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It is that time of the year again. My birthday is just round the corner and all the mail-order guys rush to send me special birthday offers. Or shall I say, “special” birthday offers?It must be my own fault for being born so near all the summer sales, but most of these offers don’t sound so special. Both Grattan and La Redoute sent me discounts for my birthday. Only these are less than the discounts they sent me just a couple of weeks earlier as a general customer offer. And I can get better deals online anyway, as all the mail-order catalogue would already have started their summer sales. And then there is the Littlewoods group. In the numerous catalogues the group runs price differences can be unbelievable. Yep, the items in all catalogues are the same. They probably come out of the same warehouse. Served by the same customer services team. Delivered by the same van. Only the price you are expected to pay is different.Which brings me to the point I wonder about time after time. Every time I buy something. Personal items, home stuff, travel, insurance. Utilities are the most annoying. Don’t they realise I have all the prices at the click of a button? Are the marketing people still trained by the pre-internet teachers based on the pre-internet books? Wake up, guys, the world has chaged. Respect your customer’s intelligence, and she (he) will repay with their loyalty.
One company whose birthday offer I’ll accept is Yves Roches. In fact, I’ll accept it twice. I just love these guys. I have been buying their beauty products for some 20 years. When I was a penniless student in the country rocked by big changes it was more of an aspiration. Pop into a shop in Nevsky Prospect, St Petersburg, looked at all the pretty displays, breathe in all the smells. To actually buy something was a big treat. Then came a central London and a hectic life of a model. My main shop became the one in St Christopher’s Place, London. Perfect location, great range of treatments with all the favourite products. That shop is no longer there. In my present life all the products come through the post, but they have made it even more addictive to me. Firstly, the mail order prices are on average 50% of their shop prices. Secondly, all orders come with presents, and I would give their gift-buyers a special award for sourcing all the stuff - the range is quite amazing. OK, me being fussy most of gifts end up making my teenage nieces happy, but it is the thought that counts! (convenient for visits to the nieces too). The company comes with a great story too - a regular guy using a granny’s recipe to start a worldwide company selling beauty products derived from nature in an environmentally friendly way. And he gave a new lease of life to his village along the way. I must visit the place sometime.
