It started out innocently enough. I think my first "frequent shopper card" was for a wonderful sandwich cart parked outside the Lowe's that I used to frequent. Before Home Depot sprouted up a mere 5 minutes from where I live, I was forced to drive about 20 minutes away to Lowe's for my home improvement needs. The sandwich cart outside the store was called Dominic's and they lured me in with the aroma of sausage, mushroom and onion sandwiches sautéing on their grill. The yummy food served by the personable man doing the cooking was enough to turn me into a repeat customer.
That's when it happened. As I paid for my sandwich, he asked if I had a frequent diner card. He explained that after my card had been punched a certain number of times I would be eligible for a free sandwich. Now you'd have to be crazy to turn down that offer, right? He gave me my first "punch" and I threw the card in the black hole otherwise known as my purse. The next time I bought a sandwich at Dominic's, I couldn't find the card, but the owner assured me that this was no problem. He just gave me a stamp on a new card that could be combined with the first after I found it. He obviously didn't know who he was dealing with, assuming that I would find the first card. As luck would have it, I did manage to round up the four cards I had accumulated and he stapled them together. When I reached my goal of a free sandwich it was every bit as satisfying as I had imagined it would be. Then..... he gave me a new card.
In the 6 months that this was going on I began to get offers of frequent shopper cards from all my usual haunts; the organic bread shop, Office Depot, Panera, Dick's, two local grocery stores, book stores, the discount hairdresser. Its novelty began to fade when I realized that the frequent shopper program was a double-edged sword. Sure I might receive a free haircut or loaf of bread at the end of my quest, but how hard would I have to work for it? The pile of cards I had amassed had grown big enough to need it's own little draw-string carrying case. Then, when the clerk asked for my frequent shopper card she/he would have to wait a few seconds too many while I rifled through the pile apologetically. I eventually learned to plan ahead. Before heading into the store, I would dig out the appropriate card and have it ready in my pocket.
The ordeal has become such a burden that I have decided to purge all the cards from my drawstring bag. The thing is, I am one stamp away from a free sandwich at Panera and two punches away from a loaf of bread at the organic bread store. Come to think of it, I may still have credit for a free haircut somewhere. As difficult as it will be, my plan is to cash in on the two or three free things that I have earned and when the proprietors try to give me a new card, I will resolutely say "no thanks" despite their judgmental stares.
Copyright 2011 KKR
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