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RadioShack Stops Being Nosy
jackbang writes "One small but positive step in the gradual erosion of personal privacy and increase of corporate intrusiveness - RadioShack will no longer ask for your name and address when all you want to do is buy some batteries. Now if only they would agree to remove the motion sensor that rings a bell every time someone walks in or out of the store..." Always freaked me out being asked my address just to buy some solder or something.
....this will piss the Pentagon off. Just when they were all set to track consumer purchases...
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
You could always just tell them, "No". I always did.
09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
Jesus loves you, I think you suck
Now if they'd only start selling cables for a reasonable price. Can anywone explain to me why a six foot audio costs $10 while the twenty foot cable costs $13. who needs 20 feet of cable for headphone extension anyway? oh yeah, Last time I was there, They didn't sell the 3 foot cables anymore either.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Now the poor sap named Dick Hertz who lives at 123 Main St will stop getting thousands of Radio Shack catalogs each week in the mail.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
So, what does Radio Shack carry these days? Anything worth the bother of going there for a look?
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
For a while, when working with my video capture/playback setup, RS was the only place where I could buy cables and connectors like I needed. This is no longer the case now that Best Buy carries a wider selection of this sort of thing. At the time, however, I would get an ATM withdrawal before going and pay for the cables, adapters, and one time wall-plates with cash.
"What's your phone number?" I would always be asked.
"You need to have that for a cash purchase?" I replied.
"Uhm..."
Since RS employess get a comission. (Do they still?) They were always quick to try to keep me from leaving. Most of the time I could see that they would type their own or dummy information into the computer when I refused to give them mine.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Also, I remember when they put up the privacy policy in late 2000. It didn't seem to allay customers fears. Instead, I would tell them to just give me fake information
13 year old white supremacists are shitty web designers.
The reason I had a problem was not because of privacy. The thing about Radio Shack's policy was that they never required it if you were paying cash. If you were using a credit card, they always required it. My problem, thus, was inconvenience. The fact that they have my credit card information means that if they wanted to be unscrupulous with my information, they could call up and find out my address anyway. It's on my credit card billing information.
No, I was instead pissed because all I wanted was a $9 cable for my $ELECTRONICDEVICE and they made me give them my info every time. Even though they already have it, both from my cc number and from the last time I was there!!!
El Karma: excelente(principalmente la suma de moderación hecha a los comentarios de los usuarios)
But I had fun introducing myself as Richard Nixon With a phone number of (123)456-7890.
I had even more fun when they argued with me.
It's too bad that they started being pains in the asses about this. I really wanted to get their catalog, but I'll be damned if I'll give them a name and address.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
It's gone to a higher juristiction now, Nobody likes duplication of effort.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
...do they still have the FREE BATTERY of the MONTH club? Gez, I used to work in a RS store while in college and this little kid would come in with a battery card, get a D battery, go home, change into his little league outfit, come in and get another D battery, go home put his cubscout outfit on, and come in....and so on. He'd have like 4 FREE BATTERY cards.
Smart kid, but shame those old red RS batteries would last about 1/4 of the time a normal batter would. I used to just laugh and go along with it.
Relive the BBS Past - One Byte at a Time! www.ssabbs.com
They have all our addresses now.
With this news, radioshack has killed my purchasing alter-ego, John Shamus of 200 Arroway Lane. See, I created a whole personality for use in radio shack. Besides a fake name and address, my character John spoke in a funny voice, had an interesting career (limo-bus bathroom attendant), and even had a wife with a kid on the way (which made it easier to justify my purchases of children's toys). He also had about a dozen cuecats.
Screw it, I'm going to keep going in to Radio Shack as John, anyway. It's not like my life was going that great to begin with...
Anonymous Luddite: "What do you think of the dehumanizing effects of the Internet?"
Andy Grove: "Not Much."
RadioShack has gone through different phases which seemed, to me, to be pretty much directly affected by which President was installed at the moment. In the mid-90's, your rate of success in obtaining the name of a customer, IIRC, was supposed to be in the high 90th percentile. Also, I've had managers that were super anal about the whole thing, some who didn't much care.
Personally, I'm glad to see this tossed to the curb, but I'm sure it was prompted by the fiscal realization that it was actually making people not buy things there rather than some sort of new respect for privacy. There is a difference between a good decision being reached by moral analyses and otherwise. Some people just aren't comfortable with saying, "no," so rather than being made to feel uncomfortable, they didn't get it or got it elsewhere.
Or maybe, just maybe, the information obtained by CueCat is giving them far more valuable data?
My
Limekiller
You can't possibly get 2 batteries for two dollars anymore, unless you go to the dollar store... I've been paying 6-7 dollars for 4 double A batteries lately!!! Man, they need to start putting a warrenty on those things...
-Magiluke
Earl Grey, Hot.
Now John Smith at 123 Main Street, Anytown, CA 95555 won't get the radio shack catalog courtesy of yours truly anymore!
political_news.c: warning: comparison is always true due to limited range of data type
The name/address question was redundant, since they're now doing retina scans as folks enter the store. The bell actually indicates a database match.
Ding!
It's true! RadioShack stops being nosy. At first I didn't believe it, but a devil ice-skated by selling a Linux that was ready for the desktop and said it was true.
A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
What are the chances I'll ever step foot in a Radio Shack? They could start giving me their home address and phone number, but unless she's cute, I'm still not shopping at Radio Shack.
I made a purchase at Toys R Us one day and gave them my info. I got a call about a week later. They wanted feedback on my shopping experience in exchange for a $5 gift certficate. I spent the time with them, but never got the certificate.
I don't think they were trying to mislead me, but they blew an opportunity there. I'm happy to share my info as long as they reward me for it, but failing to send me the gift certificate changed my mind about that. Now, when I go there, I decline to give them my info when they ask for it and I explain why.
Companies like Radio Shack need to realize that they have to reward their customers if they're made to jump through extra hoops.
Need a radio? You can get better ones, cheaper, elsewhere. Toys? Ditto. And their parts end of the business is going downhill, fast.
I mean, for chrissakes, I went there looking for a book of radio frequencies (shortwave... found the WRTH at B. Dalton). They don't carry them. RADIO Shack? Puhleeze. I don't know what market they're going for these days, but radios have got very little to do with it.
They probably just built a device that scans your brain and extracts your name and address, while simultaneously implanting the desire to buy little remote controlled cars.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
All of my friends get several copies of every Radio Shack flier, addressed to names like John P. Sartre, J. Wilkes Booth, J Philip Sousa, P Dadi....
I guess that with the new TIA database tracking all of your purchases, it's just redundant data anyway.
I always just told em my name was Elvis Presley and I lived at Graceland in Memphis. Always got plenty of laughs, but they keyed it into their POS terminal anyway.
