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Loyalty cards and loyalty programs encourage customers to keep coming back to the same store in hopes of gaining perks or discounts or some other amorphous reward. But what do you do when you don’t want customers to return to the same places again and again — when, in contrast, you want them to find entirely new places to explore? Why, you give them a disloyalty card, of course!



It’s a pretty ingenious idea. Starting on Monday (August 12), pick up a disloyalty card at any of the participating coffee shops, and once you’ve visited all five of the other participants, you get a free drink at the cafe of your choice. The program was initiated by LAMILL Coffee (the cafe in the Four Seasons hotel), and is an attempt to support Baltimore’s burgeoning coffee scene — in other words, to “grow and sustain a sense of coffee culture within the community, encouraging guests to explore the city’s great cafés and coffee shops outside of their daily routines.” Other cities have hosted similar programs with much success.

The “forward-thinking coffeehouses” that are participating include:

·Charmington’s – in Charles Village/Remington (2601 Howard St.)

·Dooby’s Coffee – in Mt. Vernon (802 N. Charles St.)

·High Grounds – in Highlandtown (3201 Eastern Ave.)

·Pitango Gelato – in Fells Point (802 South Broadway)

·Sidewalk Espresso – near Camden Yards (625 Washington Blvd.)

and, of course, Lamill – downtown (