Are military discounts ridiculous?

[Xanikk999]

If i owned a business i sure as hell wouldnt be giving 10% military discounts to service members like home depot does. I realize they are putting their lives at risk but why does that entitle them to savings at home?

Please realize i dont have an agenda with the military, rather i have an agenda with our current mission in iraq/afghanistan and the global war on terrorism.

Disregarding the morality of the issue, many of the people that try to get military discounts at home depot or any other retailer havent even seen any combat or will see any.

If we are going to give them discounts because of their dangerous line of work even though there is no real reason to give them a discount because of that, why dont we give discounts to other employees of dangerous and duty laden professions like police officers and fire fighters?

If the reason they get discounts is because they are doing a duty for our country, that is quite debatable. Tons of people including myself see the military endeavor in iraq and afghanistan a big waste of time like throwing money down the drain, but thats another argument entirely. Suppose ordinary fighters who are killing insurgents and risking their life for a lost cause is meritable, then why arent we giving discounts to other employees of meritable professions, is there work not as generous?

All i see from this is that our society has become increasingly militarized to the point we dont see a double standard in this.

 

[GoodGame]

You sound like sour grapes personally. Giving a military discount has little to do with encouraging the military industrial complex and/or protesting the invasion of Iraq, etc...

 

[Xanikk999]

You sound like sour grapes personally. Giving a military discount has little to do with encouraging the military industrial complex and/or protesting the invasion of Iraq, etc...

It just pisses me off the mindset that people think they are entitled to discounts wherever they shop because of their line of work.

Its elitism.

 

[Camikaze]

Whilst I've mellowed on my general dislike of the military, I still think that discounts such as this are rather inexplicable.

If we are going to give them discounts because of their dangerous line of work even though there is no real reason to give them a discount because of that, why dont we give discounts to other employees of dangerous and duty laden professions like police officers and fire fighters?

This is the major reason why.

 

[bhsup]

Do you actually run into military personnel who say they are ENTITLED to these discounts? Or do they just take advantage of discounts that some corporations VOLUNTARILY offer? Big difference.

Also, do you hate senior discounts? Do you hate kid discounts at matinees? WTH do those little brats think they deserve a discount for? Blowing snot on the back of chairs???

 

[Miles Teg]

If we are going to give them discounts because of their dangerous line of work even though there is no real reason to give them a discount because of that, why dont we give discounts to other employees of dangerous and duty laden professions like police officers and fire fighters?

Because War is Hell.

 

[Murky]

If you've ever served in the military you would know it offers ridiculously low pay for risking your life.

It's good business to offer them discounts.

 

[Theige]

Honestly I think its just smart on the part of businesses. Much the same way it is smart to give firefighters and police officers discounts.

If you don't give these groups discounts, they simply aren't going to come to your business at all, because they get discounts at many other places.

These groups are the backbone of a community, I would have no problem giving them discounts at all.

 

[Zelig]

I don't mind them - they let me know that I'm almost guaranteed to be able to negotiate the price down by that amount.

 

[Camikaze]

Do you actually run into military personnel who say they are ENTITLED to these discounts? Or do they just take advantage of discounts that some corporations VOLUNTARILY offer? Big difference.

I don't think the point is that military personnel are doing something wrong by taking advantage of discounts offered to them. It's that the corporation is for some strange and, as far as I can tell, inexplicable reason, offering these discounts. This isn't a complaint about the military, but about the corporations who offer military discounts (as far as I can tell from the OP).

Also, do you hate senior discounts? Do you hate kid discounts at matinees? WTH do those little brats think they deserve a discount for? Blowing snot on the back of chairs???

Senior discounts have an actual purpose. They can be, for instance, to allow senior citizens to be more active in cultural activities, to stave off such diseases as dementia. Or they can be to allow senior citizens to gain access to more essentials (or things that, whilst not technically 'needs', are considered by most to be important) that their income level would not otherwise allow.

As for kids, they get discounts in order to attract families. If you give a kid a discount, an adult has to pay full price to go along with them, where they otherwise may not have. That's simply a smart business move.

