Customer service, that is. Take the example of the Crocs franchise, for instance.

Crocs make and sell some great products, but some of their management policies are totally clueless.

Yesterday we wandered into their store in the Riverwalk in New Orleans. I wanted to buy some shoes. After all, that’s whole idea of having a retail, bricks-and-mortar presence, right? To sell people your products!

Sadly, the stores’ policy is that if your shoe size is larger than 13, go and get fucked.

Sorry, I mean, take your money elsewhere.

Sorry, I mean it’s “go to our website, and order your product there, even though you have no guarantees that the product that you will order will fit, or be delivered to you while you are where you are. “. Translated, that’s “Yes, we’re idiots, and we want you to know this.”.

Let me make this perfectly clear: I was there, cash in hand, and I wanted to try on, and buy, some shoes. I have very wide feet – I suffer from odema which means that most shoes I see don’t even come close – and if the mindless furballs at Crocs think that it’s a good idea to send customers with cash in their hands away from their front doors, then they’re just plain mad.

Or idiots.

If I was a shareholder in Crocs, I would be asking the board some serious questions about this.

In the meantime, my money goes elsewhere.

I left my business card with the poor bastard in the store. Like, that poor guy has to tell customers that he cannot sell them stuff, and that they need to go online. As if.

But, in leaning them my business card, they now have an open door to get back to me and explain themselves. I’m not holding my breath.