January 29, 2005

Do you have a @$#€! card??

Every store has their "card" these days. You know, whent you check out at the grocery or drug store, and then they ask you if you have a "Stop&Shop card?" And it's annoying everytime they ask, but the thing that gets me most often is that they don't seem to care that I don't have one. The kid behind register can just scan his card. (And sometimes taped onto a big piece of cardboard so it's easier grab and swipe) How ingenious! I don't have to "sign up" for anything and I still get the member perks that legitimate card holders have.

But I don't think the company had this in mind. It is a gross curruption of the system. The actual true card holders don't get their comparative benefits because they're just handing them out to anyone, and employees bankroll and rack up huge activity on their cards. At a Pathmark store, though, there was a notice posted: ANY EMPLOYEE USING THEIR OWN CARD WILL BE TERMINATED. Good policy. Although, it was a notice just for employees, it was conspiciously posted for all customers to read.

Personally, I don't want a card from any store. They can track your purchases and send you junk mail. It's a bastardization of a system that was originally in place solely for the privelege to pay by check. With modernization, that concept is obsolete. Then again, what if I do want a card? They never offer, because they're happy to rack up their own points. Isn't this a form of theft?...or fraud?

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