"Peter Aitken" > wrote in message
.com...
> "Vox Humana" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >
> > "The Ranger" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Vox Humana > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > > > Ohio grocer "segments" shoppers with personalized
> > > > prices
> > > > Shopper card data being put to discriminatory uses,
> > > > [..] Dorothy Lane Market, an upscale grocery chain
> > > > in Ohio, has implemented Customer Specific Pricing
> > > > (CSP), a practice where different prices are charged
> > > > to each group of customers. Now the majority of all
> > > > discounts available in the store only go to the identified
> > > > top 30% of Dorothy Lane shoppers.
> > > >
> > > > After starting their card program, Dorothy Lane eliminated
> > > > newspaper advertising and switched to an "in-store ad-sheet".
> > > [snip remaining paranoia]
> > >
> > > Ah. I understand. Customer loyalty -- beyond price -- is an E-V-I-L
> > > concept and implementing a rewards system for those customers that do
> > > more than shop the sales is wrong. Got it.
> > >
> > > As has been said oft enough but ingored before the sentence is
> > > finished, if you don't like the store and it's cards, don't shop
> > > there. There _are_ alternatives in every major city across the world.
> > > Many of these same alternatives offer cheaper prices and a
> > > more-specific set of merchandize to their clientele than any of the
> > > larger chains.
> > >
> > > Fer example: I do little shopping at Safeway anymore because of three
> > > basic reasons. 1) The Safeway customer card (for me-and-mine) doesn't
> > > work -- even on a limited basis nowadays; I don't find the items
> > > offered any cheaper than I can get them in bulk at several other
> > > retailers. 2) Corporate goes in [too often] and changes the
> > > merchandize on the aisles. I am a creature of habit; do not muck with
> > > my Habitrail. 3) I have six (that I'm aware) other stores (only one
> > > with a card system) that offer superior pricing on almost everything I
> > > was buying at Safeway. It was minor to adjust my weekly route
> > > accordingly and exclude Safeway. The 4th reason was a bonus; I started
> > > shopping the neighborhood ethnic groceries (an Indian, a Pakistani,
> > > two Mexican, one <I think> Portuguese).
> > >
> > > Paranoia has its place but not with this particular marketing
> > > "secret."
> >
> > The problem with your approach is that it is destined for extinction.
You
> > will ultimately not be able to find a store without a loyalty card.
Once
> > stores start to segment their customer bases and assign pricing based on
> the
> > customer's worth to the store, you will have to either pay far more for
an
> > item because you don't have a card or you flit from one store to
another,
> or
> > you will buy all your items from one store. Once they have you, you
will
> > ultimately pay more because there will be no incentive for you to switch
> to
> > another merchant. I don't see this as being paranoid. It is just
> reality.
> > It is being done already. In addition, that database will likely be
used
> > both to increase profit because they will sell the list, and it will
also
> be
> > likely to be used against you by the government or in civil litigation.
> The
> > only party that benefits from the card is the store.
> >
> >
>
> Your last statement is true in general, but from the persepective of the
> individual consumer there is this choice: am I better off shopping at my
> favorite market with their card or without it? I choose my store and what
I
> buy without reference to the card but even so I have saved about $150 this
> year. As for your claim that "it will also be likely to be used against
you
> by the government or in civil litigation" I challenge you to provide any
> evidence that this happens in more than a few isolated incidents, or at
all
> for that matter. This is what I mean by paranoid thinking - just because
> something *could* happen does not mean that it will.
>

I used the word "likely" because that is my opinion. It is an opinion based
both on the realities of past government abuse and an announced intention by
our government to harvest data under a program headed by Admiral Poindexter,
originally called Total Information Awareness. We live in a county that put
people in internment camps due only to their nationality. We had people
black-listed and spied on by our government during the McCarthy era. Ever
hear of J. Edgar Hoover? Our own president had people break into the DNC
offices to gather data. If they will send burglars to get records form the
opposition and steal your psychiatric records to use against you, why
wouldn't it be reasonable to expect them to look at your shopping habits?
The only reason they stopped CAPSII is because people found out about it and
objected. I think that because it *HAS* happened in the past that it *WILL*
happen in the future. Unfortunately under the Patriot Act, they don't even
have to go to a judge for a search warrant. Neither are the people they get
the data from (phone company, ISP, library, cable company, etc.) allowed to
inform you that they turned over the records. Under that arrangement it
would be possible for the government to gather information without your
every knowing. Therefore that no one can provide you with data to prove
this is happening doesn't mean anything except that maybe the Patriot act's
prohibition against disclosure is effective. If you aren't familiar with the
Total Information Awareness program, you might want to look into it. I
think is might be paranoid to say that the government urged companies to
collect data on customers. It isn't paranoid to think that the government
might used existing databases.