• Twitter
  • Facebook
News-Sentinel.com Your Town. Your Voice.
Opening Arguments

Mr. loyal customer

I'm one of those 40 percent of all U.S. households with a Kroger "loyalty card," though I didn't know it was called that. You let them scan it everytime you check out, and it usually knocks at least a few bucks off the total. But, wait, there's more:

Millions of Kroger customers across the nation get Loyal Customer Mailings at their homes all over the United States as well

Comments

littlejohn
Thu, 05/27/2010 - 3:51pm

It's funny that as the token liberal here, I'm bothered by those cards more than you.
What happens when insurance companies buy your purchasing records from Kroger?
I have no idea what your personal habits are, and that's the way it should be.
But if your records show frequent purchases of booze, cigarettes and high-fat junk food, do you really think that information won't be used against you when your insurance premiums are set?
The technology to do this is already in place and in use. Kroger knows how many Twinkies and six-packs you buy. Do you really want anyone else to know?
At a minimum, stores should be legally forbidden to share your shopping habits with anyone.

tim zank
Thu, 05/27/2010 - 4:12pm

Littlejohn sez: "What happens when insurance companies buy your purchasing records from Kroger?"

They won't be able to buy the info they won't be around anymore. With Obamacare coming down the pike, there won't be any more insurance companies, they'll be gone in 2 years. Just Uncle Sam & the IRS tending to your health needs, rest easy.

littlejohn
Fri, 05/28/2010 - 8:48am

Tim, do you even read the newspapers? The single-payer (government) option was the first part of Obama's plan to be rejected.
Some restrictions were placed on insurance companies (they can't refuse to insure you for pre-existing conditions and they can't drop you if you get seriously ill) that they may not like, but they certainly aren't going out of business.
I wish they were going out of business because they're greedy and heartless, but for the foreseeable future, they're safe.

tim zank
Fri, 05/28/2010 - 9:37am

LJ, You don't need to be a rocket scientist to see the plan all along is to break the insurance companies and have the feds swoop in and "save" the day and take over.

littlejohn
Fri, 05/28/2010 - 11:09pm

Tim, I'm impressed. You clearly have access to the secret liberal plans.
You got us. But how did you do it? Did you find the secret plans written on the back of the Constitution?
And you're right. You don't have to be a rocket scientist. Apparently you don't even have to have gone to college.
But all kidding aside, I would like to see the insurance companies busted. Then we could all get the same government health care provided by every other industrialized country in the world, as well as by our own Veterans Administration.
And we might also lose our distinction as having the highest prices for prescription medicine, regardless of insurance coverage.
Tim, when the only news you listen to is Fox and Rush, you aren't really hearing hearing the news. They don't just slant the news, they lie.
It wouldn't kill you to listen, however briefly, to the liberals on MSNBC (yes, I agree, they're liberal extremists). The point is, you'd hear both sides.
And yes, I do tune in to Fox now and then. It's not healthy to limit your news consumption to outlets that merely confirm you pre-existing opinions.
Man, I really want to be your friend and have actual discussions about this stuff, but you seem determined not to even listen to other opinions. Are you even capable of weighing the possibility that you might be wrong about something?
I always keep that possibility in mind, because I have been wrong and when I was, I immediately admitted it. That strikes me as a healthier approach.
Have some tea Tim. That often helps me. And if that doesn't work, I recommend single-malt Scotch.
Cheers.

Lewis Allen
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 6:43am

I wondered why I kept getting ads for depends and hair dye. Then I remembered all those nice old ladies who lent me their Kroger card every time I forgot mine.

tim zank
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 4:19pm

Littlejohn....here's an interesting read for you in r/e healthcare.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/obamacare-taking-on-water-95104599.html

gadfly
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 8:44pm

Well, Kroger's scheme has always been apparent to me. Before they bought Scott's, I only used the Kroger card for gasoline, but that program sucks now. The amazing thing is that the store prices are set much higher than Meijer and K-Mart, so that when the "couple of bucks" in discounts are removed, you still pay more than you would at the competition.

And I never understood how they could advertise an in-store sale item, but only grant it to cardholders. Sounds somehow illegal.

Quantcast