Everytime, without fail, I am subjected to the cashier at the CVS, or Safeway, or other stores, asking me “Would you like to donate ONE DOLLAR [you cheapskate!] to [say] deaf & dumb orphans?”
To make things worse, the little Debit Card machine you run your card through has a prompt on its screen that also solicits you to donate $1, and the “no” and “yes” on screen buttons switch positions randomly each new purchase, so you have to watch carefully.
My objection to this is being solicited by a company I’m trying to patronize, which is patronizing me by asking not once, but twice, each time I try to buy something.
It’s a guilt-wringer designed to make you feel cheap and heartless by refusing. The fact is, small purchases at CVS for $2 means that $1 donation is 50% of the total bill.
**In any case, my question is why are the corporations like Safeway, and others, doing this to their customers? When did this start? Is it ever going to stop? **
As an adult now, I remember when I didn’t get harassed by the clerk to donate piecemeal to a corporate-endorsed charity everytime I buy a loaf of wonderbread. I am fully capable, and I imagine others are, of making our own, tax-deductible donation to a charity or church of our choice, usually (as many do) once a year.
Ah, but that doesn’t give the store the feel-good publicity of having their name associated with a charity. It’s like a voluntary commercial United Way campaign. Every year, Safeway (and Weis, and Giant, and etc) get to tout that they’ve directed a gazillion dollars to Big Brother/Big Sisters/Catholic Charities/Boys & Girls Clubs/etc. through their POS (point of sale/piece of shit/etc) charity campaign. If you donate privately they don’t get to add your $1 (or $52, if you shop once a week) to the total.
If they really wanted to do something nice for charity without dunning their own customers, they’d just donate something like 1% of every sale, out of the corporate bank account.
At least it would be more honest than taking credit for the donations of their customers. Then again, I understand that my negative position on big-publicity charity-giving might give me a slightly cynical take on it.
If you “donate” through these corporate scams they get a tax write-off and you don’t. A dollar here or there on your part may not mean much personally, but for corporations its hundreds of thousands to millions in tax write-offs.
Relax dude. Its not “big coprs vs the the little man” its non-profits getting their message and fund raising across at POS locations. Its a good strategy and I often give when I get the chance, especially for things that are under-publicized like prostrate cancer. If you feel guilty, then thats just you and your emotions. Learn to control them. For me, its a great system.
>If you “donate” through these corporate scams t
Err, do you have a cite for that? That’s not their money, its their customers money, they cant claim it as their own gift.
>In any case, my question is why are the corporations like Safeway, and others, doing this to their customers?
Why not? I used to work for a national non-profit and these are the kinds of deals we’d love to get. Its good for our mission and its good when the commercial sector helps us out. Im glad there are people like Safeway who will take a chance and upset the nutters like the people in this thread full of conspiracy theories. At the end of the day good people donate and it helps society. Dont make this into something negative. When did GQ become bitch and whine central? If you want to complain and be opinionated then go to the other forums.
Corporations have long had charities at the register. McDonald’s has had the Ronald McDonald House donation boxes not only in the restaurant but at the drive-thru. Technology has evolved where it’s easier to collect the funds and separate the donations from the regular income.
I find active charity requests by businesses to be unprofessional in nature and will shop accordingly. Passive systems of charity, such as the change receptacles at McDonalds, are an effective and non-intrusive approach to charity partnerships. I’m not surprised that CVS does this. I dropped them years ago for consistently poor performance.
That’s why I tend to answer them with something along the lines of “No thanks, a deaf & dumb orphan shot my Paw.” I’ll sometimes sneer when I say it, sometimes glare, sometimes look off wistfully/meaningfully.
There’ve been some priceless moments over time, especially when a cashier (or someone in line) gets it. I think the best was when a clerk looked at me aghast and asked in a whisper “was it in … Reno?!”
Nope. You are making the donation, it shows up on the receipt as such, and you get the write-off, not the store.
However, I have little doubt that such stores get a cut of the action. Many charities hire collection outfits to do fundraising and those outfits keep a percentage of what they collect as a fee. It would not surprise me at all to learn that the stores get a similar fee.
You use a debit card to buy food at McDonalds? at a drive through?
You should be aware of the danger of using a debit card to make purchases. The universal securities built into charge cards do not exist with debit cards.
I work for a charity, and this is a real coup, if we can get a corporation to do this for us.
You’re not understanding one thing. People don’t give, unless you’re constantly in their face. You claim that you can decide where your charity dollar goes. I believe you…but I would say 90% of the population doesn’t decide at all, and doesn’t pay any attention to charities, unless we ask them. One of the biggest ways we make money is from corporations. Kmart did an amazing campaign for us this year, making over $60,000 in a month, a dollar at a time. That’s just in Upstate NY. Hess was another major contributor.
If there is a big tragedy, like the tsunami, everyone gives. Otherwise, there are a million billion charities out there, and we are all fighting for the same dollar.
What does affect companies’ bottom lines though, is how they are helping the communities and how they look to potential customers. That company is helping research? Or maybe giving to homeless charities? The companies value this kind of PR so they agree to do it.
I know it’s kind of an annoying tactic but honestly I think it’s way better than telemarketing or harassing you at your home or your office. If you don’t want any, just say no and move on with your life. Or give to a different charity.
As for the poor cashier, don’t take it out on them! The managers make them do it, most of the time. Sometimes, we give out rewards to the highest selling cashier. Not often, though, and of course, the rest still don’t get anything except maybe a plaque.
A lot of people have addressed why the charities like this, but I would have thought that would be obvious: They like it because they’re getting money, and everyone likes getting money. The question isn’t why the charities do it, but why the stores do it.
Because stores want to help local and non-profits succeed. Its good for their image and its better to have disadvantaged people served in the community you do business in. The alternatives of openly begging in the streets, undernourished families, crime, etc is not good for anyone, including the stores.