Daily English 1264 Customer Loyalty Programs

Dialogue/Story

Slow Speed begins at: 1:35
Explanation begins at: 4:48
Normal Speed begins at: 20:07

Complete Transcript

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 1,264 – Customer Loyalty Programs.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 1,264. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

This episode is a dialogue between Wynn and Dixie about getting rewarded for using a certain company. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Wynn: I’ve come up with a surefire way to bring in more business.

Dixie: How?

Wynn: We’ll start a customer loyalty program. All of the big businesses have them.

Dixie: I’m not sure how they work.

Wynn: They’re mainly point-based systems. Our customers sign up and we’ll give them a membership card or keychain tag with a barcode. Each time they make a purchase, they get points. Once they’ve accumulated enough points, they can redeem them for rewards.

Dixie: Okay, but what’s this?

Wynn: It’s a punch card. Each time a customer buys something over $25, they get a punch. When they’ve received 10 punches, they get a $10 discount.

Dixie: I understand all that, but what is this chart for?

Wynn: It shows our new tiered system. Customers who spend over $1,000 a year are on the blue level, those who spend more than $5,000 are on the red level, and those who spend $10,000 are on the gold level. We’ll have incentives to get people to move up the ladder.

Dixie: So which of these customer loyalty programs are we adopting?

Wynn: All of them.

Dixie: Huh? How are customers supposed to keep track of all of these programs?

Wynn: Good question. See this? It’s a free wallet we’ll be giving away. Customers can keep all of their customer loyalty cards in it. Isn’t it nice?

Dixie: It’s nice, but will people really use it?

Wynn: You’ve got a point. Maybe we should come up with a reward program for those who do. Hey, that’s brilliant!

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Wynn saying to Dixie, “I’ve come up with a surefire way to bring in more business.” “To come up with” something is to invent or imagine or create something new. Wynn has created a “surefire way.” “Surefire” (surefire) is something that is going to be successful, something that cannot fail, cannot go wrong. Another word for this would be “foolproof” (foolproof). Something that is “surefire” or “foolproof” will be successful no matter what.

Wynn has “a surefire way to bring in more business.” “To bring in” means to get more people in this case to buy things at a store. Dixie says, “How?” Wynn says, “We’ll start a customer loyalty program.” A “customer” is someone who buys something from a store or a company. “Loyalty” (loyalty) is the connection and the support you have for someone or to someone. If I am “loyal” to you, I will help you even if it’s difficult, or I will always support you and not someone else.

“Customer loyalty programs” are things that companies design, companies create, to get their customers – the people who buy things from them – to return to them, and they do this by giving the customers something extra. Sometimes it’s extra discounts. Some companies will give you a certain number of points that you can collect, and if you get so many points you then get a free item from that store. Coffee shops, for example, will often have little cards they give you, and each time you buy a drink, they put something on your card that shows you bought a drink, and after 10 drinks you get a free drink. That’s what happens at my local coffee shop here in Los Angeles.

Wynn, then, wants to start a customer loyalty program. He says, “All of the big businesses have them.” Dixie says, “I’m not sure how they work.” Then Wynn explains how a customer loyalty program works. He says, “They’re mainly,” or primarily, “point-based systems,” meaning you get a point for every time you buy something or perhaps a point for every dollar you spend. “Our customers,” Wynn continues, “sign up” – or register – “and we’ll give them a membership card or keychain tag with a barcode.”

A “membership card” is usually a paper or plastic card, sort of like a credit card. A “keychain” (keychain) is something that you use to put your keys on when you put them in your pocket or purse. A “tag” (tag) is like a little small card that goes on your keychain. These cards or tags usually have a “barcode” (barcode) on the back of them. A barcode is a series of thin and thick lines that can be read by a special computer.

“Each time they make a purchase,” Wynn says, “they” – meaning the customers – “get points. Once they’ve accumulated enough points, they can redeem them for rewards.” “To accumulate” (accumulate) means to gather or to increase the number of something by adding to it a little at a time. “To accumulate enough points” means to get enough points because you’ve gone to the store over and over again.

“Once they’ve accumulated enough points,” Wynn explains, “they can redeem (redeem) them for rewards (rewards).” “To redeem” means to exchange something usually for a price or a reward. If you go to Las Vegas or a casino where there is gambling, they usually will give you small, round objects, called in English “chips” (chips). These “chips” are used for gambling at, say, the poker table. When you are done at the end of the night, if you still have any left, you take those chips in and you “cash them in,” or we might use the verb “redeem” them for money.

Normally, however, the verb “redeem” is used when someone gives you something that you can then exchange for or give to someone else to get money or some other prize or reward. If you buy a lottery ticket and you win, you can redeem that little piece of paper with the correct numbers on it for a million dollars or however much you won. By the way, congratulations if you did win. I’d be happy to help you spend that money.

Anyway, we’re not redeeming lottery tickets here. We’re redeeming points for rewards. A “reward” is a prize, something you get for free because you’ve done something well or because you’ve won some competition. Dixie says, “Okay, but what’s this?” She is showing Wynn something. Wynn says, “It’s a punch card.” A “punch (punch) card” is a small paper card in which there are a series of holes made every time you buy something. There’s a small device to make holes in paper called a “punch,” and when you put the piece of paper in this little device, it makes a hole in it.

