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Stores Use Discount Cards To Notify Of Recall 404

crazyj writes "USA Today is one of many sources running a story about how some supermarkets used their "discount" shopping cards to notify customers of a beef recall. Interestingly, some stores did not use the information because they felt it violated the customer's privacy. I always use a fake name and address when I sign up for those, but do others feel that the stores were justified in 'violating' their privacy agreement?"
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Stores Use Discount Cards To Notify Of Recall

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  • by judicar ( 726669 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:02AM (#8073521)
    1.) You die horrible death.
    2.) You're privacy is infringed on.

    pick one.

  • by radicalskeptic ( 644346 ) <x@@@gmail...com> on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:04AM (#8073531)
    I'm not the only one who uses fake information on some of these cards, am I?

    Does this mean Monday my cat's going to get a call from Safeway?
  • by Lupulack ( 3988 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:06AM (#8073545)
    One of our local supermarkets changed it's name and had a big facelift , with the result of raising prices across the board and SURPRISE ! Introducing a customer card that replaces coupons with swiping your card.

    I don't think I'm getting anything in exchange for my information, since they raised prices at the same time they did this. So as far as they know , I'm a black mother of two.

  • by penguinstorm ( 575341 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:11AM (#8073561) Homepage
    Perhaps there should also be a check box that says:

    "Contact me if I buy too many products with trans-fatty acids",

    "Contact my doctor if I buy too many Tylenol pills", or

    "Contact my mother if I don't buy enough vegetables."
  • BUT!!! (Score:2, Funny)

    by azcoffeehabit ( 533327 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:11AM (#8073563)
    But I ate that last night....
  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:20AM (#8073599)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:20AM (#8073600)
    Sorry, but this is just the funniest bunch of typos I've seen in awhile. "Data Warhousing" makes me think of a bunch of guys in a warehouse firing 12 gauge shotguns at one another. I guess the solution is to "panalize" them. I just hope the staples don't leave a scar after they attach the boxcar siding. :-D

  • by teamhasnoi ( 554944 ) <teamhasnoi AT yahoo DOT com> on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:25AM (#8073609) Journal
    I can't believe that Slashdotters *of all people* would go along with this! These store cards are the next step to the chip in the head! Either you're for Privacy or against it! There are no grey areas!

    Except in this hamburger here... urp.

    GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

  • by britneys 9th husband ( 741556 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:47AM (#8073686) Homepage Journal
    Recently, I've been helping clean up the legal mess left behind by a woman who was leading a 'criminal lifestyle" (Crack whore),

    ...

    On one, she listed her work address as 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC. Guess what her job description was?

    If this was during the Clinton administration, this was probably the one and only form she filled out with accurate information.

    Sorry, but someone had to say it.

  • by YrWrstNtmr ( 564987 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:58AM (#8073717)
    I always do. I imagine Bilbo Baggins at 123 Main St gets an awful lot of junk mail.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 24, 2004 @03:59AM (#8073725)
    Ahh! There are lots of excellent card games you can play with those consumer tracking cards from your local supermarket. Here are some of my favorite:

    1) Collect All n Cards! For example, collect cards in the names of all the world leaders. Or try a variant, where you assign points for how well recognized the world leader's name is. For example, leaders of major western powers, and other leaders commonly in the news, who are still in office might be worth seven points (Tony Blair, Gerhard Schroeder, Pervez Musharraf etc), former major world leaders would be worth 5 points (Benito Mussolini, Chiang Kai-shek, Theodore Roosevelt, etc), and three point for lesser-known world leaders (Luiz Da Silva, Thaksin Shinawatra, etc). Extra Bonus: George Bush is worth ten points. Then swap them with your friends to get a complete set! (NOTE: there are innumerable variations on this game. Collect authors, your pet's names, vulgar names, etc...)

    2) Swap them at parties as introduction cards.

    3) If the store lets you use your phone number in place of your actual card, give the main switchboard number of any large business in your area. Then get your friends to do the same thing. This is extra devious because it must absolutely **** with the store's consumer preference tracking database. (This isn't strictly a game with the cards, but it's a game made possible by the cards, and can be a helluva lot of fun, especially if you get some reward for every x dollars spent -- if enough other people are playing the game, you'll randomly get rewards!)

    4) Worry young cashiers by first acquiring a large number of cards, then open your wallet, take them out, and spend a minute or so pawing through them until you find one you like. Make sure you finally choose one along the lines of "Uri Fuckov" to get an extra chuckle as the clerk tells you to "have a good evening Mr. Fuckov."

    5) Invent your own games! The only limit is your creativity.

  • What grocery store do YOU shop at? :O
  • by root:DavidOgg ( 133514 ) <{ogg_david} {at} {hotmail.com}> on Saturday January 24, 2004 @05:49AM (#8073965) Homepage
    Well, if using a fake name isn't enough privacy, use multiple cards with fake names... buy certain items with specific cards, pickles and condoms with one card, produce and pharmecuticals with another, dairy and feminine items on another, etc, really screw with their minds... and you can keep all these cards stored under your tinfoil hat for added security :)
  • by skinfitz ( 564041 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @05:52AM (#8073971) Journal
    This is precisely why it's fun to switch cards with random strangers and imagine the confusion when a healthy eating family of four suddenly turns into a single guy who only eats tofu.
  • by fucksl4shd0t ( 630000 ) on Saturday January 24, 2004 @06:04AM (#8073988) Homepage Journal

    This BSD crap is going too far. We might know what causes it (these protein fragments labeled 'prions'), but then again, we're not really sure.

    Dude, BSD is dying, hadn't you heard? This BSD crap won't be going on for too much...

    Oh wait, you weren't talking about kernels, were you?

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