Consumer Maven

Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov

After receiving an email (mass mailing) from the Inaugural Committee, I was prompted to visit the new WhiteHouse.gov website. As much of a web-head as I am, I cannot ever recall feeling so interested in doing so. What a surprise.

The first line was: Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov followed by the introduction, "Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. I'm Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House and one of the people who will be contributing to the blog."

One of the reasons that President Obama has been an effective campaigner and an effective politician is that he and his campaign people have understood the communications model.  Much of the general public does not understand that public relations as a profession has many faces, and unfortunately, often the outdated model of the publicity hound is the only image that is evoked when one hears the words, "public relations."  

However, Public Relations as we practice it and as we live and breath it is a practice of communications, to support and communication the goals and vision of an organization.  It includes social responsibility, and looks at the relevant stakeholders that both are impacted by and impact the firm.  At its' most effective and professionally responsible level, it is what socially responsible businesses implement. 

Tactically, this level of Integrated Marketing Communications includes all relevant, effective modes of communication channels.  From a business marketing communications perspective, I've been fascinated by how the Obama Campaign to elect him for President has employed these strategies. 

Looking at the new WhiteHouse.gov website, I would say that the level of professional Integrated Marketing and Public Relations has arrived, and it is about time that the bar has been raised. 

When Good Security Goes Bad or "Human Firewalls go Bonkers"

When I decided to purchase a new television, I shopped online and found the company I wanted to order from.  Crutchfield.  They are known for their customer service, and my uncle, who has purchased many things from them, swears by the quality of their service.  I tried using both their email and live help, and was able to resolve any other questions that I had.  I decided to go ahead and order.

To expedite matters I just decided to use my debit card.  Usually I would use a credit card but because I was doing some online banking, I had transferred the funds over to my checking account.  On Wednesday I decided that everything was good to go.  Unfortunately "go" wasn't "going" very smoothly. 

Crutchfield has a policy of verifying your card with the banking institution that issued it.   I rarely use the bank card that I decided to use for my fateful purchase.  When Crutchfield called, my bank refused to provide any information, and the transaction was therefore declined.  I emailed my personal banker, only to find out upon following up with a phone call, that she was no longer employed there.  Another bank employee took the call, and she told me she was the person Crutchfield contacted, and that she could not divulge any account holder information.  The bank thought that it would be a balance inquiry.  I told her that all Crutchfield wanted was to verify that I am the person who indeed is making this purchase.  I was told that for security and privacy reasons, I would need to sign a disclosure form giving them permission to verify my name/address/phone number and card number.  While it is great that my bank protects my privacy, since I already was on the phone with them this seemed to be overkill!!!  I faxed the signed authorization, and both Crutchfield and I thought we were finally good to go.

We tried to go forward but ended up going nowhere.  Crutchfield told me they couldn't't get the transaction to go through, that it was being declined.  With one phone connected to Crutchfield, I used another phone to call the bank.  Apparently my bank is extraordinarily good at keeping their account holder's funds safe, and in the bank, as evidenced by my not being able to get my money out!  I had briefly thought about just using a credit card, but by now I was determined to complete the transaction the way I had initiated it.  The bank employee asked me how much the purchase was.  Apparently they have limit as to how much an account holder can withdraw per day using a debit card.  While this is great if you are being forced at gunpoint to withdraw your funds, since I called them I found this rather inconvenient.  Unfortunately it was also immovable. 

The bank representative suggested either breaking the transaction up in two days, or using an ACH transfer, which would be a direct debit to my account.  My Crutchfield customer service guy contacted another department to find out if either could be done, and unfortunately it turned out to be that neither type of transaction could be done.  He did have the idea that I could get a gift certificate and apply it to my purchase so that the balance due that would hit my debit card would be less than my bank's daily withdrawal allotment.  Wanting to expedite this, I bought the gift card on a different bank's debit card, really testing the boundaries of processing.  Two hours later that transaction still had not been completed.  I called Crutchfield and it was held up because it needed to be verified, AND I had to call back from the phone number associated with my card.  By 6pm Friday evening, I still had not received the e-gift card. 

