Is personalized remarketing too creepy?

The other day I bought a pair of great fitting shorts on Bonobos.com. Their brand was founded on the principle that every man deserves great fitting clothes and excellent customer service. “Our return policy is the most straightforward and generous on Earth: any pant, any time, any reason.” Love it.

The pants came and fit great. I was happy. A couple days after my purchase when I was checking emails, blogs and Facebook, I saw ads for Bonobos chinos everywhere. It felt creepy. I was being stalked by Bonobos.

Then the shorts started to fall apart at the seams. Literally. I contacted Bonobos customer service or “the service ninjas” as they call themselves, through their Facebook wall. I check mine every day, so should they.

Their response: “Oh no! Seam tears are actually really easy to repair so have a tailor or dry cleaner fix ‘em for you and we’ll reimburse you in store credit. Sound good?
– Chris.”

No, Chris. That doesn’t sound good.

So I gave up.

I didn’t just give up on trying to return the shorts. I didn’t give up on trying to contact the ninjas. I gave up on Bonobos. That’s all it took.

My privacy felt invaded and my hopes let down, all within the span of two weeks. I wanted to love the brand, I just couldn’t anymore.

Brands need to know their customers’ boundaries and use social media as a vehicle for excellent customer service. When boundaries are crossed and people are let down online, loyal customers can be quick to sever ties.

To read more about the controversy of personalized remarketing, read this New York Times article.

-Stephen Davis, Copywriter

KG Partners Things to make you think trends Posted under KG Partners by Stephen Davis, Copywriter