a very interesting thing happened at the grocery store today. i purchased a few items on the way to a superbowl party and instead of getting the short receipt i was expecting, it was long. very long. i quickly joked with the cashier about it's length. as i read the receipt, i realized that it was so long because there was information related to the peanut butter recall. i love clif bars and purchase them pretty regulary. they are great for that pre or post workout boost! i am also a fry's valued customer (you know, the little card you swipe when you buy groceries). as a result of my participation in the valued customer's program, the grocery store had information on things i had previously purchased, so they alerted me to return items that may have been effected. woah! i wasn't sure what was more disturbing;
1) that i might have salmonella sitting on my shelf or
2) that the grocery store tracked all of my purchases and can use the information in any way they see fit.
i like getting savings on the groceries that i buy and never gave too much thought about what the store might do with my shopping data. i do get coupons every now and then for items that i purchase, which i like...then, i started to wonder what else they might use it for. direct marketing? collaborating with my insurance company to determine whether i was a potential health risk due to the foods that i eat?! okay, a bit of conspiracy theory there, but really, where does it end? i haven't thought this out fully just yet. but i am keeping my frequent shopper card.
when i got home, i checked my cabinets only to find that oops! i'd already eaten the clif bar containing the bad peanut butter paste. good thing i didn't get salmonella!
as a result of my participation in the valued customer's program, the grocery store had information on things i had previously purchased, so they alerted me to return items that may have been effected"
ReplyDeleteWow, who knew big brother could become benevolent brother?