My e-gift card arrived via email on Saturday morning, as did a call from Hunter, my now favorite Crutchfield employee.  Together we suffered the effects of security policies, systems and procedures that are ostensibly in place to protect the consumer from unauthorized transactions.  His system did not show the gift card number yet, so I read it to him, and we were able to FINALLY get the transaction to go through.  This translated to over 3 days of effort to get a basic online purchase to be completed.  It was truly one of the most frustrating experiences I ever had, yet this frustration was due to two companies with policies in place that are designed to protect the consumer. 

Would I want these policies changed by either company?  No, not really.  Next time I'll just give up and use a credit card, but I'd have to keep my fingers crossed that the transaction goes through.  A month ago the card company from one of my credit cards called to say there was fraudulent activity on my card.  My card was automatically canceled by the card company and once I verified on the phone (thankfully I didn't have to jump through as many hoops as one of my bank's required) they reissued a new one.  Of course any orders I had outstanding that were waiting to ship and then be billed were declined, too. 

What disturbs me regarding all of this is that:

1).  These procedures are all a sign of our current times, where financial and credit fraud are so abundant that companies need to put in place increasing safeguards to reduce fraud and identity theft.

2).  That credit cards rule.  I once tried to not have a credit card, and it quickly became evident that in our modern world, that just isn't possible. 

3).  One of the positives about debit card use is that their transactions do not impact your credit report.  How three companies suddenly became the "be all" method that allows consumers to get credit, rent an apartment and buy a car when none of this was permissioned by the consumer has always been a sore point with me.  Related to this, I dislike and disrespect the fact that our privacy in this country is "for sale," as data miners and companies sell information (and misinformation) about us for a fee.  All of that is easily downloaded so people who have no business trying to get into our business don't even have to get up out of their chairs to invade our lives with any semblance of informed consent on our part.

4).  Anyone who had experienced severe financial difficulty and who does not have a credit card probably experiences a substantial amount of frustration and inconvenience if they need to rent a car, make purchases of expensive but necessary items and if they basically need to do anything that those of us who have credit cards take for granted.  The irony is that for many, the concept of "going into debt" every time one uses a credit card is so disconnected from reality, (that is, until the bill comes), versus looking into your wallet and seeing that you have less cash.   

Yet all of "this" is where we are today, and "this" is what we have, as a society, become. 

Green Collar versus Green Conciousness

This morning on NPR I heard a discussion about the term "Green Collar."  Already, the term is a phrase that pundits will be discussing.  And while it is great that the media is covering more "Green"  issues and topics,  it would really serve the public to cover these topics regularly throughout the year and in greater frequency.  Also, let's not forget that "Green" has been around for decades, but only recently has it become a para-fashion statement so that greater numbers of people can connect to the concept.

One of the questions in this morning's show was whether a "green collar" job is a "blue collar" job in the green industry or more related to working in a green related job function.  There was also a concern that this could become a name for something that just re-colors an already low paying job into a socially beneficial one, but still low paying, nonetheless.  The problem with defining 'green collar' in association with "white collar" or "blue collar" is that the basic category is not correctly targeted. 

The issue should be just "green" and not applied only to jobs.  Green is a way of thinking, not a job function, not a company.  Green represents fundamental beliefs, awareness, knowledge, respect for the environment, and a certain type of consciousness.  One could say my firm is a Green firm and has been for years.  Why?  Because we will never use toxic pesticides, we recycle, for years we only purchased TCO compliant electronics (before most people even knew what TCO was), our staff eats organically, we only buy recycled paper products and office supplies, our cleaning supplies, soaps, etc. are non-toxic and have no petrochemicals, none of us wear dry cleaned (only Green, wet cleaned) clothing or machine washed clothes, and we would not use VOC's in our living spaces or on anything, instead substituting this for no VOC products.   We are primarily a virtual firm, to reduce the need for commuting, which frees up time and reduces traffic congestion for those who cannot walk to our office or need to have time at home. 

