents below the usual price Baker’s charges, but only 11 cents less than the everyday price at their competitors. I only saved 11 cents, not 79 cents because I will only pay $1 for it normally, not Bakers’ ripoff everyday price of $1.68.
I only go to Baker’s to cherry-pick specials. I used to give them nearly all my business before they became such a clip joint with high prices that are bumped higher for those who forget their Plus Cards.
BTW, the big banner outside Bakers that says “Save 10 Cents A Gallon On Gas With Your Plus Card” says in the fine print that for every $100 in overpriced groceries you buy you get 10 cents/gal credit on gas purchases of up to 32 gallons, so it’s not really all that good a deal.
Right you are. Almost always, if there is a “cents off” banner next to a stock item that requires the use of the store card, I find, just below, unmarked, an identical item of another brand that is cheaper at its regular price. So if you grab for the card discount item, you will often be paying more than you need to. It may not be false advertising, but it is misleading.
And the “you saved XXX” line on the receipt never reflects what you paid extra for the brand they wanted you to buy.
I have a Giant Eagle card, and while the gas discount is nice, it’s 10 cents for every $50 you spend.
And of course, Giant Eagle is the most expensive grocery store around Youngstown (most of the time I drive a couple of miles to the store without the discount card and pay far less than I would with the card at Giant Eagle).
And they irritate me - you can’t use a check there unless you’ve established your card as a “check cashing card” instead of just a discount card. And that involves giving them info that I’m not comfortable with. Oh, and in order to get the card, you give them your info, they give you a temp card and then they mail you a regular card. About six weeks later - meanwhile, any discounts you would have accumulated during that time are just nonexistent.
But this was a gripe about the cards in general, not just Giant Eagle, right? They’re ok for discounts, but you still have to watch prices - because sometimes that “discount” really isn’t.
Same here. I shop at the “other” place. On occasion I stop at the “card” store (easier to get in and out since few people shop there) and when they ask for my card I say," I don’t have one. I find them annoying. That’s why 9 times out of 10 I deal with the crowd and shop at your competitor’s store."
So the card store can pat themselves on the back for the extra profit I give them on this sale and somehow ignore the lost profit from me taking my business elswhere the majority of the time. Great business model they have :rolleyes:
I’m in Northeast Ohio, too, and I went to Tops a while back without my card. The girl at the register refused to let me use the card of the guy behind me, and said if I wanted the savings I had to bring my receipt back with my card and they would refund it. I have boycotted them ever since. She told me all the stores are refusing to let you use cards that are not yours and it had to do with writing checks although I pointed out to her that I was not writing a check.
I don’t know if that’s true cause I quit going to Giant Eagle when they quit carrying corn tortillas, and that’s probably been a year or so ago. So, now I go to Sparkle, Aldi’s and sometimes Sav a lot.
So, in the case of me, the card has cost the store a customer, though it’s just me and my kid, so I don’t spend a lot on groceries.
Maybe if you wrote in to the corporate headquarters this might get noticed (at least noticed enough to send you a “we got your letter” letter) but the cashiers who are asking you have less than no power. Really, at least go to the store manager. If you annoy the cashiers (I’m not saying you do, unless you’re really self-righteous about this) all they will think is “I’m glad this guy almost never comes in here.”
Huh. The stores I shop at emphasize that the card is not anything to do with checks. Check approval is separate. I think it was just a line; they’re trying to make everyone get/use their own card.
I’m not happy about the cards, but I don’t see much point in fighting it. I don’t get junk mail or phone calls from it. I save $15-20 on my weekly $75-90 shopping excursion. That makes it worth it to me.
I get the cards because I like to pay by check instead of debit card or cash. Yeah, I know I’m old-fashioned, but what the heck, I’m old. When I filled out the form, there was an opt-out/in check box and I checked that I did NOT want my purchasing patterns recorded and that I did NOT want to receive special offers, and so on.
I can certainly understand that if you want to pay by check in any branch of X supermarket that they are entitled to ascertain that you are in fact who you claim to be and are not some bogus ripoff artist who will stick them with bad checks. No problem by me.
As far as the “discount” on various items, I just go by the end result unit price anyway, so whether it’s by virtue of the marked price or the price with the card, makes no difference to me.
There is little or no choice around these parts about going to a store without loyalty cards anyway; they all use them. So I have cards for all of them. No biggie.
One of the giant chains near me has taken the next step and is actually offering their own credit card. According to the ad, it also functions as the “discount” card, “so it’s super convenient!” You’re a grocery store, not a damn financial institution!