I just always told them I wouldn't tell them my personal information and it didn't seem like that big of a deal to them. Or, if you like, you could always have fun making up fake addresses. Even so, my Dad refuses to shop at RatShack because they always ask for your address.
I always used:
"Raymond D. O'Shack", you can call me Ray!!
Ha ha
M
When your information is in their system it only takes a second to check out... However, the problem lies when they start asking if you want to buy a cellphone or perhaps the 47 in. tv behind you because it is on sale for that day only (or the next day when you walk in) and they only have one left. Or when they ask you to sign up for a radioshack credit card so I can recieve huge discounts on future purchases. so next time I walk in to purchase my dollar IC that is on sale because it is going to be no longer sold at radioshack I'd be lucky to save a penny.
There is no
I used to work for a Radio Shack dealer store and the pressure to get the addresses was constant because we got money from Radio Shack for each address we provided. When I was taken to task about my low address count one day, my buddy was offered up as an example: HE got over 90%. So I asked him how he did it. His secret? He used to copy random names down from the phonebook when the store was slow!
Same goes true for Best Buy wanting your ZIP code.
About 25% of the time I'll get a surprised "Really?", half the time they don't care, and the other I'm not even asked because the drone doesn't want to ask.Me: I'm looking for an RF Modulator so I can plug my DVD player into a TV without AV inputs. (Don't get me started...)
Shack Sales Clerk: Uhmm... That's like a VCR, right? We've got all our VCRs on that wall right over there.
Me: Uh, no. It's a signal adapater. (Surely someone who works around electronics every day should understand this, right?) It converts composite audio/video signal output to rf signal for a coaxial cable input.
Clerk: It's an adapter?
Me: (Thinking the light has finally turned on) Yes! It's got a coaxial output on one end and RCA style audio-video inputs on the other.
Clerk: Here ya go! (He hands me a RCA 'Y' splitter.)
Me: *Sigh*...
I did manage to get the guy to give me an RF modulator, but only after I retrieved a Radio Shack ad from behind the counter and pointed at it in the ad.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
You b*****d I found you at long last!!! Love, Dick
Personally, whenever I'm asked to provide an email address I just type in billg@microsoft.com.
Umm, then why does your slashdot profile say "theconfused1@a[ ]i.com ['ttb' in gap]"?
If only the link to this story would also stop asking me for 10 cookies to track me...
They just want your address so that they can serve you better. It's not like they are profiling you so that they can steal your secret projects.
Man, this thread is getting harsh. I mean, nearly ever sane retailer has SOME means to let employees know when someone is the store. yeah, the dinger SUCKS, but I'd rather know when someone is coming in.
The CueCat was a stupid venture, to be sure; but at some point in their lifespan, every retailer does something stupid at some point.
Yes, Radio Shack has morphed from hobbyist products and radio gear to basically a smaller, less well stocked Best Buy. But can you blame them? While many slashdotters may in fact still need diodes, Joe Average doesn't. The death of the electronics hobbyist almost killed the company. They are trying to stay alive in the face of serious competition while retaining what used to make the Shack a place to buy stuff. If you have a better idea, a way to make the company really stand out, get a job there and tell the boss. They might even listen.
And no one is really commenting on the fact that a high-profile retailer like the Shack taking a step like this may, in fact, influence others to drop their mailing. I can't buy anything anymore without a request for zip code, or some other deal.
Also Note: the Shack has one of the most tolerant, liberal intellectual property waivers ever. Unless you invent a new point-of-sale system, and do so on the job (or using work-provided materials), they don't give a crap. I mean, Best Buy would probably try to make you turn over your latest patch to BitchX but the Shack doesn't care.
ZOMG I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS ON MACINTOSH VERSUS WINDOWS, VI VERSUS EMACS, AND HOW YOU'RE NOT A DORK
The problem is, some of them absolutely require it unless you are paying cash. I too refuse, to the point of having them call over a manager to tell the sales droid how NOT to collect my phone number. If they still refuse, most times I walk out of the store and get what I want somewhere else.
I have noticed that companies that do this often times stop. I guess they reach the same conclusion RS has.
Why they ever think that harrassing their customers is a good thing to do is beyond me. I'd like to see a real comparison of the value of their mailing list (although mostly they ask for phone #'s) vs. the business they loose being nosy.
People should resist giving vendors ID tracking numbers.
Let the sales person know you will not buy from them if they require a tracking number. A annoying trend is for supermarket to want to sign you up to a "loyalty card". My local albertsons just switched to the use of a card. I complained bitterly, leaveing the goods I was buying on the counter and walked out. I also sent an e-mail complaining to their corporate office at:
absfeedback@eds.com
I recommend you do also.
Also a little google searching found an organization dedicated to fighting the use of shopping cards at:
No Cards [nocards.org]
Surpisingly there are other folks [nocards.org] who do not like the use of cards or tracking devices such as your phone number.
I imagine you have a lot of fake information collected, I never give my correct information when I go to RS.
The CEO looked kinda stunned at first, like he got belted in the head with a brick, then rather annoyed. He didn't say anything about it but I got the impression he was rather surprised to hear that this was common pratice. Or maybe surprised it was being discussed on TV while a bunch of his investors watched.
Judging by the comments here me and the Squawk Box guy weren't the only ones doing it. What's next, Radio Shack management discovers that pushing extended warranties on 50 cent batteries is considered somewhat amusing?
I thought the title read "RS stops being NOISY".
I suddenly imagined a Radio Shack without all the loud toys with blinking lights that you trip over trying to get to the useful stuff on the back wall. THAT would be cool.
Oh well, I guess it's a start. Now let me write checks for over the amount (especially if I already wrote the check for 3 cents over) and don't ask me what I'm building if you can't figure out why I'd need a transformer, capacitors, rectifiers, and a voltage regulator.
There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq
There goes another source of entertainment. I would give the Radio Shack corporate address every time I shopped there. One time, a manager overheard me and asked what I see when I look out my window. I replied "Some shitty electronics store".
He left me alone.
At least there's still Microcenter. I go by the name of Salman Rushdie there.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Laugh, it's a joke! :)
Yes, you got added to a mailing list--Radio Shack's. Nobody else got your address. They were religious about that and if anybody ever suggested to the people in marketing that it was otherwise, they witnessed somebody turning purple with apoplexy.
They jealously guarded their lists because they viewed their mailing list as a competitive advantage. Nationwide, marketers who send direct mail advertisements are ecstatic if they get a response rate of 1/2 a percent. Radio Shack had something like a 40% response rate on its direct mail advertisements. They weren't about to give that up to anybody else.
I don't believe all radio shacks do it, but in a number I've been to (Fairfax VA area) the employees (or somthing) is fitted with a microphone and this transmits the conversations into the back stock room.
