The Truth About Loyalty Programs

A few years ago, I realized I was being asked to sign up for loyalty programs at every place I shopped. Places like Petco, PetSmart, and Sephora all had something to offer me if I signed up. They promised me a chance to save money, get exclusive coupons, and return things without a receipt. If I shopped there frequently, I would sign up, but whenever I declined to sign up, my cashier would ask me again. Sometimes even growing more aggressive than they’d been before.

At the time, I didn’t understand why my previously kind cashier had become pushy, stressed, and unhappy all at once. I thought they were earning a small commission or prize for getting people to sign up, but I was wrong. The truth is, I was putting my cashier’s job in danger without even knowing.

During the holiday season of 2020, I started a new job. It was the first place I’d ever worked that required me to ask guests to sign up for the loyalty program. I thought little of it until one of my managers pulled me aside and told me I needed to get my loyalty numbers up. The manager told me that if I didn’t get my numbers up, my hours would be cut, and I could face being written up or terminated. I also couldn’t enter fake phone numbers, because that was loyalty fraud, and I could be terminated for that too.

“So how much does one customer saying no hurt me?” I asked. I had assumed that one no wouldn’t be that bad, but I was wrong. For every guest who refused to give me their information, they expected me to get three new customers to sign up. Sadly, I didn’t always get to check out three new customers per day, and sometimes the one customer who refused to sign up for loyalty would check out more than once.

I couldn’t believe it. How could I get fired for something that wasn’t my fault? I couldn’t force the customers to input their information, and even one customer who refused to sign up would ruin my numbers.

I started paying more attention to the reasons people refused to sign up. It seemed like I’d heard every excuse. Some customers told me simple things like they didn’t give their phone number or they were visiting from another country. Some rude customers yelled at me or barked the word no at me without giving a reason. A few said they didn’t want to get spam or ‘prank’ calls. There were even a couple who said the government was going to track them through the loyalty program.

The stress got to me as well. I started wishing the people who refused to sign up for the loyalty program would just shop somewhere else. I wanted the company to help us and do something such as only offering coupons to members, but they wouldn’t. They thought they were helping us by offering the program in the first place. After all, who wouldn’t want money off?

Unfortunately, many people don’t care about the loyalty program or about helping their cashier keep their job. I recently watched a video where a woman complained that her cashier asked her to join a loyalty program. She claimed her cashier got more aggressive and asked her to join more than once, which is something we’re trained to do. I took the time to leave a comment explaining that her cashier could be terminated for not getting enough loyalty sign-ups. She responded to my comment, telling me it wasn’t her job to protect her cashier.

While I can understand the viewpoint of a guest who doesn’t want to give their information, I don’t think that I could ever be that cold when discussing someone who was only trying to save their job. I’m sure some will say that it’s the cashier’s fault because they signed up for a job that offers a loyalty program, but many job seekers don’t know the pressure they will face when they’re hired.

So, what can you do if you still don’t want to sign up for the company’s loyalty program, but you don’t want your cashier to get in trouble? You can shop online or at competitors who don’t offer loyalty programs. You can also call corporate and tell them what you think of their loyalty program, but it’s likely they won’t change anything. You can also use a friend's or family member’s phone number because if they are already a member, they would love to get the points. Whatever you do, please don’t be rude to the cashier who only wants to keep their job.