Maybe I expect too much.  I like it when I am made to feel special when I enter your store.  Yeah, yeah – touchy feely kinda stuff.  But don’t you deserve to be treated like more than just a number?  Especially in today’s marketplace.

Today, I took a 1/2 hour to get a few errands done around town.  My first stop was to a retail store* where I had a box of blinds to pick up that were ordered online.  I stopped in and said, “Hi, my name is Steve Gasser.  I have a box of blinds to pick up.”  Her comment, “Excuse me sir, I only know you by your phone number.”  In shock, I gave her my phone number and she proceeded to disappear to the back room.  When she returned, I was handed my blinds with a receipt and told, “Thank you.”  Nothing else.  I was just a number.

Why do I shop online?  I ‘feel’ like I am more than just a number.  I am greeted by my name when I browse through the online store.  My preferences are remembered.  I even see recommendations from other people like me.  This really helps when I don’t quite know what I am looking for…. [Read more...]