Dunnes not accepting clubcards stored electronically on the phone.

guza81

Hi, I hate having too many cards in my wallet, I don't like those small cards you can attach to your keys. 
I downloaded an android app called Stocard, that you can store all your clubcards. It stores the clubcard number and displays a barcode if needed.
Yesterday I asked a person on the till in Dunnes if he can scan it from my phone or just get the number from there if unable to scan.
I was told they don't accept it! only physical clubcards!
I was with the child and didn't have much time anyway, otherwise would try to find out from the manager, as nobody that was around knew the reason.

Does anybody know what id the reason for that? We live in times where you can pay with your phone, but can't store your clubcard there?
Thanks.

Doodah7

Their scheme, their rules!!! If carrying the card is such a hardship, leave it at home!!

Victor

guza81 wrote: »

We live in times where you can pay with your phone

In Irish supermarkets?

beechwood55

Victor wrote: »

In Irish supermarkets?

Yes. I have ApplePay on my phone and regularly use it in Tesco and other independent supermarkets. Mind you I have not tried to use it in Dunnes.

ArthurG

Possibly due to the new coverall excuse that's slowly replacing 'health and safety' as a way to get out of everything...... 'data protection'.

Xterminator

Erm did you try using a pic at the self service till ?

Mr.H

I hate that attitude of "I don't like what the person at the till is telling me so just get a manager".

I mean come on. If they are telling you something just accept it. It's fair enough. Those apps are third party apps that have nothing to do with the companies such as Dunnes. As someone said above, if you think buts hassle then leave your card at home.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Another first world problem. If carrying a card is such hassle then don't bother with it but don't complain that they won't play by your rules. I must photocopy my card and give it to all my family and friends to use when they're next in Dunnes.

Wildcard7

Mr.H wrote: »

I hate that attitude of "I don't like what the person at the till is telling me so just get a manager".

The OP didn't want a manager to complain to, but to find out what could possibly be the reason for this ridiculous policy.

Mr.H wrote: »

I mean come on. If they are telling you something just accept it. It's fair enough. Those apps are third party apps that have nothing to do with the companies such as Dunnes.

It's a 2d barcode that contains a number. That's all. It's not magic. It's nothing but a black and white picture with a number encoded. It doesn't matter whether this barcode is on a little card, or on your phone screen. If you're accurate enough you can even draw it on a piece of paper. Or you can read the number that the 2d barcode represents to the cashier and he keys it in manually. It's the same bloody thing. Instead of using the evil third party app you could just use your phones camera to take a picture of the original card, and have the reader scan that picture off the phone.

Get a grip. It's a 2d barcode containing a number, the media through which you supply it to Dunnes really shouldn't matter.

Of course Dunnes has every right to inconvenience their customers, just as customers have every right to complain about Dunnes if they're being inconvenienced for no reason at all.

Alun

Victor wrote: »

In Irish supermarkets?

Welcome to the 21st century. What cave have you been living in?

Mr.H

Wildcard7 wrote:

Get a grip. It's a 2d barcode containing a number, the media through which you supply it to Dunnes really shouldn't matter.

It is also possible to mod your card app to add additional points to your card.

Since it is a third party app (and yes it's a third party app), Dunnes have no control over the app and can't ensure it is not tampered with.

Firstly the modding issue would he a concern. Then the is the issue of how this data is stored. Again Dunnes have no control of this. If a customers details where accessed from this app then is Dunnes liable orchestra app maker who claims it bus just taking a picture of the card even though nobody should even see your card jumpers as they are privileged data.

Then of course there is the issue with tills not being able to always scan from the phone. Some tills swipe cards rather than scan for example. Whole other tills just don't recognize the bar code. This is hassle for companies.

Why should Dunnes or any company honour an app when they have given you the means to use your card, by providing you a card and possible key tag also.

Dunnes are not the issue.

Customers with the attitude of the op who feel entitled are.

guza81

Wildcard7 wrote: »

The OP didn't want a manager to complain to, but to find out what could possibly be the reason for this ridiculous policy.



