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Are You a “Preferred Customer”?

Posted on | August 14, 2008 | No Comments

I got a call from a Halifax jewelry store today.  It was the one I ordered my wife’s engagement ring from…and then canceled the order from.  Don’t worry, I still got her a ring, but that’s not the point.

They called me on my cell phone today to let me know about their summer sale because I am apparently one of their “preferred customers”.  I am?!  I’d hate to think who their worst customers are if the best ones order expensive products and then don’t buy them.  It’s not that they called me to let me know about the sale, I think the personal touch is great.  It’s only partly the fact that they do a terrible job managing their customer database.  Really, it’s being called a “preferred customer” when I know damn well I am not.  It’s patronizing.

I got the same thing from my Realtor in the mail yesterday.  She is a great agent and person.  I’d recommended her to anybody, but she’s also well established and successful.  So why is it all I have to do to become a preferred customer is buy one home?  In this case, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the effort, but it makes me feel uncomfortable to be referred to as “preferred” when I know my purchase was half that of many clients.

When companies are careless with words like “premium”, “platinum level”, and even “preferred” they loose their meaning.  Consumers are aware of how much we spend at our favorite places and very much like to be appreciated for our business.  But, when we know we come in on the low side, especially with something like jewelry, we would prefer to not have to recall just how much we’ve not spent.  How the actual Preferred Customers feel about this is a whole other blog post!  I suppose they are “Platinum Preferred”.

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Category: Rantings, complaing, customer service
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