har mar mcr ([info]unjust_trousers) wrote in [info]damnportlanders,
@ 2005-02-05 01:08:00
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Current mood: annoyed
Current music:mc radiation- argyle socks

fred meyer rewards card....
as some of you may have noticed, fred meyer has just introduced this new "rewards card", which they are pitching very hard to customers. i work there...so i thought i might share some thoughts on it for the uninitiated.

the card WON'T GET YOU LOWER PRICES. period. what it will do is give you cash rebates if you spend a certain amount of money at freds. using the card earns you 1 point for every 5 dollars you spend. accrue a minimum of 100 points in a given period (about three months long) and you get 5% of your points back in cash--$5 for 100 points. that 100 points represents $500 of spending. so, you got a 1% rebate. if you didn't manage to spend $500 in that particular period, you get nothing, and your points are reset to zero.

now, fred meyer insists the card is "FREE" and that they value your private information. i would submit that you do pay a price for having the card. the entire reason that they are introducing the card is so that they can build a massive database of information. they will use the card to track every single item you buy, when, and where you bought it. they can use this information for just about anything they want. according to their own "privacy policy" (on fredmeyer.com):

"Kroger and its affiliates may use personal customer information to create merchandising and promotional programs tailored around specific purchases, the frequency of store visits, volume of purchases, and other data. Kroger also may use the data it collects to investigate and respond to customer requests, concerns, and claims...
...We may share personal customer information with our subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, representatives and trusted business partners for the limited purpose of providing services or information to Kroger or our customers at our direction."

your info could also be obtained by a subpoena...

so, make the decision of whether or not you want this card carefully.


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[info]mediaboy
2005-02-05 09:35 am UTC (link)
Keep in mind that if you use a credit/debit card for your purchases, they can do all that anyways.

You're really only losing privacy if you pay with cash all the time.

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[info]boy_asunder
2005-02-05 10:34 am UTC (link)
For this to be close to being true, it would have to assume that retail companies can order up lists of all your purchases, which, as far as I know they cannot. A credit card company may know what you're purchasing, but I'm not sure they can sell that information. And in either event, credit/debit information isn't going to be nearly as rich as what the reward card will give them, since it can track at the level of every product purchased.

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[info]mediaboy
2005-02-05 11:28 am UTC (link)
When you buy something with a credit card, your credit card number goes into their computer. A list of everything you bought also goes into their computer. That way if you challenge the charge on your monthly bill, they can say "well, you bought products x, y, and z, totaling $214.34. Here's the receipt you signed for it."

Whether Fred Meyer chooses to track your purchases through a credit card number or a customer loyalty card number doesn't make much of a difference. It still gives them plenty of detailed info about what you buy on any given day.

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[info]circumambulate
2005-02-05 02:57 pm UTC (link)
quite correct

Privacy's an illusion that we trade away every day.

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[info]unjust_trousers
2005-02-05 07:02 pm UTC (link)
well, clearly this level of detailed information was not available to fred meyer before, or else they would not have started the card program. companies do not do things just for the heck of it, or just to save their customers money. they do it because they perceive a benefit to themselves--in this case, a giant database of customer information.

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[info]mediaboy
2005-02-05 07:16 pm UTC (link)
Plus a loyal customer base who will choose to shop at one store over another if there's a benefit.

Airlines don't have frequent flier programs because they love giving out free tickets. They certainly don't need more detail in their customer database -- they collect your name and addres every time you fly.

They have the programs because it gives customers an incentive to use one business over another when the services they provide are basically identical.

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[info]streaked_beauty
2005-02-05 09:48 am UTC (link)
I was curious about that because they asked me a week ago when I was there.

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[info]plumosa
2005-02-05 12:29 pm UTC (link)
well if its anything like my dillons card (also a kroger) there was no reason why you couldn't sign up under joe schmoe. granted it was a specific to the time of purchase discount card, so this might be different.

any insight?

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[info]kaplan_george
2005-02-05 02:16 pm UTC (link)
I have never filled out any personal info for my Safeway card, and yet I still use it every time I go to Safeway. It'll probably be the same deal.

