One thing we have done is give them fictitious personal information and a bogus phone number. So at least they are collecting information on someone who doesn't exist. We made the phone the same for every single one of "those cards" so we don't have to carry ANY of them in our wallet or on keychains and we just type in the same number. Since the number doesn't exist, what difference does it make?
Now the game changes somewhat if you are going to tie one of "those cards" into an online account. In this case, we have created a dummy email address that is NOT our real email address. We have a make-believe persona on that email account, too. So, we give them another bunch of fake information for their online marketing data mining. The online accounts are tied to the bogus phone number so all we need to do is type in the number and we get the deals and they don't get to reap any true information about us.
Some shoppers might be squeamish about using bogus information. We're not. We intently dislike the fact that the stores are mining data on everyone of us so we think they are "fair game" for our diversionary tactic.
In the end, we suppose our own fake data is aggregated with so much other data that it all looks the same to the marketing people who manipulate and use this stuff.
While we are on the subject of "those cards," Wiki has a great explanation of them that includes a look at which companies use them in each of the major countries around the world. Very fascinating article here:
As you might expect in this day and age, there is a pretty fair amount of opposition to "those cards." Here is one of numerous opposition websites:
This websites FAQ is more to the point than some other aspects of the website:
Some observers believe that "those cards" are a $100-billion industry but we haven't read anything to prove that claim. Some other observers believe that "those cards" are soon going to morph into "tracking devices," such as described in this quote:
McQuivey offers, "Expect radio frequency identification embedded in the loyalty card of the future, an electronic tag that will identify you when you walk through the door, when you're standing in front of the Pampers, and when you arrive at checkout. All with your permission, of course, and in exchange for a benefit grocery stores have yet to identify."
That may or may not happen. Nonetheless, this sort of stuff makes a lot of people downright uptight. Frankly, I don't like the whole thing but it no longer bothers me. Once we decided to become a fictitious statistic our whole anxiety about "those cards" vaporized.
While we may harbor intellectual and academic concerns about the use of "those cards," in practicality and in the so-called Real World, use of "those cards" is ALL about playing The Game. If it's part of The Game, we play. If we have to use a phony phone number to score savings, Big Deal, we do it. GAME ON!
In the meantime, however, we fully expect the debate over "those cards" will continue unabated. We wonder what it would be like if everyone simply started using bogus sign up information. Apparently, few shoppers have thought of that option...yet.
Many Cheers, jp
No comments:
Post a Comment