Wynn says, “Each time a customer buys something over $25,” meaning worth more than $25, “they get a punch. When they’ve received 10 punches, they get a $10 discount” (discount). A “discount” is a reduction in the price of something. Sometimes it’s a percentage reduction. Sometimes it’s an actual dollar amount. Here it’s a $10 discount. Dixie says, “I understand all that, but what is this chart for?” A “chart” (chart) is an organized way of presenting information. Sometimes it will have a table on it. Sometimes it will have a graphs on it.

Wynn says, “It shows our new tiered system.” This chart he’s looking at, then, shows their “new tiered (tiered) system.” “Tiered” refers to something with many different levels or steps. Wynn explains, “Customers who spend over $1,000 a year are on the blue level,” or we might say “blue tier,” since “tier” (tier) is just another word for “level.” “Those who spend more than $5,000,” Wynn says, “are on the red level, and those who spend $10,000 are on the gold level. We’ll have incentives to get people to move up the ladder.”

An “incentive” (incentive) is something that motivates you to do something. An incentive makes you want to do something. It may be money. It may be power. It may be the possibility of going on a date with a beautiful woman. That might be an incentive for you to go to the gym and get big muscles like me. Well, not like me. I don’t need any more beautiful women. I have my wife.

Anyway, Wynn is talking about “incentives to get people to move up the ladder” (ladder). “To move up the ladder” here means to increase in value or to go up to the next level – from the blue level, to the red level, to the gold level. Dixie says, “So which of these customer loyalty programs are we adopting?” “To adopt” (adopt) here means simply to decide to use or to begin to use. Wynn answers, “All of them.”

Dixie is confused. She says. “Huh?” That’s a way we indicate confusion in English, “huh?” “How are customers supposed to keep track of all of these programs?” she asks. “To keep track (track) of” something is a phrasal verb meaning to know the details of something as things change. Usually we use this phrase when we are talking about a complicated system, as this apparently is.

Wynn says, “Good question. See this? It’s a free wallet we’ll be giving away.” A “wallet” (wallet) is something that a man or woman uses to put his or her money and credit cards in. Wynn is showing Dixie these wallets, or a wallet, and telling her that they’re going to be giving them away. They’re going to be giving them to their customers for free. “Customers,” he says, “can keep all of their customer loyalty cards in it. Isn’t it nice?” Dixie says, “It’s nice but will people really use it?”

Wynn says, “You’ve got a point.” “You’ve got a point” means you are right about that. He says, “Maybe we should come up with a reward program for those who do.” In other words, he’s going to give them the wallet so they can keep all of these cards in – that is, the customers can keep all of these reward cards in. After Dixie points out that maybe customers won’t use the wallet, Wynn says they’ll create another loyalty program, another reward program for those who do use the wallet. He says, “Hey, that’s brilliant,” meaning that’s very clever. That’s smart. That’s very intelligent.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Wynn: I’ve come up with a surefire way to bring in more business.

Dixie: How?

Wynn: We’ll start a customer loyalty program. All of the big businesses have them.

Dixie: I’m not sure how they work.

Dixie: Okay, but what’s this?

Wynn: It’s a punch card. Each time a customer buys something over $25, they get a punch. When they’ve received 10 punches, they get a $10 discount.

Dixie: I understand all that, but what is this chart for?

Dixie: So which of these customer loyalty programs are we adopting?

Wynn: All of them.

Dixie: Huh? How are customers supposed to keep track of all of these programs?

Wynn: Good question. See this? It’s a free wallet we’ll be giving away. Customers can keep all of their customer loyalty cards in it. Isn’t it nice?

Dixie: It’s nice, but will people really use it?

Wynn: You’ve got a point. Maybe we should come up with a reward program for those who do. Hey, that’s brilliant!

[end of dialogue]

Our scriptwriter is brilliant for writing all of these wonderful scripts. Thank you, Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.

Glossary

surefire – guaranteed to succeed; foolproof; definitely not going to fail

* Setting off fireworks is a surefire way to wake up the neighbors!

customer loyalty program – a program designed to encourage customers to continue shopping at a particular store by rewarding them for their purchases, usually be giving them free or discounted items

* The grocery store has a customer loyalty program so that for every $250 we spend, we receive a $0.10-per-gallon discount at the gas station.

point-based – related to a score; a system for measuring one’s status in a program or competition

* This is a point-based game in which children earn points every time they solve a math puzzle, and then they can exchange those points for prizes.

membership card – a small rectangular piece of plastic or paper showing that one belongs to a particular organization, group, or program

* If you’re a member of the alumni association, just show the hotel clerk your membership card and you’ll receive a discounted room rate.

keychain tag – a small piece of plastic with a small hole that attaches to the ring on which one keeps keys, scanned at stores so that one receives certain benefits

* I left my keychain tag at home. Can you look up my account information using my phone number instead?

