Money Matters Margaret Dibben

Shopping is no longer a simple transaction where you hand over money, take your purchase and get on with your life.

Today, sellers pester you afterwards to rate their performance and tell them how much you enjoyed the experience. Were the staff helpful? Would you recommend us to a friend? Will you buy from us again? How did you first hear about us? Rate us from one to ten, and explain why you gave that response.

Hotels, restaurants, call centre staff, shops – even hospitals and charities – are at it.

They stress that this is for your benefit, not theirs – but what they really want to know is how they can persuade you to spend more money with them. They do not realise that, by eating into your time and demanding your attention, they are more likely to antagonise you; so, next time, you shop elsewhere.

Oxfam, for instance, wishes to ‘create better experiences’ for me, which requires their knowing where I live and what job I do. It claims completing the form takes ten minutes; though just one page contained sixteen questions.

John Lewis’s ‘How did we do?’ survey allowed me to comment only on the last adviser I had dealt with. This was the one who managed to get my lost order delivered; so, of course, I was satisfied. I could not comment on the other four advisers, who failed to solve the problem.