The future of bumping

I use the Bump app on my iPhone to easily exchange information with other iPhone users. But now the bumping method is jumping to a whole new level. A new PayPal app allows you to divide up bills, such as a restaurant check, by tapping phones together. Although the service has yet to catch on nationwide, industry experts say PayPal's timing might be perfect.

Although this sounds intriguing, I must admit that my Bump app is often faulty and it inevitably takes more time (and several tries) to successfully bump my information to another user. But PayPal may be on to something here. No cash, no calculating the tabs... my interest is peaked.

Read the full story from The New York Times here.

Domino's steps it up

A few months back, Domino's launched a big marketing push to change its image, the taste of its pizza, and ultimately throw down against rival Papa John's. Mostly everyone I know who's tried the new recipe has had something good to say about it. Curious to see how it stacked up, I ordered a late-night pie. Not only was it much better than I remembered, the online ordering process was one of the most enjoyable Web experiences I've come across in awhile.

First you build your pizza by selecting size, crust preferences and toppings. After decorating your dinner and then placing your order, a confirmation page appears to keep you up to date on the pizza's progress -- it tells you when it's being prepped (and in my case, that someone named Sean was making it), when it leaves the store and it's estimated time of arrival. The quirky and playful language used throughout the site is another reminder how hard the chain is trying to stay fun, relevant and modern.

But it's all packaged perfectly -- from start to finish, the experience was seamless and in the end, the pizza was pretty decent. Kudos for Domino's for not only revisiting its pizza recipe, but also it's Web experience. I'm sure I'll decorate another late-night pizza sometime again soon.

The bird is looking dapper...

Someone made him a top hat out of cardboard! He looks so dashing.

KthanksGottaGoBye!

Speaking of chat tool representatives, doesn't it seem like they always want to get out of the conversation as soon as possible?

Me: "Do you offer blahblahblah on overnight shipping?"
RetailChatRep: "The answer is yes. Did I answer all of your questions today?"

No, not yet. Why the rush? I love the idea of chatting online with a sales rep rather than picking up the phone or going into a location, but there's often a sense of urgency that they have to run. Whether it's online, in a store or on the phone, customer service representatives need to give shoppers their full attention and enough time to get all answered.

Better-informed shoppers make better-informed purchasing decisions and ultimately have a better experience with the retailer -- so please, let's not rush a Q&A session. It's in the best interest for everyone.

Online chat reps, please speak up

I’m all about using the “Chat Now” tool on e-commerce sites – why pick up the phone when you can just send an instant message to a customer service representative and get all of your questions answered on the spot? In my mind, seeing that feature on a site shows the company is not only thinking about the customer experience but it’s also an industry innovator.

I recently found myself chatting away with a customer service representative from online retailer Newegg.com. I was in the process of purchasing a wireless Rock Band guitar as a part of a birthday gift and wanted it shipped to the recipient’s home before I visited that following weekend. My obvious goal was that I wanted to be there when they opened the box. After the customer service representative answered all of my questions and assured it would arrive in time, I couldn’t have been more pleased with my first Newegg experience.

That is, until the next weekend when I arrived to find the Rock Band guitar box completely exposed and sitting pretty in their apartment. The gift wasn’t opened without me; Newegg just put the mailing address on the box itself and shipped it out on its way. So much for the surprise.

I completely support retailers that are going more green and cutting back on packaging costs, but my frustration lies with the customer service representative: After conversing for more than 10 minutes, they didn’t care to mention my gift would arrive completely exposed? I don’t know Newegg, perhaps I’m not that all impressed with you and your chat skills after all.

The way of the whale...

Specialty apparel retailer Vineyard Vines has come a long way since it started selling neckties for men back in 1998. The Stamford, Conn.-based retailer now markets a full range of apparel and fashion accessories for men, women and children, selling its products through catalogs, call centers, 500-plus specialty and department stores, and nine brick-and-mortar stores on the East Coast.

(You know, it's the brand with that cute little whale logo).

Anyway, to keep up with its expansion and in order to create a cohesive brand experience through these various channels, Vineyard Vines sought a technology platform that would not only support growth but also tie its sales channels together.

To read how the company is doing so -- and how it's using social networking to reach customers -- read the full story by clicking here.

Did Sephora eat the Apple?

Sephora is joining the self-service wave by offering kiosk units in six airports nationwide. I recently heard about the retailer’s self-service initiative to provide some of its best-selling beauty essentials to on-the-go travelers, but I finally spotted one of its branded vending machines at the Indianapolis airport last weekend.

Operated by ZoomSystems, the kiosk is powered by touch screen technology and has a video monitor to walk customers through the process. The software is easy to use; the hardware sleek and a great extension of the brand. The units are also being tested in 20 JCPenney stores.

While playing around with the machine during my flight delay, I realized there used to be an Apple kiosk in the very same spot. What happened? Has Sephora gone and upped Apple?