QFC Disadvantage

For years Sheila and I have been regular customers of QFC, a regional grocery store chain.

Last week they lost our business.

We made our weekly trip to the store and discovered they had a new thing, the Advantage Card. You need to have one in order to get sale prices.

If you don’t have one then you pay full price.

And of course if you have a card then QFC can track all your purchases.

So what’s the advantage? It should be called the Disadvantage Card.

I’m sure QFC thinks it’s an advantage to them—but I have to think that losing good customers is not really advantageous.

Aside from the sheer fact of this stupid card and the privacy issues is the highly insulting marketing. They market it as if it’s something new and cool that I should really, really want. As if I’m too stupid to see what’s really going on here.

Well, it’s not something I want. I liked the previous system, where things that were on sale were on sale for everyone, and they didn’t know me from Adam, and they couldn’t track what I buy.

So we’re going to another grocery store now.

Here’s Cathy Hatcher from the Seattle P-I on this topic: I won't be a card-carrying columnist.