Country Mart: A study in minutia!

I've never quite figured out those cute little cards that Country Mart gives out so you can 'save' money when you shop at one of the local Country Mart stores like the one located in Forsyth Mo. To me it's a strange and rather idiotic way of doing business. I mean does a customer really save any money at the checkout counter with these cards, or are they getting a phantom discount while those without cards are just getting jacked with higher prices. What this practice boils down to, as far as I'm concerned, is for tourists to seemingly pay higher prices than the locals who shop at these stores on a regular basis. It that some form of discrimination? I don't know. A practice made all the stranger when one realizes that Save A Lot, another grocery store located just across town, is owned by the same parent company - Pyramid Foods.

Now, Country Mart is running a promotion whereby a customer gets yet another a card that the checkout clerk punches each time you make a purchase. Each cycle through the checkout line now involves scanning your discount card and then punching little holes in another card where, if you're lucky, you might win five bucks (1 in 57). To me, a very time consuming process with little return and one that only prolongs the wait for other customers standing in line. (Like I said, too much minutia). One has to wonder should Country Mart ever dump all these gimmicks and focus  on selling food, how much lower would the prices be? Wait a minute! That's right, you could go over to Save A Lot and see for yourself.