The Matrix is Everywhere

It’s annoying when retail stores ask for my phone number or zip code at the register when I’m making a purchase. I know they are trying to gather information about where their shoppers live to determine what products they should carry and where they could locate new stores, but I just want to buy my stuff; leave me alone.

When this information is presented to the retailer, the analysis often contains a margin of error figure for the data. That’s for people like me because I give out the phone number or zip code for the White House when someone bothers me for this information just to fuck with the research. It’s my way of sticking it to the man. (But you are the man.)

I do play favorites though. If it’s a store I like and would like to see one open closer to my house, I might be compelled to provide an accurate zip code, although I still wouldn’t provide a phone number. A store like Wal-Mart would get a zip code in Frostburg, MD, far away from me. A store like Borders actually would get a correct zip code. If the Cheesecake Factory ever asked me for this kind of information, I would give them my social security number, my mom’s maiden name, and the GPS coordinates to my house.