shopping :stores asking for personal information

[JI7]

has anyone had a store ask for personal information such as address or phone number when buying something ? do you know what the rules for this are ? and i'm not talking about your license for when you use a credit card since some ask even when you use cash, but just wanting the info for maybe other things. i think usually it's for things like catalogues and other advertisements in the mail or email. what do you all do in these situations ? and at what times do you have to give this information.

[Braden]

1. I give them the non emergency number of the local police station

or just flat out tell them no.

[NicoleM]

2. Just say no.

They're using it for marketing/market research purposes. If they want your money, they'll take it whether you give them your zip code or not.

[bearfartinthewoods]

5. do that at radio shack and see what happens.

maybe they have wised up but the LAST time i went in there, they asked for my phone number and refused to sell to me without it.

i don't mind the zipcode question, that's a fair marketing tool but i have been asked for my SS number in order to rent a video...yeah...right...like that's gonna happen.

[Muddleoftheroad]

6. I shop at the Shack

They never told me they wouldn't sell me anything. I might have to stop by and see if that has changed.

[NashVegas]

7. So, What Happened When

You told the clerk to have a pleasant afternoon and walked out empty handed?

You have to be prepared to tell people to fuck off - nicely.

[bearfartinthewoods]

16. nicely is not my forte

i let out with a BWAAAAAHAHAHAHA...and left.

ya know...typing that, i probably looked like a nut.

i need to work on my people skills..

[hobbes159]

8. They changed that policy a while back

They no longer ask for personal information for a purchase -- no doubt due to lots of complaints. A radio shack manager told me that the employees used to be graded on how many customers they got personal infomation from -- they would get in trouble if they didn't get enough during a given shift. They weren't sorry to see the policy go either.

[bearfartinthewoods]

17. thank you...good to know!

although, because i didn't use the shack for so many years, i found a cool little local shop that could at least get me whatever i needed in a couple days.

besides...our shack is in the mall and i have a pround record of never enetering the mall in the last seven years to continue.

[Muddleoftheroad]

3. No obligation

They ask, you don't have to give it to them.

I always respond, "No, thank you."

[OldSoldier]

4. It depends

If all they want is the zip code, no problem.

The address is more problematic. I know that if I give my address I'm going to get a lot of junk mail, so I have to ask myself: do I want this company's junk mail?

If I do, I'll give them the address. If I don't, I have a few other addresses memorized for just such an occasion. The county lockup receives a lot of "direct mail" this way.

[BlueMole]

9. Just say no!

or make stuff up.

[blondeatlast]

10. Depends on the store.

Toys backwards R Us asks for phone numbers, then calls later to see if how your "shopping experience" went. I get preview sale invites from 2 of my favorite department stores, even though I don't carry any store credit cards, because I offered them my phone number. I've never seemed to have gotten any problems from it.

Ask why they need it, if they know, it's usually a reasonably good thing for you--the department store clerks both told me I would get their special offers. If the clerks don't know, don't offer--they've got something to hide.

But please be polite; I've been on the other side of the counter, and a little niceness goes a long way, it really does.

[Fitzovich]

11. Another number

I always give them the number for my data line so it will never ring. In the past I have used other numbers, such as business fax line. The guy or gal behind the counter is really just another wage slave like the rest of us and I won't abuse them unless they become abusive themselves. They just want to get to the end of the day like the rest of us and giving them a false number takes care of the problem. They have a number to enter and they have done their job.
My response to junk mail is to stuff as much as I can into whatever postage paid envelopes I receive that day and send it off to that credit card company. I figure it's better in their landfill than in mine and it provides a subsidy for the post office. I really encourage everyone to use those postage paid envelopes and fill'em full. The major corporations get too many freebies and this is a chance for us to help settle the score just a bit. After all if they didn't want a response they wouldn't have sent the postage paid envelope would they?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

12. i just say NO..

[bitchkitty]

13. If you care about being able to return something,

give your name. If not, make one up. They will most likely add your name to their marketing list.

Save for the occasional Dollar Tree shopping spree, I buy almost everything except groceries online because it's always, always, ALWAYS cheaper. If you buy from reputable sources that won't sell your email, or use a throwaway hotmail address, then your life gets 200% easier!

[LeahMira]

14. It's for marketing...

has anyone had a store ask for personal information such as address or phone number when buying something ?

They do that for marketing reasons... to find out which local areas they draw shoppers from, etc. You don't have to give them any personal information, but if you want to you can give your zip code or your phone area code and first three digits of your phone number which is really all they need.

[Maeve]

15. Hubby usually responds "555-1212"

While I tend to just answer "Can I have your phone number?" with "No."

[bearfartinthewoods]

19. what was that phone number in the 70's song?

837 5 something something 2?

we shouuld all use that.

[NicoleM]

20. 867-5309

[BiggJawn]

18. give 'em bogus info.

They prolly wonder why this guy drives 75 miles to shop with them, but hey, screwwem!

Same thing with "discount cards" I don't have them.

[JI7]

21. sometimes

sometimes i want to be on a stores mailing list. these stores usually tell me what the information is for. but i don't like it when they just ask you for the info without giving any reasons and without telling you that you don't have to give the info. but from the responses on here next time i will ask what the info is for, and decide whether to give it based on that.

[hlthe2b]

22. I give em a zipcode and that's it.

Trusted stores that I frequent and would like to be on a mailing list, I'm willing to give address...


A pharmacy recently asked me for a social security number... It was all I could do not to bite the pharmacy tech's head off. This, I strongly suspect has to do with Ashcroft and his drug paranoia. I told them that if it was required, I would not be purchasing prescriptions there. She let it go, so I do wonder....