It always freaked me out to be looking for LEDs and hear a disembodied voices saying:
"can I help you?"
"yes do you sell power adapters?"
"we sell all sorts of power sir."
I myself have been victimized by this. They keep track of what you have bought and returned. If you returned too many things that costs a bit ( The stuff they make commision on ) they will stop selling you anything and have that manager tell you that you can't buy the item. I have had this happen on more than one occasion.
I can assure you that this is totally commision related. The last time they told me NO they looked up my history and said "You return too much stuff". This is what is so bad about tracking your name is now the salesman can check your name to see if your someone he should waste his time on.
cashier: Name? ...
guy: Cash.
cashier: *First* name?
guy: CASH! I'm paying with cash!
cashier: Ok. I'll need to get your name and address. What's your full name?
guy: GOD DAMN IT You don't need to know my name and address!
It always made me wonder what kind of marketing genius is willing to piss off some of their customers that badly.
They send my this beautyfull catalog with a lot of guzzy techky bidules.
Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
It just goes to show that if enough comedians complain about something, the world will change
I refused to give my name once, and on the receipt, it said "Thank you Dick Dick, for your purchase" (or something like that).
I noticed before I left, and was sure to thank the Dick helping me.
I honestly don't know how Radio Crap is in business to begin with. I cant imagine anyone buying anything expensive from there, like stereo's, computers or TV's; thats what Best Buy, Fry's or in desperation, Wal-mart is for.
Do that many people need solder and LED's to keep them in business?
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
I remember a few years ago, when Radio Shack was the talk of the takeovers and such. The customer data base was valued as much as the rest of their assets combined.
Unfortunately, given what happened today (Homeland Security Bill), it isn't all that funny.
amen. Before I quit, I was nearly fired for not keeping my Names and Addresses percentage high enough (because I hated invading people's privacy). Now if they would just insist on being less lenient with returns, I could feel better about buying things from them again.
"Shack. S-h-a-q."
"And your first name?"
"Rat. R-h-a-t-t."
"And your address?"
I then proceeded to give him the address of the store I was in. Only then did he get the joke.
On another occasion when I was asked for my last name I said "Cash" and I looked over at the screen as he entered "Cash" into the last name field and up popped the "Johnny Cash" account.
Error:
They traded as Tandy here in the UK then all of a sudden shut down most of their stores. I just wish they'd re-open their branch in my hometown. Now I have to get all my components by mail order which is just dumb when all you want is a 555 and a few resistors.
I think Maplin still have high-street stores, in fact the one of the Tandys in London was replaced by a Maplin...
SpamNet - a spam blocker that really works
Follow this example, one of the winners of the 1991 rec.humor.funny comedy awards
Q&A at Radio Shack
Has it been over a year since you last donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation
My father used to always reply to their request for last name by saying CASH.
Did he give his first name as "Johnny"?
or "Tango And"?
$8.95/mo web hosting
... now people won't get this joke anymore.
Many people might not know this, but Radio Shack employees get fired if they don't keep their Name/Address percentage up. My store required at least 80% of all purchases to have it (when I worked there). Naturally, MUCH less than 80% of all people would willingly give it. Everybody always thought they were so frickin' smart ("Cash; Johnny." "Simpson; Bart"). Radioshack didn't even use it for mailing. ^_^
Anyways, so myself and the other employees started entering these people as a 'Mr. Customer' who lived at (our store's address). After 3 months of this, our boss called a meeting where he printed a 28' long list of everything 'Mr. Customer' had purchased there from the reciept printer.
The moral of the story? I dunno, but I sure like being modded down!
---- I'll take you in a Hunt deathmatch any day.
Well there goes my weekly Jedi mind trick.
Clerk: Phone number please...
Me: You don't need my phone number
Clerk: I don't need your phone number...
Me: You will thank me and wish me a nice day.
Clerk: Thank you, have a nice day!
My local stationary store has started asking for my phone number as well... I tried the above tactic but they just ignored me... must be Toydarian.
- Jimbob
Once upon a time, you could assemble Evil Ted from things that you bought at Radio Shack. But in the last several years, their stock of real electronics stuff has declined steadily. I'm not much of a hardware hacker, but I've started to notice that Radio Shack no longer usually has what I need when the soldering gun comes out. Now they just sell crappy computers, overpriced crappy stereo equipment, etc. They expanded to the point where there weren't enough geeks to support their original business plan, and the response was dropping those customers to the floor. I would've diversified the kinds of stores I had (maybe Radio Shack and RSNERD), but what do I know?
I pulled the "it's legel tender, you have to take it," and the manager pointed to the "we reserve the right to refuse to do business with anyone," and sent me on my way.
That Radio Shack never saw anything but my middle finger after that, and went out of business a couple of years later - the manager (yup, same guy) was caught embezzling.
Har. There is a god, and she has a vicious sense of humor.
Now if only they would agree to remove the motion sensor that rings a bell every time someone walks in or out of the store..."
Yeah, cause there's absolutely no reason whatsoever that an employee at a relatively small, yet cluttered, business might need to know when someone enters an exits the store.
Nope, they have absolutely no right to know that you've entered their store, even if they might be the only person on duty at the time, and currently helping a customer in the back look for some obscure AV connector. Since, you know, no possible way a two-man team could distract the employee while simultaneously stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise right out the front door.
Jeez people, I like my right to privacy too, but let's not go off the fucking deep end here.
It hurts when I pee.
As it has already been said you can just say no anytime your asked for your personal info. But what you may not know ( or may not have thought of) is WHY they ask you in the first place. Ok yeah, tracking statitics and what not, but that's not what I mean. The reason this still goes on in many retail stores is because people don't say no. They figure it's part of the process of purachasing whatever. If people would start refusing to divulge information, companies would be less apt to attempt to get it from you.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just that yours is stupid.
While I think that the 'Savings cards' represent nothing more than false advertising, you can get the Albertsons card without giving any information whatsoever. All you need to do is check the box on thier form that states, "I do not wish to give out my personal information", or something like that, and that's it. No name, phone number, or address. If I remember right, they also have either opt-in or opt-out checkboxes that are very plainly worded.
I gave out ONLY my phone number, because you get a handy key fob that states, "If keys are found, please return to your nearest Albertsons Store". If they get returned, Albertsons will call you and let you know they have your keys. Without any other information, phone numbers alone are a pretty innacurate way of tracking people.
Unfortunately Albertsons felt they had to offer one of those cards, fortunately, they're not asking anything from you for it. All you accomplished by being rude and not bothering to ask any questions or read the form, was to make some poor schlub put your groceries away, and you got to shop somewhere else.