So does that make us all 'green collared' professionals?  I don't think so.   We consider ourselves business and marketing strategists and professionals.   We do think Green, but only because it is a fundamental byproduct of how we see ourselves in relation to our world, both physically and spiritually.   Many years ago, "Pink" became the "New Black."  Now Green is the New Black.  Let's hope that with the help of the media and government support, Green will become the New Consciousness of the majority of people on this planet.  Are we getting closer?  I don't know.  I've been in stores, especially small ones in certain ethnic enclaves where I had to turn around and walk out because it was clear that pesticides were freshly applied, their fumes still permeating the air with a full store full of customers.  There's a certain type of unconsciousness that has to prevail for store owners to not even be aware that they are poisoning themselves and their customers.   I mentioned this to a few friends who were recent immigrants and they commented that they even used DDT when they were younger, and had no issue with using the poisons.   Part of this is relevance:  when you have fled a country to avoid death for just having been born and living in the wrong place at the wrong time, pesticide use can seem trivial.  It really is through education, whether via the media or our educational systems, that alternatives to toxic poisons must be conveyed because greater numbers of people can be reached.

I was talking to an artist friend of mine who had solar panels installed many, many years ago, in the 1990's.  Despite this being older solar technology, she saves about 30% of her heating bill, which was the purpose of installing the panels.  She told me something interesting, that when you use solar panels for this purpose, that a separate holding tank is required.  This is because when water is heated through solar panels, the water becomes so hot it would scald a person.   You can see the implications here if your building is heated by hot water.  With this knowledge,  building owners would have more options in making choices that affect them economically. 

When I was working on my Marketing Masters, I had the pleasure of taking an Environmental Management course taught by one of our marketing professors.  I would say that this  was easily one of the best courses I have taken, because of the type of information we learned, the discussions,  learning new concepts and ways to apply them, and learning what we didn't know.  The latter was perhaps the scariest because this involved  learning so much about technologies that  reduce energy consumption and energy usage, which weren't new.  These were proven technologies that have been in place for years, of which most consumers and business management would have had no clue about. 

The implictions for ignorance by management in the business world is huge, simply because the implementation of green technologies can, in one location, greatly effect the lives of many while also reducing  businesses expense.   Implementing green technologies and green policies in the business place also extends their "marketing" reach to  employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders, including the communities they affect.   That is, in marketing terms, is a whole lot of reach.  The more Green becomes a state of mind rather than the color of the month, the more environmentally healthier alternatives can flourish and thrive.  Don't just think Green.  Become Green.

DTV Converters and DVD/R set ups

I've never been a fan of waiting until the last minute, so I redeemed my DTV Converter coupon and purchased my converter box.  Now for any of you who know me personally, you are no doubt rolling your eyes and wondering how anyone so into high tech gadgets and having geek DNA could possibly want to continue using 'rabbit ears,' but that is my preference!

Setting up the converter box was relatively easy, although I should remind anyone reading this that is planning to do the same, that they need to purchase audio visual cables.  Radio Shack has them in stock as would most stores that sell electronic equipment.  The converter I purchased, by Philco, came with an antennae cable which I appreciated, since I've had problems in the past finding them.

The main point of why I am writing about this is that there seems to be a dearth of information out there about the other side of our forced compliance in going with HDTV signals.  It's called compatibility.  While the TV part of the connection, passing through the DVD/R,  went well there was a problem when we tried to view the television using the DVD/R.  When I hooked up our DVD/R and tried to get a television signal through it, it looked as if we had no antennae whatsoever.  I checked the connections multiple times, called Philco's tech support and all I could say was that between the two of us, we beat it to death and could only say that it was connected properly.

This morning I did some online research on and discovered that I needed to get a DVD/R that either had upscaling abilities or one that could handle HDTV.  The one I had could only handle ATSC, so the HDTV signal coming through the wire was basically useless.   So for those of us who actually need to record TV programs, come February 2009 we will have needed to have switched to cable or purchased a DTV converter AND purchased a new DVD/R if our current one only handled ATSC.  So for us, this required format conversion is not just costing us a converter box but an additional expenditure of over $200 for a new DVD/R, and that is NOT covered by any government converter coupons.

