Security Alert!
Leanne and I were at L.L. Bean’s flagship store in Freeport, ME earlier this evening. Gift certificate (a Christmas present) in hand, we wandered the store set out to buy a pair of jeans (for her) and a jacket (for me). By the end of our shopping trip, a few more items had found their way into our tote bag. Funny how that happens. 
We spot an open register and head on over. I empty our tote bag onto the counter and the cashier proceeds to ring everything up. Leanne hands the cashier the gift certificate (which would end up covering about 25% of our spree) and then things get interesting.
The cashier asks, “May I have your phone number?”
“No,” says Leanne, rather politely.
“Well, we need your information in order to redeem the gift certificate.”
“Why do you need my phone number?”
“It’s for security reasons. Don’t worry, we won’t sell your number or anything.”
Ummm… for SECURITY REASONS?? WHAT!?! This made no sense. After some back and forth a few more times, the cashier explained that we could just “make up a number” – which struck me as quite odd given the highened security surrounding this transaction. So, Leanne gave her parent’s number, I paid the balance, and we were on our way. I was surprised they didn’t run a background check!
It was bad enough when Radio Shack asked for your phone number when buying simple things like batteries… but to claim it is for security reasons is absolutely absurd. Even if the gift certificate were reported stolen by the original purchaser, how would they track down the person who redeemed it (especially since the cashier suggested we make up a number)??
I hear retina scanners will be installed next week…