Yes, since Q died, Bond has to shop for
gadgets himself, poor thing. Being seen
walking into Radio Shack may not be good
for his image...
Considered harmful.
He asked me for my name, address, zip code.
"Customers tell us the practice of asking them for names and addresses is time consuming and annoying and is not something that endears them to us," Leonard Roberts, chairman and CEO of Fort Worth-based RadioShack, said in a statement.
DUH!
Laws affecting technology will always be bad until enough techies become lawyers.
"May I have your telephone number, area code first?"
It works best in a flirtatious tone. Regardless of the gender of the cashier.
cashier: Name?
me: none
cashier: that's your name? None?
me: yep
cashier: OOOk what's your last name?
me: none
minutes of fun
last spring , there were 3 other people behind me waiting to pay and the same mgr-bonehead was still playing the game with me, but he knew I didn't want to give my name, or ANY name.
following verbatim (as I remember it)
cashier: You know, we don't make any money off your name. .....Fine...you don't want me to make any money.... (actual words)
me: then why do you bother?
cashier: it makes it alot easier if you want to return this item.
me: I'm not returning it, I'm paying cash and never coming back
cashier (rings up sale),
me: What did you just say?
cashier: nothing
me: You just said I didn't want you to Make Any Money!!!! I'm in your Store, I'm BUYING an item. I'm paying YOU money. Are you telling me that if I DON'T give you MY NAME, YOU don't make any money? It's MY NAME! You don't make money with MY NAME! That's MY JOB, not YOURS!
cashier: next
Well, one day (this must have been 1989) I went in and bought something minor and the shop assistant asked for my name and address. Well, I knew darned well what they wanted it for, because I was getting three Tandy catalogues all with different variations of my name and address so I told him "no".
He said: "But you have to give me your name and address."
"Why?"
"Because I can't sell you this without it."
"Rubbish. You just want to put me on your mailing list."
Well, the argument proceeded and he wouldn't sell me the stuff and frankly REALLY pissed me off big time.
This was a bad move, because in the UK you're not allowed to collect personal information to store on a computer system without a) making it clear an b) registering that you are going to do so.
I checked Intertan's (Tandy's parent company) registrations details. It turned out that they hadn't registered properly. BIG mistake number 2.
So, I complained to the Data Protection Registrar that I believed that Intertan were breaking the law. They tried to contact Intertan. Intertan refused to talk to them. BIG mistake number 3.
Eventually this escalated and finally Intertan caved in and stopped asking. Well at least for a couple of years. I stopped shopping there in the end. Mind you, so did everyone else and they shut down :)
Never email donotemail@WeAreSpammers.com
--true story. Been shopping at ratshack since..well, since allied electronics I guess. Anyway, I lived for years and years metro atlanta. Sometime shortly after the olympics-and the unfortunate el kaboom occurrence there, I get a personal visit from the fibbers! Now I am a little spooked, this is right after they tried to frame richard jewell. I am an internet freedom issues loudmouth, this is a duh given. This agent comes by when I'm not home but sees my girlfriend and leaves his card for me to call him back up. Of course she's freaked out, who wouldn't be? So, I call him up, shazzam! It's that stoopid radio shack taking your information. Foolish me had previous had given it to them, innocently and before I was as concerned as I am now on this merchant/information issue. Turns out I had-along with thousands of other people-purchased the same/similar battery they allege was used in the olympics blast. LUCKY FOR ME I still had it at home to show him. He came by the next day, I showed hom the batt- a 12 volt drycell I got to use for my tiny 12 volt b/w tv during storms and electrical outtages, so after that was outta the way we spent a little time talking about his job and cases he had worked on etc. I figured what the heck, might as well milk the opportunity a little, was interesting.
Anyway, I went back to the same store I got it from, talked to the manager, told her I was not amused over this incident. I mean, what if I had milked the batt dry and had tossed it?
From then on I always refuse this info when asked at ratshacks or wherever, latest was at some car parts store, I tell them it just slap ain't happening, they can enter any name or whatever to make their cash register work, or "no sale".
This data mining stuff I can see two sides of, but my default is it's too likely to be misused and as such I'm against it now.
It also happened to me once some fool at a job I worked snagged my soc sec # and used it somehow (probably gave or sold it to someone, I never found out exactly) to get some utilites turned on, like a year later I get this bill for gas service at someplace I never lived at. No amount of arguing would make them drop the bill, and the threat was pay it now or lose gas service at the place I lived. What a crock, I HAD to pay it or lose use of my hotwater heater and stove and furnace, not an option at the time.
Can of worms, society needs some sort of ID to go about your day to day business, but too many ways it can be misused or stolen. It's totally fubared now, because no solution addresses privacy concerns. Caych 22 "Danged if ya do danged if ya don't" deal there.
Just say:
Alan M Ralsky
6747 Minnow Pond Dr.
West Bloomfield, MI 48322
- "That's just the kind of fuzzy-headed liberal thinking that leads to being eaten."
How fast will this get modded down, I wonder ?
Unfortunately, not fast enough, as I don't have any moderator points.
E-mail addresses can be obtained too easily to warrant any bitching. Further, generally speaking, anonymity breeds nothing but noise.
Of course, there are those chickenshits who work at McDonald's claiming that the Fortune 500 company where they are secretly a CEO (unknown to their wives or family) would disapprove of their postings... but who cares about them?
I'm not saying that privacy isn't important, and I do see that you are not posting as an Anonymous Coward, for which I salute you, but is requiring a working e-mail address really that onerous?
Neopets - the best free game on the Int
...it's about expenses and database cleanliness. They finally realized that they were incenting their customers to lie to them, and then they were expending a fair amount of money sending junk mail to nonexistant people. Worse, they didn't even know how many unique customers they had, since people offer the same bogus info twice (some do, and make a point of it, but they're the exception).
Someone finally wised up and realized that they have a hugely polluted customer database and that, for a mail-order house, that's pretty expensive.
How they spin it for public consumption is their business, but I'd definitely take it with a grain of salt. That's my take on it, anyways.
-b
If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
Where you would have someone that you could ask "I'm trying to do x with y and z" and they could point you to component Q.
Now it's just:
"Dude...do you want a phone?"
No thanks...I just need a cable from x to y
"you can hook a cable to the phone"
etc...
A new store is opening near me, and I'm praying for it to be good - though the cards are stacked against me.
customers are required to look up at the camera and simply say cheese. The facial recognition system coupled with the DMVs driver license picture / address database will do all the rest.
RadioShack, willing to go a step beyond to make the customers experience simpler.
come on fhqwhgads
No wonder we get stupid laws like the DMCA and the "confiscate nail clippers on airplanes" one passed. Nobody will stand up for their rights.
Is this really so difficult:
Radio Shack employee: "Could I have your zip code?"
