Logging in

Why do companies that run websites and want customer interaction make it difficult to do so by compelling customers remember a user name and password?

The answer, of course, is that the login requirement comes from the registration requirement that allows the company to collect data about us, its customers and prospects. And while I'm sure many people, like me, use the same password for everything so we don't have to remember 100 different ones, more often than not, the user name I wish to use is already taken so I have to come up with some variation of it that will be "allowed" yet still easily recalled.

The point is that if I see something on a site that I want to make a quick comment about, I have to jump through hoops to make that comment. So the bottom line is: companies, and media, would rather have our information so they can design marketing messages to try to talk us into something we don't want or need -- marketing at us -- rather than learning what we think or want or feel, so that they can inform us about the products and services they have that will benefit us; that is, market to us.

Beverage Charges at Old Country Buffet, Country Buffet, Ryan's

A letter to Country Buffet/Old Country Buffet HQ:

I see that you are now charging for beverages at Old Country Buffet. Interesting that only a couple of years ago you were loudly advertising the fact that you DIDN'T do so when all your competitors did.

It's really disappointing when a retailer (that includes restaurants) attempts to resuscitate corporate profits by sticking it to their customers, especially in tough economic times such as what we're ALL experiencing today.

Instead of helping your customers through the down times, you focus on your bottom line and think only of how to squeeze a bit more cash from customers' wallets.

In terms of marketing that tactic seems rather foolish -- if people are scaling back on dining out, why would they come to OCB if they will be paying MORE for their meal?

We're all in survival mode, but some businesses handle it better than others. Had you any sense or understanding of the marketplace, you would surely realize that offering diners even a temporary price rollback or something extra as thanks for patronizing your restaurants when they should be eating at home to save money, would bring you many more customers and immeasurable good will.

I and my family will no longer be dining at OCB, although we had enjoyed doing so for many years. Along with the ridiculous price increase we saw the last time we visited, your now additional charge for beverages just priced you right our of our budget and more importantly, out of our desire to patronize any merchant who shows such disregard for its customers.

While our "boycott" of OCB won't make a bit of difference to your bottom line, I am certain others will come to the same conclusion we have. I hope that in the end, though you may not lose any money from having fewer customers (you'll make it up in those beverage charges) your image will be tarnished enough so that when people do have greater disposable income for dining out, they'll remember the policies you and other retailers initiated to prop up drooping revenues and patronize those who instead partnered with consumers to weather the storms together.