"Membership Cards"... Or more?

Alright, I just wnet to the local hair cut place to get my do gigged up (or whatever they call it :lol and they insisted that I fill out a credit card like membership card. They told me that it helps them because they know who does/did my heair and how I got it styled.

I stopped in the grocery store on the way home and got some dinner. At the check out they asked if I had an MVP card. I could save money.

I went to get gas on the way home and they asked if I had a....


ALRIGHT!!! THAT'S ENOUGH! Why the heck do i need all these cards?! You can't tell me that with all these tracking systems in place that they can't link it all up to one mainframe and initiate a list on me.

Think about how many of those membership/Savings cards you have. Think of everything you have to fill out to get one... think about how they will be able to see what you buy, when you buy. This is rediculous!

Does anyone else out there feel as penned up by these cards as I am?

reply to post by Jkd Up


Market research can costs thousands upon thousands of pounds / dollars etc to ask people opinions etc.
Why not give them a tiny discount and get you to supply all your purchasing habits for them.
Thats what all these loyalty cards are about. cheap market research.
Thats what it's all about here in the UK with cards like Tesco club card, Nector card etc.

There maybe other alternative conspiracy's though as the govt could probably ask retail stores for market data to show where you have been, what you have purchased etc etc.

Originally posted by colec156
reply to post by Jkd Up

 

Market research can costs thousands upon thousands of pounds / dollars etc to ask people opinions etc.
Why not give them a tiny discount and get you to supply all your purchasing habits for them.
Thats what all these loyalty cards are about. cheap market research.
Thats what it's all about here in the UK with cards like Tesco club card, Nector card etc.

There maybe other alternative conspiracy's though as the govt could probably ask retail stores for market data to show where you have been, what you have purchased etc etc.

I'm just not comfortable with it all. The hair club was the final straw. I guess if it's all innicent it's fine but by the time we find out it isn't it's too late.

reply to post by Jkd Up


I agree, to every innocent idea out there, there is always someone who can use the info for something more sinister.
I have none of these cards as I believe if a market researcher wants my input then they should pay for it.

With the loyalty cards, whats stopping say a private medical insurance company saying we have checked your purchase records for the year and found you brought excess alcohol, therefore we refuse you insurance. Sounds paranoid but it could in theory happen.

Edit spelling.

[edit on 29-12-2008 by colec156]

True story: When we were still living in Tucson, my wife (then live in girlfriend) and I tried to get a Safeway shoppers card. When the lady punched in the info she told us our phone number was already linked to a Safeway card. So we told her to cancel the request, left the store, and prceeded to use the number with someone else's info tied to it. When you use a Safeway card, it puts the member's name on the bottom of the receipt and the cashier always says "Thank you Mr/Mrs _____" when she hands you the reciept. The person who had our number's last name was "Tucker." My wife and I got tired of being called Mr & Mrs Tucker at Safeway, so we started having some fun with it, saying stuff (loud enough for the cashier to hear us) like "I hope we remembered everything on Mother Tucker's list." One day a cashier burst into laughter and asked us if we were shopping for someone else. When we said yeah, she asked "Does she really want to be called "Mother Tucker?"" We almost colapsed with laughter.

Anyway, I told that story to say this, Just because they ask for your information doesn't mean you have to give them accurate info. When a cashier asks me for my zip code for "merchandise tracking purposes" I tell them "99705" which is the zip for North Pole, Alaska. I've been called on that once and just told the cashier "Don't worry about it." and left with my purchases.

reply to post by Jkd Up


Last three I filled out required my email and name, a couple have required my address.

Usually I put in a fake email and/or name, and a fake address. I don't particularly think it's a conspiracy, but junk mail is annoying.
On the other hand, when they ask for a valid number I give them my sister's phone number, she loves meeting new people.

[edit on 29-12-2008 by RuneSpider]