Radio Shack customer: "No."
Trust me, it's not hard. I've done it. I would recommend though that you not try "I can make something up or you can leave it blank - your choice", as the employees tend to get pissy.
High-speed Road Trip (18.000KPH)
They asked me for my social security number once when I was buying some batteries... with cash! I actually started telling him the number as if on some dumbfounded autopilot, then I became very annoyed.
I might actually shop there again if they stop asking stupid questions... better yet if they actually start selling useful quality stuff I would be impressed
The adress is not available to you but there is something as an AVS check (adress verifiction system, not AGE verification system as it is used by some 'less reputable' sites), where you supply the address info and the processor then gives you a go/no-go on the address. So you can't access it but if it is given to you then you can use it to verify the persons identity.
:)
small entrepeneur ? yeah, I probably qualify
MP3 Search Engine
I love it when people ask me for a name for some stupid purpose such as this.
:-)
I simply tell them that my name is:
"Malcom [pause] Peter [pause] Brian [pause] Adrian, telescope, rock-stoat, frog-gobbler fertang fertang, ole' biscuit-barrel, don't sleep in the subway, incubator-Smith."
By the time they get to "Brian" they start to smell a rat -- and once you've memorized that little Monty-Pythonish bit of babble you can rattle the last bit of impressively quickly -- leaving them with their mouth open and eyes wide
Another of my Monty Pythonish favorites:
As I was walking past St Pauls
A lady grabbed me by the [pause] hand.
She said: Young man, you've got some pluck...
Come with me and have a sandwich.
When Radio Shack was an electronics parts supplier and not a corporate whore? Remember when you could go into the store without immediately being intercepting by someone asking you if you wanted Sprint cell phone service, MSN internet access, Dish Network, etc.? How I miss those days. :)
It wouldn't bother me so much if they just sold those things, but they actively try to force them upon you half the time. It's very annoying.
The other annoying thing is that the employee always seems to think they know more than you. I could go into radio shack and tell them I need a certain resister for a bilinear transdimensional flux capaciter and I SWEAR they would try to convince me that I needed another one instead. As if someone with a degree in bilinear transdimensional physics would be working for minimum wage at Radio Shack! Umm..well you get the point.
If they hadnt tried to weasel out personal information out of me, i probably would have happily filled out a subscription card or something. AS it is, i woulnt give them my real name if my life depended on it. Fuck them, i dont like pushy people being nosy about stuff thats none of their busisness.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
Radio Shack: You've got questions, we've got blank stares!
--Jim
This usually works on the weak-willed. If they don't have a weak will when they start working at RS, a couple of months on the job will give them one:
Me: I'd like to buy these batteries
Sales: I need your address
Me: You don't need my address (wave hand -- this part is very important)
Sales: I don't need your address
Me: You serve your master well and will be rewarded.
JET Program: see Japan, meet intere
CC does a lot of weird things..
I bought a cd reader from them on black Friday last year, it was a 2 hour special. It was $50 but only $5 after rebate. When I installed it at home, it did not work. When I tried to take it back they offered me a different model in exchange as the one with the rebate was unavailable, of course this was $50 and no rebate. I was not paying that much for a cdrom drive, I only bought the damn thing initially because it was supposed to be $5. I refused and then they offered to take back the one I had for a $7 restocking fee. I argued back and forth and I was getting no where with the person that called himself manager at the time. I always take into consideration that there are two sides to every story, I try to see things from the others perspective when I deal with someone, this helps me understand a specific dealing and how to work with it. In this case I had a brain implosion as I could not understand the managers thought process or line of thinking. So, I took the next best step. I ripped the UPC symbol of the box, threw the cdrom and the rest of the box on the floor (with a decent force) and left the store. Yes it was somewhat irrational but I was very frustrated at what these guys were doing, we definitely had a misunderstanding..
It was cheaper for me in the end to send in the fucking rebate on the broken POS then it was to return it and pay a restocking fee. Previous to that I ran into a similar instance with them on a Sony car stereo, in the store the demo unit played every brand of cdr media and format (TAO/ DAO) I brought with me to test. I bought it and installed it in my car, well guess what, it only played like 2 of the 10 I tried in the store. Not specifically CC's fault but they refused to take the item back as in their eyes it was not defective. Their technical reasons (ie bullshit)for why it did not work were comical. Based on those experience and other smaller ones in the past, I made the assumption customer satisfaction is not one of their core initiatives.. I have not stepped foot in a CC since.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
I have to wonder... it seems poeple often feel a great reluctance to speak up or question when some information is asked of them they would rather not give.
Any time I've walked into Radio Shack, they've asked for my name and address, of course. I say "You don't need to know that", politely, and they say "No problem sir" and then continue to ring the order through.
Even buying a pay-as-you-go Cantel phone from radio shack... not only did radio shack want my name/address, but of course, they want it for the Cantel activation as well. Nevertheless, a polite "Well why do you need that if I have to pay everything up front.". "Well sir, you don't have to give us your name, we can just put it in under John Doe, but that will cause a problem should you forget your PIN or should your phone be stolen and you want it deactivated. In this case, we wouldn't be able to help you."
Thanks, that made perfect sense, I can accept that. Right on sir, here you go, have a nice day.
You see... often that's all it takes, is some polite, non-confrontational intelligent questions.
Supermarker convenience cards? Lie. I'm serious. Just make some crap up and put it on the card. If you want to be really nice at the same time, keep the demographic information the same, but not your name/address/phone number. That way the store gets honest demographics, with no privacy violations. When tehy ask for ID, they usualy want it for cheque caching purposes.. just say you don't want that.
There is a difference between violations of privacy and straightforward information gathering; complaining about privacy is one thing, but taking a proactive stance towards it is another. If a majority of people refused to give information out at retail stores, fairly soon retail stores would stop asking.
[cough] Oh yeah, there's an unimpeachable source of info. [cough]
Ayways, data mining isn't cheap, does Radio Shack have the time, resources, agenda, motives, and money to invest in an ellaborate conspiracy?
"Ellaborate conspiracy"? I haven't seen anyone mention an elaborate conspiracy. Seems like mostly people just found it annoying.
They actually pulled out of europe in a way that was less than nice, leaving thousands of customers goods in the warehouses, rent unpaid, warranty goods unreturned and future warranties not to be effective.
It was quite a stink and a good many people were really really angry and a few even went to Nanine (Belgium headquarters of the shack or 'tandy') to try to get even only to find out that they had literally disappeared overnight and sold all their goods in europe (including customer equipment!) to dump traders.
Don't take my word for it, look it up, friday night they were open for business and on saturday morning they were gone with the wind.
MP3 Search Engine
> One small but positive step in the gradual ... RadioShack
> erosion of personal privacy
> will no longer ask for your name and address...