It's a 2d barcode that contains a number. That's all. It's not magic. It's nothing but a black and white picture with a number encoded. It doesn't matter whether this barcode is on a little card, or on your phone screen. If you're accurate enough you can even draw it on a piece of paper. Or you can read the number that the 2d barcode represents to the cashier and he keys it in manually. It's the same bloody thing. Instead of using the evil third party app you could just use your phones camera to take a picture of the original card, and have the reader scan that picture off the phone.

Get a grip. It's a 2d barcode containing a number, the media through which you supply it to Dunnes really shouldn't matter.

Of course Dunnes has every right to inconvenience their customers, just as customers have every right to complain about Dunnes if they're being inconvenienced for no reason at all.

Thanks.
That's exactly what I think.
Not sure what the other people are talking about, hacking the app? It only stores the number. Plain number.

And yes you're right, didn't want to complain to manager, just wanted to ask what is the reason they can't do it, out of curiosity. Because I do see it as big advantage of you could.

And I do respect their policy, they probably have a reason for that, I just wanted to know what is it.

guza81

Mr.H wrote: »

It is also possible to mod your card app to add additional points to your card.

Since it is a third party app (and yes it's a third party app), Dunnes have no control over the app and can't ensure it is not tampered with.

Firstly the modding issue would he a concern. Then the is the issue of how this data is stored. Again Dunnes have no control of this. If a customers details where accessed from this app then is Dunnes liable orchestra app maker who claims it bus just taking a picture of the card even though nobody should even see your card jumpers as they are privileged data.

Then of course there is the issue with tills not being able to always scan from the phone. Some tills swipe cards rather than scan for example. Whole other tills just don't recognize the bar code. This is hassle for companies.

Why should Dunnes or any company honour an app when they have given you the means to use your card, by providing you a card and possible key tag also.

Dunnes are not the issue.

Customers with the attitude of the op who feel entitled are.

I'm sorry, but I don't think you know what you're talking about.

Wildcard7

Mr.H wrote: »

Firstly the modding issue would he a concern. Then the is the issue of how this data is stored. Again Dunnes have no control of this. If a customers details where accessed from this app

What?

The only data that these apps store is the number of the loyalty card. They don't allow anyone to access your Dunnes account (if there is such a thing). That app does nothing that a photocopy of your loyalty card doesn't do. There is no customer data stored in that app, just as there is no customer data stored on your loyalty card (it's a piece of paper with a barcode).

Seriously it's JUST a customer number, represented as a 2d or 1d barcode.

guza81

Doodah7 wrote: »

Their scheme, their rules!!! If carrying the card is such a hardship, leave it at home!!

I think you got me wrong, I'm not complaining here. Didn't want to complain to manager just politely ask what stops them moving towards technology.

Fortunately most of the businesses have a better attitude towards the customers than you. At the end of the day it's customers they make money off.

TheChizler

Dunnes in my experience have no problem scanning the 1D barcode if you've it stored on your phone, it's the 2D (similar to QR code) one they can't scan on the till, even though it's on the loyalty card. If you're using the loyalty card feature in Android Pay or whatever app it's the 1D one you need to use.

GhostyMcGhost

Mr.H wrote: »

It is also possible to mod your card app to add additional points to your card.

No it's not

It's literally a barcode. I use it myself years now and never had any issues and where I couldn't scan its always typed,. Mostly use self service and its easy to do it myself (item does not scan - > enter number)

Farmer Bob

guza81 wrote: »

...Does anybody know what id the reason for that? We live in times where you can pay with your phone, but can't store your clubcard there?
Thanks.

Presumably they don't want a bunch of people potentially sharing a single club card in order to rack up discount vouchers, or screwing with their analysis of purchases.

