Next time, do please send some coupons
By Sandra Thompson
Published November 25, 2006
Last week the first holiday card arrived in the mail, a wreath of dried flowers on the front, but the message was not "Happy Holidays" or "Peace," but "Thank you." It was from my good friends at Marshalls, who included this touching message: "without you, marshalls would be just another store." It was written in all lowercase letters, which I guess makes it seem more intimate.
No coupons, nothing so crass as that, just their appreciation. I know you'd have preferred coupons; me, too. Now isn't that nice?
Now it's the holiday shopping season, when stores want to cash in on the brand loyalty they've been building all year. And not just with deals - discounts, points for charge customers, special shopping days for preferred customers - but with a more personal approach.
This year I got more birthday cards from stores than I did from my friends. (I'm not sure what this says about me.)
J. Jill sent a sweet all-pink card with a birthday cake on the front and a gift enclosed - a 5 percent discount to use throughout the month of my birthday.
Talbots' card had cute illustrations of wrapped gift boxes along with what might be inside - shirts, shoes, bags. It was "signed" by Arnold B. Zetcher himself, Talbots chairman, president and chief executive. And I could get 10 percent off on my birthday.
A bright yellow postcard from Stein Mart offered me a discount (20 percent off one item) along with its congratulations. DSW's card had a cute line drawing of a pair of shoes ($5 off a purchase.)
Naturalizer sent me a card with a photo of a woman I might have resembled as a 27-year-old New Yorker: big sunglasses, jeans and boots, black poncho, traversing a city street. She was identified as "Freya Williams, advertising executive, freelance journalist, expectant mom (so that's why she's wearing the poncho) and major multitasker."
Then the message: "Happy Birthday! We celebrate every woman you are." ($10 off.)
Considerate, huh? And it doesn't even have a store in Tampa anymore.
How do they all know my birthday? I have no idea, but in this post-1984 world, I can guess.
And it doesn't stop at birthdays.
The last time I shopped at Saks, I got a thank-you note from my sales associate!
After I filled out a Macy's customer survey, in which I commended two of its salespeople, I received a letter from the general manager of the WestShore Plaza store. She said, "Your feedback is a gift to me" - even though I critiqued certain aspects of the store. She also invited me to stop by her office and say hello.
Bloomingdale's sends me its very own magazine called Little Brown Book. It has a cover that resembles a plain brown wrapper, but what's inside is not at all plain and, in fact, more attuned to Paris Hilton's lifestyle than to mine, but I appreciate the thought.
I know you probably think I shop all the time, right? The thing is, I don't. And I almost never buy anything at full price. But the high-end career shoppers, those people who keep Neiman Marcus and Louis Vuitton in business, what kind of stuff do they get in the mail?
Sandra Thompson, a Tampa writer, can be reached at sthompson125@tampabay.rr.com City Life appears on Saturday.