Shopping Woes

[blas87]

I apologize beforehand if I start sounding like a frothing at the mouth monster of epic SC proportions. But please be advised and trust that I do not and am not blaming the employees who wait on me (no matter how much they irritate and harrass me, I do my best to just politely keep declining or lie about having a store credit card or e-mail or text alerts), I soley blame corporate being absolute retards about making shopping a hassle.

I love to shop. Always have. But in recent times, I've found that paying is a pain, and I'm not talking about the prices. I am talking about the harrassment that is corporate's ploy to make employees beg you USE your store credit card (if you have one) for further discounts, or to sign up FOR a store credit card (and hey, save 15% just for applying!! Even if you are denied!!!) or to sign up for e-mail alerts of sales events and even now....TEXT message alerts!

What bugs me is that some of these places already got my e-mail address from when I made online purchases or when I used my store cards to pay online (I used to have several store credit cards, now I have none!!!). So I was used to the once/twice/ten times per week e-mails about their latest sales/clearances/free shipping online.

But now, stores that I don't have a card with (don't plan to, either!) or cancelled before, still ask for my fucking e-mail address. They even ask for my phone number. I HATE when I'm asked my phone number, but I was told by the associate at Payless that if I didn't give my telephone number, the transaction couldn't happen.

If you ask me, I feel part of the reason I get calls from numbers I don't know is because my telephone number wasn't secure in any system and it got leaked out or hacked by scammers, or other companies that just want to harrass me to spend money. I Google all numbers I don't know and they are all on the list of suspected scams or just annoying telemarketers. And I am on the DNC, but guess what? Voluntarily giving your number......so now I can't really shop at Payless anymore, I guess!

Like I said before, I am not blaming the employees for being pushed, but DOG is it flapping annoying when you just want to pay for your stuff and it's "And is this going on your Macy's card today?" "No, thanks" "Do you have a Macy's card?" "No-" "You can sign up for one today and get an extra 15% off!" "No thank you" "It's a great deal, NO annual fees or charges to have it!" "No thank you"

K-Mart and their Sears card is almost as bad, but it's the pinpad harrassing you, not always the employee.

Wet Seal has a courtesy card that you have to PAY to have, but it tallies up all your purchases over a period of time and you get a percentage off at the end of whatever period of time that is. So yeah, if you're a big shopper at that store, you'll save money....but I just want to buy this stuff today, not spend an extra $20 to have that dumb card.

Or at Kohls this morning....the girl kept bugging me to sign up for a Kohls card, even if I pay it right away and cancel it, just so I can save 15% extra today.

NO.

I am so sick of being asked for my e-mail address and my phone number, and there is no way in HELL anyone is sending me text message alerts. Most of the time, I cannot go shopping unless it's a lazy day after work or on the weekend because of the shift I work. I can't go shopping during afternoon/evening power hours because I am SLEEPING. Maybe I have a special case, but also, most people just can't drop everything and go shopping because they just got a text that said $10 off all jeans TONIGHT 4-6 pm!!!

ANNOYING.

If shipping cost and waiting for the package and not trusting the delivery people around here (they just leave stuff outside and I am not ok with that, sometimes I don't hear the door/doorbell and I don't want my shit stolen) weren't a problem, and I knew everything would fit me, I'd do online shopping all the time.

[protege]

If you ask me, I feel part of the reason I get calls from numbers I don't know is because my telephone number wasn't secure in any system and it got leaked out or hacked by scammers, or other companies that just want to harrass me to spend money.

It's not that the numbers are "leaked" or "hacked" by scammers. Rather, they're collected by the company, dumped into their own lists...and then sold on to other firms. These firms will then add that data to their own lists...which might be sold on and on and on. Also on those lists? Those stupid "warranty cards" you get when buying electronics, appliances, and other expensive goods. Flip through one sometime, and there's usually a selection of "hobby interests" and other fields. More marketing research, in other words.

