In light of the Christmas season, I went out shopping. As I am waiting in line at the store, I wonder what could possibly be taking everyone so long to check out. After waiting for about 20 minutes...Finally, it's my turn. I place my items including gifts for me, a Portable Charger & Backup Battery for my tablet and a box of Christmas cards to send in the mail, on the conveyor belt. As I swipe my credit/debit card, the usual comes up on the screen...credit or debit? I clicked credit, signed the signature line and then patiently waited for my receipt. The clerk politely informs there is one more prompt...I look back down at the little screen and the question baffles me.Do you want the receipt emailed or printed? With this question in front of me,I stand there in a gaze with questions flooding my mind. Am I opening the flood gates of emails? How would I know if my email account has a qualified spam filter?I mean, the amount of spam that comes from this scheme could be limitless. To avoid finding out the answer, should I request to cancel my transaction? I can only assume that when I sign for e-receipts, I am opening myself up to receive special offers and shopping recommendations thus the process is merely a backdoor way to track me as a shopper with its presentation of being "convenient and environmentally friendly." As I stand there baffled at the question with what appears to be an enlarged thought bubble over my head, the clerk reached over and pressed the print button, thus popping my thought bubble. She, like most people already know the benefits of having the receipt in hand and the knowledge that really the concept is merely a tool to track my shopping habits. So, I ask the clerk about what happens if I were to just click the e-receipt option. She states that after giving an email address, I would receive a little printed receipt anyway with nothing on it except for a barcode and a date. As I am walking away from the register, a growing thought bubble appears. How is the little printed receipt making it easy to return an item? In about a month, I would not know what was checked out with the little piece of paper. So, that leads me to believe, that I must use my own printer and ink toner at home to print the detailed receipt so that I have an idea of which items are against it. How is that "convenient and environmentally friendly" for me as a customer?Posted by: Widtha Grayne