barcode – a series of vertical, closely spaced black lines of different thicknesses against a white background, scanned and read electronically to identify a product or similar information

* To check out a book at the library, just put the book’s barcode in front of the scanner.

to accumulate – to gather; to increase the number of something by repeatedly adding to it

* They spent years accumulating children’s toys and clothing, but now that their kids are older, they want to sell everything in a garage sale.

to redeem – to exchange something for a prize or reward, especially to exchange points

* If you save the tops of 10 of these packages, you can redeem them for a small soccer ball.

reward – a prize; something that is given to someone for free, often in recognition of good behavior or active participation

* The kids behaved really well today, so we’re taking them to the park as a reward.

punch card – a small piece of paper from which a small hole is cut each time a customer buys something, so that he or she receives a free or discounted item after a certain number of holes have been cut

* Every time I buy a burrito, they mark it on this punch card, and once I have 10 punches, they’ll give me a free burrito.

discount – a reduction in the price of something; a temporarily lower price

* This weekend, the furniture store is offering a 20% discount on all sofas.

chart – an organized way to record and present information, usually in columns and rows

* This chart shows how much each salesperson has sold in the past three months.

tiered – with multiple levels or bars; with several steps

* With our tiered pricing structure, items 1-10 are $2 each, items 11-30 are $1.50 each, and any additional items are only $1.25 each.

incentive – motivation; something that makes another person want to do something or act in a particular way

* Getting a free massage is an excellent incentive for running the half-marathon!

to move up the ladder – to increase in value or number, especially to go up to another level

* Each time they donate blood, they move up the ladder into the next category, where they can earn special thank-you gifts.

to adopt – to decide to have and begin to use or do something; to implement

* When did the company adopt this new accounting system?

wallet – a folded and sewn piece of cloth or leather used to hold one’s money, credit cards, and identification

* How many credit cards are in your wallet?

brilliant – very intelligent, insightful, and clever, thinking of something that other people have not thought of

* Albert Einstein was a brilliant scientist.

Comprehension Questions

1. What is a customer loyalty program?
a) A way to confuse customers so they don’t understand what is happening
b) A way to give customers advice about how to shop better
c) A way to encourage customers to continue to shop at the same place
2. In Wynn’s program, how will customers earn rewards?
a) By saving up their points
b) By buying a keychain tag
c) By filling out the chart

Answers at bottom.

What Else Does It Mean?

reward

The word “reward,” in this podcast, means a prize, or something that is given to someone for free, often in recognition of good behavior or strong participation: “The first-place winner will receive a $75 cash reward.” Or, “What is more effective for managing behavior in a classroom: punishments or rewards?” A “reward” can also be an amount of money paid to a person who helps one find something: “The police are offering a $500 reward to anyone who gives them information leading to the arrest of the man who started the fire.” Finally, if something is “rewarding” it is satisfactory and makes one feel good, happy, and fulfilled: “Nursing is hard work, but it’s very rewarding to know that you’re helping sick people get better.”

to adopt

In this podcast, the verb “to adopt” means to decide to have and begin to use or do something: “We’re adopting a new policy to handle employee complaints.” The verb “to adopt” also means to bring a child into the family and legally make him or her one’s son or daughter even though the child is not related biologically: “They’re hoping to adopt a daughter from Guatemala.” Or, “If you aren’t able to get pregnant, would you consider adopting?” Sometimes the verb “to adopt” means to change one’s style or manner of doing something: “People who adopt a British accent sometimes find that others think they are more intelligent.” Finally, the phrase “to adopt a law” means to pass and make official a new law: “When will our lawmakers adopt a law to better protect children from violence?”

Culture Note

S&H Green Stamps

S&H Green Stamps were “stamps” (pieces of paper with a printed image and text on one side, and a glue that becomes sticky when wet on the other side) that Americans collected from the 1930s through the 1980s. They were part of a customer loyalty and rewards program. People received the rectangular, green stamps when they made purchases at certain grocery stores, drugstores, and gas stations. They would carefully “paste” (glue) the stamps into small paper books, add up the total number of stamps, and “redeem” (exchange) large numbers of stamps for rewards advertised in a “catalog” (a large magazine that describes all the products that are available for sale) of products.

Most modern customer loyalty programs reward customers for shopping at a particular store, but the S&H Green Stamps were different. “Retailers” (stores that sell products to the public) could buy the stamps from Sperry & Hutchinson (S&H) and then “distribute” (give away to many people) them to their own customers when they made purchases. This “freed the retailers from” (made it so the retailers did not have to worry about) “administering” (managing) the reward and redemption process. And consumers were rewarded for their combined purchases at many different places of business.

The S&H Green Stamps were available in different “denominations” (the value or amount of money that something is worth). The 24-page books could hold up to 1,200 points, and rewards were redeemed by sending in the required number of books. Most of the rewards were “household goods” (items used in the house, especially in the kitchen). But over time, the value of the points “diminished” (decreased) and consumers began to believe that the stamps were more “hassle” (the inconvenience and work required to collect and organized stamps) than they were worth.

Comprehension Answers

1 - c

2 - a