As an aside, I used Stocard myself for a while but found it to be hit and miss - mainly because a lot of scanners can't read the barcode off the phone screen

guza81

TheChizler wrote: »

Dunnes in my experience have no problem scanning the 1D barcode if you've it stored on your phone, it's the 2D (similar to QR code) one they can't scan on the till, even though it's on the loyalty card. If you're using the loyalty card feature in Android Pay or whatever app it's the 1D one you need to use.

No this is 1D , the most basic barcode they refused to scan. It's not that they technically can't, they we're told not to. A man at the till said he's done it before and it worked but they are now not allowed to do it. He wouldn't even take number from it.
Then he proceeded to take my number from the previous 10 off 50 voucher I had and that was ok.

guza81

Farmer Bob wrote: »

Presumably they don't want a bunch of people potentially sharing a single club card in order to rack up discount vouchers, or screwing with their analysis of purchases.

As an aside, I used Stocard myself for a while but found it to be hit and miss - mainly because a lot of scanners can't read the barcode off the phone screen

Now, finally, this is the only reason I could possibly think of. As they only send you what? 2 or 3 copies of the club card. Big one and two key fobs or something, not sure.

papu

guza81 wrote: »

Thanks.
That's exactly what I think.
Not sure what the other people are talking about, hacking the app? It only stores the number. Plain number.

And yes you're right, didn't want to complain to manager, just wanted to ask what is the reason they can't do it, out of curiosity. Because I do see it as big advantage of you could.

And I do respect their policy, they probably have a reason for that, I just wanted to know what is it.

The app could easily manipulate the barcode to go to another club card, if the developer gets 20k people using the app and one day switches to their own account, how many points will they amass before anyone notices? And will dunnes be put under pressure to reverse this / give points back. It's a logistical nightmare, they don't have to support 3rd party apps, come up with another creative solution to bring your card, or ask dunnes to commission their own app.

Farmer Bob

guza81 wrote: »

Does anybody know what id the reason for that? We live in times where you can pay with your phone, but can't store your clubcard there?
Thanks.

I just wondered something else: does your Dunnes have self-service tills, and if they do are you able to use Stocard on them?

papu wrote: »

The app could easily manipulate the barcode to go to another club card, if the developer gets 20k people using the app and one day switches to their own account, how many points will they amass before anyone notices?

That's tinfoil hat kinda stuff there, and unlikely in the extreme...

Alun

papu wrote: »

The app could easily manipulate the barcode to go to another club card, if the developer gets 20k people using the app and one day switches to their own account, how many points will they amass before anyone notices? And will dunnes be put under pressure to reverse this / give points back. It's a logistical nightmare, they don't have to support 3rd party apps, come up with another creative solution to bring your card, or ask dunnes to commission their own app.

Ah yes, I see, an international gang of sophisticated cybercriminals making their fortune by amassing Dunnes Club card points. I can see them now trotting up to their local Dunnes in Kiev with the 100 million Club Card point vouchers they've had mailed to them, ready to exchange them for food and soft furnishings no questions asked.

guza81

papu wrote: »

The app could easily manipulate the barcode to go to another club card, if the developer gets 20k people using the app and one day switches to their own account, how many points will they amass before anyone notices? And will dunnes be put under pressure to reverse this / give points back. It's a logistical nightmare, they don't have to support 3rd party apps, come up with another creative solution to bring your card, or ask dunnes to commission their own app.

Never thought about this, this is spot on, previous person talking about hacking the account made me smile a little because this is nothing too do with your Dunnes account, as we said it's just a number, but he was half right talking about third party apps. Even if we know that the app only stores the number locally Dunnes can't keep track of all the apps in the play store.

Kind of understand it now.

It would be nice if they (and other stores) would come up with something, for people that don't like to carry large wallets with them.

dr.fuzzenstein

guza81 wrote: »

Never thought about this, this is spot on, previous person talking about hacking the account made me smile a little because this is nothing too do with your Dunnes account, as we said it's just a number, but he was half right talking about third party apps. Even if we know that the app only stores the number locally Dunnes can't keep track of all the apps in the play store.

