I went into the CVS pharmacy on 15th Ave & 4th Street this week so that I could buy some cough drops for my chest cold and some support inserts for my fallen arches. (Ah, old age, it comes too quickly.) I was happy because both of those items happened to be on sale. Excellent!
Unfortunately there was a hitch... once I reached the register (one of those self-serve deals that I love because any excuse to avoid human interaction, particularly while sick, is a good one), I found that the items rang up at full price. I was told, to my bemusement, that you have to be an ExtraCare(c) member in order to get the savings.
The fortunate thing is that membership is free. In fact, you don't even have to provide personal information to sign up, you simply grab their handy little card and scan it when you make your purchases. Instant savings! It's the Speedy Rewards card of the pharmacy world.
But what, pray tell, is really the point?
Much like Super America, PetCo, and any number of other chain stores offering no-hassle free membership rewards, CVS is offering nothing more than a thinly-veiled and rather desperate plea for customer loyalty. The problem is that there's no real incentive for the customer to frequent the store any more than they would without the card; most people probably throw it away with every clean-out of their wallet. And why wouldn't they, when all you need to do is grab a new card at the register when you need one?
