Do I like the little communist cards the stores force you to get in order to ever take advantage of a sale again in your lifetime? So that they can track all your purchases?

Nope.

Although I don't put them in my wallet, I use the key ring part.... They're all stuck together on there, I simply hand the ring to the cashier, and let each store find their own little card. I have enough to do with everything else I'm doing.... keeping track of all my children, bagging groceries (where did all the baggers go?), reloading my cart, making sure the helpful cashier doesn't put the watermelon on top of the eggs (never had it happen, but I have had bread and cans put in the same bag, and have had raw meat almost put in with raw veggies...ewwwww!!). Besides.... if it takes the store more time, then it ceases to be an advantage for them. As for the folks in line behind me..... I wish they all did the same thing. And anyone who gets in line behind me, is not expecting a quick get away in any case.

I also don't fill out the correct information when I do have to give it up to get a card. I simply tell them that I do not want their junk mail, or their junk phone calls, or their junk e-mail. If they have to have an address, I give them one..... hope the folks in "Anytown, USA" have a big junk mail box.

When they have a sale on giving away gas or free turkey or ham, I borrow a card from the person in line behind me, so that they get credit for my purchases.

Generally I choose to shop in the few stores left that do not have them. And I make it a point to tell the manager whenever I see him that if they ever go to the card, they will have less of my business. I'd rather pay their slightly higher prices on a few things, than have them lower them and get the card.

No, I hate the little cards, and I will do everything in my power to try to make them fail. It's a pet peeve of mine, along with the loss of baggers, cashiers that actually smile, and the decline in overall customer service.

Mil

I love the discounts the cards give me.

I also use the key ring cards. I have three grocery cards I use frequently. Today with one card I got a box of crackers for $1 and $1 off on a jar of salsa my family loves. Another thing that drives me crazy are those punch cards . Buy ten greeting cards, get one free. One from a beauty shop, get five manicures and the sixth is free, etc. Too many, I can't keep them organized, and I forget to use them. I wish it was easier!

We only have one store here that I know of that offers cards, that's Dillons/Kroger. I use one, but I have a sister that's hates them because you have to give them personal information. Her husband doesn't feel that way and he wants the sales. I have the key ring card.

I have cards to several stores.

I didn't sign up for any of them.

Friends gave me their extra cards -- or told me just to use their phone numbers for a lookup.

I refuse to give retailers my personal information so they can track my buying patterns and target me with their marketing tactics. It is none of their business. I value my privacy.

But I want the sale prices.

Hooray, Mil, for providing the random address.

When I fill out the info I give a different name, but use my own address, and use the little keyring tabs. A good friend lost her keys while on vacation -- by the time she got home the keys were in the mailbox, returned courtesy of Kroger's.

I only have three, for stores I shop all the time. In addition to the sale advantages, for each $50 you spend, Giant Eagle gives you 20 cents off gas at their gas station. With gas prices the way they are, it's nice to get a dollar off gas ever so often!

How mnay of 'em may be willing to lend you a shopping cart to carry all of the cards around in?

o j

No, they are a gross invasion of the privacy of every person who signs up for one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering

The most insulting thing is how they try to make it seem like you are saving loads of money by using their card -- (at the bototm of the Kroger receipt - you saved $25.00 by using your card).

I can shop at my local Kroger (2 blocks away) with the Kroger Plus card -- or I can drive 10 miles away to Walmart and save probably $15.00 more on my total grocery bill without a card.

I go to Walmart.

Ah yes, the age old addage look at all the money I saved!!! (sigh) I've been in retail long enough to know how these work and I also survived the consumer lobotomy that convinces people they're saving millions of dollars.

Yes, you can save a few dollars over a period. I have them for the pet food stores because they have the pet food I use on them quite often for $5 off per bag. I too would prefer a straight sale, but this is the new thing.

And when I sign up I give a phone number that I had shut off from a prepaid cell phone, fake address and on the pet food I do give them a disposeable email address since they do send coupons to the email addy and haven't been spamming.

When I forget the card they want my phone # to look it up. Well I don't always remember the bogus # I gave them so a couple times I just signed up for a new card.

The one that irritates me most is the SuperAmerica "bonus points" card. Don't use it and don't go there anymore. There's lots of gas stations and I save more across the street.

FWIW, I like bagging my own groceries! First, I can pack all refrigerated & frozen together, I can keep the weight to a manageable level and I double bag these things. I'll also put stuff that needs to be separated into a plastic bag into the paper bag. And I always use handle bags if they offer them. I do know what the bags cost them but I'm sick of the bottom falling out of them and I can't do the bending over to pick the stuff up anymore. Shouldn't have to anyway. Actually, several stores around here will bag for you, usually at the busy times of the day, but I tell them I need to separate the stuff (if they ask why I say it's for different people) and bag it myself. Then pack the cart myself and I can handle it easily. I never saw a big thing about someone bagging my groceries for me. Now if they'd put them away for me, that's different! :)

I hate those cards. You can't sign up with fake info anymore at some pleces as you must show ID now. Sentry grocery chain has dropped the evil cards and gone with just giving sale prices to everyone who comes in to shop. I go out of my way to shop at Sentry and the "no card" thing is one of the reasons. I also make it a point to shop at the local ElRey chain because they have never gone the stupid card route.

