Fiesta Grocery Stores Are Q Card Ready
Monday, December 31, 2007 2:50 PM
If you live near a Fiesta Mart grocery store around Houston, there's good news for you.
Effective today, all 36 of the international food stores have free Q Cards to dispense and the equipment and trained personnel to add money to your Q Card.
Look for the red poster that states: "Get it here." The courtesy booth at each of these Fiestas is stocked with Q Card starter kits and Q Cards. The starter kit gives you the basics on how to get started, discounts available, locations where you can reload your Q Card, the benefits of registering your card, and a quick-reference FAQ.
"A lot of our customers shop at Fiesta, so we're excited to announce today that all 36 Fiestas have Q Cards available," said Nicole Adler, METRO's advertising account executive. "Fiesta is equipped to load money onto your Q Card. We recommend you load at least $10."
In addition to Fiesta grocery stores, you can zip into Valero gas stations around town to find and load a Q Card. Find a complete list here of the 350-some retailers around Houston that can give you a Q Card.
"The list will vary daily," said Mike Flory, manager of sales at METRO. "Our Web site can show you by zip code and by alphabet who you can go to. I'm very confident that the network is in place and working well. However, remember, all these stores have turnover of people. If there's a customer service issue, contact our help desk."
Our customer service number - with a dedicated Q Card help desk - is: (713)635-4000.
There's no minimum required on your Q Card, but at $1 per ride, it makes sense to load at least $10 on your card.
Once you've got a fully loaded Q Card, you might want to register your card. Registering your card protects your balance. If your card is lost or stolen, we can cancel that card and send you a new one with your balance on the new card.
While some users may be concerned about privacy if they register their cards, METRO's chief information officer Erik Oistad has said that METRO would not reveal when and where a registered Q Card was used, unless mandated by a court.
And remember: Don't throw away your Q Card when your balance reaches zero. The cards are reusable - just like Starbucks cards - and you can reload them with money as often as you like.