I'd call that a _negative_ step in "the gradual erosion of personal privacy".
> Always freaked me out being asked my address
> just to buy some solder or something.
I've never had any difficulty saying no.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Being the sort who appreciates some security in my everyday transactions, I actually like it when the Radio Shack people ask for my zip code. (They've never asked me for a name, is that unusual?) The fact that they have some idea of where they sell more batteries is fine by me -- it allows them to build market demographics without a notable loss of my privacy, and I get improved availability of products I like.
:)
Likewise, I've been very encouraged to see some of those automated gas pumps now requiring that you key in a zip code from the billing statement -- not just possessing a credit card. Since I'm already providing my name and billing information through the credit card, this is not the invasion of privacy that some folks think it is. Yay authentication and authorization!
On the other hand, it used to be particularly irritating when I wrote a check and a clerk would insist that I provide a home phone number or even two phone numbers instead of some useful authorization info. (They're permitted to ask in my locale, but not allowed to require it.) After a particularly nasty incident at Ikea a few years ago -- when I declined to provide the number an assistant manager looked up my name in the phone directory and wrote the info on my check anyway, accompanied with a lot of foolish and insulting comments -- I decided to print TeleCheck's local phone number on the checks as a home phone. It doesn't stop the bad practice, but at least it protects my privacy a bit without wasting my time. (And it never comes up as a bad number
Most frustrating of all (recently) was an encounter with a certain large bank. To make a long story short, they informed me that electronic funds transfers can be executed by any merchant with my bank routing and account numbers. When I pointed out that the numbers are identification and not authorization, they replied (paraphrased) "Posession of the number IS authorization. If you didn't give them authorization, they wouldn't have the number." Can you believe a major bank thinks that possession of your authentication data is equal to authorization? AAUUUGGGHHH!!! When I pressed further and pointed out that the account & routing data is on every check that anyone writes, I was informed that they (the bank) know it's awful, but that's what the US Federal Reserve rules require. Double-AAUUUGGGHHH!!!
IMHO it's disappointing when the local Chevron station provides better financial transaction security than the bank managing my 401K.
-Jon
I think not...(*poof*)
I just lied to them. How the hell are they going to know?
Oh yea, and if any radio shack people are reading this, my address is:
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington DC, 20500
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
My online identity is probably being sold to multiple mailings, porn, radioshack catalog's and god knows what else.
123 Sesame St Way, Beverly Hills California 90210 better not be a real address or they're gonna be pissed at me!
Yo Grark
Canadian Bred with American Buttering.
Canadian Bred with American Buttering
I can tell you that it annoys us to ask nearly as much as it annoys you to be asked.
Having said that, I NEVER made a big deal out of it and answered honestly when asked what it was for: flyers, catalogues and for some items, the warranty. When customers seem upset about me asking for this information, I always tell them they can say, "No". There is no point in upsetting a customer about such a trivial matter. Most customers were good about it, especially when I tell them that saying "No" is completely OK and not a big deal to either of us. I never understood why some employees would make a huge production out of name and address. I would also apply a little common sense; If a customer was in a rush, if it was very busy or if the item was relatively minor I would not bother to ask.
In some cases, we really do need your address for such things as warranty. Some companies, Pana^H err something...will not accept a serial number for warranty, we require the original recepit (or our electronic copy) and postal code. We will not receive payment for the warranty from certain companies without this information. We can also look up your original receipt in the computer (we use SCO Unix in the back computer) and all receipt information is TAR'd and compressed by day. Without your address or at least your name, we have no way of knowing if you bought a particular item or not.
I do have a beef with people who would get upset to the point of anger. I am doing my job, it is a job requirement to ask for name and address. I have no choice, I try to make your shopping experience as pleasant as possible by knowing the products I sell and how to get you the best deal either by suggesting a product that will cost less and produce the same result or if an item will be on sale. Please realize that the person behind the counter is a person too, with feelings and a family and a paycheck (albeit a small one sometimes). Your anger only tranlates to frustration for me and possibly poorer service for my next customer.
Note that all of this information applies to RadioShack in Canada. Our American cousins are completely a different company and have different ownership and management and entirely different computer systems from what we use in Canada.
The MicroCenter chain of stores in the U.S. has the same annoying habit. Every time I'd shop there, they'd demand my name and address. I'd say "No, you already have it." The clerk would say "the manager says we hafta ask for it." I'd say "I won't buy anything if you insist on getting my name and address." Clerk says "Uh... OK."
This is more just plain rudeness than it is a privacy violation, since they won't know anything about you unless you tell them. So, don't tell them.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
I never give any personal information, but I always give ZIP codes. There's nothing to identify me personally, and *maybe*, just *maybe*, if the store I like to shop at sees that enough people from my area are traveling 60 miles (distance to real shopping) to their store occasionally, they'll figure out it would make sense to put a store in by me. Win-win.
Yeah, giving ZIP codes helps the company plan and gather gross demographics. So? The point here is to protect one's privacy, not to thwart the companies' every move.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
...
"May I have your address?"
"Are you asking me out?"
"Er."
"Well, then you don't need to know."
Marxist evolution is just N generations away!
I also quit using my grocery cards when I found out that the stores use them to track your purchases for marketing purposes. Just last week I went through the checkout and the clerk asked if I had a card and I told her that I don't use the cards anymore. When she asked "Don't like saving money?" I shot back "No, but I value my privacy". End of conversation.
I am buying more things with cash now. When you buy with a credit card at Sears, they got your name & address and poof, more catalogs in the mail. Pay with cash and you're stealth, baby.
Blame the marketing monkeys at the DMA for this mess, they drove us into it.
Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
That's nothing! Do you have a Hotmail account by the name of DickHertz@hotmail.com? If so, I'll bet you have had more than your share of spam.
From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Think about it. You could have entered hundreds or even thousands of bogus names/addresses, kept your percentage at 100%, and shielded all your customers from being entered into Radio Shack's system.
People say "if everyone gave fake information like I do, the system would be useless" but you could have actually put a dent in it by controlling the POS terminal.
Did Joe Everyman ever need a diode for his hobby kit?
I Browse at +4 Flamebait
Open Source Sysadmin
You should read some of the fake names on this online antiwar petition...
reads like a who's who of bogus/joke names; I laughed 'till I cried.
Not In Our Name antiwar group
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
If you're too psychologically fragile to just turn them down when they ask, just make something up. That's what I've done for all those grocery store discount cards. I picked a name (Smedley Cuthbertson for one) and the address of someone who I dislike (so he can get all the proctologist ads when I buy Preparation H) and that's all it took. I get my discount, that jerk gets the Drug Enforcement Administration wondering why he's buying all that cough syrup, and everybody (except him) is happy.
