OK - I’ll give them a made up zip code next time.
Pleeze....your zip code doesn’t give away your name. It’s a mood thing for me. It is indeed for marketing. It’s how we got a Staples in our area!! And it’s great.
I give stores the wrong zip code.
A couple of months ago, I bought a shop vac at Lowes. I paid for it with a debit card and she asked for my zip code.
I hesitated and she assured me they never give my private info out. I went ahead and gave it to her but I suspect I probably should have kept it tho they probably get all they want from my card anyway.
Another reason. Many gas stations ask for zip code when you use a credit card. Get the card number, get the zip, get free gas...
Each time give them the zip code for the most rundown, ghetto-y, gang infested armpit part of town. Do it enough times and they’ll be stupid enough to build a store there.
Too late. All of the stores around here have my zip code.
I can understand why anyone wouldn’t want their name, address, and buying habits on a company database. Possibly one day this information could be misused.
But, for now, in return for a zip code, the stores are just sending coupons and special offers to customers for the things they like to buy.
I don’t consider myself an immature man, but one of the silliest things I do is give them the zipcode- ‘58008’ .. which every grade school boy who has played with a calculator knows is ‘boobs’ upside down... some times it’s the little chuckles that help us make it through.
I’m not buying that 100% hit rate. I know there’s over 100 people in my city with my name (and that’s from the phonebook, who knows how many unlisted), some of them are bound to live in my zip, so matching the two won’t necessarily get me.
I don’t get the people who have to make a scene about it. If you don’t want to give out your zip lie. I lie about my phone number almost everywhere. Takes less time, frustrates everyone less, lowers blood pressure.
I use zip codes to tell if my marketing efforts are working and to prioritize my limited advertising dollars. They also give me a rough idea of income levels of my customers when matched with census data. There is absolutely no way that I can breach privacy with a zip. It’s a harmless request.
I can however purchase significant amounts of your personal information from a credit bureau if you use a credit card.
the only way to protect your privacy from marketers is to pay cash.
If only it were just the zip code. There’s a store near me that refuses the sale if you won’t provide your phone number.
Our closest Harbor Freight store was over an hour’s drive away. After several years of GIVING my zip code, Harbor Freight decided to open a store here.
Not saying that I’ve bought enough on my own to get this done, but every bit helps.
Folks, there is only so much paranoia a person can hold, so I save mine for the essential stuff. :-)
Our local Lowes asks for the zip code. She enters it into the register after the card has been swiped and I have assumed the software checks it against the actual record at the bank for verification. Several of the gas stations have the same thing. I doubt the marketing because they already have you shopping at that location. What difference does it make if you are 87104 or 87106? That is a difference of about 1/4 mile where I live. If I had 87450 (I do not know if there is such a one) then I live at some distance from the store so I guess they would not advertise in the local newspaper. Anyway here is to free enterprise.
Just give them 5 zeros for the zip code and 10 zeros for the phone number. If that is not enough then I walk out of the store and they can restock the shelves with what I left on the checkout counter.
I still remember when Radio Shack wanted your complete mailing address for them to complete the transaction.
“I don’t have a zip code.”
I always lie to them and give them 60060 from Chicago.
I often give 90002—a quaint little community of narrow streets and cozy bungalows known as Watts, Calif.