Who Thinks Up These Questions?

As a member of  e-Rewards, I am sometimes asked to participate in online surveys.  For my time and effort, I earn e-Rewards dollars that I can convert into things like airline points.  A recent survey dealt with customer loyalty to office supply stores—Office Max, Staples and Office Depot.

When I rated the three stores, I was most loyal to Office Max, which I gave a 6.  Staples came in second with Office Depot earning a loyalty rating of 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

The second part of the survey noted that I had given Office Depot a 1 and then presented a series of scenarios and asked how they might change my loyalty rating of Office Depot.  These scenarios all had a common theme—NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.  It seems that Tony Stewart and Office Depot have a relationship.

So how would my loyalty to Office Depot change if, for example, I had a chance to win a trip around the track with Tony Stewart or dinner with Tony Stewart or Tony Stewart merchandise.  Not one iota.  Although I'm not a NASCAR fan, the survey never once asked my why I have no loyalty to Office Depot.

The answer is simple.  I can get to Office Max in about five minutes from my home office.  It takes about 15 minutes to drive to Staples.  The closest Office Depot is about 30 minutes away.

So my answer, if they had asked the right question, is simple.  Build a store closer to me, and I'd give Office Depot a shot at my business.  After all, copier paper is copier paper, whether it comes from Office Max, Staples, Office Depot or even Wal-Mart.