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**What Happened:** This Valentine’s Day, Dave thought he’d impress his girlfriend, Lisa, by going all out. Instead of the usual flowers and chocolates, he shocked her with a heart-shaped package of rib-eye steaks. Lisa, a vegetarian who had long accepted Dave’s questionable culinary choices, was left speechless as he explained how “beef is the best way to her heart.” He was so proud of his creativity, beaming as if he’d just pulled off the culinary equivalent of a magic trick.
**Why It’s Funny:** Lisa couldn’t help but laugh through her disbelief, envisioning Dave serenading her with a barbecue grill as the backdrop. The absurdity of the situation struck her – how many other couples were sharing dinner reservations at fancy restaurants, while she was staring at a meat package that looked like a rejected Valentine from a butcher? At that moment, she realized that with a guy like Dave, love was definitely not just a box of chocolates; sometimes, it was a package of steak that probably belonged in a confessional rather than a date night.
S
I don’t love that non-member price
M
it’s free to be a member btw
J
Makes one wonder how much your data is worth to corporations.
L
These kinda membership things at grocery stores have been going on forever, well before every corporation was trying to milk every tiny piece of data on every customer. I think the original idea was having the memberships would encourage you to shop at their stores and make people feel like they’re “in” on something exclusive.
S
Its that exactly. Its why Publix doesnt (didnt at least, I cant keep track any longer) have any kind of membership thing. “Our prices are already low, heres a coupon instead” was why I tried to shop there. Alas, Publix eludes my tax bracket these days except the buy 1 get 1 free deals
A
Publix caved. My whole family just uses our childhood landline number that doesn’t even work anymore.
A
Ya, my wife and I use her house phone number from when we were in high school
C
I look forward to my free birthday cake every year from Publix. 100% worth whatever nefarious things they’ve done with my data.
J
Do people really think the phone number is that data they want?
B
> well before every corporation was trying to milk every tiny piece of data on every customer. Corporations have pretty much always been trying to milk “every tiny piece of data on every customer”. It’s absurd to pretend that is some sort of recent development. Loyalty programs and memberships started with “fake” currency for the retailer. Things like coins, then stamps and in some cases (eg. Canadian Tire) “banknotes”. These were arguably about encouraging you to make repeat visits. But then companies started to introduce memberships and “cards”. This was done *specifically* because it allowed retailers to specifically track your purchases, because they would be attached to your membership. Combined with the information you provided to receive said membership, and combined with all the other customers signing up, this gave incredibly valuable marketing data. In addition to using the data themselves, they would usually sell the data they collected to marketing companies, who bought up data from all sorts of these sorts of retailers and then would compile all of it into a bunch of marketing information, separated by demographic, sex, age, race, etc. And then they would sell companies their “Marketing insights”.
L
You don’t think there’s any difference in how aggressive companies are at acquiring every piece of information in 2026 compared to 1985? 1975? 1965?
B
Yes, I think there is a difference. I never stated otherwise. Advances in technology (and utilizing apps which add even more tracking) have also added additional tools for companies to milk as much data out of every customer. My entire point is that there was no “before every corporation was trying to milk every tiny piece of data on every customer”. The only thing that changed over time is how they tried to accomplish that goal and what tools they used to do it.
F
That’s why when you fill out the form, you use the competitor’s address. You’ll use your own phone number normally but they won’t send anything to your house. 🤣🤣
H
Grocers are masters at data analysis. They know that if TP is on sale you’re grabbing a cart and not a basket, meaning they’ll make money back elsewhere. Roast chicken dinners as a loss-leader means you’re shopping hungry.
L
They will love my frequent purchases on steak, cucumbers and lube.
S
You are directly fueling what is being bought at these stores and tracking spending habits. They know what you want cause you’re buying it!
