Toby Douglass, a contributor to the online Risks forum, uncovered this shining example of Tesco’s leadership in customer relationship management, in its guise as a mobile phone provider. “Buried deep, deep in the small print is a brief sentence that says if the customer wishes not to be involved in "market research" [read advertising SMS messages] they need to phone customer services and opt out,” Douglass relates. He duly called, and was asked for his Tesco Clubcard details. When he said he didn’t have a Clubcard, he was told he couldn’t opt out without one. “Tesco can add you to their advertising SMS list without a Clubcard, but they cannot remove you without one,” he says. Fortunately for Douglass, customers services has devised a suitably high-tech workaround: “A shift manager visits a store, picks up a blank card, registers it to the customer and unsubscribes them.”

22 Mar 2006