Mousie

I hear what your saying but all the "could go wrongs etc." are not the responsibility
of the other shoppers that play by the rules. It's certainly not a shopper's fault if
finding the card takes a little extra time. They invented them and gave them out.
They really should have enforced the "full card reimbursement" rule, but never
charge for a card that you have to work to fill. No way, uh-uh...would be my last
time too.
I like to be loyal, but that road runs both ways.

BETTY62

What a scam. Why would anyone want to shop at a fabric store that charged you to do business with them? They should have just put a disclaimer on a free card saying that multiple punch cards could not be combined.

ktbb

Agree with this - how many of us forget a card and ask for a new one and end up having several partially filled one - they cost the store money and by having us pay the 1 or 1.5 dollars for one, we're more apt to remember where that one is. Our store gives us the next one free when we redeem a full one so we only have to pay when or if we get a grand new one without having a previous one to turn in/redeem. as far not allowing combining of cards, again - that can be costly for the store. These local stores are struggling to get by in this economy as it is, a dollar or 1.5 our of my pocket is not too much to pay if I can get back 25$. If paying for a card is not your thing, that's OK, but please remember to support your local shop instead of doing all purchases through the internet.

1Nanoo

As my mother would have said, "That is just tacky."

Alice PD

I guess it isn't any different than a store saying "join this special program for X $ amount and that will qualify you for savings in the future" I have been there...done that...and sometimes it has paid for me to pay up front for a discount, and sometimes (most times) it has not. I prefer to pay as I go.

Sheri.a

If I like the store and expect to get more than I give, I go for the cost of their program. I do it with Amazon Prime (I get free shipping and movies to watch), a dress shops (I pay $25 and get 10% savings for a year) and an online shop (I pay $25 get shipping for $2 and free return shipping). It's the way they make their business work......

Valeriekat

Come on... they are printed often on little bits of colored card so their cost is minimal. Their investment is in the stamps they use. My LQS is great with their loyalty cards and make us feel special for having them.

Mousie

I agree if they had a disclaimer as some of my other business cards do, but
why is it such a big deal if you do have multiple cards that total the number
they are looking for?
Even if they are afraid that a friend gave you their card, so what?
Somebody did make purchases to get those punches.
It creates an "us against them" atmosphere, all this pickyness.
I loaded up over the top on fabric etc. before my dh became retired.
Sometimes I feel a bit guilty having so much but I can choose not to
shop at all if I want.
I want to be appreciated. Betty you said it well.

PamelaOry

This is how the shop owner presented it, as an incentive to help customers take responsibility however, later we discovered that they had also charged my mom for her new punch card but didn’t say anything to her about the charge. She would never had known had I not mentioned it. To me it just feels petty and a bit short sighted as it’s encouraged me to shop at other stores even though this one is only about 2 minutes from my house.

bakermom

That's just wrong! I have a couple cards from different businesses, multiples of one. They ave no problem combining cards. In fact they will punch mine then watch me hand it to DD and punch it again for her purchase(she doesn't live close enough to shop there often)
now they do have a minimum to punch it,$5 at one place, $10 at another.
It's incentive to return, not create ill-will.