Resources:
http://hometheater.about.com/od/dvdrecorderfaqs/f/dvdrecgfaq14.htm
Solid Signal.com (Digital Converter Boxes)
JR.com (HDMI/HDTV upscaling technology DVD/Rs)

I've personally dealt with JR.com many times and have always been pleased with their service and the knowledge level of their sales people.  Solid Signal I discovered as a result of needing a Digital Converter Box.  Their customer service is very good and their tech support was also very good.  We would definitely shop at either again.

Cliptomania Clip on Earrings: Revisited

I love businesses that not only try to "get it right" but do things so well that they create customer evangelists.  I've written about Cliptomania before, but after a recent experience with them, I felt it only appropriate to revisit this small and growing company.

We recently  interviewed Candy Santo, one of the owners of Cliptomania and would like to share our interview with you.  For the uninitiated, Cliptomania is the place on the Internet to find ear rings for us girls who do not have pierced ears.  They not only have a stellar selection for all ranges of budgets, but an equally interesting selection in terms of colors, gemstones, and fashion needs.

Consumer Maven:  Can you tell me more about when and how you got started?  What was your inspiration for  starting your business???

Candy Santo:  The idea for Cliptomania arose from my husband's attempt to find me  nice earrings for our 30th anniversary in 1998.  We were living in the New York metropolitan area and not only could he not find anything, but they laughed at him at Macy's.  He thought that maybe this was a need that an Internet store could fill.  Our oldest was already out on his own and our daughter was in college and he thought a small Internet business would be a good counter to the empty nesting. 

After a year of study and planning, we opened our online store on Thanksgiving Day 1999.  Looking back, we were so naive that it is a miracle that we are still in business!  Had we tried it just 2 years later when online selling had taken off and start-ups were much more difficult and expensive, we're pretty sure it wouldn't have worked.   It helped that neither of us quit our day jobs and business was light enough then that our daughter could help while continuing her studies. One of our best assets, however, was my several decades of non-profit management which provided a good knowledge base for growing our little business.

Consumer Maven:  Are you in  partnership or sole proprietership?  What are your overall goals in terms of business growth?

Candy Santo:  Where we are now with a customer base of approximately 20,000 is something we never imagined and on most days more than half our customers are first timers so it looks like there's more growth ahead.  In addition to the 3 owner/operators (Christy & I are now full-timers & then some) Cliptomania - an LLC - employs 2 full-time and 5 part-timers.

Our primary goal is to be the Kleenex of clip earrings.
Secondary goals are:
... to provide a range of styles that makes it possible for a customer to find at least 2 pair of earrings they want to buy whenever they come into our store; 

... to image and describe the earrings in such a way that the customer gets what they expected (that this goal is being attained is demonstrated by the fact that less than 5% of what we sell is returned to us.)

... to provide outstanding customer service, giving customers the feeling they are shopping in a good local jewelry store

We couldn't meet these goals - particularly the range of products offered - if we were making them ourselves. So at any given time I'm dealing with at least 40 manufacturers, importers and designers.  I have a core group that have been key parts of our success as they have been willing and able to provide products that meet the unique needs of an Internet store.

Thank you Candy, and thanks for a great shopping experience!!

Cliptomania:  http://www.cliptomania.com

The Consumer Maven isn't the only fan here!  Check out the Tamale Chica Chronicles for another customer evangelistic perspective.

How was your shopping experience?

A few weeks ago I was at my local Whole Foods when, at the checkout, the cashier looked at me and said, 'And how was your shopping experience?'  I nearly dropped my organically raised produce when he said that.  Oh ohhhh, have I been busted???  Because the Consumer Maven is all about assessing the customer's shopping experience, it almost seemed like a kowinkydinky moment.  Ironically, just a month before this they had this one woman cashier who had the personality of a twice dead zombie and the warmth to go with it.  I dealt with her once and vowed never to go through her line ever, even if it there were no people in it and every other line was 20+ deep.  Fortunately she seems to have left for the night of the living dead.

