“You need a number? Ok, +44 908 …” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premium-rate_telephone_number

I hear you though. I failed to receive a flight ticket because the airline accepted but could not use an address with a + before the @; and when I tried to use a website to prove my identity to get a local SIM after moving county, customer service claimed to only support Windows and Android and wouldn’t help me when I connected via a Mac and my phone was from Apple; and the local public transport app didn’t let me buy tickets when it was installed on an iPad, only on a phone; and a few days ago I got an invoice with “click here to pay” text, except the invoice is an image and there is no hyperlink.

Using a premium‐rate phone number doesn’t help anything though. Like the parent mentioned, it’s not like the retailer ever actually calls the number. The problem is that advertisers use the number to correlate one person’s activity across multiple retailers and services.

To be fair to the cashier, they were probably given no choice in the matter. One of those "I'm sorry, the system won't let me proceed without this info."

"Required form fields" are one of those great power/great responsibility things.

I am not mad at the cashier at all. Poor kid was probably paid the bare minimum and had nothing to do with any policy. That is why I didn’t argue with him (plus there were customers behind me, I didn’t want to hold the line). I asked him once, and left immediately after.

Retail workers are already in a shitty job, no point in making it worse

It makes me wonder, when I draw a line in the sand with a clerk, how often they just enter junk data into the system so they can get on with their shift.

Many years ago I worked as a cashier (at Trader Joes no less) and occasionally had to ask customers for this sort of information. I had zero problem just punching in fake data if the customer didn't want to provide it, and sometimes I just went ahead without asking, if the customer was clearly busy with a crazy kid/pet/whatever.

Some cashiers were diligent about the data collection but many, probably most, had a similar approach to mine.

Poisoning data collection is one of the many small positive actions a front-line employee can make without too much risk to their livelihood.

What kind of data? I’ve had stores ask for telephone and said no but that’s about it.

Cosmo Kramer: They're trying to screw with your head.

Jerry: Now why would a junior high school want to screw with my head?

Cosmo Kramer: Why does Radio Shack ask for your phone number when you buy batteries? I don't know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgfaYKoQxzQ

I remember when they asked for your address as well. But, at every one I ever set foot in, they also took "no" for an answer.

Well done standing your ground. Some retailers will try the same with postal code/zip.. that's shameless marketing collection to show which regions are performing with fliers. You should always be able to say "No" (and many cashiers just accept this, but of course it's framed like you must to continue), if they push you `H0H 0H0` (those are zeros) is a valid Canadian postal code for a fellow who won't be visiting the policy creators.

I like to believe that those who spam this postal code end up on the naughty list

Same thing happened to me at Currys in the UK. Argued with the dude for half an hour and he finally gave in.

And they wonder why Amazon is dominating retail. Definitely heard that food and parking are different.

Imo, name and shame.

When I am faced with this sort of nonsense, and if I really need to make the purchase, I just make up whatever data they're asking for.

Next time you wind up in a situation like this, just lie about your number.

You’re missing the point, I think. Lying won’t help, as very few people would do it. Most people would just give their number - mostly because they don’t realize it is shit practice to collect numbers, some because they don’t want confrontation.

By politely pointing out the absurdity, we can maybe raise a tiny bit of awareness. I am sure at least a handful of people behind me in the line noticed.

My number is always 212-867-5309. And it works great for returns.

Comically, it seems many others use this as I frequently find loyalty points already there.

I’d like to find the club of likeminded folks.

Sadly more places are requiring validation.

Is the number arbitrary or a reason you chose it?

Below links to the song. It is arbitrary I suppose as it could be any number that the songwriter worked into the lyrics.

It’s also funny when telemarketers from other countries aren’t familiar and accept it as a real number.