Am I the only one who is sick of having to have a special card every time I enter a store these days?
When it was just my local Dillons, I was fine. I can keep track of one. Now I go to Autozone to buy a battery, 'do you have our card?' When I go to Walgreens to get a valentine's day card for my wife, I'm asked if I have a card. When my wife goes to Kohl's to buy a pair of pants for our daughter, she needs her special Kohl's card to get a discount. Last night at Sears, I was asked about not just one card, but two cards I could have to give me special rewards. It's getting out of control.
Basically these companies are trying to make us become loyal to them out of frustration. Knowing that our wallets can at most contains 5-7 cards, they figure, hey, if we can get them to get our card, they'll come here because they know they will be screwed if they do not.
So from now on, anytime I go to a store in which they ask me to get their card, I'm going to be straight with them as I should have been with the pleasant Sears lady last night: "I'm sick of cards. I will not have them. I want your best deal regardless of whether or not I have your reward/plus/loyalty card or not. If you won't give it to me without having to track all of my spending habits, I'm not coming back. Tell your managers. Tell your marketing people. I'm out."
The libertarian within me rises to the surface once in awhile about the strangest of issues. Maybe if I can get everybody else to do the same thing, this foolishness will end.
