Mar 14, 2010

The supermarket bank combo

Why can't supermarkets just sell food anymore? Why do they have to become banks and peddle credit cards? Is the food industry not profitable enough?

I am so sick of being pestered to sign up for a new credit card, I am, bli neder, going to avoid certain stores as much as possible, even if it means paying slightly more on some items at other stores.

Every time I walk into the supermarket it is the same shpiel - do you have our credit card? no? why not? it is free of charges for the first year! blah blah blah. Do they think we just came from the moon and have not heard the shpiel every week or two for the past 6 months?

I am not interested in my supermarket becoming my bank and my creditor. Just sell me my milk, cornflakes and toilet paper and let me go home in peace.

13 comments:

  1. Rafi, you're running out of supermarkets to shop in! First was Yesh, then Bar Kol (though it's some 3rd party one), and today I peeked into Shefa Shuk, and I saw a big sign to sign up for their's.

    Where are you go to shop?

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  2. Actually the Yesh one is worth it - especially if you have young kids in diaper still. I've saved almost 500nis since July

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  3. If you aren't heavily buying any of their promotions, the one from Yesh only nominally worth it. Especially after the first year when there's a fee.

    And their reps are really annoying - I had one interrupt a conversation of mine with a friend and follow me up and down 2 aisles!!!

    It's not like in the US where there's no annual fee (forever) and they give you 1% back on all purchases in store script. Here you get 5% back on 10 items which (except for diapers) maybe you spend 150 nis per month on which means you get 7 nis. And often their big deals for credit card holders are items one sale at Shefa for everyone.

    But the worst is those annoying reps.

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  4. My response is that I don't do credit, at all for pretty much anything. (Only exception would be buying a house)

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  5. yes, I was in shefa today and they were putting up signs about their new moadon. can't wait. at yesh they have gottenr eally annoying. My answer until nwo (at least once every other week, sometimes many weeks in a row) that I have enough problems with one credit card and dont want a second.

    Sometimes the clerk shrugs and says ok. sometimes they get more annoying telling me how it is so worth it...

    I have heard the spiel so many times!

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  6. shalom - get your kids out of diapers and on the toilet and you will save even more money on diapers :-)

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  7. While I was in line last week, I saw someone who accidentally gave me a great idea. She had the Yesh card, but after she said she was going to sue it, and got all the items on sale, she only put like 30 shekel on it, and paid the rest in a different way.

    If you do that you can still use your primary method of payment for the bulk of your purchases, and only need to keep track fop a second CC for minor purchases. Pretty smart I though

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  8. While I was in line last week, I saw someone who accidentally gave me a great idea. She had the Yesh card, but after she said she was going to sue it, and got all the items on sale, she only put like 30 shekel on it, and paid the rest in a different way.

    If you do that you can still use your primary method of payment for the bulk of your purchases, and only need to keep track fop a second CC for minor purchases. Pretty smart I though

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  9. WARNING!!! If you don't charge at least 600 nis monthly on your Yesh card for the first year - they take the 100 nis gift BACK!!! It's in the fine print....

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  10. Part of the harassment is due to the fact that the stores are requiring the cashiers to sign up X customers for the card per month - on top of doing their regular jobs, they get in trouble (not sure if they are docked money or just miss a bonus) if they aren't getting enough new signups. Its horrible for them as well.

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  11. really? the cashiers have quotas and get in trouble if they dont meet the quota? that is nasty

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  12. hello? when they ask you, just say "yes" . saves a whole lot of trouble.

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  13. Rafi, just came back from Shefa shuk and after refusing about 20 times, they finally told me it's not a credit card they're hawking, just a club card, which is no skin off your back. They don't take bank or credit details at all, just name and a address and they give you discounts.

    FYI

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