Kind of understand it now.

It would be nice if they (and other stores) would come up with something, for people that don't like to carry large wallets with them.

I don't think international crime syndicates are in the process of hacking the Dunnes system in order to rack up 2 bazillion points that then can be exchanged for Denny rashers and some cheese.

As was pointed out before, go to self-service till, it will scan the barcode of anything, Theoretically you could get a tattoo of it on any piece of anatomy you desire, you then wave this piece of anatomy in front of the scanner and it will go Bip! and thank you very much.
I would also guess that if you go to 10 different cashiers, 9 won't care if it's on an app.
Maybe Dunnes should develop their own app? I bet it will take 10 years and cost €5 million...

I would have absolutely no qualms about getting a few extra points, I think the savings are in the order of a fraction of 1%, it is absolutely miniscule and certainly not worth the hassle.
In the end I found it still works out cheaper to go to Aldi or Lidl where they don't bother with this nonsense to fool people into thinking they're getting something in return.
The "reward" system is used for one thing and one thing only, gathering information on the buying habits of their customers and for that you get thrown a few coupons for stuff no one every buys that they want to get shot off and a saving of less than 1%.
I'd ask myself, is it worth it? All these reward schemes are a fraud and what you get out of them is next to nothing. You're financially better off to go to a discounter and not having the additional hassle and papwerork. It's all dazzle and nothing more.

dudara

I use this exact same app also, and I’ve never encountered this problem, even at Dunnes. The till operators at Dunnes either scan the barcode from the app or they manually key it in.

The only time I’ve ever had any trouble was when I asked if I could redeem my Boots points and they said that they would want to see the physical card for redemption. Fair enough, except that the physical card is long gone.

In general, it’s a very handy app and saves me having to carry numerous loyalty cards. I use it at Tesco, SuperValu, Dunnes, Boots, House of Fraser, Butlers, Brown Thomas, Subway etc. it’s essneitally the equivalent of writing down all your membership numbers on a piece of paper, only in the app you add in pictures of the card etc.

guza81

dudara wrote: »

I use this exact same app also, and I’ve never encountered this problem, even at Dunnes. The till operators at Dunnes either scan the barcode from the app or they manually key it in.

The only time I’ve ever had any trouble was when I asked if I could redeem my Boots points and they said that they would want to see the physical card for redemption. Fair enough, except that the physical card is long gone.

In general, it’s a very handy app and saves me having to carry numerous loyalty cards. I use it at Tesco, SuperValu, Dunnes, Boots, House of Fraser, Butlers, Brown Thomas etc

That's weird, so it looks like it's not a dunnes policy in general but certain shops. This is strange.
Yes it is handy app, if I could use it.
Good to know there's others or there that like to simplify life. The first few answers here were nearly "if you can't carry your club card, die!!"

Hotblack Desiato

Charles Babbage wrote: »

This rant is ridiculous and seems to be based on fantasy.

There is no barcode on a Dunnes loyalty card, the number is stored in a magnetic stripe. What use is a photo of a magnetic stripe?

Ooh, big font and all. You're still completely wrong though. Dunnes cards have not had a magnetic strip for many years.

Farmer Bob

Charles Babbage wrote: »

This rant is ridiculous and seems to be based on fantasy.

There is no barcode on a Dunnes loyalty card, the number is stored in a magnetic stripe. What use is a photo of a magnetic stripe?

This is what a barcode on the back of a Dunnes loyalty card looks like:

Farmer Bob

Charles Babbage wrote:

This rant is ridiculous and seems to be based on fantasy.

There is no barcode on my Dunnes loyalty card, the number is stored in a magnetic stripe. What use is a photo of a magnetic stripe?

Are there newer cards with such a barcode?

You know there are. You changed your post after I replied to you with a picture of one.

Hotblack Desiato

Farmer Bob wrote: »

You know there are. You changed your post after I replied to you with a picture of one.

Careful, we can copy that barcode and all start earning points for you now :P