"Collect points here.......em no!"

I am a lover of loyalty cards and sign up to just about any store scheme promising me something for nothing. I,like many others figure if I have to spend time and money battling a supermarket it seems only fair that I should be rewarded with vouchers and offers. One loyalty card in particular has on more than one occasion provided me with fake tan between paydays and even rewarded me for shopping elsewhere provided I go through their e-shop. Whilst you can redeem points in many places it doesn't mean you can necessarily redeem them there, strange I know. So one weekend I found myself working in one such store. I had been sent all the materials and there was a shiny stand positioned by the door for me to corner people on arrival to sign up for the card. I had a daily target of sign ups to achieve in order to make the pittance salary less of an insult. I started the day enthusiastically but an hour in I realised the many faults in the assignment. Firstly the scheme was far from new and as a result the main thrust of target audience already had a card, then there was overcoming people's belief that any smiley blonde at a pop up stand brandishing plastic was likely trying to sign you up to a high interest credit card and finally the main flaw the company had failed to spot. Whilst you could redeem points within the store in which I stood you couldn't collect them. As I explained this for the umpteenth time I grew weary. " yes it would be good if you could get the points on purchase of your trampoline." " I know you would have got a lot of points for your £2000 worth of garden furniture" " I don't know why they don't allow you to collect points,it's just the way the scheme works" and so on. For the most part I could see their point. If you are going to sign up for a loyalty scheme in store it's likely because you are going to get some sort of instant gain. The day dragged on. I checked with staff if they had a card,most did the remainder didn't shop at said supermarket and many were too young to even sign up. I picked on the most vunerable looking shoppers, the type who just want someone to talk to and those who I was sure I could sweet talk or get a pity sign up from. Needless to say that on a hot day people just wanted to get their new BBQ fired up or their swing set assembled! I had a lucky break when a group of people I knew came in, we did the 'catch up' before practically begging them all to fill in the form. Thank god for their garden furniture shortfall! As finishing time/freedom approached I filled in the paperwork, complete with feedback. My sign ups reached a respectable level, although short of an overly ambitious target( likely intended to avoid paying bonuses) they didn't find my feedback helpful suggesting that I should have emphasised that a year of collecting points would result in great savings redeeming points on similar purchases next year!! If only the world all worked with such forward planning! It was no surprise to me that a friend completing the same job in the supermarket the scheme originated from had a lot more success, although strangely enough she failed to receive a bonus either due to the card remaining inactive in the following month! Groan. You would think I would learn!