RadioShack doesn't sell their info to anyone. Safeway on the other hand is a different story. Next time you go to a RadioShack why don't you read the signs they have next to the register? There are, of course companies who do use these practices. I know every time I buy something online part of the reason it's so inexpensive is all those ads I'll be recycling but RadioShack isn't one of them. If you don't believe me, fine; but don't come at me with your recorded message about how democracy is falling apart. Give me some evidence. Show me an instance. Go to RadioShack and ASK that they put you in their database - but give them an appartment number with your houses address. That's the way to prove it. That's how I know Safeway thinks I *REALLY* *REALLY* need a credit card. Whatever you do, don't go fucking calling wolf when there's no wolf, these issues do deserve our attention and actions like these will only disenchant the populace.
The only one who has to take it is the government. All others can reject it at their leasure.
Umm, no. Within the USA, they have to accept US dollars in trade.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
---I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. No place did I address any sort of not caring about the blast victims, that's nuts. As to the framing efforts, it's data, deal with it, it happened, they went way out of their way-and wasted time-by focusing on jewell and by leaking the info to the press, seriously messing with him. they only stopped when they realised it was so blatantly stoopid even a cub reporter could see it.
Oh and the fibbers? Nothing is ever their fault, they don't even bother to even apologise about anything when they screw up. Sometimes like with randy weaver* and his murdered wife, they are forced to fork over cash money when caught screwing up, but at no time do they act "honorably" and admit a mistake. A man will admit when he's wrong, slimeball scumbags hide behind anonymity and the new buzzword catch phrase "national security" when they mess up, like someone(s) sure as heck messed up on 9-11, but so far, no one even so much as fired, a round of promotions all around, new homeland security mega agency, more police powers. Something's screwy there, in an honest government, some heads should rolled and there should have been some resignations, and just don't happen to recall any so far. In the real world, civvie world, where laws actually apply, where you might actually be held accountable for your actions or lack of action, you can't get even close to 1% of the level of a 9-11 screwup and not get fired at a minimum. In government,where laws mostly don't apply and ethics are an option and mutual CYA is the religion, you get promoted, get a bonus, or get re elected or nominated to a higher position.
99.999% of the population can see that, I have no idea why the remainder fail at making that simple observation, but hey, slashdot sure is a big forum.
*weavers crime was not having a 5$ AOW license and for being able to read, the judge/court sent him an incorrect court date to appear. That don't matter though, "just following orders" is "close enough" to ethical behavior in government.
Actually, you may need to watch for quite a while... The movie won't be shown on TV for another year or two, probably. hehehe ;D
However, they do not have to accept cash in trade, if you do not owe them money. That is not a debt, you do not owe them anything. They can force you to pay in quarters (as, in fact, many candy machines do. Do you honestly think those are illegal because they will not take dimes and nickels?)
Now, if you go and open something on the way to the register, or even eat it, I guess you could legally claim you now owned them money and they had to accept cash. OTOH, they could have you arrested for theft, so it's not a good idea to argue at that point. While many stores will be lax about it, legally, you just damaged their possessions without permission.
There is no 'no turning back' point for a transaction. Either they agree to accept what you are offering, or they don't. You can't trick them into accepting one thing and then replace it with another of supposed equal value. Likewise, they can't accept payment form you, and then tack on an additional charge and force you to pay it. Transactions have either happened or they haven't, there's no middle ground. (Now, there's certainly debatable ground, like if you hand someone cash and the store gets robbed in the middle of it, but that's debating the point the line exists at, not that a solid line does, in fact, exist, where you both instantly switch possessions.)
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
This should be modded up.
RS started as a mail order business. Names and addresses were essential. As they started opening stores, the mailing lists were still important to them, and to their customers. Tandy continued the practice into a time when it became irrelevant, inconvenient, and suspicious looking.
I've been on their list for most of the last 30 years, and I've worked for them in the past. I've never seen any evidence that they disclose customer information to anyone.
The fact that they are willing to adopt a more casual approach to maintaining their list, in a time where even supermarkets require it, says something positive about their organization.
With the adoption of HSA/TIA, I can imagine that the boys in Fort Worth TX figured that they didn't want to be spies for a foreign country (the U.S.).
--dang that sad, really. sorry about the girl, too bad for the nutcase.
Goes along with the catch 22 deal. YEP, there's legit uses for data mining, I would never dispute that,as your story shows, our society now has to figure out the "how far" part. We can only go as far as the government itself is trustworthy, deal is, there's no single one "government", it's made up of saints and sinners and blends of each. Sometimes they are good, doing their jobs as advertised, other times, not doing jobs or actually being malicious. Stuff happens. In the US our historical records and major law, the constitution, pretty clearly state we agree to trade off some measure of security for being "free-er" than any other peoples. It's a hefty price but worth it, really worth it in the long run, IMO. That's the plan anyway. The other models of government tried out with more and more "control" have always de-evolved into...well, "not nice" places to live. As arnie would say it's a "bahhhd i-de-uh"
Stores have the right to ask for anything they want to, as the customer has the right to reply in full, partially or not at all and go elsewheres. Where it gets sticky is when ALL of it gets mandated "by law", which I'm afraid might be *soon*. That's prognostication on my part and as such is quite liable to be totally wrong or totally right, most likely though normal law of averages would indicate we'll be seeing a lot more "mandated" then what we are seeing now.
My guess on ratshack's policy is that the data was so flawed that it was worthless to them, plus mailings costs, plus whizzed off customers.
Can't tell ya how many cheap free batteries i got and still got a fre of those crummy "free" flashlights they used to give out, but, I went to their stores and still do for the odd part now and then. it's handy, they got specialised stuff, although it has changed a lot over the years.
My second prognostication is it also won't matter much not too far in the future with facial/body language reading recognition tech, no need to ask you who you are, walk into the store, images captured, they'll look then if they want to. Cash sales won't matter then. They got cams going in on the streets, onstar, tracking cell phones, CC records, most medium and large stores already have cams, and etc, etc. It's not that we have lists or not,that's a gimmee, just how much bigger they will get, who will have them, what they will do with them, and how much you'll even know about them personally.
This was inevitable.
It was bound to happen, as soon as they got the face recognition software up an running...
-- Terry
Yeah, I bought my phone with no 5's and my calendar with no 7's at Radio Shack, too.
Yet I had to reject four cookies just to read the article.
"First you gotta do the truffle shuffle."
I switched to buying mail-order off the Internet because of those annoying questions.
Doh!
(hint: mailorder, address... bingo)
--- Hindsight is 20/20, but walking backwards is not the answer.
