The SPEC's KEY is our frequent shopper program. The key itself will fit onto your key ring so it's always with you and does not require keeping up with a card or finding another card in your wallet or purse. If you forget it or just don't want to carry the KEY, our cashiers can reference your key account with your home phone number.
The initial use of the key is to identify a customer as one of our regulars so that some of the customary and bothersome questions can be stopped to speed up the check out process. We know that when you are ready to check out, you are ready to go and get out as quickly as possible.
When you use your SPEC's KEY, we won't ask for identification with check or credit card (unless the purchase is large). The key references that information from our database while the cashier is scanning other products. Our primary motivation in installing this costly system was speeding up our checkouts and lessening the bothersome quizzing of our regular customers by new cashiers.
We now have gone to our vendors and asked for special discounts to give to our frequent and best customers. They like to participate because they know the discounts are going to the consumers they want to attract for their products. Many of you must like the idea because the first beer on the program tripled in sales the first month. You discovered it and that is just what the new supplier hoped for. The discounts are all over the store and the number of them is growing each month. They are labeled on the shelves with a yellow tag that says, "KEY SPECIAL" and the amount of the discount is shown.
Customers who use their key get an extra part of their receipt they may put into boxes for drawings for prizes awarded by each store. The prizes differ in each store so the more times and stores you visit, the more chances you have to win.
KEY Points are earned for each product as it is purchased. Some categories earn points more quickly than others. That changes irregularly but we'll start announcing which categories are special earners during the year. Right now, items found in our finer food departments boast extra points.
KEY Points are also tools for us. The problem of allocated wines and the unfair way that wineries do not allow consumers to purchase them to take home has been the topic of many discussions and will continue to be a battlefield. We keep a list of customers who have requested to purchase certain wines when they become available. About 30 of those wines are the ones of which we get too little to complete the orders. Those wines will be placed on a list we must manage differently. When those wines arrive, we run a report of those people requesting those wines in descending order based on their points earned. We then call those customers until all the wine has been depleted. It's the only fair way we know to be sure that the customers who shop the most at SPEC's have access to the wines we receive. The negative points assigned to those products will be charged against the account at that time even though all products earn points.
Discounts for tastings, classes, dinners and other events are often available as well. Notice of these events is given via email broadcasts and SPEC's newsletter, SPEC's UPDATE.
