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There is this big electronics store in NYC - I bought something small (batteries or something) and at the checkout, the cashier refused to bill me, unless I gav
by vijayr 10y ago
There is this big electronics store in NYC - I bought something small (batteries or something) and at the checkout, the cashier refused to bill me, unless I gave my phone number or email. When I asked why he needs that info his answer was "so we can verify when/if you return the product", and he had no answer when I said "that is what the bill is for, isn't it?". Unwilling to hold up the line, I left without purchasing anything.
Point is, no one before me had issues with giving that info, no one bothered to ask. Unless many people start asking questions, nothing will change, and I don't think most people care.
At the high school level, kids should be taught topics like privacy, civil rights etc - that might help at least a bit
- grecy 10y agoI'm living on the road now, and don't have a phone. I find it fascinating the reactions I get, and the people who refuse to help me with stuff when I say I don't have a phone, or a number I can be reached at. When push really, really comes to shove, I give them a number from somewhere I lived 10+ years ago.
- sn41 10y agoSlightly offtopic. But would love to hear more about the adjustments you have to make to live on the road. Are you self-employed?
- grecy 10y agoI saved like mad for 4 years, now driving around Africa for a couple of years. I did the same thing a few years ago, drove from Alaska to Argentina over 2 years. Best decisions I have ever made. I'm http://theroadchoseme.com http://theroadchoseme.com if you're interested in what I'm doing. Here are my thoughts on saving money: http://theroadchoseme.com/work-less-to-live-your-dreams http://theroadchoseme.com/work-less-to-live-your-dreams
- heartbreak 10y agoAnd here's your /r/DIY post, which was a very interesting read: https://www.reddit.com//r/DIY/comments/4m7do7/i_built_my_jeep_into_a_house_on_wheels_to_live_in/ https://www.reddit.com//r/DIY/comments/4m7do7/i_built_my_jee... Good luck!
- grecy 10y agoThanks. An update to that /r/DIY post is coming very soon :)
- gkanai 10y agoWhy not use a free Google Voice number?
- edoceo 10y agoSome people prefer !Google, so $1/mo is worth it
- seanp2k2 10y agoNerdVittles has info and a place to get you started if you want to get into free DIDs, trunking, gvoice voip stuff, etc. you can get numbers without google for free, you just need to dig a bit and learn some Asterisk or buy an ObiHai if you're lazy.
- tdfx 10y agoYou can rent a US number on Twilio for $1/month and use the free Twimlets service (https://www.twilio.com/labs/twimlets/voicemail https://www.twilio.com/labs/twimlets/voicemail) to have calls go straight to voicemail and email you a link to an mp3 of the voicemail message. This is typically the number I give out to any potentially annoying commercial entities.
- applecrazy 10y agoOr even better, get a Google Voice number. They're free for US calls.
- kevinmgranger 10y agoDoesn't google voice require an actual phone number to link it to?
- ed_balls 10y agoIt's much better if you isolate yourself than do nothing. https://www.troyhunt.com/going-dark-online-privacy-and-anonymity-for-normal-people/ https://www.troyhunt.com/going-dark-online-privacy-and-anony...
- ysavir 10y agoDoesn't this defeat the point? Sure, you're not giving your phone number to a random third party, but now you're giving a different ad agency (google) information about who's calling you. That actually sounds worse to me.
- briffle 10y agoIn all seriousness, I always give the local area code, and then the 'jenny' number 867-5309 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/867-5309/Jenny https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/867-5309/Jenny) Someone has ALWAYS registered it before me.. I have never had it not in the system..
- Balgair 10y agoWell, that's a lot better than my MO. I typically use (911) 911-9111 as the phone number for random sites. I figure that if you trust your automated system so much that you let it auto-dial without looking, you deserve to get chewed out by your local PD. But I like your idea a lot more and I'll start using that one to save the PD the time. Maybe it'll give people a smile when they finally look at the number and realize it.
- newman314 10y agoI use 555-1212 with the appropriate area code. This used to be directory lookup so I figured I could get some recursion going if they really wanted to contact me so badly.
- robryk 10y agoIsn't '555' the reserved phone number prefix to be used for phone numbers in the movies?