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[info]mediaboy
2005-02-05 05:54 pm UTC (link)
In the case of Freddie's, there wouldn't be much benefit to signing up as Joe Schmoe -- the benefits come from the gift certificates they mail you every three months, not discounts at the register.

You could give them a fake name, but you'd still have to give your address.

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[info]coachdoom
2005-02-05 03:25 pm UTC (link)
Was any of that not obvious? And is any of it a big deal?

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[info]drjeff
2005-02-05 03:26 pm UTC (link)
God help me if they find out that I'm buying the baby carrots in the little plastic bag instead of the organic ones.

And, if someone thinks highly enough of me to subpoena a list of my grocery purchases, let 'em. In privacy terms, this one doesn't really set off my alarm bells. Just opt out if you don't want it happening, but as someone mentioned above, better pay cash for everything.

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[info]littlebluedog
2005-02-05 05:15 pm UTC (link)
Or if you're a true grocery anarchist, sign up for about 20 cards and use each one to buy a different weird combination of products, say ketchup and trash bags. That'll get 'em!

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[info]drjeff
2005-02-05 05:16 pm UTC (link)
Yeah! Or, like, 45 gallons of lighter fluid and 30 bales of Depends!

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[info]discordspuppet
2005-02-06 03:57 am UTC (link)
and then return them seperatesly to different fred meyers...

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[info]vespabelle
2005-02-06 09:36 am UTC (link)
you just clone one card and have all your friends (or readers of your website use it!

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[info]littlebluedog
2005-02-06 07:53 pm UTC (link)
Future Tyler Durdens of America. :)

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[info]lokidecat
2005-02-05 04:22 pm UTC (link)
I was hoping they wouldn't fall prey to the crap cards.

Fine. Track that I bought jeans, condoms, and some cheap cereal. My biggest complaint is my wallet getting heavier with all these dang cards.

I heard about this card on the radio yesterday morning and had to roll my eyes. They'd said they weren't going to do a card.

Fuckers.

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[info]mediaboy
2005-02-05 06:01 pm UTC (link)
My biggest complaint is my wallet getting heavier with all these dang cards.

That's why you can give up your phone numberm too, and use that. No cards to carry, and you've already given up your privacy, so what does it matter?

I remember when I worked for The Man up in Redmond, the main number to the Microsoft phone switchboard had an QFC value card that thousands of people used. It probably works down here, too.

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[info]purty286
2005-02-05 05:53 pm UTC (link)
I don't sign up for cards because the cashiers always let me use the store one.

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Enjoy it while it lasts..
[info]feedle
2005-02-05 06:43 pm UTC (link)
Kroeger has a company policy that allows managers to discipline employees who use "common cards". It will only be a matter of time before they start putting the screws to the line employees at your neighborhood Freddy's.

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[info]mapetitchou1313
2005-02-05 08:54 pm UTC (link)
when I worked at Rite Aid they fired someone for using a common card. They've been working really hard to crack down on that. I use to use those too--now more and more places aren't allowing their employees to be that nice.

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Not surprised..
[info]feedle
2005-02-05 06:35 pm UTC (link)
Kroeger has publically stated that their goal is to have some kind of customer loyalty program in all of their stores, and Freddy's was the last one to fall. Cala/Bell Foods in the SF Bay Area got loyalty cards last year sometime.

For a good background on "Club Cards" and why they're evil, visit CASPIAN.

One More Reason to shop at New Seasons and Trader Joe's.

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[info]winter_in_asia
2005-02-05 07:21 pm UTC (link)
Aren't you afraid someone from work will see this and you'll be doced?

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[info]discordspuppet
2005-02-06 03:59 am UTC (link)
that would be unfortunate...
so many people getting canned for blogging recently.

i dont think it would happen though as i dont see this as a malicious output of insider knowledge.. its pretty straight forward crappy marketing from what i see...

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[info]unjust_trousers
2005-02-06 08:54 am UTC (link)
not really...they've wanted to fire me in the past on some trumped-up bullshit and couldn't do it...i'm not saying anything people can't figure out themselves...just putting out there in case people don't read stuff that they sign up for...

