(This letter is in response to the Backword story “…and a service sleeper” from our January issue)
As a premier publication in and of the direct marketing industry, one would expect more from Catalog Age than to use an isolated telemarketing misstep to intentionally, or otherwise, misrepresent a premier catalog, such as Macy’s By Mail. To add insult to injury, your staff cannot provide a single supporting name, date, time, or any detail that would allow investigative follow-through for improvement.
The rare instance of service deficiency is a disappointment to all of us. However, this form of anecdotal hit-and-run “reporting” is a disservice not only to the direct marketer at the receiving end, but to your magazine’s credibility as advocate for the industry.
The editors respond: Actually, we did provide Centre with the caller’s identity. As we explained, he is an infrequent catalog shopper, could not remember the exact date and time of the call (it was shortly before Christmas), and because he was kept on hold, had no opportunity to get the order-taker’s name.