Place: smashburger
Lunch: Chili dog (no jalapenos), chili (no jalapenos), Dr. Pepper (no jalapenos)
So last night, I was at Cold Stone. I got my usual ('like it'-sized cake batter with cookie dough mix-in in a plain waffle cone). Smiling Counter Guy asked if I had a punch card yet.
Me: "No, and I don't want one".
Him: "Oh, uh, okay."
Recently at a favorite restaurant, the server, knowing I ate there often, gave me a loyalty card to register online. Something about a free meal every ten, I think.
Haven't been back since. Said card is sitting by my computer, unregistered.
I hate these things. Supermarkets and restaurants are the most common places to issue loyalty cards or punch cards or whatever. They get a bunch of your information for the purpose of micro-marketing to you, then they have specials that are applicable to only those with cards.
Meanwhile, your wallet is bulging at the seams with plastic and paper cards. And coupons. I hate those too.
What am I supposed to do...start carrying a purse?
Nobody's forcing anybody to carry them, of course. You can pay full-price for whatever it is you should be already 'saving' on (which was probably already at an inflated price to begin with). And in some places I've been, even when I didn't have a card, I got the discount anyway. The clerk either ran their OWN card through, or they used a spare one they had lying around. One clerk recently even borrowed the loyalty card from the customer behind me and got me the discount THAT way.
I've basically allowed myself to carry five. One for a hotel chain, one for a supermarket chain, one for a pet store chain, one for a department store chain, and one for a restaurant chain. Mostly because these specific places are the only places to offer specific things I regularly want, and they do save me a significant amount of money. I've actually long since lost the pet store one...I just give the clerk my phone number. My phone number from several years ago, because I've long since moved, and the pet store doesn't have any easy way for you to change that information. And I have absolutely no reason for them to have current information anyway.
Doesn't that really defeat the purpose for them?
I would MUCH rather shop at a place that offers good prices for the stuff I want without having to sign up for one of these things.
I was already loyal. Why force the issue?
