No, I don’t have a f&^%*~@# loyalty card

I have just returned from a trip to Tesco and, as usual, at the checkout, I was asked if I had a loyalty card. The first 1,000 times I was asked this question it was not so bad. Even the next 1,000 times were tolerable. Now, it’s a real pain in the arse. I am thinking of having a t-shirt made with the title of this post on the front.

I don’t have a loyalty card because I do not like the idea of Tesco tracking all my purchases and linking them in with my real name and address. I don’t like being asked if I have a loyalty card because I resent the suggestion that I am the kind of pathetic gripe farthing who would go through all the hassle of carrying and presenting a card just to save a few coppers.

Finally, I resent paying for loyalty cards through higher prices. I remember when supermarkets used to hand out Green Shield stamps. If you collected enough of these you could stick them in books and send the books off to get some pathetic gift. The supermarkets and Green Shield always insisted that they did not cost the shoppers anything. They were quite sure the entire process was paid for by higher turnover. I was never sure how that worked since all the supermarkets offered stamps. Where was the higher turnover coming from?

Then Tesco broke ranks. They stopped offering stamps and were able to cut their prices by about 10% [if I remember correctly]. Soon it was goodbye Green Shield at all the supermarkets. Now they tell us that loyalty cards do not cost us anything. That it is all paid for by higher turnover.

Of course you cannot say anything to the people at the checkout. It’s not their fault. It’s the Tesco suits who deserve wedgies.

So, my answer is to do as most of my shopping at ASDA. They do not do loyalty cards, and, guess what, they seem to be cheaper.