Marketer

I question the value of market research. Well, perhaps it is the quality of market research that is flawed rather than the task itself. Having willingly sold my purchasing information at several local grocers, drug stores, and an import company in return for discounts on goods and services, I have found a flaw in this method of determining my shopping habits and likely household needs. My purchases are supposed to trigger special offers according to my preferences and purchases.
Yesterday was a strange day for this phenomenon. The mister and I purchased a tube of toothpaste at the drug store. The register spewed out a coupon for a free chocolate bar. Okay. There is at least a connection there. Four messages arrived via snail- and e-mail for different products and resources: infant formula, Communion supplies (Yes, as in, "Do this in remembrance of Me..."), Fair Trade coffee special values, and Viagra. Really?! News flash for marketing professionals: the baby is nine, we receive Communion at church, and we are more likely to need something for a headache tonight than those little blue pills. (The mister is away for business. If eiter of us needs the little blue pills, he r she will also need the communion supplies... or perhaps last rites.) If we were on a game show, the coffee would be our only (ding, ding, ding!) winner.