Whenever possible, I shop at supermarkets that don’t have membership cards on general principle. The cards are invasive and have little to do with “savings” and are merely a way for supermarkets to charge much higher prices under the misinformed nose of consumers. Even just the name “loyalty program” makes my hair bristle and I get irritated whenever a checker tries to push a card application form onto me. I know I know, the poor checkers are ordered to do it, but still.
Now hotels are the latest industry to take to loyalty programs. So when you’ve just arrived somewhere after a long day of traveling, expect to get an aggressive hard sell.
In the past, properties pretty much limited their sales pitch to pamphlets at the check-in counter, and tended to emphasize the perks of membership, like upgrades and gift baskets. But in recent months, travelers say, they have become more vocal about the benefits of joining – and have begun punishing guests who refuse by putting them in less desirable rooms or saddling them with surcharges.
“If you’re not part of a hotel’s frequent-guest program, you’ll get a brochure pushed in your face when you check in,” said Frank Kwan, a communications director for the Los Angeles County Office of Education in Downey, Calif. “They strongly encourage you to join the program. And if you don’t, you pay for it.”
Yet another reason to join the military! As much as possible, I shop at the wonderful, spotless Commissary on Naval Air Station North Island (Coronado). The meat and produce are actually superior in quality, and cost about half as much: not long ago I bought three good-sized steaks for $12. All the normal products, including gourmet items, are available. The market even boasts a good-sized selection of German and other imported items… There is never a crowd, and everyone behaves with a good deal more decorum than one can expect among the general public. The reason, I suspect, is that since most people shop while dressed in civilian clothes, you never know who might be standing next to you, i.e., the Admiral, his wife–or her husband. The only “membership,” of course, is being a member of the Armed Forces. One pays no sales tax.