Comments on: Not Watching, but Weird Anyway

By: Ashwin Thangali

Ashwin Thangali — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:40:31 +0000

Trader Joe’s has one of those “Sale is a four letter word for us. If it helps, everything we sell is on sale, always” banners. The produce selection is not vast but at least they are conscientious. You wont find one of them self-checkout lines, loyalty card or other fancy gimmicks. I hope they hold strong and continue expansion in the greater Boston area.

By: Harry Lewis

Harry Lewis — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:25:16 +0000

How did they identify you? From your Costco card? (And this the Janos Simon who’s an old friend of mine? 🙂

By: Janos Simon

Janos Simon — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:34:24 +0000

On the possibly positive side of costumer identification: a little while ago we got an automated call from Costco, warning us that one of the items we bought may have been contaminated by a bacterium, warning us not to eat it, and offering a refund.

By: Harry Lewis

Harry Lewis — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:10:53 +0000

I’d love to get an authoritative answer to that question. My understanding is that the credit card company does not automatically get item-level detail on the purchases. You are right that there is no technological reason why they couldn’t; if I’m correctly informed that they don’t. it’s a matter of policy or of regulation.

By: Mike C

Mike C — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:04:28 +0000

> I asked the cashier to use his card …
> I paid my $57.17 by credit card.

I’ve always assumed that, even if you decline to use a “loyalty card”, paying by credit card would still tie your identity to the purchase you just made, and that the only way to truly ensure anonymity was to pay cash.

Not true?

(I apologize if you’ve already addressed this in “Blown to Bits” — I’m only just starting the book today)