I am something of a regular at a nearby convenience store. I’m not sure how I feel about that, but it is what it is. Part of what makes me a regular is the fun of taking a long walk over there in the morning and acquiring some sugary coffee-nated beverage of the canned variety and drinking it when I get home.
It’s become something of a joke between me and the staff that I never sign up for the store’s benefits. They have to ask, and they know I always politely decline.
There are good people there, one of whom has been down on their luck and seems to be settling down with this job. I can’t imagine it paying too well, but when many people have opted out of work these days, I have to commend the effort. It’s also hard because I know they probably get a bonus for the number of people they sign up for the rewards program, but I’d so much rather bring a $20 gift card (if company policy allows it), then to sign up.
See, my recent experience with Target tells me that as soon as I sign up for the rewards program, everything I buy will be tracked to me, and they’ll be sending me coupons or giving me discounts on the foods I often buy, which are junk. When you sign up for these rewards, you are subsidizing heart disease. Okay, okay, I’m kidding. But you are not really getting a discount, you are likely to end up spending more, and that’s what rewards programs are all about.
See, I can get my sugary favorites for cheaper at stores, but sometime I don’t want to because the goal is to avoid these foods more than it is to save money. If I simply didn’t buy any of these foods, I’d be saving loads of money, and would also be healthier.
Now, mind you, it’s not the same if I’m not taking a walk. I love that sense of destination, and the Art Path has been rained out and muddy lately. It’s a great feeling when I wake up early enough to make the trek over and acquire some delicious caffeine to start the day. It’s about a 40 minute round trip walk with a decent hill in the middle, too. I don’t know if I can currently cut that out of my motivation circuits, but I especially love walking around the neighborhood when I have a destination.
I don’t know where I’m going with this, I just want to highlight that these rewards programs are not your friends. I don’t think the bonus the staff receive for one extra person signing up is too significant, so I refuse to guilt myself into signing up. If you like the people and you want to support them, there are better ways than sacrificing your health. I’ve never seen a rewards program that decreased the cost of fresh produce or staples, it is usually sugar junk that companies makes loads of money from, and they are highly incentivized to maximize their profits from that. Sadly, people seem all too willing to follow along.