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Why does Best Buy want my phone number? (1 Viewer)

SethH

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I used to sell electronics for Sears. We were supposed to take phone numbers. I'm sure they used it for marketing crap, but the main reason for us was so that when someone came in wanting to return something or complain about a transaction -- and they naturally don't have their receipt -- it's nice and easy to pull up all recent transactions under that phone number. Does this make sense for anything under a couple hundred bucks? Nope, I don't think so. But for more expensive stuff I don't see anything wrong with it.
 

shaniceMW

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aside from my earlier post which is obviously wrong, i purchased my laptop at circuit city and they do track my purchases. i purchased my washer/dryer and when i went to purchase my car stereo, i had received some sort of discount that i did not know about. so i got a cd or something with the extra money. but they do mail me coupons from time to time. they tell me to come in on a certain date and i get a cd or 20% off or something like that.
 

Jimi C

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"they do mail me coupons from time to time. they tell me to come in on a certain date and i get a cd or 20% off or something like that."

I hope you dont really think they are just sending those to you.

"The only time I leave my phone number is when I'm NOT paying in cash. But I always ask WHY they need my phone number. It's always fun to hear the answer from the mindless sales clerk. "

I work at walgreens and its always fun when the mindless customers refuse to give me there number, (we only ask for it when people drop off film, we sort by name and use phone number as a back up in case there are multiple drop offs from the same name, ie. Smith) if the customer dosnt give me a phone number, i dont develop there film. Nothing is more annoying than a customer who thinks i care about them any more than any other customer.(i have a guy in mind who compleatly emberrassed his gf or wife by making a scence and refusing the give me his phone number one sunday night around 9pm, he then walked out and said he would take his film to eckerd for 1 hour developing. Eckerd closes at 5pm on Sunday, i decided to let him figure that out for himself). btw.. the customer is always wrong, we just let them think they are right.
 

Keith Mickunas

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Best Buy most definitely targets people with these coupons. The preferred customer ones I used to get (somehow my address got changed and my parents started getting them, but that makes no sense whatsoever) were very much targeted to my purchasing patterns, and I'd sometimes compare them to friends and they'd be completely different.

I keep giving my old home phone. A few months back I switched to a VOIP phone and I still don't have that number memorized, I don't have a clue really, other than the area code. When I need to leave a real number I use my cell phone. Funny thing is someone recently tried my old home phone, and it's already been given out to someone else. I hope they don't get to many telemarketing calls on my behalf. :D
 

Paul McElligott

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I've never been asked for my phone number at BB. Zip code, yes, but never phone number.

Phone numbers are becoming useless for demographics anyway, since due to cell phone and VoIP services, they are extremely portable. With Vonage, I can take my current phone number to the South Pole (provided I could get high speed internet down there, of course... ;) ).
 

Zen Butler

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Start chucking the dvds at their forehead. Flip 'em like a frisbee, they kind of trip out after that.

Also, go into Best Buy strapped top to bottom with Super Soakers. Or grab the neighborhood menace and enter the store. I got Krazy Jonathan

Want Some?
 

Steve Ridges

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Since we're kind of on the subject of store collecting info on you, what do you think about the grocery store discount cards that track what you eat? I personally stay away but my wife always uses them.

I heard once that some guy refused to pay child support and the ex took him to court. When he claimed he couldn't afford it, she supenaed his shopping records from the local stores rewards program and showed that he bought lots of frivolous items like expensive wine etc. The judge ruled against him.

I don't know if this is true but I don't want anyone keeping track of what I buy.
 

shaniceMW

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steve, i like the discounts! with the grocery store cards plus coupons, i save approximately 25% off the total bill depending on how i shop. i'm a thrifty shopper for the most part. i dont care if they track my eating habits. but i guess that's why i get so much crap regarding diets. lol
 

SethH

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I'm not accusing anyone here of this, but I would bet there's lots of people out there who freak out over this but then they'll go online and give their phone number, etc to every website out there. Not to mention the fact that the majority of them probably have lots of spyware/adware on their computers which give out lots of fun information.

