The Anonymous Shopper

Don't ask, part 2 (store cards)

2006-10-20T23:38:00.000-04:00

Here's the situation: you're in a department store like Sears or Zellers. You don't have a store credit card or customer loyalty card, and you don't intend to get either, but the cashier will ask you about them if you don't say so... they've been reminded. For example, I was in one Sears store with my girlfriend earlier this year (she has a Sears Card) and I noticed that the phrase "WILL THIS BE ON YOUR SEARS CARD?" had been printed on a P-Touch label stuck at the top of the cash register screen. You will be asked. If I were making a purchase at Sears, I would 1) put enough cash (or my debit card) on the counter before I put my chosen items up there, just to keep the cashier from bothering me about the Sears Card, and 2) say "and I'm not interested in applying for a Sears Card, thank you". Does anybody know if Sears employs mystery shoppers to enforce the Sears Card sell?

This does work at Zellers, though... I tried it a couple of weeks ago. I've clearly displayed cash or my debit card, and before the cashier can say anything, I've made it clear that I don't have or want an HBC Rewards card.

Do you know of any other techniques to stop the store card sell? Fill us in with a comment!

Don't ask, part 1 (suggestive selling or up-selling)

2006-10-20T23:15:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of ways that you can avoid suggestive selling or upselling by a fast food cashier... in most stores they will work.

Many FF restaurants, including Wendy's and McDonalds, suggest "Coke to drink" with combos. Here's how I prevent the suggestive sell when I order at Wendy's: "I'll have the #1 combo with root beer to drink, and that's to go." That should be enough to screw the cashier and/or the manager if a mystery shopper happens to be nearby as I'm placing my order.

At KFC, where they will suggestive-sell or up-sell you, here's how to order most combos/meals: "I'll have the classic club combo with root beer to drink, and that's it, nothing else." If you're ordering one of the regular chicken items: "I'll have the three-piece meal with root beer to drink, and I don't want the extra piece of chicken or anything else." I will warn you, either one of those may backfire... the manager at the KFC here is so desperate to push his "apple pies", that even if you make it very clear that you do not want anything else, he will still chime in with "are you sure you wouldn't like an apple pie?". As for the extra piece of chicken, I haven't tried that one yet (I very rarely order any of the regular chicken deals), but because the cashiers have to suggest the extra piece to avoid losing a dollar on the sale, I'm guessing they will confirm with "are you sure you don't want an extra piece of chicken for a dollar?". Perhaps the Priszm Brands mystery shopper caught a cashier not suggesting or upselling, and the manager got burned for it. Those confirmations would be enough to make somebody with anger problems explode into something along the lines of "I SAID NOTHING ELSE, YOU MORON! WHEN I SAY I DON'T WANT ANYTHING ELSE, DON'T ASK IF I WANT ANYTHING ELSE! JUST SHUT UP AND TAKE MY ORDER, PLEASE!"

An exception to the rule

2006-09-11T23:51:00.000-04:00

Yes, I rant and rave about the evils of members-only stores and customer loyalty programs. The one exception I will make is Mountain Equipment Co-op (www.mec.ca), a Vancouver, B.C.-based chain of outdoor clothing/gear stores. I do have a membership at MEC; a lifetime membership and a share in the co-op costs only $5 CDN. Since I signed up earlier this year, the only correspondence I've received is a nice postcard from them, which I'll pin up in my office... I haven't received any phone calls or other mailings yet (knock on wood), and I don't expect to receive any, unless they're MEC catalogues, or correspondence directly relating to my membership.

Why cashiers ask for your phone number

2006-09-11T23:25:00.000-04:00

It's becoming common practice in retail stores everywhere, and if it hasn't already, it could be coming to your favourite store. Cash registers or point-of-sale systems are being reprogrammed to require that each customer's phone number or postal code/zip code be entered during the checkout process. Why do they want your phone number? There are a number of different explanations tossed around, some of them being somewhat legitimate, but either way, you're giving up your privacy as a customer every time you give out your digits. Sporting Life, a small sporting goods chain with locations in Toronto and Collingwood, Ontario, wants your phone number really bad... here are some juicy quotes from Sporting Life's website:

"we identify all customers by their home phone number."
"Remember to give the cashier your home phone number every single time you purchase something at Sporting Life."
"we will be able to start communicating with you."

How do they use your phone number? They use it in conjunction with "[their] database, which keeps track of each and every one of your purchases."

Many stores use your phone number simply to streamline returns. They claim that if you don't have the receipt, all you have to do is give them your number, and they can check your purchase history for the item(s) you're returning. Downside to this is that your purchase history can be used for marketing purposes... the information (and your phone number) could be sold to a third party for the sole purpose of selling you more things. Remember that in most cases, your phone number can be used to perform a reverse lookup for your name and address, in order to put you on the store's mailing list. At some stores, if you don't give them your phone number, they'll remind you that by doing so, you "forfeit all warranties". These are some of the reasons why stores ask for your phone number at the checkout. Got any other reasons why? Do you work in retail and know the REAL reasons? Let me know!

