If you read my post about a Nationwide cash machine in Scotland trying to flog me the chance to watch the England team train, like me you might also have wondered why they hadn't bothered first to check out whom I support. Chances were - it being Corstorphine High Street - I wasn't an England fan. The bank whose card I used - NatWest - I have been with since around the time of the Hand of God, so they've had ample opportunity to get the lowdown on my interests, and use this info to trigger a personalised message whenever I swing in for a sub. But do they do it? Not likely. What about Vodafone, then - I've had the same mobile number and business account for 19 years (perhaps a British Record?)... do they treat me like a familiar regular each time I call their Helpline? No. I might as well be a complete stranger. Or Sainsbury's... at my local store I've been using these Fast-track gismos since their introduction (10 years ago?) - which means the second I swipe my card they must know I'm back. They ken what I buy, what I like... surely they're ready for me with a basket of perfect offers? No. Nae. Never. Then Boots - only across the car park - and another loyalty card I've had for years. I've just been today, in fact, and they actually printed out some offers with my till receipt. Here they are: £5 off skin treatments, wrinkle decrease, facelift... what?! Oh, my! Never mind that we've reached a stage in technology where every single point of sale could recognise us by the chips we carry in our phones, even the more rudimentary mechanics I've described above are being eschewed - and by some of the UK's best companies, at that. Far from the C in CRM representing Customer (a person, you, me) ... the more graphic word that springs to mind when you think of Gerald Ratner seems far more accurate.
