How do you feel about privacy?

by iiz2cool 22 Replies latest jw friends

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  little witch

  I agree. It is soo irritating! Every store here has tracking device cards to keep track of everything we buy, from artichokes to kotex!

  I went to the mall in terre haute awhile back for my kids school clothes. Sears does the same thing. Name address and phone.

  Then the next store gap kids, wanted everything including our birthdays, and I refused. I told the cashier my phone number was unlisted, and I wasnt giving it. I told her my childrens birthdays were none of the companies business, and she insisted I give all the info to her. I made a loud protest about it, and all the customers behind me were nodding in agreement, so They took my cash and got on with it.

  This was just too much for a tee shirt purchase! I would complain to their websites, but I am sure they would ask for name rank and serial number before giving me the pleasure of telling them what butt-heads they are!
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  Phantom Stranger

  RadioShack no longer asking for info at checkout

  Retailer skips the introductions

  11/26/2002

  By MARIA HALKIAS / The Dallas Morning News

  RadioShack Corp. is dumping its decades-old, laborious practice of asking customers for their names and addresses at the register.

  Some of the happiest people to hear the policy change Monday were those who've been doing the asking all these years, said Leonard Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of RadioShack.

  "We've been flooded with e-mails from the stores thanking us for dropping it," he said. "We've gotten several hundred just this morning."

  RadioShack has been collecting customer names and addresses for its mail-order catalog business since before the chain became part of Tandy Corp. in 1963. At one time, the practice was considered smart marketing. But today, Mr. Roberts said, it's become "a barrier to building superior customer relationships."

  "Customers tell us the practice of asking them for names and addresses is time-consuming and annoying and is not something that endears them to us," he said.

  In today's competitive retail environment, the practice was taking away from RadioShack's convenience factor.

  With 5,100 corporate stores, there's a RadioShack in just about every neighborhood. And 60 percent of store sales are under-$10 transactions.

  Running in for a $3 battery or cable connector "should be a quick in-and-out transaction," Mr. Roberts said.

  E-mail [email protected]
• 

  simplesally

  I tell those data gatherers that my phone number is 999-999-9999. My zip is 99999.
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  Elsewhere

  When they insist on asking for private information I give them information, but it isn't mine and it isn't accurate.

  If they insist on trying to use my info, then they will end up wasting money on mail-outs, phone calls, and emails that end up nowhere... This is my little financial penalty I impose on them for attempting to violate my privacy.
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  iiz2cool

  Radio Shack no longer asking for info? I should print that off and show them if I go in again. Last time I went to one a few weeks ago they still tried to get my postal code. With that, they can narrow my location down to within a few houses.

  I'm not usually too obnoxious with them. If there's a hot looking cashier who asks for my phone number I'll usually ask 'why, you want to go out?'

  No takers yet though.

  Walter
• 

  heathen

  iiz2cool --- I like the come back .lol That's a great pick up line that doesn't work as I've tried it myself .
• 

  caligirl

  I don't mind giving out my zip code, since all they are doing with that is trying to determine where to build the next store, but they certainly don't need my phone number.
• 

  Dawn

  I'm with caligirl - I'll give them my zip but nothing else.

  My State has passed some pretty strict confidentiality laws governing identifying information such as driver's licenses, dob's, and ssn's. If they get push I just tell them where I work and then tell them about the recent legislature passed - that usually shuts them up.

  All except for the darn nickel paper! But that's another story.
• 

  freedom96

  I have no problem if a store wants to know my zip code, or city. Whats the big deal. But as the original comment mentioned, if I were paying cash, and they wanted to see my license, I would have a problem too.

  They can go overboard, for sure.
• 

  Swan

  It really bothers me that retailers want to know so much for every two-bit transaction you make nowadays. It is getting to be that you can't go shopping without taking about twenty store cards with you in your purse. It really is a deterrent to shopping in those places. I tend to shop more in cash and carry places that don't care who you are.

  Also, I am bothered by online companies that want all sorts of personal information just to view some information. I used to visit a local TV station's website for news and information until they started this practice. I emailed them to complain. Why should I have to give them private information just to find out the weather on their website when they broadcast it daily on local TV to anyone with a television. They replied that they could not change this policy. So I sent another email to them that fortunately I can change websites and channels. Now I go to their competitor's site. They don't demand anything of me.

  Another thing that really bothers me is that libraries now monitor your reading habits. For this reason I try to find my books in used book stores and pay cash for them. If I want to learn about explosives for a novel I am writing, I don't want the KGB, oops, I mean Homeland Security showing up at my door and holding me incommunicado for several weeks.

  Tammy