We can't do the math

MUSB Thumb Drive Packaging (Front)

USB Thumb Drive Packaging (Back)

I recently bought a new USB thumb drive at Staples. The drop in prices has been pretty remarkable. This 32 GB device was under $20.00. And 30 years ago, when IBM introduced its first hard drive for PC it had a capacity of 5MB and sold for $20,000.

But that is not the point. On the back of the packaging is a table showing how many files the device can hold. The table lists the capacity for two sizes of USB thumb drive, 16 GB and 32 GB. As you might expect, the 32 GB device can hold twice as many MP3 files and photographs as the 16 GB device. But, for some reason, while the 16 GB device can hold 30 hours of video, the 32 GB device can only hold 40 hours of video, not the 60 hours you might expect.

Detail of USB Thumb Drive Packaging (Back)

Not the end of the earth, but I'd like to think that someone is paying attention to details. Yes, it is only the packaging, but typos are never a good sign. (And I should know, I make more than enough of them in this blog.)

The right products in the right place

What the hell was I thinking! I went into a Staples store to look at computers. I found some good deals on laptops, but ended up buying a couple of things that were not on my list.

Have a look at the folders on this rack. (Especially on the second shelf from the bottom.)

Rack at Staples

The folder at the right side is the one that caught my daughter's attention.

Muppet folder at Staples

Putting the Muppets at a four year-old's eye level was a temptation too great for her to resist. Even though young children are probably not the main component of the target customers for the Staples at the University of British Columbia, there are probably enough Muppet fans around that the store will move a few of these folders.

As I've said to my students more than once; never underestimate the power of cute. And cute in the right place is irresistable.

The price of entry

First of all, my apologies for the horrible photographs of the signs. I am ready to replace my mobile phone and a better camera is my primary criteria when choosing a new telephone. (The bad workman always blames his tools.)

I was at a playground recently and noticed an intersting aspect of the equipment design. Like most playgrounds, this one has a variety of equuipment aimed at different ages. One section is aimed at 2 to 5 year olds.

Sign on playgound equipment "designed for children 2 to 5 years old"

Other equpment in the paygound is designed for older children, 5 to 12 years old.

Sign on playgound equipment "designed for children 5 to 12 years old"

That is all well and good, but how do you keep the little kids off the equipment intended for bigger kids? With some smart designing that creates a "price of entry". This is the equipment designed for the children 2 to 5 years old.

Stairs on playgound equipment "designed for children 2 to 5 years old"

As you can see it is a set of stairs, a bit steep, but with two handrails. And how does this differ from the entry to the  equipment designed for children 5 to 12 years old?

Stairs on playground equipment "designed for children 5 to 12 years old"

There are steps of a sort, but only one handrail and it is obviouslty designed for older children who have more strength and balance.

By using two different types of "entries" to the equipment, the designers are trying to ensure that the children who make it onto the equipment have the strength and balance needed to safely use the rest of the equipment. Now, this won't prevent some kid from managing to haul themselves onto the equipment meant for bigger kids, and then falling off and injuring themselves, but with some reasonable supervision, it should deter all but the most determined.

This sort of "price of entry" is also used by designers of mountain bike trails. If the trail starts with a 30 cm (12") wide ladder bridge over a 3 metre (10') drop it should deter people who have no business attempting the trail.

Retailers can use, and misuse, this "price of entry" in designing their stores. The store that looks expensive probably has expensive stuff in it and so if I'm the manager I don't want the shop to be filled with timewasters. Similarly, the dollar store will have a hard time selling high-end merchandise as the appearance of the store does not lead customers to think that it is a place for expensive goods. (Costco is a notable exception.)

And along with the design of the store, the dress and appearance of the staff also have to fit the merchandise. Next time you are out shopping for cosmetics, compare the sales people selling Clinique and Revlon. I doubt that you'll find them interchangable.

I'm confused, and I have lots of experience

Canadian Blood Services netCAD logo Source: http://cbr.ubc.ca/facilities/netcad/

I am a regular blood donor and have been since my final year of secondary school. (I've donated over 300 times.)

Since the 1980s I've been doing Apherisis donations. Whole blood contains four components; red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma. These days I'm donating platelets. I was donating for transfusions, but there is a surplus of my platelet type and I'm also CMV positive. (CMV is cytomegalovirus and while trivial for healthy adults, CMC can be deadly for infants and people with a compromised immune system.)

So, I want to keep donating blood and I now donating at the netCAD site at the University of British Columbia. Among other things, the researchers are trying to find ways to extend the shelf life of platelet donations beyond their current five days. Certain drugs can affect the performance of platelets and so before I donate the nurses want to make sure that I have not taken any drugs that will affect the platelets.

