No Love Left in Flying

There is no doubt that women are more inclined to notice the details when it comes to experiencing products or services across nearly every category. If stores send us a thank you note or a special coupon for our birthday, we are much more responsive than our male counterparts. The same can be said if a store offers consumers a free cup of coffee or a balloon for our kids. So if the details are so important, how come the airlines have completely failed to acknowledge this fact, or do they just not realize it? Last week I traveled on United Airlines and had the same experience that all my other fellow travelers are having these days, but it doesn't make it any better. As a woman, I am completely befuddled by the fact that the airlines have chosen to take away all the nice little details instead of asking us to pay another $25.00 for a ticket. I mean I can't imagine that the combined cost of the luggage tariff, a small bag of peanuts or cookies and renting a pillow and a blanket for an hour could cost more than about $25.00. The bad will that is created by taking away these little extras and charging us $15 for checking a bag seems like it would be far more expensive in the long run in terms of lost business, than charging us a little more for the actual ticket. I would love to hear some other thoughts on this!

Making Me Love You!

In the field of marketing to women, we talk a lot about how men mainly want to make a transaction at a store, but women want to start a relationship. I am not sure that this is universally true, but I definitely have my favorite stores that I mentally have a little love affair with. Although I realize that it is a little cliche, I definitely feel like I have a relationship with Starbucks even though I don't go there very often anymore. It stems from the fact that they really do go out of their way to remember who you are and to greet you by name every time you come in the store.

On the other hand, I have a bit of a negative relationship with stores who force me to greet someone at the door every time I go in. I know that it is a little uncharitable to say this because they are of course trying, but instead of it feeling like the beginning of a beautiful relationship, I feel like my privacy is being infringed upon. I mean of course, if I am in a great mood and I bounce into the shop and catch the eye of the sales associate at the door, I am quite content to exchange greetings. However, if I am in the middle of a little retail therapy and not in the best of moods, I completely resent having someone shout 'how are you?' at me from across the store. I have even experienced sales associates who will keep saying it until I respond.

I want to feel loved and appreciated as a customer, but I am not sure that this is the way to win women over. I imagine that it is something that sales associates are told they have to do to every customer that walks in the door. How much more effective though if the sales associates were allowed to gauge the mood and situation of the shopper and respond to her accordingly, e.g. 'You look like you are in a hurry, can I help you find something quickly?'

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

I have to admit that McDonalds wouldn't be my number one choice for coffee, if it was just about what's in the cup. I mean, they do a good job, but it is hard to beat the Starbucks experience if you consider yourself a coffee aficionado. It also wouldn't be my number one choice if I was ordering it along with my 'breakfast on the go' - you would be more likely to find me at Panera.

However, McDonalds does do one thing that makes me love them that no one else does. When I am going through the drive through they put the cream and sweetener in my coffee for me. It sounds like a small thing right? Wrong! Have any of you tried driving while putting cream and sugar into a boiling hot cup of coffee. Especially if you have elementary school offspring in the back saying 'Mom stop doing that - you are going to kill us'.

So it is a small thing that in my life has taken on huge proportions. I love it when I go to another drive through and ask if they will put the cream and sweetener in for me and they tell me blunting 'we don't do that'.

It makes my day to have that done for me - it has made me a fan of McDonalds which I never thought would happen.

The 10% Off Thing

Last time I was in Target I bought something worth $24.99. I thought to myself that they couldn't possibly ask me if I wanted to open a Target account in order to benefit from the enormous savings involved - $2.49. However, of course they did.

This promotional offer, which almost every mass merchandiser - well, not Wal-Mart - and every department store continues to push upon its unwitting customers, seems rather out of touch to me.

Let's be honest, nowadays you have to really, really want another credit card to bother to sign up. I know that we have all been a little credit crazy in the past decade or so, but most people are starting to realize the folly of their ways. Moreover, the other part of the equation that I think about every time I open a new credit card is that I am going to have to deal with more bills and more paper work every month.

Can this promotional avenue to loyalty be seriously resuscitated?

Probably yes, if the stores stopped being so greedy and actually offered consumers something worth having. How about 50% off on the day you take out the card and 10% every time you use it? That would certainly get my attention and I imagine that it would still pay out for most retailers.

Let's start giving consumers something that is really worth having!

Going Broke At Wal-Mart

Okay, so it is probably true to that I can't really blame Wal-Mart for this, but despite the incredibly good value that Wal-Mart offers, I am going broke shopping there! In fact it has got to the point now, where my husband won't even let me go there because it has such a bad effect on my bank account.

So what's up?

Well, when I go to Wal-Mart or Target I always have a specific item in mind that I want to purchase. Usually something mild like some new underwear or shampoo. So why do I always end up spending at least $100? Well........basically because walking into these stores for me is a little like a kid walking into a candy shop. Suddenly the shampoo and underwear is completely forgotten in favor of the need to try Olay's new miracle wrinkle remover or Revlon's newest shade of lipstick. That however, is the least harmless of my tendencies in the realm of impulsive shopping behavior. Wandering into the pet department I will spy a new extra large dog bed or an adorable cat collar that I just have to have. Nearby stands a lovely row of vacuum cleaners in all sorts of lovely shiny colors just waiting to be bought.

So I have to admit that I have a definite love hate relationship with these mass merchandisers. I love them because they do allow me to shop with incredible convenience and buy everything I need for very reasonable prices. However, the less loving side of my relationship comes from the fact that the reasonable prices become a moot point if I am buying about four times what I really need.

Does anyone else have this problem?