Store Reward Card

Our grocery store has one of those obnoxious reward cards. 

You know, those hideous little key tags that they use to track your every purchase, and you have a unique number (usually your phone number) assigned just to you?  Even worse, you can only get the sale prices if you use their reward cards?  Only, our store doesn't let you use your phone number.  You have to use your key tag, which has a unique, random number assigned to it.

Most of the time, I buckle under and use the card.  I get gas reward points for allowing them to track my purchases, and if they really want to know how many rolls of toilet paper I'm buying, then more power to them. 

Until yesterday.

I went to the store, and I had forgotten my key tag.  Husband had taken the van, along with all of my key tags, to work with him.  So, I went through the line, prepared to take the hit for the higher prices.

The cashier told me that it was "no big problem.  I'll ring you through, and then you take your receipt to customer service, and they'll look you up, add the bonus points to your card for gas savings, and then give you the sale price back."  Normally, I would have said "Don't worry about it", but this was over $30, and I didn't want to knuckle under that easily.

Once we were finished, she escorted me over to the Customer (dis)Service Desk, and the nightmare began.

The CSR behind the counter berated me for forgetting my card.

"Forget it," I said.  "I don't need the money that much.  Just give me my receipt and I'll go."  I really should have walked away at that point.  Really, I should have.  Don't know why I didn't....

"No, she said, "I can do this for you."

She looked up my name and address, and found me, and then it got downright ugly.

"You have to many bonus cards to your address!  What is this madness?  There are two cards registered to you address!!"

"I know," I replied.  "One is mine, one belongs to my father in law.  We bought our house from him.  He had a bonus card until he died, even after he moved."

"You can't have this!  You are breaking the law!"  She called the store manager over, and the head of Customer Service came over.  At this point, I tried to leave the store, but she grabbed hold of my cart and wouldn't let me go because I was a "rule breaker".

The store manager asked what was going on, and he had already called in the store detective to come and help "deal with the situation".

At this point, I was in tears.

I explained to him, once again.  "I forgot my bonus card.  Your cashier was trying to help me since the savings were so significant.  She brought me over here so that I could get the bonus prices.  Your CSR told me that I have too many bonus cards.  There are two cards registered to my address.  One is for myself.  The other is for my Father in Law.  We bought our house from him 10 years ago.  His card, registered in his name is still in your database.  The man DIED a horrid death from Pancreatic Cancer almost 3 years ago, and I AM BEING HARRASSED because my DEAD father in law still has a card!  LOOK in your out of date database!  HE hasn't used the damn card in 3 years because he is DEAD!!  I legally live in that house, and I can prove it.  Will you please let me go before I SUE this store for harassment?"

At that point, the store detective advised the CSR to let go of my cart immediately and walk away.

The manager apologized profusely, and asked if I would still like my money back.

"Hell no!"  I replied.  "I am not interested in ANYTHING else from this store.  EVER...."

Meanwhile, the head of Customer Service had taken care of my receipt, and she brought over my change, my receipt, and apologized again.

Keep in mind, I deal with this store manager and head of customer service on a regular basis when I pick up their donations for the Food Bank once a month.  It's not like I'm a stranger to them.  This is a small town, and people checking out had stopped to watch the show, mouths agape that I had lost my temper and was cursing.  A friend of mine who is a lawyer was walking through, and had stepped into the melee, hoping to help calm things down.

Embarrassed, mortified, and exhausted, I began to walk out of the store, and the Store Manager was joking with me about my "rogue" attempts to get through the store without being tracked by their software.  "You do know we have a store card that the cashiers can use, right?  You won't get the gas points, but you will get the sale prices..."

And at that moment, the original CSR comes running up to us and starts screaming "Don't ever come in here again without your Bonus Card!  We won't help you if you don't have your card with you!"

The store manager stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.  The CSR looked at him and said "People like that shouldn't be allowed in here!  They have to use the bonus card!  It's the rule!"

I don't know what happened after that.  I walked out and didn't look back.

But I'll tell you this, if I HAVE to bring my store card in with me to walk in the front door of the building, I'm going to find another store.   It's bad enough that they track my purchases as it is, but to think that there are some people who work at the store who won't serve you if you don't use their store card is something I just can't swallow.

It is time to break the Bonus Card habit.