Are you a "Preferred Customer"?

[The Heretic]

First it was Safeway, then it was QFC, now Albertson's has joined the latest craze in grocery shopping; "Preferred Customers".

Now, if you want the same "sale" prices you got previously, you must give Albertson's your personal/confidential information and allow them to track your purchases. Sure they could do this before via my debit card, but they didn't have my personal info via that card, just my name. Having to give them this info, having to carry the card with me, and having to present it each time I want "Preferred Savings", is of no convenience to me as I had all this before without giving them this info and having them track me this way.

So I just wrote them a letter expressing my dissapointment at this development and told them I have stopped shopping at Albertson's as of today.

 

[KillerMuffin]

So does Ace hardware, the tire place up the road, and a few other non-grocery places.

It's the wave of the future. Say "Hello Big Brother!"

If the adult video store institutes one, I'm putting down Marxist's info on the sign up sheet.

 

[RobDownSouth]

The absolute worst is CVS pharmacies, who sell list of names and addresses of people taking medication for terminal illnesses to cemetary telemarketers.

 

[Shiner]

Yeah I don't even have any of those loyalty cards or anything and I hate the idea of some corporation knowing anything about me

 

[PacificBlue]

I agree. I hate this part of stores. I try very hard not to patronize any place that does this. Unfortunately, most do anymore.

 

[Soblue]

Throb, you have got to be kidding. That's horrible.

For groceries, I really couldn't care less. I just hand them my card, and if they want to know about my Lucky Charms habit, feel free.

I just wish they'd use the info to actually send me coupons for things I buy, instead of competitors coupons.

 

[KillerMuffin]

There should be a law against being required to sell your personal information in exchange for competitive pricing.

 

[Lasz]

Its just marketing to see who buys what. This way they can trigger the right products at the right people. I think it is marketing genus to be honest.

What do I care is someone knows I bought a can of tomatoes?

Its not like i am buying porn, its food!

 

[busybody..]

Hello!! Anyone HOME????????

You could all give MADE UP NAMES AND INFO!!!!!!!

DUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Monazwx]

I don't care about them knowing what cereal I like but everything right down to the tampons I use.
Now that's just wrong!

Rob, does CVS really do this? I can't imagine picking up the phone and hearing,
"Have you picked out burial plot yet ma'am, well for $5000, you can get the heavenly package including . . .?"
Really tacky and gross.

 

[bknight2602]

Its just marketing to see who buys what. This way they can trigger the right products at the right people. I think it is marketing genus to be honest.

What do I care is someone knows I bought a can of tomatoes?

Its not like i am buying porn, its food!

Yes a marketing ploy!

 

[KillerMuffin]

The thing I resent about it isn't that they're trying to find ways to market, it's that I have now become a barterable commodity and they're making a profit off of me.

They sell my email address.
They sell my snail mail address.
They sell my likes and dislikes.
They sell my spending habits.

It friggin irritates. The thing I truly despise is when I get my credit report every year and see the huge numbers of "hits" from marketers looking for targeted audiences to sell credit to. They have no business looking at that information.

Rockefeller was a marketing genius, too. But we put up anti-trust and anti-monopoly legislation up anyway.

 

[The Heretic]

Re: Hello!! Anyone HOME????????

You could all give MADE UP NAMES AND INFO!!!!!!!

DUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello!!! I stated it is not so much that they have the info, it is that is inconvenient for me to have to give it to them and to have to accomodate their alleged need to gather this info. It is like when you go into Radio Shack to buy something. For the longest time they wanted your life history to buy a 9 volt battery.

Albertson's and other stores can buy that info if they need it. They can key my purchases to that info by the fact that I pay for my purchases with my debit card. But noooo! They don't want to spend the money or take the chance that there might be 2 John Q. Publics out there, they want to inconvenience me by requiring that I carry and present this card.

I have enough fucking cards I have to carry around with me! I don't want to have to carry a stupid fucking card for every store I frequent! I would have hundreds of cards I would have to carry and find whenever I went shopping.

Just say NO! to "Preferred Customer" cards/programs!

 

[Nogard]

Albertsons will give you a card even if you don't give them any personal infomation. Check you sources

 

[Mischka]

Re: Re: Hello!! Anyone HOME????????

Albertson's and other stores can buy that info if they need it.

What do you think the "Preferred Customer" program is? They buy the information by offering lower prices. All of the grocery stores offer the cards without their customers having to reveal any information. It says so right on the application.

Of course thestores are happy to get your personal contact information, so they can send target coupons/promotions to you, but the are also concerned with the types of groceries that are being purchased together, favored brands, average expenditure, average number of shopping trips per week/month, time of day of purchases, etc. That type of information is not customer-name specific. If you don't want $5 off your next shopping trip coupons in the mail, then sign up for a card without revealing who you are. No biggee.