It also says "In God we Trust" on all those bills, when of course, we really don't. Sometimes, I mark out the word "God" with my trustie Sharpie. My only point is that what it says on the bills may or may not be in line with the laws regarding money as legal tender. Plus to promote the use of Sharpies on dollars.
XML causes global warming.
Good god, yes! Thank god they've fixed this extremely aggravating problem! Hopefully, they'll get their cashiers to stop asking me "And is that all, sir?" HOW NOSY!
It's amazing what the people of this country will tolerate and then, at the same time, go crazy over the smallest things. Homeland security act? Well, that's fine with me! But Radio Shack asking for my address? WHAT KIND OF FASCIST DICTATORSHIP IS THIS?
I always countered the request for personal information with a whole slew of questions of my own, such as the clerk's name, phone, address, sometimes I'd ask for blood type or favorite color. Usually managed to get out of the store pretty quickly...
Same goes for wait staff at restaurants who, with forced perkiness, say, "Hi! I'm , and I'll be your server today!", at which point I introduce the whole table, start asking them to tell us a little more about themselves, etc.
Because maybe she'll show up at your house some night unbidden to have sex with you? Ha ha aha haha.
XML causes global warming.
It's probably a violation of several federal laws to write on dollar bills or otherwise "deface" them, but as long as you're at it, make it "In God We Trust, all others pay cash".
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
The only people who ever saw your name and address after giving it to the radio shack sales clerk were radio shack people. Radio Shack never sold, shared or gave away the names and adresses of its customers, all the data was kept within the company for the monthly flyer mailings.
And for people who are offended by the idea of needing the name and address for warranty stuff, well, you shouldn't be. Warranties on most items (other than things like wireless phones or computers) are NOT tracked by serial number, contrary to popular belief. The serial number of that 900 mhz cordless bargin bin phone you just bought is not on the bar code of the box, and therefore it's not entered into the computer when the clerk scans in the UPC.
I work at a radioshack, and I hated asking for names and addresses as much as customers hated giving it out, but it never ceased to amaze me just how many people thought that the shack was in cahoots with the FBI, despite signs on the front of the cash register which say "WE DONT GIVE YOUR INFO TO ANYONE AT ALL."
Anyway, no one ever seemed to mind the whole name and address thing when they wanted to get a refund on those little items like karaoke machines they happened to buy on a friday and bring back on a monday (it's like a free rental service!), but forgot their receipt. Now if someone wants a refund on something but they've forgotten their receipt, they're screwed.
"Your phone number?" "714-636-7433." "OK, your name?" "Bob Barlow." "Address?" "General Delivery, San Clemente, CA." "Um, I'm sorry, I need a number." "No, General Delivery is a valid address." At this time, the clerk becomes puzzled.
This sig no verb.
All you had to do was say "No". I dunno about you guys, but the local Radio Shack people just let it go after that. It's not like you *had* to give your information.
I'm the stranger...posting to
It's not against the law, FWIW.
XML causes global warming.
Here in Milford CT they seem to have stopped... and they never had a problem if you just said "I'd prefer not to give you my address". And no, I don't go there enough for them to recognize me on sight
.
So I suppose the thing to do is to wait for them to ring it up then say "how much do I owe you for that ?" and wait for them to read the number off the till before offering cash....
What would Lemmy do?
Recently, I took a job at Home Depot, and during the "training", the teaching lady had some funny stories about product returns, all of which allegedly happened at our site (Portsmouth, NH). The best ones I can remember:
Somebody brought in 4 automobile tires to return. Home Depot doesn't sell tires, but they accepted them for store credit.
Some old woman brought in a half dozen muffins. Previously to Home Depot, a big supermarket wholesaler (CostCo or Sam's Club, can't remember which) was at that location... Several years before, the woman had bought the muffins at this store, then put them in her freezer. So, several years later, she pulled them out, thawed them, and realized that now they didn't taste very good at all, so she brought them back to the store, which accepted the return.
The best one: Some guy brought in a "shrubbery", a shriveled up plant/shrub thing, which was obviously dead, and which he had dug up and put in his truck. This was in the winter time. Its leaves were all shriveled and brown, etc... The manager asked him when he had gotten it, he said a few years before. The manager asked him why he was upset, the guy said because it had died. The manager asked him if he knew what kind of plant it was, he didn't... He asked him if he knew how much he paid for it, the guy said "I don't know, like $30 or $40"... So, the store accepted the return, and actually gave him cash... Later, the manager found out, that there was a nasty hole in parking lot, because apparently this guy had just dug up one of Home Depot's own plants right out of the parking lot and brought it in.
(All of these anecdotes, particularly the third, smack of urban legend, so take them with a grain of salt, but still funny)
Yeah, well, I tried to rent an apartment without giving them my SS number. I partially relented with the girl who took my application (she needed it for a credit check) - she wrote it on a sticky note and promised to shred it. When the manager filled out the final information, she insisted on putting it in the permanent record - after a long, heated discussion. She declared our information would be kept secure. One day, I walk into the office, there's the file drawer open (and very accessible) with no-one around - I threw a total shit fit. Unfortunately, a company can refuse to do business with you if you don't give them the information they want. Easy enough to go to the competition, except in my case, the tenancy rate is ridiculously high and finding a decent apartment is a pain in the ass.
No, at least not in my state. I have the right not to give my SSN, they have the right not to do business with me.
1. Collect names/addresses
2. ???
3. Profit!!!
I'd be interested in a comparison between the perceived value of their database vs. the actual value of their database when the amount of fabricated data in it is taken into account. I know a few people who always decline to provide information, and a lot more who find it easier to make something up.
I remember back in high school when a couple of us were messing aroung electronics and stuff, and wanted to try and build our own radio walky-talky type things. We went around to various electronics stores getting the parts we thought we needed, but ended up with like 2 parts that we just could find. The one was a variable resistor or something like that. Anyway, we go to Radio Shack and look all over the shelves and finally ask the guy for help. The employee told us that "the government doesn't allow us to sell those anymore".
"But aren't they a required component of every kind of radio receiver??"
"Yes, they are."
"So those shitty little clock radios that are on the shelves in boxes at the front of the store contain them, right?"
"Yes, they do."
"So you can sell us a complete radio, but you can't sell us the parts needed to MAKE a radio individually?? We ARE in RADIO SHACK right? Where else are we supposed to get parts to make a RADIO besides RADIO SHACK??"
"I don't think you'll be able to find them anywhere. The government considers them a restricted item now, so nobody can sell them."
-----
I don't know if he was completely full of shit and just making up a story to fuck with us or not. But either way, our trek ended there because we weren't about to go buy three radios at $25 a piece so that we could rip out a $4 part and make our own poorly soldered radios out of them. Oh well, there goes another potential engineer into some other area of work...
Sometimes the best solution to morale problems is just to fire all the unhappy people.