P
The non member price isn’t the real price if the membership is free. It’s an inflated bs price most people never pay simply to incentivise usage of the membership program. Competition is also pricing close to the lower price. If the whole market is at that price and that’s what everyone pays it’s the normal price. But I guess you’re screwed if you don’t give them your data. Just stop thinking you got a good deal at least.
D
It’s really not that simplistic. It’s a lot more cunning than that. If every price was just inflated then it would be obvious. Not everything has a membership discount. Some things are genuinely cheaper via the ‘membership price’ and if you know that for something you would buy regularly, you don’t look too much harder and compare something else’s membership sticker price to see if its actually cheaper than elsewhere. Then there’s loss leaders, stick something on cheap to bring people in to buy it and make the money elsewhere as most people will buy other stuff once they’re in the door.
T
You give any merchant your data every time you pay for something without using cash.
S
Oh no, the grocery store has my old out of state phone number that I haven’t used in 10 years! Whatever will I do!?
R
More about consumer habits then phone numbers
O
Y’all need to join Club Jenny: (local area code) 867-5309. It has never failed. Tommy Tutone fans are everywhere. Can’t imagine what that dataset looks like.
J
Fwiw the phone number is fairly meaningless in the data set they want.
C
Even if you’re not a member they’ll usually just punch in a store code and get you the savings. At some grocery stores, not everywhere.
R
The steak is free too if you’re brave enough.
A
What else do you think the front of your pants is for if not stuffing meat down?
A
Just check that they don’t have alarm sensors on the bottom.
M
It’s not free when they can start charging you a different amount at checkout based on your shopping history. [“We Uncovered the Scheme Keeping Grocery Prices High “](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=odhVF_xLIQA&pp=ygUlZGlmZmVyZW50IHByaWNlcyBhdCB0aGUgZ3JvY2VyeSBzdG9yZQ%3D%3D)
M
Safeway. They are the worst with that.
T
The member price is the actual market price. Their “non member” price is there to trick you into thinking you’re getting a deal for being loyal.
E
*YIKES!*
P
but two ribeyes for $26 is not bad, and by the look of the label it’s a Safeway so you should be getting those points anyway
B
Eek yeah that’s steep for a steak I’m cooking myself. Also I know nothing about meat processing but…. That’s gotta be two steaks, right? Like I’m zooming in to see the divide between them but… I’m also not seeing it? Are ribeyes heart shaped by default and we just cut em in half for (non-Valentine’s) packaging?
S
Nah, it’s two. Ribeye are already kind of half heart shaped. Looks like the fat at the tops intermingling a bit. You can see the split at the bottom though.
B
Okay good lmao like I’ve even cooked ribeyes at waffle house once upon a time but they all came pre-packaged, having not seen that divide in the image I was like “What abomination of a cow made this ribeye?? Unless I’ve assumed a lot about meat processing…”
F
Actually that’s not, that’s Safeway. They are unionized, their prices are always going to be higher. However I have seen quite a bit difference in quality compared to winco.
R
True this. I have a choice between a winco and safeway… ill get all my meat at safeway, but everything else at WinCo (unless its on a good sale). 🤣 Winco beef is prepack i believe like Walmart, but they still employ union butchers at safeway.
L
I don’t think Safeway is fully unionized but the meat cutters are. Not sure how that happened but that’s my understanding.
P
That because you have no heart… shaped steak.
I
That is extortionate. The member price is about what choice rib-eyes go for at my local store. The big chains are terrible.
U
Dude Safeway is double priced on everything. Trash grocer.
H
They have to mark way it up so they can mark it down a little and people think it’s a deal. Aka the Kolhs business model.
L
But Trump said grocery prices are coming down.
B
A meat heart for my sweetheart
G
yay, somebody’s funny!
D
This is for March 14.
T
I will not get either on that day. I can’t even take myself to my local Wetherspoons for a Steak, they don’t seem to serve it any more.
B
…Pi day? Why?
P
You don’t make a ribpi?
U
Some cultures have 3/14 as White Day which is basically reverse Valentine’s day
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