Thursday, August 02, 2007

At Big Bazaar

We generally visit Reliance fresh store for our vegetable shopping. They have given us a 'Reliance card'. Every time we shop at Reliance store, points get accumulated which can be redeemed later.
One day I happened to visit Big Bazaar, and was looking for some toys for my kid. One gentleman wearing a Big Bazaar uniform approached me and asked me if I needed a Big Bazaar card. I was not very keen but he kept asking. So, I asked him, how I would benefit. He told me that every time I shopped at Big Bazaar, I would be accumulating points which could be redeemed later. I was wondering how it was different from a reliance card. He told me that every month, I could just walk in to any Big Bazaar store and pick up 1 kg of sugar free. This got me interested. So, I thought, why not try it as I wouldn't be losing anything. I asked him what I had to do. He presented me with a form and asked me to sign it and give my visiting card and he would fill up the rest. I did so, without even reading the form (what a moron I was). The guy was courteous and told me that the card would be mailed to me and walked away thanking me. I totally forgot about it.
After a couple of days, I started getting cards from ICICI executives asking me if I had applied for a credit card. I answered them in negative. I got a couple of more calls regarding the same which made me think. I then realized, what could have happened. By signing for a Big Bazaar card, I had actually signed up for a ICICI credit card. The ICICI executives confirmed my thoughts.
I had made a fool of myself by not realizing that it could be a credit card and not a card like reliance card. I can't blame the Big Bazaar totally, but they sure did hide facts from me. Never did that person tell me that I was applying for a credit card. He kept repeating that it was a Big Bazaar card. A good marketing trick, as the word 'credit card' would chase many customers away. I am sure many people would have become Bakras like me.
After nearly a month, I received the credit card with Big Bazaar photo on it. During that month, I had to answer too many calls from ICICI who kept calling to confirm my date of birth and my address, Grrrr. Any ways, I am enjoying free sugar every month. Today, 1 kg of sugar costs around Rs 15/-. So, I will be benefited by Rs 150 over a year.

1 comment:

Prince John said...

Hi Nagendra,

You are a happy customer at the end, nah.

I too am trying to get the same credit card, but as you said, the term 'credit card' is a turn off for me. have you have any negative experience with this card? Do you recommend it?

please let me know.

my email id is
princetvm[@]gmail.com

please reply me...