For Sale...Sort of

Yvonne Battle-Felton

June 21, 2010

“For a limited time only, get a dozen tulips for only $19.99”

I like tulips.

“Mother’s day is around the corner…”

That’s true, I deserve flowers.

“…order now for the special mother in your life…”

Oh, that’s right, my mom, my sister…

Phones, emails, letters, papers, people: At any given time, there are a lot of things competing for my attention. Speed limits, traffic, signs, deer: When I’m in the car, there are even more.

I only listen to music when I’m in the car, and I only listen to music I like when I’m in the car alone. Either way, I don’t spend a lot of time listening to commercials, so this one amused me.

“Just go to our website www.insertnameofnationalfloristhere.com

Got it.

Click the icon at the upper left (or right) corner…

Umm…ok, I can remember that.

Enter the code xyzoi18392xx.5-2…

Do what?

The music starts to play.

I’m mildly annoyed, I wanted those flowers.

By the next song, I’ve forgotten.

With IPods, cell phones, MP3 and 4’s, people are listening to music almost anywhere—but are they listening to commercials?

I doubt it.

Is a sale still a sale when it’s hidden behind multiple steps, conditions, codes and clicks?

Good prices are not secret codes; a happy customer should not be in an elite group. New and repeat satisfied customers should be your business norm, not your business anomaly.

• Permalink
• Comments (0)