Recalls, member cards, and Privacy vs. Safety

I got an email from Hannaford today, advising me that there was a recall on hamburger. After I texted my kids to alert them, I started thinking about food safety vs. privacy for the consumer, and the policies of local markets. I also noted that I had the recalled meat in burritos last night, and took a quick mental inventory of how I felt, and concluded that other than having eaten far too much last night I had no symptoms. This may be because I always cook hamburger very thoroughly although I like my steak rare.

While Price-Chopper and Shop-Rite use a customer card system for discounts and other benefits and got my telephone number and an email address when I got the card, Hannaford doesn't, and I have no idea where they got my email address unless it came from a customer comment card. In any case they don't swipe with every sale, so I don't see how they knew I bought that meat. I suspect they notified everyone they could. Score one for being careful to let customers know, and another for not keeping a record of every purchase I make.

So the other two major chains can (and presumably do) track my shopping habits, I'm not really happy about that, but I accept the loss of privacy in return for convenience and savings. Neither market sends me advertising email, and if they tailor their coupons sent by USPS to match my shopping habits, I appreciate the effort but in many cases a waste of postage and doesn't match my shopping preferences. I know Price-Chopper has occasionally recalled products I buy, they haven't mailed me, but that doesn't disturb me either, they are respecting my choice on email.

It would probably be a good thing if retailers who track purchases were required to remind the customer once a year that tracking is being done, for as long as the consumer is reminded that he has made a choice he can match it with his privacy requirements. It's important to understand that privacy is no longer the default today, and to be aware that if privacy is important to you it will take a little effort and thought.