However, some of those store credit cards have good deals from time to time. For example, when I bought my laptop, Best Buy was offering 2 years of no interest, no payments. Why not? Of course, even with the deal, it's about 3/4 paid for now.

[HYHYBT]

If there's no chance of their legitimately needing your number, it's easier to give a wrong one than none at all. Just be sure it's one you know is safe; say, the fax or modem line at a former employer, or Time & Temperature.

[Andara Bledin]

It's odd. I give my landline number out to just about anyone that asks, and I get, on average, 5 calls per week, total, and 1 of those is a weekly call from a collection agency, and another 1 from my medical insurance, with the other 3 more often than not being wrong numbers.

Go figure.

^-.-^

[Boozy]

I HATE when I'm asked my phone number, but I was told by the associate at Payless that if I didn't give my telephone number, the transaction couldn't happen.

The associate was probably lying to you, or possibly in need of training. I can't see a company getting away with this for a basic retail transaction. I would not shop at a place that requires my personal information for something like this.

[Rageaholic]

I was actually going to start a thread on the same thing. I usually don't have to deal with it much since I typically only make small purchases, but when it happens, it is annoying, very annoying. Godiva and Borders come to mind when I think of stores pushing you to sign up for crap. NO, I don't want to sign up for anything. I just want to pay and GTFO.

Most of the time, it's just not worth the hassle. Even if I sign up for the rewards card, I forget it the next time I go. Then I go through the process of explaining to them that I don't have it on me. They ask for my email, telling me they can give me points online, but it never goes through, making the whole thing... entirely pointless.

I too blame corporate. I've read enough stories on CS to know that they put all this presure on employees to get a certain number of sales. And if they don't they get fired. Stupid managers. Why punish employees for decisions customers make? I don't like having the jobs of others depending on my purchase decision.

[rdp78]

I know your pain Blas this is one of reasons I hate going shopping is that you might have to go through a bunch of questions in order to buy something or you're ask if you want to sign up for a credit/store card (sorry not going to pay for a discount, however if it's free then maybe) that you don't really need (especially if it's a store you rarely shop in). I would think in a bad ecomony companies wouldn't pressure employees into bugging people about a credit card or paying for a discount card.

[Gravekeeper]

The only place I know of that does this around here is Old Navy. They ask for your email address, but the clerks visually cringe when they do so. They only started doing it recently, and I don't think its gone over well. I know I have never, ever heard a single person in line give them an email address in all the times I've shopped there, and the clerks look like its embarrassing them when they ask.

I can't say as anywhere else around here has really harrassed me with such things. Best Buy here has a survey spiel ( complete survey, get entered in prize draw ) but that's it and its all printed on the receipt so they just point it out on your receipt. Future Shop's got nothing. HMV usually has a deal going on at the counter ( Spend over $x, get y or z movie for $8. But this has actually netted me some cheap blu-rays of good movies. ) Major grocery chains here have their own cards and what not, and they ask if you want one, but "no" stops it immediately.

IGA here use to do it ( had a card, asked if you wanted one ), but they actually stopped doing it near a year ago. Guess people thought it was rude ( and we, as Canadians, are insufferably polite. >.> )

I'm actually kind of curious now if this is more an American thing? I can't think of many stores or chains here that have cards or other spiels outside of major grocery stores and obvious ones like Sears.

[Ginger Tea]

I rarely shopped at Tesco even though there was one on the way to/from work as I did my larger shop at Sainsburys and collected Nectar points (haven't actually used it for money off or owt in the years I've had it). Then my finish time got later and later (resulting in a shift split) and I'm lucky to be out by 8pm and as I work 7 out of 9 days I have no choice but to stop in on the way home, at first I declined the card as I told them I normally shop elsewhere and wouldnt rack up points, this was mostly breakfast sandwich purchases for the day.
Then I got one of their paper ones and never recieved the plastic replacement, but it shut em up* till I lost it and got a new one (which I have not registered) and I've still had for 6+months.

