The Loyal vs. The Full-Price Shopper

Has anyone else ever noticed the hypocrisy in "loyalty" or "rewards" systems? The idea sounds fine...I shop with you so often that you give me incentives...so that I will shop with you even more often. In most cases, you have to spend an awful lot to begin getting rewards or points that can be used for anything useful. Which means that if you're getting a bunch of points you are, by nature, incredibly loyal to that brand. So why do I suddenly feel like an outcast when I finally try to cash in on this great new relationship we share? In my opinion, it shouldn't be harder or take longer to get what I need than it would ordinarily take when I'm paying full price for something.

I should start with a positive example, Dick's Sporting Goods. This is one of my favorite places to shop, and has the easiest rewards program I've ever used. The best part: you don't have to spend a ton to begin receiving some pretty nice incentives/discounts. The next best part: I don't really have to keep track of anything on my own. The system is nicely integrated with their point of sale system, so even if I can't produce a key fob or a rewards card, they can look it up at checkout so I get the most out of every purchase I make. In my case, I can honestly say that every major purchase I have made at Dick's Sporting Goods has resulted in points accrual or some other incentive that has led me back to the store for a follow-up purchase. For any retailer, this is the dream.

In contrast, I recently attempted to redeem American Express Rewards points for a Hertz Car Rental voucher. In the first attempt to view my account balance, something was wrong with the site. It gave me an 800 number to call. The voice on the 800 number asked me for a validation code (which apparently was supposed to be shown on the screen) so I told the recorded voice that I didn't have a code. The recorded voice then repeated her request for a code...but louder this time. I was pretty impressed that the phone system seemed to intentionally raise its voice at me...but nothing can explain why the site was not in sync with the call center.

When I finally checked out out and received my Amex voucher, I visited the Hertz site. I have used Hertz.com so many times that I can fly through it pretty quickly now. (I love it, and use it exclusively for renting cars on business trips.) After you enter your itinerary there's an option to put in a voucher code...so I expected this was going to be a piece of cake. Once I entered the code, I received a nasty little red warning stating "this code cannot be redeemed online...call the 800 number." So here we go again. I went back and read the Amex voucher and it said the code could be added after the reservation is made online. So I went ahead with my usual steps and picked my car, figuring I'd call later.

But here's the biggested disconnect...

Anyone who uses Hertz knows the #1 Gold program is completely superior to any other rental car company. Make your reservation, get dropped off by the shuttle close(r) to your car, find your name and slot number on the board, get in your car and leave. It's all waiting there for you before you arrive...trunk open, keys in the ignition. There's no standing around at a counter, filling out paperwork, turning down extra insurance, debating over gas options...just get in your car and go. But what if you have a rewards voucher?

The Hertz lady was nice when I called. She added a few pieces of information to my reservation and I figured that would be it. But then she informed me I would have to go INSIDE and speak with an agent to add the voucher to my reservation, before I could get my car.

So here I am...a loyal customer of both Amex AND Hertz...and a member of both rewards programs (which you can't use unless you use them alot) and when I finally get the benefits I'm forced to take several additional steps to get what I need. Now that I'm not paying full price, I don't get the same level of service.

Makes me wonder how many people just give up...which makes me wonder why some brands bother with loyalty programs at all.