About the grocery store discount cards. IMO, any grocer who uses discount cards is marking up their prices in accordance with the discounts. Therefore, if you don't use the cards you're getting screwed everytime you buy groceries. Last time I went to Kroger my "Plus" card saved me $11.59 and my total bill was less than $40. While I'm not thrilled about them knowing everything I buy, I deal with it to save the money. I can either deal with it or just go to WalMart instead.

And as for the guy who supposedly was ruled against in the court case, I say good. If he was really spending his money on extravagent stuff and not supporting his kid then he should have been ruled against. I don't necessarily like the method, but, in most cases, he should be supporting his kid.
 

Kevin M

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.....Jenny Jenny, who can I turn to...867-530 Nieeeine..;)
Good one Jimi.
 

Ted Lee

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steve is right on the money.

bb is promoting a new company policy called "customer centricity". the idea is to target the service (not the product) to the customer. there are different segments, each identified by a common nick-name. the techy guys are called "buzz", the soccer mom's are called "jill", etc.

bb has been using many demographics and marketing techniques (none of which i know anything about) to figure out which store fits into which demographic.

bb does NOT sell any of their information to third party vendors. heck, i just took an on-line training about this exact stuff. bb is actually pretty paranoid about maintaining customer confidentiality.
 

Dave_Brown

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Mar 6, 2001
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Don't be so quick to get upset by the asking for phone number routine. Normally I just give a fake or say "no thanks" and move on. However, one day I was picking up some stuff and the girl working the counter was damn cute. Seeing a potential opportunity, I let her start with the "can I get your zip code?" routine. Finally she asks for my number and I say "tell you what, it's only fair that if I give you mine, you have to give me yours" and much too my delight, she laughed, said that was a new one and wrote her number down for me. Called her up and we had a pretty good thing going for awhile because of this little store policy. Try it!*


*WARNING: results are not guaranteed. like anything in life, with risk comes the potential for failure or embarassement.
 

Ted Lee

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:laugh:

dave, i did essentially the same thing with a gal i met at blockbuster. i was filling out a membership application and said something like, "now that you have my number..."

amazingly, she went for it. we even ended up dating for a while. :emoji_thumbsup:
 

Malcolm R

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I don't understand the phone number thing, either. I think a ZIP code is acceptable and perfectly fine for tracking where your customer base is coming from.


As someone noted, whether you like it or not, in most stores that use them it's the only way to take advantage of weekly sale prices. If you're very rich, I guess you can pay regular prices and avoid using the card.

And the example of using the customer's shopping card records to prove his ability to pay child support is OK with me. As someone else said, if he was outright lying in court to avoid supporting a child he participated in creating, I'm in favor of whatever means are necessary to nail these assholes.
 

Jeff Gatie

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Here in Mass, it is illegal to require a membership or a card in order to get sale prices, unless you are a club type store such as Sam's or B.J.'s. All you have to do is tell the cashier you do not have a card but want the discount anyway and they have to scan a generic card that every cashier carries.

Don't know how many other states have this law.
 

Malcolm R

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I'm not sure of the actual law, but all the weekly circulars say "with card...with card...with card" implying that if you don't have one, you can't get the sale price.

Stupid stores. You shouldn't need a law degree to buy a loaf of bread. :angry:
 

Thomas Newton

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Yes, but those used to be the normal sales that you could get without carrying around a stupid card, or giving the store the ability to put a name to every last purchase.

At least one of the drug stores here now plays this game, too. (Of course they have your name for prescriptions -- but now they want it for everything else.)
 

JamesED

Second Unit
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May 23, 2004
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Everyone plays that game around here, including pet stores. I hate carrying so many cards in a wallet, and what makes it worse is knowing you aren't actually saving anything. Like Thomas said, it's a marketing ploy to make you think you are saving money.
 

Sarah S

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Feb 6, 2001
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When spouse and I signed up for the card, we asked if we *had* to fill out the information form. The store said no so we just have generic cards. I would think that the opportunity would also be there for a generic card for any store that doesn't require a membership.
 

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