So back to the question, "How was your shopping experience?"  Lately at "my" Whole Foods, it's been very good.  In the past, what struck me was that while the seperate service areas such as fish, meats, supplements, etc. were very service oriented, the customer service and cashier areas had been somewhat spotty and occasionally unpleasant.  So far whatever changes that had been made about half a year ago seem to be, with the exception of the zombie woman, providing a good customer service level, one that we'd expect for a store whose claim to fame is higher standards.  In fact, my last few experiences at the customer service desk were great, as have been the cashier areas. 

It is interesting that this is a question that some stores and business should dare not ask unless they are truly prepared to stand behind change.  At least at Whole Foods, they had the guts to ask it.

Robbins Brothers Jewelers Lincoln Park

A friend of mine has a family member who was hired by a jewelry company that opened up three stores in the Chicago area.  Two are in the suburbs and one is in the city.  When my friend’s family member was first hired, this person was enthusiastic, excited and passionate.  This is about the days that led to the dying of this passion. 

From what I was told, of the three stores, the Lincoln Park location was expected to be, no pun intended, a crown jewel.  A jewelry store in Lincoln Park would easily be expected to fit that billing, considering the high income level and demographics of that neighborhood.  When Chicagoans think of Lincoln Park, they think of young, upwardly mobile professionals, people with high incomes and a good amount of disposable income, and those who are able and willing to spend money on luxury items.  When we Chicagoans think of Lincoln Park, we think of north Halsted, Clark street, and in the general fashionista districts  close to DePaul.  It is that walkable area best served by high foot traffic. 

Herein is problem number one:  location, location, location, or rather, lack of it.  Their  "Lincoln Park" is actually not in the Lincoln Park that we think of, but on the 2100 block of North Elston.  This is an area best reserved for those planning a big box retailer trips by car.  Location wise, this is not Lincoln Park in terms of Trixies and the trendanistas and people who normally walk to their boutique stores. 

This leads into problem number two.  Besides their obviously stellar poor choice in geographic location, there appears to be a problem in effectively reaching the demographic of 'buyers of engagement rings.'  I was told that they were advertising on stations to reach 20-30 year olds.  This is an interesting choice, since people get married at all ages.  WE also know that the boomer market is graying and this segment is in the remarriage market.  Also, people delay their marriages, often focusing on developing their careers first, creating a demographic segment that easily ranges from 30-40 plus.  In marketing WOM (word of mouth), one doesn’t just want to reach the end consumer, because brand awareness is important for 'influencers' as well.  Influencers can be parents, friends, mentors, relatives, as well as consumer experts, etc. 

I was told that they did do “something” in the area of public relations, so I agreed to take a look at it for this person.  If they are spending money on marketing for the Chicago store, it doesn't appear to provide any long range benefit (read: brand building), nor does it appear to have any strategic focus.  It appears to have been done just for attention, otherwise known as publicity.  This included publicity during their opening day (Lincoln Park), and ramping up some attention getting aspects for Valentine's Day.   One shot publicity events are not brand builders.  Effective marketing is all about creating the customer experience, which also goes to creating an atmosphere by employees.  If employees are unhappy and disgruntled and are treated unfairly, or there is a perception that they are being treated unfairly, this creates a pallor.

Enthusiasm and passion are energies that translate from employees to the store and create 'atmospherics.'  There are other things that create atmospherics too, but employee 'energy' is a big part of it, and if it's faked the customer feels it, which encourages them to flee.  That creates negative "word of mouth," and no business strives for that.  This is a company that really need to invest money in developing a marketing strategy and public relations (not publicity) campaign and implement the type of programs that will make their company stand out and give people a reason to go to the Lincoln Park store.  The way things look right now, it's NOT a destination store.

Why are we writing about them?  Because a business that opens up effects not only the people that work there, but their families and the community is serves.  In this one example, a family member of a dear friend of mine was affected by their poor decision making.  Their errors in decision making led to downsizing and people losing their jobs, which in turn has effected their families.  We are also posting this blog on the oft chance that someone who is in their corporate headquarters is not well informed about what is going on here in Illinois, and wonders why a store in a supposed "hot" locale is yielding cold sales.