- dragonwriter 10y agoNot exactly. Only 555-01xx is reserved for fictional use. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_(telephone_number) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_(telephone_number)
- jrcii 10y agoB&H is supposed to let you checkout without providing that.
- freehunter 10y agoI had the same experience at Harbor Freight. They needed my zip code in case I needed to make a return. I said "that's what the receipt is for...?" and she persisted so I gave her the zip code for the part of town the store is in. Zip codes are often associated with social and economic status and Harbor Freight is in a really bad zip code. I wasn't about to tell everyone standing in line that I was getting in my $100k SUV and driving to my $500k home in the suburbs after they hear my zip code (none of that is true but that's what you'd expect from the city I live in compared to the city I was shopping in).
- ryandrake 10y agoHonest question: What could Joe Random, standing in line behind you wanting to buy his crescent wrench, possibly do with your zip code? I consider myself a privacy nut but zip code is not something I care to get bent out of shape over. Give a fake one and move on with your life.
- surge 10y agoFollow you to your car (because you're on the rich end of town), hit you with the crescent wrench, take your stuff.
- freehunter 10y agoYup. Expensive zip code means a car with expensive stuff inside of it, and a papers that show a house full of expensive stuff that has no one home right now (because the rich owner is out shopping).
- rimliu 10y agoHow would you know that this house is not full of family members of the owner? And has this scenario actually happen to anyone? Because I think burglars have better means to be sure which house and when to rob.
- 10y ago
- mirimir 10y agoI give them fake info, and pay cash.
- problems 10y agoI think a lot of people, myself included will just straight up lie, use bullshit accounts, give bullshit zip codes, etc. It's often times easier, gets less looks and gets the job done in a straight up utilitarian sense.
- codedokode 10y agoBut it can be used to persuade other customers to give out their personal information: "See, everybody before you said their phone number".
- codedokode 10y agoYou can give Lenny's number [1] - it's a bot that loves talking to telemarketers on the phone. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/itslenny/ https://www.reddit.com/r/itslenny/
- wlll 10y agoI read about a guy who had a similar experience in (I think) RadioShack many years ago. The cashier asked for his address, and they guy questioned why it was needed, and would they be sending him junk mail? The cashier made an excuse for what it was needed for and said that "no, they wouldn't be using the address to send junk mail to". The customer wrote on the back of the cheque (I said it was a long time ago) a minimal contract that said something like "By accepting this cheque RadioShack agrees that they won't send any junk mail to the provided address, if any is sent a fee of $100 will be payable" (paraphrasing). RadioShack ultimately sent the guy junk mail, and the guy asked for his $100 which I think they ultimately gave him.
- vijayr 10y agoReminds me of this Russian man who changed the credit card contract - http://www.nasdaq.com/article/updated-russian-man-turns-tables-on-bank-changes-fine-print-in-credit-card-agreement-then-sues-now-settles-cm267708 http://www.nasdaq.com/article/updated-russian-man-turns-tabl...
- qubitcoder 10y agoWhen asked for such information at checkout, including if I have a <xyz> preferred shopper card, I've found that a quick & polite "no, thank you" is effective. It's clear to the sales clerk that I just want to be on my way--conveying that I do not wish to share such information, that I don't have a preferred shopper card, and, most importantly, that I don't want to hear their sales pitch. If required to provide a phone number, I just increment the last digit by 1. I feel for whoever has that number :-).
- steffan 10y agoThose of you familiar with this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo may or may not know that it is pretty universally applicable as a phone lookup for most rewards cards. Just prefix with a popular area code, e.g. 415 (Bay Area) or 212 (NYC). Naturally, you won't get any of the rewards, but it does protect your privacy, and with some annoying retailers, still gets you the member discount.
- orbitingpluto 10y agoTo get a members' discount at a grocer, I once signed up as Mickey Mouse and put my address as Disneyland. "Thank you for shopping with <store>, Mister Mouse."
- M_Grey 10y agoTeaching kids about those things would make them less effective consumers, more effective voters, and much harder for parents to instill a given viewpoint in. Critical thinking isn't going to take off in a country dominated by people who profit from its absence.