The weirdest thing happened the other day. First of all I complained to REI on Twitter- which is weird in and of itself because I've posted to Twitter all of 15 times and the only followers I have are my brother and those random companies that follow people in hopes of getting followed.
But I was shopping for something at REI, a backpack I think. It doesn't matter so much what because every time I shop for outdoor gear at REI or elsewhere I have the same frustration: I hate colors from the 80's.
I hate teal and fuchsia, and cyan, and all the colors that almost all women's clothing and supplies come in. Shop in Men's, you'll find RED, BLUE, GREEN, sometimes yellow, and the old standard black. In Women's it's all these awful colors I hate, and black, which I already have to much in anyway.
So this last time I was really frustrated because I found a PERFECT Men's backpack in a great shade of really normal orange and it didn't fit because it was made for a long torsoed man and long-torsoed I am NOT. And the same brand of backpack in women's was AQUAMARINE.
Nothing against those who love aquamarine, but I hate it. I want my supplies in colors I could find in a standard Crayola box. Is that so much to ask?
SO I tweeted at REI and said so.
And two hours later, THEY TWEETED BACK.
"@kambrat Thanks for the feedback. We will pass it along."
Weird, right? Is this normal now? I didn't know what to do with myself. In fact, I had three reactions:
1. Shame/Embarrassment
Like when you complain about something loudly and then someone calls you on it. Really you were just complaining to complain. It's really not THAT bad. I realize REI mostly sells product that other companies make. And that all companies are doing market research of SOME kind. I'm not trying to say people are doing their jobs poorly. No one should get fired over this or anything...
2. Satisfaction/Loyalty
Maybe my voice will be heard. Even if it's not, the fact that REI has someone staged to respond is pretty amazing. They are listening. TO ME! Now that's the future of customer service right there. And real time market research. I'm not the only one wishing for more primary colors and I'll stick with REI until they learn that from me and all the others like me...
3. Unsettled/Creeped Out
What is it that's weird about it? It's like I'm breaking the Fourth Wall of Big Business. Small businesses hear customer complaints. Large businesses are an endless hole of bureaucracy and grey flannel suits (or in the case of REI, neon breathable spandex puffy coats). That's just how it works. Here I feel as if I've entered in a false reality where my complaints are heard... but surely not by people who can affect change... or maybe next season bags will be red and puffy coats bold blue. All because my tweet went around the world.
I don't know. I still feel mixed
1 comment:
haha! nice! I agree with out on the colors, though I don't buy too much from there. But today I was chatting with the grocery clerk and he kind of called me out on my commenting on the hot weather by saying "the one thing i've learned since I moved from california is that oregonians complain about the weather all the time...too hot, dry, wet, etc." and I was like....1. a little embarrassed b/c I thought we were having a conversation and 2. annoyed because I've never met someone from California who didn't complain constantly about not being there. Sorry for the novel...it just really resonated with me :)
BLUE BAGS FOREVER!
Post a Comment