I just had this great experience purchasing a Mosquito Magnet online.  The company I purchased from had a great price, site was easy to use, did a good job of earning my trust with reviews and accredidations and I received the product quickly as promised.

Then just today I receive a follow-up email asking for my feedback on my purchase.  From the subject I knew they wanted me to rate them, then in the email body there is a large link that says Leave Elite Deals Feedback, so I click it.  I landed on a page asking for my review and rating and I filled it in.  Then at the bottom it wants my purchase order number and date of purchase.  So, I hunt for it where I saved my email orders and eventually find it.  Then another section pops up asking me to create an account with Reseller Ratings.  I understand it's a third party rating system, but really come on.

I gave them all my info when I placed my order.  They know who I am, what I purchased, and when I purchased ... WHY in the world ask me for it again.  At the end of the day I wrote my review and then bailed because I didn't want to sign up for yet another website and give them my info.

Having gone through this process made me wonder and start to think about areas that I might make things too difficult for customers.  How about you?  There is much to lose and alot to gain by paying attention and questioning how and why you currently interact and communicate with your customers.

Here is a screenshot of the email I received.  Interesting enough it had the order number and date of purchase right in it, BUT it still wasn't intuitive enough.

Until next time!