John Okumura

I was sad to hear about John Okumura, a man who lived honestly, honored his committment to quality and was one of the best of his generation of architectural woodworkers.  We recently found out about a memorial website that was done by the family, and we'd like to share it with you.  The beauty of the work that he produced is more than evident, as he put his energy and life force into all of his creative endeavors.  He is, as one of his past employees commented, considered the "Mr. Miyage of Japanese architectural woodworking."  Click here to check out the memorial website of the work of John Okumura.  Our heartfelt condolences to the family.  Because of what he did for a living, we are grateful that there is certainly one of his works, the Japanese wood joinery and gate at Osaka Gardens in Chicago's Jackson Park, that we can all enjoy.  The beauty and splendor of traditional wood joinery, right here in Chicago...who knew???

Chicago Police Officer Mike Mette Defense Fund

For those of you who haven't seen my blog on what happened to Officer Mike Mette you can catch-up.

For those of you who want to help, check out the Mike Mette Defense Fund.

For those of you who just need to know the short version:  this man was unjustly ruled against and given an amazingly preposterous jail sentence that defies common sense and human decency.  I encourage all of you to read what happened to him.  If it happened to him, it can easily happen to any of us. 

How do you define justice?

This morning I came across John Kass's column in the Chicago Tribune, "Finally, wronged cop gets some support."  Admittedly I've been a very, very busy girl, dealing with some major family issues, deaths in the family and 'life' in general, so I remember reading his earlier column and then forgetting about it.  John, thank you for today's column. 

Part of John Kass's column is here:  " Last Sunday I told you about Mette trying to repeatedly avoid conflict, being chased down the street, then getting pushed hard by the drunk "two or three times," according to the judge's own ruling, before punching the drunk once. And for that he gets 5 years?

"To all the people who read your column, words can't express how it makes me feel to have this much support," Mette said. "Everybody is calling. It's in the news now, and it's tough to describe how good the support makes me feel. I just want people to know that I appreciate them."  So many of you have called and written, I figured it was time for an update. But Mette doesn't have much time.

He's losing his job as a Chicago police officer. If something isn't done, he'll report for prison Nov. 9 and meet the inmates, who'll know he's a cop. 

And what do you say?   "I say I can't believe this is happening, either. But I'm going to prison for defending myself, for landing one punch on somebody who attacked me with both fists? That's what I can't believe."

A defense fund has been established, the Michael Mette Defense Fund, at Northwest Community Credit Union, 7400 N. Waukegan Rd., Niles, IL 60714. And Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police -- the police union -- has come to his side."

Originally I noted the link for the full article by John Kass, but it has been archived.  The Second City Sarge blog has listed reproduced Kass's article here:  http://secondcitysarge.blogspot.com/2007/10/mike-mette.html

I for one, will be both making a contribution and putting in my prayers.  For those of you who are more into praying than donating, please ask that those who are in a position to help Officer Michael Mette be inspired to do so.  In my prayers and thoughts, this includes all who have made errors in judgment...may they be big enough as human beings to recognize what they have done and to turn this around and make it right.

While many of you probably wonder why I am writing this in my Consumer Maven blog, the answer is simply this.  We are all consumers of police protection.  I have friends who are Officers.  Okay, so my current boyfriend is one.  Does that make me overly sensitive about stories in the media involving police officers??  You bet it does, but only because I hear both sides now.  And yes I've had run ins with traffic cops who in the past were less than nice, but I've also (before my current connections) had some incredibly kind officers whose humanity helped me get through some tragic events in my life.  It is the latter that I will always remember, and which helped me have a huge measure of respect for the men in blue, the Officers on the street of the Chicago Police Department.  Yes, there are bad apples - we all know that.  Because these men are in uniform, we expect and hold them to a higher standard.  But because they are in uniform, I know that they deal with unfathomable amounts of seeing human misery, of death, of violent crimes, of things unspeakable that most of us would reel from if we had to see one of them.  Most of these officers see a lot of this, and often daily.  For this, for what you all do and your service to us all, I thank you.