Interesting. I’m another one who wants nothing to do with these cards. Where I normally shop, though, I just ask the cashier if he/she would please put in a number for me, and they always do, so I get the discounts. As far as I can tell, they have a key on the register that does this. Cashiers who are used to me now tend to do it right away when they see me.
Doesn’t it work this way in other places?
Moving from Pit to MPSIMS.
About six months ago I was at a store and was asked for my card. I said I didn’t have one. The cashier tried to talk me into getting one. I was late for work and said that I didn’t want one and was really in a hurry. The cashier rang for the head teller to get the store’s. I smiled and thanked her but restated that I was in a hurry, not to wait.
The head teller came and was quite surly. “You realize that they are doing away with the store card don’t you?”
Me: <shrug>I don’t mind really, and I’m really in a hurry. I’m late for work.
Him: You won’t be able to do this in the future.
Me: <shrug>
Him: this is the last time I will do this for you.
This was one warning too many - I’m not a morning person to begin with and I had stated rather plainly that I was in a hurry.
Me: Fuck off, I don’t care if you do it or not. I didn’t ask for you to do it today and won’t be back for you to do it in the future.
I left the store with the groceries sitting there. It was a very long time before I went back to their store.
In general though, it is a flip of the coin whether or not the cashier does it. Some do, some don’t. I don’t mind either way.
Repetition, or Freudian Slip? You decide.
-foxy
I live in what is probably the first market to be saturated with these things (even small independent groceries use them) and they do require ID when you get them. They also use as a check card, and a video-rental card if the store has video. Tops usually doesn’t, but Wegmans almost always does (Not familiar with Wegmans? [yoda] You will be. You will be.[/yoda]). With your correct age, they get the rest of your demographic information from your purchase history. Really it doesn’t matter to them if you prefer the store-brand can of corn because you’re poor or just cheap. The checkout clerks usually participate in a sort of guerilla campaign to screw things up, quietly asking another person in line to help you out with a Shopper’s Club Card. Sometimes, though you get a clerk who imagines himself to be Management Material, and you just have to eat it.
I hate these things too, and the company I work for doesn’t use them either. We had and abandoned them ~20 years ago. They’re just not worth the trouble. I don’t have any anywhere, cause I don’t shop anywhere else for food regularly.
Sampiro, are you still in Tuscaloosa? Cause I can name at least 3 stores there that don’t use these cards.
I shop at Harvey’s and Wally World mostly because their prices are good and they don’t use the cards. I don’t necessarily just hate the cards with the white hot passion some of you do. I just lose 'em. There are two stores I had cards from but I lost the cards. No biggie for me cause it’s so rare when I go in either one anyways.
Besides, Harvey’s has these hot pink “super saver” price thingies all over the store. The store is decorated in green and yellow and has hot pink stickers everywhere. It’s worth the trip for the tacky alone! Well, that and good prices.
Here is another thread I started about these annoying things a few months ago.
I still hate the things. At least, at my new address, I"ll be able to downsize to only one card. There is no way for me to avoid Kroger since they’re right down the street. I wish I could convince myself it would be worth it to drive further to avoid loyalty cards, but I’m not going to do it. Besides, I’d rather go to a Kroger than Walmart. I generally avoid the discount Sack N Save type places.
From the earlier thread, they are a subtle form of price discrimination. Certain demographic groups are less likely to use the cards, therefore they’ll pay higher prices. Single males, who don’t shop often, are likely to fall into this group.
Also, the stores try to see if they lower the price on item A, will you buy more of Item B? I think this is silly. I"ll buy the stuff that is a good value, but it won’t encourage me to spend money on other items.
I used to complain and whine about the cards but I use them. Then last March I recieved an envelope from Fred Meyer. Not only was there a nice letter but also included was a $500 gift card for being a loyal customer. I now have no complaints at all. Plus the 6 cents a gallon I save on gas at Safeway makes it bearable. So those that use fake names or don’t use them, I guess the prospects of an totally unexpected $500 isn’t worth it to you.
Writing may be helpful but it just isn’t a high enough priority on my list when I can simply visit the other store. And I did mention it to the store’s assistant manager who then launched into a walking advertisment for the card program. Like most customers I express my opinion with my feet. The “card” store has to realize that they get only one 6th the business as their competitor. You’d think that they would make an attempt to adjust. Hasn’t happened yet.
And my comments to the cashiers aren’t very snarky. More along the lines of - “Yes, I have a card but I don’t carry it because space in my wallet and on my key chain is limited. In fact, most often I shop at your competitor’s because I can get good prices without a card. I don’t think that the card plan works very well for people like me”