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How does the supermarket know I'm so special...

Apr 2, '08 10:24 AM
for everyone

It's still over two weeks till my birthday but I got a birthday greeting in the post today. From my supermarket. So very touching... sorry if I sound a bit cynical, but really, it's nice of them to offer me a free box of chocolates (though in some ways it's the last thing I need...) but what narks me is the sentimental gibberish they put on the card: "Because you're really special, we'd like to make a fuss, by treating you to something sweet, especially on us." Well, really, I wouldn't have appreciated such twee mock-poetry from a friend, but from my supermarket? In what way exactly am I special to them? Do they particularly value the way I wheel my trolley round their aisles? Do they admire my own special way of choosing carrots?

But this is nothing compared to the pharmacy chain with whom I also hold one of those so-called loyalty cards (do they really think they can buy my loyalty by giving me one penny back on every pound I spend? I'm not that cheap!) - I hardly ever shop there, but I still get these ridiculous leaflets in the post with all sorts of money-off vouchers (usually for stuff that I have no interest in buying) which they claim to send me especially "as a valued customer". I look at those and think: aren't you confusing me with someone else? someone who actually spends more than the odd five pounds once in a blue moon when she's sort of stuck? I know for a fact that there are women out there who spend a small fortune regularly on make-up etc, so their "valued customer" threshold seems a bit low.

Thank God I don't need these corporations to give me a sense of value and of being special.

Tags: rants, personal

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snowburst wrote on Apr 2

I remember the first time I received one of those birthday cards with coupons for things I actually do buy. At first I was a bit creeped out until I remembered the "discount card" that tracks our purchases, even as they claim its intent is merely to save the customer money.

meirav wrote on Apr 2

Oh yes. The phrase 'no such thing as a free lunch' springs to mind... Of course these cards are not a sign of generosity, they exist so that Big Brother can track our purchasing patterns, but as invasions of privacy go I feel this is a small one and I don't mind, I just resent some of the language they use, but then I'm very fussy about words and tend to take them very literally at times. I am the one who, years ago, on the Tube (that's the British equivalent of the American subway) in the middle of the London morning rush hour, when someone bumped into me in his rush to the door and said, 'I'm sorry', actually looked him in the eye (not done on the Tube) and said: 'No, you're not.' Amazingly I didn't get taken away by the men with the straitjackets - I guess they couldn't get to me through the crowds...

yeshiva wrote on Apr 3

Why not send your store card back to the Chemist? I often get asked if I have a store points card to which my standard comment is along the lines that given what they pay me for every £1 I spend it really isn't worth the effort to get it out of wallet!! I also often get offered cheap chocolate to which my standard reply is that I'd love to but I can't afford the health farm fees! I used to wonder about the Scouts bob-a-job - "can we clean your shoes, sir?" To which the reply is: "So you think I walk outside with dirty shoes, huh?"

Any other 'clever' retorts in these, or similar situations - loved the one about 'sorry'!

snowburst wrote on Apr 3

meirav said

bumped into me in his rush to the door and said, 'I'm sorry', actually looked him in the eye (not done on the Tube) and said: 'No, you're not.'

Sounds a lot like the way people say "How ya doin'?" here without pausing a beat in their stride, not even to look at the recipient. If you're not even going to wait for a simple, phony "fine" in return, but would still like to acknowledge my existence, I'd much prefer a slight nod of the head or a smile with a cursory glance at the very least, thankyouverymuch.

I've been through the London Underground - a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away - and all I remember is a narrow winding stairwell. That, and it was cleaner than the New York Subway.

meirav wrote on Apr 3

Yes, I do wish people wouldn't ask "how are you" when they're not interested in the answer. Why not just say "hello" or "nice to see you" - the "how are you" question can be very misleading for those of us who actually listen to spoken words and take them seriously. And it can actually be very painful for someone who is feeling lonely and low, and really needing the opportunity to tell someone how they are - saying "how are you" to them with a phony smile and moving on to the next person is like waving a loaf of fresh bread in front of a starving man, letting him catch the mouth-watering smell, and then taking it away.

Thanks, Norman, for not regarding me as totally barmy... and for sharing the one about the health farm fees! I don't mind keeping the 'loyalty cards', getting them out at the till is no great hardship whilst I've got my purse open anyway, but what I do consistently refuse are the offers of storecards, because once bitten etc., and often I do explain to the cashiers the reason why.

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