Appendix A - Transcripts from Focus Group Consultations PROJECT: Attitudes Towards Loyalty Programs PN#: 7212 LOCATION: Toronto DATE: November 15, 2012 – 5:30 p.m. (Transcriber’s Note: Moderator makes opening comments on the purpose of the interview.) M: So, why don't we go around the table and maybe you could each introduce yourselves and tell us your first name and a bit about yourself and what sort of work you do, if you work outside of the home, and who lives with you in your house, be that human or canine or a feline. Do you want to begin? R: Well, my name is Lynda. M: With a Y? Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 91 R: With a Y, yes. I do a lot of little things. I invigilate exams for professors. M: You mean like bar examinations and things like that? R: Yes, and others. M: So, if you see somebody copying from someone else, you get to sort of punish them? R: I protect them. I wouldn’t even think about it. And I do other kinds of little things. I help my husband, he’s a writer. And I’m auditing a course at York University in French, and I do volunteer work for newcomers to Canada. I keep pretty active. I have two kids, and they’re both overseas. One is doing a PhD, and is going to be in Women in Leadership for the Third World. She’s in Spain studying. And my son has gone back to Pakistan to help his father who has a terminal diagnosis. 0:03:34.2 M: And his father lives there? R: My first husband, yes. R: I’m Brad. I work in a special needs school, predominately autistic children. I’m not a teacher, but I assist the teacher. Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 92 M: So, does that make you like an EA? R: Yes, well, I work for … so there is a teacher, and there is an EA. And I work for a private school. So, the teachers and the EAs cannot physically restrain the children, it’s not in their contract. So, they have to hire people like myself. M: So, you’re allowed to restrain? R: Yes, when the children become aggressive, then … M: So, you’re like the bouncer? R: I’m the muscle. But I do everything an EA does, except when the going gets tough, the EAs goes away and I kind of restrain them. I have a photography website, I do photography as a hobby. I study film as a hobby, as well, directors and stuff like that. That’s about it. I like sports. I wish I could play hockey soon. M: Well, I’m sure we can find other ways to entertain ourselves, like being in a focus group. R: I’m Peta. I’m currently on maternity leave, but I … 0:05:06.1 Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 93 M: So, are you into the ethical treatment of animals? R: I haven’t heard that before. M: Because I’ve seen that acronym for PETA. R: It’s not my full … there is a little more to it. It’s shortened, just because it’s easier. I’m on maternity leave, I have an eight-month-old boy and a nine-year-old. I’m a chiropractic assistant. I’m still a part-time student at York University, finishing up a kinesiology degree. R: My name is Keesha Lee. I’m a full-time insurance broker. I live at home with my two kids and my spouse. That’s pretty much it. R: I’m Sylvana. I work full-time in an elementary school in Toronto. I’ve been there for 23 years. I did 15 years of retail before that. I have a son and a husband. My son is back in school. He wanted to go into policing. M: I’m sure working in retail was good preparation for dealing with a class of … R: I went into a school not knowing anything about working in a school, but I had 15 years of retail, so that was all they needed for me to work in an elementary school. And when I went there, and they said, you’re going to be the head secretary … I was like, I know nothing about school. I know, but you were in retail for 15 years, you can do it. Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 94 M: It’s customer service. R: I guess I must be doing something right because I’ve been there 23 years. I’m ready to retire in a little while. 0:06:51.7 R: I’m Sonya. I work for the Federal Government, the Industrial Research Assistants Program. We basically assist small medium-sizes companies. I have two children. My son will be 18 in May, and my daughter is going to be 9 next week. My son is finishing high school and going into aerospace soon. And I have my partner at home. That’s about it. R: I’m Carlton. I work in finance, mutual funds. And before that, I worked in the travel industry, and for vacations I do a bit of travelling. It was fine for a while, but I decided to go back to school and get a business degree, and then I went into finance. M: So, as you may have guessed from the questions we asked you when we invited you to the session, as I said before, we’re going to be exploring the whole topic of customer loyalty programs. So, I want to start by asking each of you to tell us what loyalty programs, just off the top of your head, are you a member of, or how many memberships do you think you have? Keesha Lee, why don’t we start with you? R: I have three memberships. Actually, probably, four. Addition Elle, Sears, Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart. Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 95 M: So, Wal-Mart, Sears, Canadian Tire … what was the first one? R: Addition Elle, it’s a clothing store. M: Sylvana? R: Capital One, Sears, MasterCard, Visa … M: But are MasterCard and Visa … these are all loyalty programs? 0:08:35.2 R: No, they’re just regular cards. M: I’m thinking like membership cards? R: Costco. M: And Sears you mentioned? R: Sears. Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 96 M: Sonya? R: I have HPC, Sobey’s, Petro Canada, Air Miles Collector, and Shopper’s Optimum. M: So, that’s like five. R: (Inaudible, group over-talking.) M: Yes, I have the Body Shop. R: Me, too. M: Carlton? R: I have Air Miles, HPC and Shoppers Drug Mart. M: What about any gas stations? I guess some of them have programs? 0:09:35.8 R: I have Petro. Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 97 R: Petro. R: I was in Husky the other night. I went in there to get lottery tickets. And they said, would you like a loyalty card? Sure, why not. M: What is Husky? R: It’s a gas station. M: And what about Aeroplan or an airline loyalty program? Are any of you members of those? R: Yes. M: So, Lynda, what loyalty programs do you belong to? R: Aeroplan is particularly a favourite with my husband. We have that. Optimum with Shoppers, Air Miles, PC, I really like that one, HPC, Petro Miles, Canadian Tire. Those are the ones I can think of. M: There are many others? R: There are others, yes. Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 98 M: Before you know it, your wallet is thick with cards, I guess. Brad, which ones are you…? R: I do the Air Miles, I have the Shoppers Optimum. Petro Canada, AMC Movie Card. 0:10:45.6 M: Although, did they …? R: They closed the Kennedy and the 401. But they have one at Yonge and Dundas. M: Oh, hasn’t that become a Cineplex now? R: Possibly. R: The Scene Card. M: That’s another one. R: Yes, they changed the naming of them. Public Interest Advocacy Centre | Customer Loyalty Programs: Are Rules Needed? 99 R: Yes, I don’t have the Scene Card. I do have Body Shop. I totally forgot about it until you mentioned it. But I have two Visa cards and one gives me Air Miles, and one gives me Dividend points, Dividend dollars. M: There is some form of an incentive? R: Yes. R: I think we are taken up by that. R: I don’t know if that’s relevant. M: Peta, what do you have? 0:11:26.8 R: I have the Shoppers Optimum, Air Miles, Petro Canada, I have a Body Shop one. I have the Scene Card, I love that one. What else do I have? I probably have a couple of others that I can’t remember right now. M: So, I think what we’re going to do … because we’re going to be discussing a lot of issues around loyalty programs … but I want to start off by having you work together in teams. And since you’re an odd number, I guess we’ll have Linda, Brad, and Peta as a trio, and then Sylvana and Keesha Lee will work together, and Sonya and Carlton will work together.