Customer loyalty cards are designed to reward customers for continued purchases.
Organisations that operate such schemes realise the value they can bring in terms of knowing and understanding their customers.
As a caffeine addict I hold a loyalty card for Starbucks and the local competitor in Cardiff who has two branches. I try to support local business whenever feasible and especially if their product/service is competitive (quality and price.)
The local firm has a card with space to collect stamps each time a product is bought. Recently I arrived at the coffee shop without my loyalty card. Not wanting to miss out on having my purchase rewarded I picked up a second card and collected the stamp.
Today, I asked if the single stamp card could be merged onto my regular card as it was almost complete. A full card (9 stamps) entitles the holder to a free drink of their choice.
The response was a firm “NO.”
In an effort to discover why not I asked “Please help me understand why it is not possible?”
“Because” was the retailer’s response. (The last time I heard this level of sophisticated debating technique was the school playground.)
It astonished me to learn the spokesperson was indeed the co-owner of the establishment.
On probing further I was told the card cost 50p and “if everybody made my mistake it would cost us (the shop owner) a lot of money.”
Surely the whole point of a loyalty card is to encourage customer loyalty, “what effect do you think the discussion is having on my customer loyalty?” I asked.
“I don’t care” came the response “we simply can’t do it.”
Well I certainly care that you treat your customers in this way and more importantly I care enough to never visit either of your establishments again.
Today’s experience reminds me, we business owners spend tens of thousands of pounds getting the Branding of our organisations just right. It takes an example like this to destroy that reputation and reverse all that hard work and financial investment.
The second lesson, with the emergence of world wide web two and beyond, more and more disaffected customers have the voice and the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction.
Brand owners beware! The human brand experience is just as important as the physical branding. We ignore it at our cost.