Like many people, I have on the side of my purse, a little zip-up compartment separate from the main stash. Easy to access, yet distinct enough to be considered a place 'for safe keeping'. It is here that I keep an important resource that can make my everyday a little more enjoyable. This is not where I keep a credit card or anything dodgy; this is my Voucher Pouch – a pouch for vouchers.
I am not ashamed; I just love vouchers. I am starting to realise that this obsession is beginning to act as a framework for my daily life; a currency by which, I take a different pleasure than the kind I would experience from your average cash transaction; be that with virtual or tangible money. Cash is so passé. Vouchers are where it's at. I love vouchers, but not just that; loyalty cards, bargains, freebies; I am a sucker for feeling like I have got a deal and that in some way, I have engineered a transaction so that I get a token, or reward. A voucher is like a mini certificate which can take you places, or entitle you to something that you didn't have before. For someone who achieves very little on a daily basis, using a voucher to get
something for free (or a little bit cheaper) feels like a little win; a prize, for some kind of endeavour.
This blog will simply chart my joy at the discovering and using of vouchers. That is all. Don't get me wrong, I am fully aware of the wider context of this. I know that somewhere in the transaction that there are mechanisms at work that mean that I might not actually be ‘winning'. I understand that people are drip-fed 'prizes' in a Capitalist society; I know I am not really getting anything for free. Someone, somewhere has probably tracked me down based on a number of factors that will get me into their shop, make me spend, and therefore practically 'own me' like the gullible fool I am. But somehow I don't care.
Moore loyalty dissent
A few years back we saw Michael Moore in a show in Camden. At the end, he discussed Nectar cards and how outraged he was by them. This was based on the obvious arguments: surveillance, conformity, corporate ownership of individuals and all that stuff. This is an argument, which I essentially agree with. However, when at the end of his speech about Nectar, he urged the audience to take out their Nectar cards and cut them up with his little pair of community scissors, it felt wrong.
At the time, my cynicism made me believe that the audience's willingness to lap up what Moore said was almost as bad as them bowing down to the Nectar baddies; because surely these hypocrites had enough imagination to grasp (without anybody else telling them) what seemed to be the obvious sinister ramifications of a loyalty card. But still, they had registered for them in the first place and had now decided to play the wronged victims, which just seemed pathetic. So, as they showered their cards on Moore with an air of rebellion, and he snipped away, I couldn't help thinking 'they'll regret that.' This was in part an imagined shame that these people might feel at being so easily led in the first place, but also because I truly believed that they'd genuinely be sorry to lose all those hard-earned Nectar points; because I know I would.
So, I guess I'm trying to be upfront about my voucher habit and the form of compliance in which I am actively involved. Perhaps it is better to be a self-aware hypocrite. Anyway, end of the disclaimer; I know this is sad, a form of conformity and all kinds of wrong that somewhat conflicts with my wider beliefs, but the reality remains: I love vouchers.
This blog will do nothing more than recount how much fun I am having with vouchers, loyalty cards etc; those minor victories, however foolish and deluded they may be. So, I will vouch for this, this week so far:
John Lewis- Monday 24th Feb.
These guys have some ethics so this feels ok, I think? For a while, I thought this one was too good to be true. Free tea and cake every month for
six months when you sign up to their loyalty card. My husband, Alex, wasn't even interested (this may create friction down the line, as I try to figure out how he could pass up such an opportunity), but anyway, it all worked out for the best, as I still signed him up for a card, so that now I can be doubly loyal, on his behalf. Two tea and cakes per month for me! You heard. 'Two free cakes and tea!' Say it in a melody. Perhaps not?
Today, I had a chocolate eclair with a pot of tea. Good sized pot. Eclair was nicely chocolatey, but was actually too creamy- can you believe it? I even had to spade a little bit of cream out onto the plate to avoid accidents. But good form, and tea is tea and that is good. My bill came to just under £5, otherwise known as 'free' with my beautiful voucher.
I still have the other voucher to use by the end of the month (which because of weird old February is this Friday!), so when purchasing the above order, having voucher two in occupation in the voucher pouch, somewhat helped with the agonising dilemma: eclair or victoria sponge? As you can see, sponge lost, but it may bounce back (like a sponge, could literally do) to fight another round. This is a provisional choice and I might still change my mind when I return later in the week, as the cake choice is quite simply amazing.
Furthermore, the good thing with the Lewis, is that the cafe is big and they have free Wi-Fi, so they didn't seem to mind me sitting writing this very blog whilst consuming my freebies. Meta-tastic -Win, win.
I should mention; you have to be ruthless as a Vouchee: I felt no obligation to stay and buy more stuff in JL. I could have done, and I definitely felt favourably to the establishment, but there is no room for sentimentality in a Vouchee's quest. That, I simply did not sign up to.
…More cakes and cocktail vouchers coming towards the end of the week- will keep you posted.
Jeanette. Follow Jeanette on Twitter @JeanetteBirdB, and visit her blog www.icanvouchforthat.wordpress.com
