Grinch Corner

So, errr, what do they do if you ain't got one??????

 

Farm shop I use wont accept card payments less than £5.

 

I misspell a letter of my name every time I give my email address to 'random people'.

 

Blast! One of my strings of 1970s lights has gone POOF! It is a short string (20 lights), but designed so if one bulb fails, they all go out. The problem is then you have no way of knowing which bulb, though as I don’t have replacements, that is a moot point. I’ve taken them down, as dead fairy lights are a bit depressing.

The other string has 40 bulbs … and if one goes, the other 39 soldier on! So …

 

They don’t give you a receipt, I guess. The person behind the till was very unpleasant about it. No matter. I have The Range and Home Bargains, so Dunelm can shove their digital receipts!

 

Do the two strings use the same bulbs? If so, perhaps you could take one out of the 40 set to replace the duff one in the 20 set.

 

@pete I already had a loyalty card for this and 2 other SMs but this is the main one. In a year of doing my weekly shop there I averaged 250 points/euros a year which we spend on the Xmas week shop. Since they moved the loyalty system to a phone app I can now choose products for advantage points and this year it was over 300. That is not to be sniffed at.

I expect other SMs here are similar but I use them infrequently .

 

If I've purchased something I think a receipt may be necessary for, I ask for one. I don't get a receipt in restaurants, when I buy petrol etc. No reason to need one. The information is on my bank statement.

 

I thought we were talking about purchases in general not just supermarkets.

 

Sadly … not! That would be waaay too convenient.

No matter. They have done sterling service down the yrs, predated only by one bauble that has been around since at least the 1960s … and possibly a fair bit longer. I’m not one to go replacing perfectly serviceable things.

 

@Obelix-Vendée, customers using phone apps is what supermarkets want, as the leakage of data from you to them is then a constant stream, and a very valuable one. You are “paying” very heftily for those “savings”.

 

@pete all sorts of shops tho not always on a phone app. I do have to give an address and an email but don't have to accept publicity.

@ViewAhead yes, if I let them drive what I buy but I don't buy industrial processed foods or big name household products or impulse buys. We go with a list after working out the week's menus. They generally tailor offers to things I usually buy, eg 10% of all veggies or dairy, and I delete any that are of no interest. They've also long since abandoned printed promotions so no junk mail either. Works for me.

 

Here's another cracker, someone complaining about Morrisons:

"10p veg not to brag about is it when Asda Tesco Aldi Lidl it's 8p. 20% cheaper... something stinks"

Yes Morrisons must be making a fortune out of all those extra 2ps!

 

It’s not just your food shopping though, @Obelix-Vendée. As I understand it, an app can access other apps you have and track everything you do online, everywhere you go in the real world with your phone, your photos, the lot. That is why companies are always trying to get people to download them. They are gold mines, literally. And even if you delete one, it may not lose its data collecting function.

Now call me a worry-wart, but I don’t think the risk is worth 20p off this and 50p off that. Everyone can choose how comfortable they are with them, of course.

 

Meanwhile … I started my Christmas shopping this morning. Christmas 2025 that is! Saw a perfect card for a friend.