But I don't see how military discounts do offer any such tangible benefits to either the corporation, or to society.

Edit: Theige mentions that this may in fact be for business reasons; I see how this could be the case, but are these discounts really widespread enough to make them a necessity? And wouldn't it be just as smart, if not more, for a business to give all their customers a discount?

 

[bhsup]

@Camikaze: That 'entitlement' query was in response to Xanik's OP where he asked why the military was entitled to the discount.

Also, my brothers and I usually just got dropped off at the matinee I think my parents viewed it as some sort of "oh thank God a weekend afternoon of peace and quiet!"

 

[kulade]

Businesses give military discounts to put themselves in a good light and show potential customers how patriotic/appreciative they are, not to lick military boot all day. That's like thinking that bars hold ladies-free nights because they "admire the contribution that women have made to our country."

 

[Babbler]

If we are going to give them discounts because of their dangerous line of work even though there is no real reason to give them a discount because of that, why dont we give discounts to other employees of dangerous and duty laden professions like police officers and fire fighters?

Meh. I don't mind discounts for all three groups.

 

[Xanikk999]

Do you actually run into military personnel who say they are ENTITLED to these discounts? Or do they just take advantage of discounts that some corporations VOLUNTARILY offer? Big difference.

Also, do you hate senior discounts? Do you hate kid discounts at matinees? WTH do those little brats think they deserve a discount for? Blowing snot on the back of chairs???

Yes actually i have met all sorts of different people that did think they were entitled.

I used to be a cashier at one time at home depot. While a very demeaning and basic job you got to meet all sorts of people. I actually did meet people who felt they were entitled to things like discounts because they were elderly or in the military reserve. If i can remember, il share some stories. No they didnt merely ask, they were pushy about it. People can be jerks.

All i can say is thank god im not a cashier anymore it sucked big time.

 

[Xanikk999]

Because War is Hell.

Hey its not like they are drafted.

Why dont we give discounts to people who throw do stupid things like run out in traffic or football players who get thier necks and legs broken on occasion.

Its not the smartest thing in the world to willingly sign up for a war that has been internatially condemned as unjust and liable to get you killed.

 

[tycoonist]

i voted that it was stupid, but actually that was probably a bad choice... if it entices people to your store, then it's like student discount, which is offered because largely students have little to no money available.

 

[Theige]

Edit: Theige mentions that this may in fact be for business reasons; I see how this could be the case, but are these discounts really widespread enough to make them a necessity? And wouldn't it be just as smart, if not more, for a business to give all their customers a discount?

Well, for example, in an area with a military base, the soldiers often have everything they need on base, where everything is tax free.

If businesses want the soldiers to come off-base more often, they have to offer discounts just to be competitive with the on-base PX.

 

[Camikaze]

Well, for example, in an area with a military base, the soldiers often have everything they need on base, where everything is tax free.

If businesses want the soldiers to come off-base more often, they have to offer discounts just to be competitive with the on-base PX.

Well that makes sense, and is a completely acceptable explanation for businesses around military bases (although still, wouldn't there be a larger incentive to simply reduce all prices for everyone, so that, for example, a soldier's wife can also get a reduced price?).

However, I don't see how that explains military discounts in areas without a military base or unusually high military presence. Assuming of course, that such discounts exist.

 

[Moss]

They offer military discounts for the same reason they offer student discounts, senior-citizen discounts, ect... - to get people into their place of business.

However, there are some businesses that do it because they are honoring those who serve, and I see nothing wrong with that. Soldiers that serve spend years away from their family and friends, get shot at, wounded, and some never return...a small discount hardly seem inappropriate if one was to offer a military person one for just that specific reason.

As for a sense of entitlement - military members don't have a higher sense of entitlement than most young men and women these days.

 

[Traitorfish]

It just pisses me off the mindset that people think they are entitled to discounts wherever they shop because of their line of work.

Its elitism.

"Elitism" suggest that servicemen and women are part of a social elite, which, given the higher tendency of people from working/lower class backgrounds to enlist, is probably the opposite of true. Really, if you're going to use a word like that, you have to think about what it actually means.