Why cashiers ask for your postal code

2006-09-11T15:16:00.000-04:00

It's becoming common practice in retail stores everywhere, and if it hasn't already, it could be coming to your favourite store. Cash registers or point-of-sale systems are being reprogrammed to require that each customer's phone number or postal code/zip code be entered during the checkout process. Why do they want your postal code? Here's a quote from the Mark's Work Wearhouse privacy policy: "We do ask for your postal code every time you make a purchase, but this information cannot be linked to individuals and is requested only to track geographical buying patterns." In short, they want to know where the big spenders (their most profitable customers) live, and where the undesirable lower-income penny-pinchers are. Remember, postal codes can give retailers information as detailed as what street you're on and which side, or even the apartment/condominium/seniors building you're in. If you live in Canada, the easy way to pollute their database is to use a postal code that corresponds with post office boxes... most phone directories not distributed by your phone company have postal code listings, including P.O. boxes. For example, if you live in Kingston, Ontario, the postal code K7L 4Y5 is used for P.O. boxes. That postal code will simply tell the store that you claim to live in Kingston, when you actually live in, say, Crapaud, Prince Edward Island (real place!). The postal code can only be traced to the post office, and not any particular street in Kingston. When cashiers ask for your postal code, do you give them yours, or that of a P.O. box? Let me know!

Why KFC has lost my business

2006-09-11T15:02:00.000-04:00

There's a KFC just around the corner from where I live. Sometime in the last year and a half, the manager decided to start using up-selling or suggestive-selling when he was working the cash. It began with an "apple pie" pastry... he placed an empty apple pie container on top of the register, and when each customer had finished giving their order, the manager would suggest the apple pie "for dessert" and show the customer the container. It worked one way(the customer's eyes would always move), but I doubt it boosted sales very much. Recently, they started up-selling by suggesting an extra piece of chicken added to a regular chicken meal for a dollar, and now you can't avoid it, because the "team members" now wear buttons saying that if they don't suggest the extra piece of chicken, it's free. It used to be that I'd only go to KFC if a) the manager wasn't working the cash, or b) I wanted a sandwich or wrap, but now, they've lost my business because of the constant up-selling and suggestive selling by every person running the cash. If this practice has spread to your local KFC store, let me know!

Where I Will Not Shop and Why

2006-09-11T14:30:00.000-04:00

I'll start with a list of where I will not shop and why. Keep in mind that these are mainly Canadian stores... I have had no experience shopping outside of Canada, but I've heard about some retailers down south that want to know anything and everything about you as a shopper.

Customer loyalty programs (not including Canadian Tire Money*):
-A&P/Dominion
-AMC Theatres
-Chapters/Indigo/Coles
-Northern Reflections/Getaway
-Rexall/Pharma Plus
-Rona
-Sears
-Zellers/The Bay/Home Outfitters

Phone number or postal code requested:
-Best Buy (ph... I would never shop there anyway, based on what I've heard)
-Home Depot (pc)
-Mac's convenience stores (pc)
-Mark's Work Wearhouse (pc)
-Sport Mart (ph)
-Sporting Life (ph)
-The Source by Circuit City** (both, and more...)
-Winners/HomeSense (ph)

Blatant upselling or suggestive selling:
-Best Buy
-KFC

Bag/receipt check:
-Best Buy

SourceCC lost my business a long time ago because of their notorious practices of asking for too much information from their customers. I was paying for some audio cables via debit, and after the sales geek ran my card through the debit terminal, he typed the name on my card into the point-of-sale computer, and there it was on the receipt. If I actually had some balls back then, I would have asked very loudly, "give me back my card, please."

*For customer loyalty, I've made an exception for Canadian Tire Money because it's completely anonymous. I know it takes forever to save up enough "money" to buy something there, but it's better than card-based programs, and just about everybody I know saves Canadian Tire Money... myself included.

**SourceCC dealer stores, found mainly in smaller towns, generally don't ask for the information that a full SourceCC store does. In most cases, you can grab what you need, pay, and be on your way in a matter of seconds!

The Anonymous Shopper is here

2006-09-11T14:19:00.000-04:00

Hi, I'm The Anonymous Shopper. If you work in retail, you won't want me as a customer. If you don't work in retail, I'll tell you who does what to a) annoy you, b) make you spend as much money as possible at their stores, or c) invade your privacy. Feel free to comment on any of my posts, or notify me of any offending retailers I haven't mentioned here.