Lining up for expensive Gas...give me a break!

My tank was nearing empty today, so I had to go and get gas. Lo and behold, people were jockeying to get to the pumps for regular gas priced at $1.29. Yes, we have now been conditioned to believe that gas just below $1.30 is a deal.

Instead of going out and protesting and questioning these ridiculous prices many almost bow down to the gas gods and are thrilled that they are asking for a few cents less on a truly exhorbitant rate. Because let's face it....the oil companies aren't suffering a profit downturn.

I remember gas being $ .30 a gallon -- yes a gallon and that was only a mere 30 years ago. And yes other prices have gone up and all that stuff, but from approximately $ .07 to $1.30?

We have had OPEC reductions and all that jazz, but we have never seen it at this level with no crisis in site. It is being driven up by speculators and let's face it....the gas we put in our cars is the least of our worries, because this whole thing is going to start fueling inflation as everything starts going up in price -- yes everything because somehow it all needs to be manufactured and transported to you and that uses oil/gas. Not only that but many products have oil derivatives as part of their constitution.

Oh and by the way...wasn't the invasion of Iraq make oil more available and drive down the prices?


But we sit idly by as sheep to the slaughter. We need Chicken Little, because the sky is actually falling, but most are too busy with their forehead scrapping the tarmac to notice!

Making something difficult -- Loyalty Points Cards

Sometimes you have to wonder whether the folk who come up with the so-called "new & improved" actually ever set foot into a store. Marketing guru's hear my plea -- simple is often times better -- don't just jump on the bandwagon!

My rant today is about the "latest" innovation for Carlton Cards. I like greeting cards -- I send them often for no other reason that the card reminded me of someone and off it goes...who cares if it is yet their birthday -- so I'm early or late -- depends on whether you are a glass half full or empty type of person.

Recently I went in to Carlton Cards to buy a few greeting cards. When I went in a month ago I actually got a free card -- you know they had this simple system where they gave you this little cardboard business card type loyalty card that got stamped each time you bought a card and then after buying ten cards you got one free. As I had redeemed my "free" card last time, I eagerly anticipated getting a new one -- to start collecting again. But, alas when I got to the counter life wasn't that simple anymore.

You see, the muckety-mucks at Carlton had decided that -- get this -- for your benefit-- you would now have to fill in a form to get a plastic points card! And not only that -- to be able to redeem anything -- or get coupons or whatever -- you'd have to go to their website to do so. Of course it would be necessary to give your email information, so that they could send you useless sales/marketing dribble that you don't want or need! So I left the store, having bought 3 cards -- but I did not fill out the form necessary to get this points card -- which for my loyalty to the store they now were going to make me work to get a reward.

How stupid is that -- when I simply would have had this little folding card in my wallet -- where I would have earned almost 30% towards my "free" card, I was asked to find room in my already overstuffed wallet for another points card for greeting cards and then on top of that I had to not go into the store but onto a website to make a redemption????

Quite honestly -- I am sick and tired of points cards -- every store, selling every which way type of product/service, is now giving you points -- but you need to carry about a zillion of these in your wallet at any given time because you never know when you actually might go into a particular store to make a buy. Enough already -- and by the way -- is making these little plastic cards really environmentally friendly??

So I guess I'll go to another store to buy my greeting cards -- Hallmark still has the simple stamp process -- please executives at Hallmark -- don't change your process -- you may actually be giving away a competitive advantage!