Then there are the truly evil type cards that record your purchases and give you points for your purchases. The Speedway gas stations have those type of cards and they are only good on gas and certain items. Cigarettes for instance don't rack up points. I have had to make a scene at these places because the clerks will just reach over and grab my set of keys to scan the little card even when I am NOT buying anything that would earn points. One jerk told me that ALL purchases have to have the card scanned. NOT SO!! I don't want my cig purchases scanned just so they know how much I smoke and can sell that info to whomever.

I don't offer my card at grocery stores if I am not buying something on sale, and the clerks always argue with me that they still have to scan my card. Sometimes they try to wrench my keys and quickly scan them while I protest. I yell. This card system is so nuts. I can't see how much more money they are going to make from the marketers that it is worth it to them to irritate people like this.

I don't like the sound of the store cards you have either. We have store cards here, but with very rare exceptions you can buy with or without them, and card holders don't get special in store discounts, although we do get sent useful vouchers.

A number of stores have combined together to use one card between them all. One of them is a supermarket chain where I do almost all my grocery shopping. You collect points that can be turned in to a flat rate 1% off everything you buy, but special offers if used right significantly boost this. When I get vouchers, like £3 off a £30 shop I buy things like washing powder, soaps/shampoo and coffee, flour or canned things in bulk (normally when they're already on offer in store), so that I can exceed the minimum spend. Following weeks I spend less as I don't need to buy these items for a while. I always try to use the discounts without buying more or things I don't actually need.

Of course they track what we buy, but it's not hugely personal data and they only use it for statistics. I don't have any reason to believe it has been sold to anyone else as they say they don't, and we haven't received much, if any junk mail for years. It may be in part good for customers as it helps stores understand what their customers want and provide more of it, but it is still all about making you spend more, so the store cards and offers have to be used carefully. I have used lots of vouchers, but also thrown away plenty as they wouldn't have actually saved me anything.

I cant stand those cards. However if you want the sale then you must sign up for them. I like shopping at Sentry because they dont use those card. Everyone get their sale price. The best part of that store is they have some excellent sales. My guess is when Jewel closed and they reopened a month later as Sentry, many shoppers left. They are trying to regain the customers back by having great sales. Pick N Save is awfull! If you forget your card they will not honor the price for you. I think that is bad customer service. My wallet is filled with the cards. I dont like to carry them on my key chain because their is just too many of them. We all know the reason why they make us use these card. Its to track our information.

Mona, thanks for the link!

bud_wi I too would make a big scene if a clerk grabbed my keys from my possession, in fact I'd be getting a manager and make it clear that the police will be called and they'd be prosecuted for theft (since that actually is a robbery) if they did it again. Should embarrass them enough to stop it. But the question has to be asked: Why do you leave your keys accessible to grabbing by the clerks? You could solve that problem very easily. If they can grab them from you, so can anyone else. You might want to reconsider that.

Around here "Speedway" is called "SuperAmerica" and I stopped there a couple times to pick up a donut and first thing is asking for the stupid card. I told them I didn't have one and they were amazed. If they tried to require it, I'd leave the purchase, walk out and not return. This reminds me of when the Cub Foods stores were membership stores and you had to have a card to get in, ala Sam's and Costco (both of whom I despise, but I digress). Actually I have a card at home, who knows where, but I have one. But I don't like SA because of the card and because I get better deals on gas elsewhere.

Here's a related question....

Do ya'll think that these cards save you anything more than you were saving by shopping the sales before they had the cards? I don't think so. There isn't a special discount from the card, only the sales price..... tacked on at the end in some cases, so you are not really sure what you paid for the item until you can look at the receipt at the end.

They have only replaced the sales, and since the cost of running this program is likely tacked on to the store prices, you are probably paying more at those stores that have the card.

cynic: It's the decline in customer service, shown by the lack of baggers... Not the lack of baggers themselves. When I shop for groceries, I usually fill up two carts (three after bagging). If I do not have a bagger (and the cashier, and me, and sometimes the kids as well) bagging, it takes a long time to put everything in bags and back into the carts I just spent all that time filling up. Used to be that someone would bag, then push a cart out to the car for you and help you unload it. For me, not such a big deal, I've got two teenagers now, so they help push.... but for the older ladies and gentlemen, who don't always have the grip to control the cart (and my car has been dinged by a couple of those) it stinks.

I just looked in my wallet and found the following "store cards":

Dominicks
Jewel
Stein Mart
Hallmark
PetCo
Petsmart
Ulta
and 3 local sandwich shops!

Other than the 2 supermarkets and the sadwich shops, where I pick up lunch, , I don't think any of the others provide any benefits and they are going in the trash right now!