I much prefere those ten stamps and you get a free something, eg one franchised hotdog stand ran one one summer 10th stamp and you could claim another free, iir boarders (when they were still trading in the UK) had a similar thing, granted they had an expirary date, but some people would spend enough on hot dogs to get an 11th free

*What I mean is it voided the question of do I have/want one, not a rude put a sock in it statement.

Edit:
but the whole "We cannot process this sale without your telephone number." is either a very bad corporate idea, an ill trained sales clerk, or a rather creepy way for him to get telephone numbers of hot chicks
all options would need addressing espeically the last

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I've yet to be asked for my e-mail address at Old Navy, which is my go-to place for lucky rocketship underpants. Perhaps next time I need to restock my supply...

My company has a loyalty card. Our signup rates for it are poor. This is probably because everybody in town who wants the card already has it. As "encouragement" for the cashiers to continue pimping it, management says "There's somebody turning 13 every day!" As if a 13-year-old makes enough money to buy things with the card to the point where it's worth it.

And then you have fiascos like we had last year at Christmastime, where corporate put a ton of stuff on loyalty, but then changed their minds and put it on sale instead so we could grab every possible sale. But we were still expected to push the loyalty card even though there were no special deals for loyalty card members.

[Racket_Man]

HMMMMM Payless "NEEDS" a phone number to complete a transaction????? I guess they just lost my business. but then again you could alway give out 666-555-6666 (one of those fake/real phone company numbers that you hear all the time on TV and movies)

If someone totally insists on an email addy I have 2 throwaway accounts (one HotMail and one Yahoo) that I have for just such purposes. unfortuneately they are ...... how can I put this....... well what the heck they are something like this: RMLOVES69 at yahoo.com. I only log on to those accounts every 3 or 4 months or so. and guess what there is usually spam there. go figure

I will only give out my real addy to either legit web sites (like here and CS) or when I am making a purchase on-line (which I rarely do).

funny story about those fake/real phpone numbers. back in the 80's I think, there was a TV movie about a Televanglist. the movie used one of those fake numbers for the televanglists pledge/hot line. the phone company was really surprised at the sear number of calls the number got right after the movie was broadcast.

[Ginger Tea]

Ghostwatch Live used the Crimewatch or Watchdog telephone number (all BBC programs) and the calls fielded through were actors or they just read out messages left, the general populace calling that number were told all lines were busy and to try again later.

[blas87]

So what protege wrote earlier very well explains what's going on with my warranty on my car.

A few Fridays ago, I checked the mail and saw an "urgent notice" regarding my warranty. For some reason, I panicked and thought maybe it was from the dealership that I got my car at and maybe I hadn't bought the coverage I thought I had, whatever.

It said that my warranty was about to expire or already had, and I needed to call this number to put more years on my warranty.

I immediately called the dealership and the guy who sold me my car said to disregard that mail, this was a company that somehow gets addresses from people who buy cars from dealerships, and tells them that their warranties are about to expire and they need to buy more years on it. He assured me that I'd covered everything when I bought my car, and not to believe anything that wasn't from GM or the dealership. Funny thing was, the letter was sent FROM GM, at least it looked like it was. Apparently, that was fudged to make it look like GM sent it.

[Andara Bledin]

I immediately called the dealership and the guy who sold me my car said to disregard that mail, this was a company that somehow gets addresses from people who buy cars from dealerships, and tells them that their warranties are about to expire and they need to buy more years on it.

They actually send these out to pretty much everybody. I used to get them all the time, and the first time I ever bought a car from a dealership was 4 months ago.

It's the shotgun approach. It doesn't cost that much to pepper an entire zip code, and there will always be a few fools who are soon parted from their money.

^-.-^

[boringscreenname]

I feel your pain, Blas. A couple weeks ago I went to the mall, so I could go to Bath and Body Works for a new bottle of body spray. I only had enough money for that, so I grabbed it and headed to the cash register.

The cashier tried to get me to buy more stuff, then asked for my phone number which I politely refused to give, and finally asked me for my email address. When I told her, I was already on their email list, she tried to say that if I gave her my email address, I'd somehow get better coupons. I still declined.