Good Customer Service or Big Brother Issue?
Sunday Jul 27, 2008
In the past two days I have had two "aha interesting" experiences, and I am not 100% sure to qualify them as good customer service or Big Brother watching me. Here are the stories:
- I purchased a laptop security lock for USD 24.95 at the Apple store in Santa Clara (Valley Fair mall). The salesperson took my credit card and swiped it into his machine. A few touches later he asked me whether I wanted the receipt printed or mailed to my MobileMe account. Huh? All this from my credit card? Only moments later did I realise that this is the same card that I use for my Apple account, and it probably popped up on his machine. So I opted for the mail option, and checked whether I did not have to sign. "No, that's only for large amounts".
- I used my Visa card in the hotel ATM, and only about 15-20 seconds after I swiped the card did my name appear on the screen! I don't know whether the information comes from the server or from the chip on the card, but it was very fast. The whole transaction was completed in less than 30 seconds, which must be a record.
So now I am thinking about how I should classify this: good customer service, or as another indication of the kind of information that is floating around, with serious privacy and security implications. At this point I am leaning towards the good customer service, as I did register this card with Apple. If this were to happen at a store that I don't have an account with, I would definitely lean towards option number 2.
What about yourself? Do you have any examples of this happening to you, and how would you classify this?
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The hotel ATM knows your name because it is encode...