Loyalty rewards

....funny how a trip down memory lane can be triggered by an unlikely source.

I had a spreading knife in my hand yesterday that I've had and have used for many, many years. Stainless steel, Made in Japan.

And I thought, "Where did I get this useful tool from?"

I am not sure of the answer, but I think I might have got it through Betty Crocker coupon points.

These coupon points were on General Mills products much the same as Box Tops for Education are today.

The more expensive the product, the more points the coupon would be worth.  

I was a Betty Crocker point saver and redeemer for many years.  This was back in the 1970's before home computers, online shopping, Amazon, ebay, and Etsy opened the world of products for consumers to buy with a quick click.  The points I saved could get me discounts on bakeware, flatware, cookware, kitchen tools, dishes, or cookbooks.  But what I liked most was finding unusual, useful items through the Betty Crocker catalog that wouldn't be on the shelves at Gemco, JCPenney's or Service Merchandise.  I stopped saving those little pieces of cardboard points back in the 1980's, although The Betty Crocker Catalog didn't close until December 2006.

Before Betty Crocker points I saved Blue Chip stamps and before that S & H Green Stamps.
Both of these rewards were given as a bonus to shoppers based on the dollar amount of the purchase, i.e., one stamp per 10 cents (wow, my keyboard doesn't even have a cent sign!) or a larger stamp given for dollar amounts.  1 large equaled 10 smalls. You would receive the stamps at the check out counter of supermarkets, department stores, and gas stations that offered the stamp incentive to shop at their store.  The stamps were perforated and gummed.  You would lick, or otherwise moisten them, and stick them into empty books, given out free.   Filled books were exchanged for merchandise at redemption stores.

These reward programs were most popular during the mid-1960's.  This was perfect timing for me, as I used my filled books to "buy" wedding gifts for my many friends, who were getting married at the time.  There was Corning Ware, t.v. trays, glassware, blankets, pot and pans and such to be had, for just a little of my time and spittle. I received a bridal shower gift, myself, of enough stamp books to "purchase" two pieces of luggage for our honeymoon.

The recessions of the 1970's decreased sales of these stamps.  Blue Chip Stamps wisely diversified in 1972 buying the controlling interest in See's Candy Shops and later acquiring 100% interest in See's.  People are still buying chocolate, but Blue Chips Stamps are a thing of the past.  I wonder how many books of stamps Mary got for her candy shops?

S & H Green Stamps was one the the first retail loyalty programs.  Their rewards catalog was the largest publication in the U.S. during the 1960's. Now green points replace green stamps for online purchases.
S & H Green Stamp books can be traded in for greenpoints to this day.  I mention this in case you are at an estate sale and there is a huge stack of filled S & H Green Stamp books...it MIGHT be worth the hassle of converting them, but I doubt it.

Loyalty programs now aim at requiring less customer time and  lower operational costs.  I have a nice collection of "reward" cards.  I punched a hole in the corner of each of them, so I could put them all on a binder ring for organizational purposes. They are more trouble than they are worth. Other than my Armstrong Garden Center bonus, I never see any worthwhile rewards.  I'm close to lightening the weight of my purse by pitching them all...except my Armstrong card, of course.

Nowadays the reward I want to see is a product worth what I pay for it, that doesn't have to be returned for some reason, and that is Made in the USA.  Oh, the free sample at See's is a good reward.  Thank you Blue Chip Stamps for that sweet deal.  I like it much better than licking stamps.

t.t.f.n. ~ Carol