 

[The Heretic]

Albertsons will give you a card even if you don't give them any personal infomation. Check you sources

As I stated multiple times, it is mostly the inconvenience. I could just as easily tell Radio Shack that I am George Bush and my telephone number is 555-1212, but it is a load of crap to have to do that every time I want to purchase something there. What if every store did this? Would you want to carry around a card for every one of them just to get the sales prices they advertise? How many cards would you have to carry, keep track of, find and present? I used to shop at 4-5 different gocery stores, 3 different hardware stores, a dozen or more restaurants, a dozen or more department stores, half a dozen different gas stations, and dozens of different speciality stores. I would hurt my back just carrying around all those different cards! I should only have to present my money in exchange for the goods.

If they can't find some less intrusive way to keep track of purchases while at the same time giving me competitive prices, then I will shop somewhere else where I don't need to go through the inconvenience. Fuck 'em.

 

[The Heretic]

Re: Re: Re: Hello!! Anyone HOME????????

Of course the stores are happy to get your personal contact information, so they can send target coupons/promotions to you, but the are also concerned with the types of groceries that are being purchased together, favored brands, average expenditure, average number of shopping trips per week/month, time of day of purchases, etc. That type of information is not customer-name specific. If you don't want $5 off your next shopping trip coupons in the mail, then sign up for a card without revealing who you are. No biggee.

Read my lips; they already have this info! Every time I go into Albertson's they look at my reciept and it has my name and debit account number (last 4 digits) on there, and they say "Thank you Mr. J.Q. Public - you saved $5 today" - it is one of the things they do. All that info goes into their computer and they track all of it and can even tie it to my name. If they wish, they could even purchase the info from various sources and find out more about me if they wish.

They already have the fucking info and/or can get it elsewhere! Why should I be inconvenienced by having to apply for, recieve, carry, keep track of and present their stupid card? I can go elsewhere and get better prices without having to do that.

 

[Lancecastor]

One day I want to buy a big telco database, then market it so that instead of our data belonging to companies, you will keep your data at my place and I'll rent parts of it out with your permission to companies, for which they will pay us. We'll split the rev. It'll be fun.

Kinda like David Bowie.

For decades, songwriters got screwed out of owning their songs.

Bowie not only owned all his material....now he leases it out for a flat fee, then gets to get it all back later.

So, I propose we all take back our data, put it on a secure service we the people own, and rent it to corporations so they can figure out where the people who need New Ragu With Cat Brains at "our" price.

Remember....it's my idea. Dibs! No stealsies.

Thank you.

Lance.

 

[The Heretic]

Remember....it's my idea. Dibs! No stealsies.

Too late! I'm already writing the SQL as we speak!

 

[Angel]

As I stated multiple times, it is mostly the inconvenience. I could just as easily tell Radio Shack that I am George Bush and my telephone number is 555-1212, but it is a load of crap to have to do that every time I want to purchase something there.

You can simply tell them that you will not give them this info. You don't have to tell them anything.

 

[Mischka]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Hello!! Anyone HOME????????

Read my lips; they already have this info!

No they don't. Not all shoppers do not use the same method of payment every time. The Preferred Shopper card tracks the purchasing behavior of a shopper independent of which credit card they use (or debit card or check or cash). For the stores, the cards are a more efficient way of tracking specific-shopper data.

If you do not care for the program, you do not have to sign up. My primary grocery store does not offer these kinds of programs; instead, it has customer comment cards located everywhere, asking for feedback. It's a much smaller chain, and they do not carry any of the large grocery store brands, so the same demographic information is not useful to them as it is to Albertson's, et al.

 

[Todd-'o'-Vision]

I give them my info and get the card.

Of ourse I usually get about 50 additional cards and give them to friends, family, cashiers i know.

I do this and then they get one fucked up demography off of me, cause my info says single 20+ male, but I am buying litterally everything under the sun.

Thanks to everyone using the cards I have already gotten 50$ free groceries twice now, i think another 100$ woth will get me another certificate. And I have barely bought 20$ on the card myself.

Plus I am up to about 500 airmiles in under 6 months

 

[Sillyman]

They keep trying to get me on the preferred customers list at Godiva, but frankly I have way to much crap in my life already for them to kill trees over.

 

[patient1]

So does Ace hardware, the tire place up the road, and a few other non-grocery places.

It's the wave of the future. Say "Hello Big Brother!"

If the adult video store institutes one, I'm putting down Marxist's info on the sign up sheet.

I always compared it to "the mark of the beast", myself.

 

[Spinaroonie]

Re: Hello!! Anyone HOME????????

You could all give MADE UP NAMES AND INFO!!!!!!!

DUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That doesn't work when they mail it to you.