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What Do You Buy At The Grocery ... Punk?
fifths writes: "I'm not sure how many of you saw this story from the Scripps Howard Washington bureau -- as reported in the 'Washington Calling' column in the 10-07-2001 edition of the Knoxville(TN) News-Sentinel: 'Federal agents are tracking suspects tied to the Sept. 11 strikes through supermarket club cards that may give a hint of ethnic tastes. "Time was, this data was so disorganized nobody could make sense of it, but not anymore. They're looking for people based on their supermarket tastes," says consultant Larry Ponemon, head of the Privacy Council business consortium.' Anyone else bothered by this? Burn your supermarket cards." Better yet, trade your supermarket cards, frequently. (Perhaps with friends or relatives in the furthest city with the same chain?) Maybe Larry Ellison would like to have a few.
I have no idea of where my supermarket cards came from. You know how when you sign up, they give you a few? I've gotten friends to give me all of my cards. Whenever, in conversation, topic turns to shopping, I explain why these are Bad Things(tm), and suggest that card-swapping would help. We always swap cards, and they're always eager to do so with others. It's not just me -- my whole family actually does this, and many of my friends now. And some people that I tell about this say that they already know about it, which makes me feel a bit like going to a strange town and finding out that there's already a fight club.
Anyhow, yes, trade away! Destroy their databases and go buy some ethnic food. It'll be fun.
-Waldo
An even better idea is simply to avoid the cards in the first place. Accepting the card is essentially selling the store your profiling information for a discount. It's sleazy to break your half of the bargain by deliberately contaminating their data while expecting them to keep to their side by continuing to provide discounts. If you hate the things so much just refuse to accept one and pay cash (so that they can't track purchases by credit card number). Even better, skip the whole game by shopping at a store like Trader Joe's that refuses to have such a program in the first place.
There's no point in questioning authority if you aren't going to listen to the answers.
Few things bother me more than the idea that I should have to use what amounts to an ID card to shop for groceries. Most of the grocery stores here use these cards, and if you don't present one, you end up paying higher prices. I say that's bullshit. It's nothing more than marketing tactics - so that your local grocer can sell product oriented customer lists to other companies - and (sigh) most people have no problem handing their information over.
Obvious privacy implications aside, I shouldn't have to identify myself in order to get a good price on a pound of hamburger or a can of shaving cream. Nor should the grocery chain know my shopping history; what I bought last week is none of their business. The way I see it, their job is to keep track of inventory, stock what sells, and don't stock what doesn't. They do not need to know my [name|address|phone|mother's maiden name|last 6 months' purchases] in order to do that.
We've been protesting Radio Shack's attempts to gather this information for years, why are we breaking down and giving it up to the grocery stores? Kroger and Albertson's (let alone the FBI) have no more business associating me with the purchase of my weekly consumptions than Radio Shack has associating me with the purchase of a particular transistor. But while Radio Shack will let you slide, the grocery store will charge you a higher price if you don't have a card dangling from your keychain, ready to submit your every demographic to their database.
So I do my grocery shopping at the locally owned chain, which doesn't even issue a card much less require one (and proudly advertises that fact in their commercials). I also do a lot of shopping at drug stores instead of grocery stores. I've found that Rite-Aid's prices are lower than any of the grocery chains on several products, including both cigarettes and beer! I save about $5/carton of Camels and $3/case of Bud by getting 'em at the drug store. Over the course of a year, that adds up, especially considering how much I smoke and drink...
Not to mention the fact that there's a community aspect at the drug stores that you just won't find at the grocery stores, since the employee turnaround at the drug stores isn't nearly as high. I know the people at Walgreens and Rite-Aid by name, and they know mine, because the same folks have been there for years. When the local Walgreens moved to a new building, the manager actually tipped me off about the opening time so that I could be the first customer at the new location, thus winning several cases of carbonated beverages and getting my photo posted for all eternity in the staff break room. But if I go to Kroger I rarely see the same cashier twice, and I sure don't get to know them.
Bottom line, vote with your dollars. Refuse to shop at the stores where you can only get the low price with an ID card. The savings is not worth sacrificing your privacy, apparently to the government as well as the corporate interest, especially if there's a reasonably affordable alternative. Keep your money and your business - both your private business and your financial business - in the hands of someone who will respect it.
Shaun
Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
I've found that most grocery stores have a store card they'll swipe if you've forgotten yours (and I forget mine a lot). There are ways to dodge data gathering or pollute their information about you. The trick is to find the ethical route that also lets them know how you feel.
Also, it lets them know that I really DO buy little debbie snack cakes nutty bars, and that they should keep carrying them.
Umm... They know this anyway through inventory management.
-jerdenn