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[info]vyus
2005-02-05 10:28 pm UTC (link)
that's one way to look at it.

another way is that you're gonna get spammed with commercials no matter where you go. the old model of tv ads just hitting people with only small targeting ability (via perceived demographics for a particular tv show) is about over. so yes, companies will have specific information about spending habits. but that also means you get compensated for it (it isn't a one-sided deal) and the potential for having ads actually be targeted to you -- you may actually find those ads worthwhile (like getting catalogs of stuff in the mail you enjoy perusing).

People concerned with privacy ought to know the potential ramifications of these things, but it's good that corporate america is trying to find the right way to compensate people for that information. It isn't inherently bad.

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[info]bastiandantilus
2005-02-06 01:03 am UTC (link)
I don't have a phone number, so I've always used my parent's. The funny part is, Safeway recognizes the number as a Von's card, but doesn't stack the benefits. Like, if they buy a frappucino at the in-store Starbucks at Vons, it doesn't give me 1 more toward my free Safewaybucks Frapuccino.

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[info]bastiandantilus
2005-02-06 01:08 am UTC (link)
Odd question, but, if there was a store that you went into all the time and they recognized you all the time, and they remembered last time you bought carrots and said "hey, you should check out the new carrots we got in, here's a coupon" I dunno... does it really matter if the store you shop at knows who you are and what you buy? I thought that was like, ideal.

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but i digress...
[info]dreamsoft
2005-02-06 02:38 am UTC (link)
Think about health and life insurance. They want to know how at risk you are to make them have to pay out the cash money. Safeway has been selling info to such providers for years now.

It's called privacy, some of us like having it. Others of us (such as those who think homeland defense or having someone track your movements/purchasing habitsis a good idea) clearly don't.

The amount of privacy we have in this day and age is encroaching on the virtually nonexistant realm, what with the new radio transmitting upc codes coming out over the next few years, what with infrared/heat tracking, what with satellite, thumbprints at banks, cameras in public internet spying, bblahblah etc and so forth. Things like this usually start as "options" and then become mandate (for examle I love how bush said we young folk will have the "option" to invest our money privately... yeah, because we'll have no other option because we'll have paid into social security all our lives and yet will receive nothing from it).

but i digress....

point being: some of us think privacy allows us our individual LIVES, and are more than willing to sacrifice safety/convenience for it.

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Re: but i digress...
[info]bastiandantilus
2005-02-06 03:27 am UTC (link)
I can see flipping off Safeway for doing that, not sure you should assume Fred Meyer will.

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Re: but i digress...
[info]feedle
2005-02-06 03:48 am UTC (link)
Considering there's nothing in Fred Meyer's (or Kroeger's) privacy policy that says they can't, you have no guarantees they won't.

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[info]unjust_trousers
2005-02-06 08:55 am UTC (link)
well, that would be one employee knowing you and being friendly.

this is a gigantic corporation keeping your information in a computer system in order to make money off of you. slighttly different.

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[info]dreamsoft
2005-02-06 02:32 am UTC (link)
Safeway and others have been doing this for years... they sell the info to health insurance companies, food companies etc. They use it in house to determine pricing oftentimes.

Yeah, fuck that.

That's no real discount even... when I have to go to safeway, I use a card, but it's not my name on it. ;) I'll be staying away from the Fred Meyer card until there's an actual savings, and even then it won't be me on the card, I can guarantee that.

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yeah
[info]genies_bottle
2005-02-06 08:28 am UTC (link)
I work at freddies and the only reason I have one of those cards was because they blended it with our exsisting discount card. but I see no reason to actually have it. I am not going to bust my ass to give $500 of my paycheck in a fourth of a year back to my employer.

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Re: yeah
[info]unjust_trousers
2005-02-06 08:56 am UTC (link)
yeah, i wasn't going to get the card, then i noticed that my discount card works as a rewards card...but then they were tracking our information before anyways....

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Re: yeah
[info]genies_bottle
2005-02-06 05:14 pm UTC (link)
true very true. haha man i bet they must think i am crazy. i buy the most random thing all the time. good times.

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[info]poopymonkeykid
2005-02-07 06:47 pm UTC (link)
I got it because you get 3 cents off gas. I have yet to use if for groceries or anything like that.

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