Yeah the title is a bit of an exaggeration of my feelings and as you mentioned, I was a bit anxious too since I have been abroad for quite a long time (and encountered something I did not expect in what I thought was an environment that could not surprise me).
Agreed, it could very well be that I was the first customer to question since the cashier started working there.
Thanks for the uplifting comment!
Thanks for the input! This kinda answered a question that popped into my mind: do the employees get bonuses for registrations.
And exactly, it felt too intentional to leave out the question, didn't feel "natural" the way the phone number topic came up.
I know we are constantly being harvested for every little bit of data online, but it creeps me out when I encounter information "harvesting" by just talking to a store clerk.
Nice of them to atleast offer an alternative!
Appreciate people like you!
You made me question myself now, was I being unreasonable?
Didn't even think that the clerk might have been just trying to help me out, I felt like this was a smart sales & marketing psychological trick to give up and go the way of least resistance to get me to sign up (obviously not by the clerk directly, but as part of their training on how to deal with customers).
But either way, thankfully I was polite and nice about it. I might have become too cynical about everything regarding my private info in the last few years.
Sadly enough that several stores in this country started doing the same until enough privacy aware people noticed and made a fuss about it.
Yeah at no point was I mad at the clerk and didn't show it at all that I was boiling inside, because its just their job and they have no say in it.
Haven't tried to say I don't have a number or come up with a fake number, but read this in the thread earlier and will probably give it a try next time!
When I was younger and lived at home we had "family accounts". When I went to a store I picked up the "family card" and used that. So similar experience!
Now I know! I was positively surprised when they didn't ask the follow-up question, but I see now they have been trained to not ask it at all.
Damn, should've tried that! Thanks for the tip!
I can imagine that the tactic used on me works - same as making the hide/close/disagree button small. Dark Patterns in real life.
Very good point, it seems to be the most popular advice in this thread and will try this next time!