You know what really frosts my flakes? Stores wanting to text me a receipt.
What happened to paper? You bought something, they handed you a receipt, and you both went your separate ways like civilized people.
Now? “Would you like your receipt by text?”
No, I would not like to hand over my personal phone number so you can bother me for the next six months about socks.
And don’t pretend it’s about convenience. This isn’t about saving paper either. This is about turning a 30-second purchase into a long-term relationship I never agreed to.
Receipts used to be simple. It was proof you bought something. That’s it.
Then somebody got clever. “Hey, let’s put coupons on the back.” Fine. That’s harmless.
Then they moved coupons to the front, and that made receipts longer than a grocery list before a snowstorm.
I once bought a bottle of Ibuprofen at a CVS Pharmacy and the receipt was long enough to qualify as a scarf.
Today they want your phone number.
So instead of one simple receipt, you get a receipt, a “thank you” message, a survey, a coupon, three reminders and a partridge in a pear tree.
And good luck trying to make it stop.
When I buy something, I want one thing. Proof that I bought it and then leave me alone.
I’m Grandpa Grumpy. And I’m way too old for this nonsense.