Below is part of the text of an email that I received as both a reminder about my appointment and a warning about the drugs that I was not permitted to take prior to donating.

Please note the following reminders:

1. Do not take any anti-inflammatory or pain-killing medication (e.g. Ibuprofen, Advil or Motrin) 24 hours before your appointment.
2. Do not take any medication containing aspirin (e.g. ASA), naproxen (e.g. Aleve) or Ketorolac 72 hours before your appointment.
3. Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) and Celebrex are acceptable any time. If you are unsure, Please contact the clinic.

Eat a good meal before your appointment (please avoid high fat foods) and increase your calcium intake.

Now I may be a bit thick, but the first point and the third point seem to contradict one another. Isn't Acetaminophen a "pain-killing medication". And I'm pretty sure that Celebrex is an "anti-inflamatory".

This confusion is likely to result in people taking drugs that will affect the quality of their donation. And that is never a good thing.  

But not great enough clients to actually buy advertising

Ad on a Canada Line Skytrain

It is a bit sad when the firms that sell advertising space have to use some of that space to tell you that it would be a really good use of your advertising budget to buy their space. (And are the media buyers really taking the Skytrain?)

I've mentioned this before, but if you have enough unsold space that you can use it to advertise yourself, then either your sales team is doing a poor job, your prices are too high, or advertisers think that no one is paying enough attention to the advertisements.

The more I see of this sort of advertising, the more I think that conventional media is dying. I just wonder what will ultimately replace it, and how the effectiveness of those media buys will be measured.

Pedantic for a living

Entry panel at Maple Leaf Self Storage

I don't know if being pedantic is an inherited genetic characteristic, or a learned behaviour. But either way I freely admit to being a pedant, as do more than a few family members.

I saw this sign and entry keypad at a Maple Leaf Self Storage location in Vancouver. If you look at the top (white text on the blue background) you will see that sign instructs you to press the key with the five pointed star. However, that is not what you see on the keyboard down below.

Keypad at Maple Leaf Self Storage

On the keypad the star has six points. So, should I use the key with the six pointed star, or look for the five pointed star? And if the difference between five and six does not matter, then why do I have to be accurate when I enter my security code.

Yes, I am being overly pedantic, but I do have a purpose. If you give your customers instructions and demand that they follow them to the letter, then make sure that those instructions are accurate. This sort of petty inconsistencies drives people crazy. And the sad thing is that it is SO easy to get it right. You just have to care.

Why is no one interested in advertising?

Seat at bus stop in Kelowna

I saw this bench at a bus stop in Kelowna. Normally when you see a bench at a bus stop it has an advertisement on the back. In this case there was no advertisement at all. What a waste!

Even if you are only advertising your own products or services (See my earlier post on Pattison and the Ripley's ads), or comping an existing customer, any message is SO much better than a blank bench. What a waste of a revenue/goodwill opportunity.

You're charging how much?

Automobile Rental counters at the Kelowna Airport

When you rent a car you are often given choices about refuelling. You can pay in advance, and get a lower rate for fuel, you can refill the tank yourself on your way back to drop the vehicle off, or you can pay whatever price the rental company charges for fuel if you don't drop off the vehicle with a full tank.

At the Kelowna airport there are four rental firms competing for passenger's business; Avis, Enterprise, Budget, and National. And how do the refueling charges compare?

Refuelling charge from Avis

Fuelling charges from Enterprise

What effect does Avis think that its posted refuelling charge will have? Is the company's labour cost for refuelling its vehicles that much higher than Enterprise? I can't see what benefit, apart from providing full disclosure, the posted rate at the Avis counter offers for the company. It certainly does not seem to be a strong competitive position. And it is a far cry from Avis' 1960 slogan.

My question is; what is Avis trying harder to do? Outrage its customers comes to mind, but that may not be the intention.

It is interesting to note that the other two firms, Budget and National, do not post any information about their refuelling charges. I wonder why not? Are their rates even higher than Avis?

Your normal may not be someone else's normal

Photo from Friday magazine, March 30, 2012 (Published in the UAE)

Cricket, for about a third of the world's population it is a fascinating and thrilling sport, but for places that were never part of the Queen Victoria's British empire it is a boring mystery. In India it is by far the number one sport.

But it is not just cricket that is a mystery to a big chunk of the non-Indian population, the Indian numbering system also is a bit of mystery to people outside the sub-continent.

When Tata was working on its tiny car the Nano, the goal was for a "1 Lakh vehicle". And, "What is a Lakh"? A Lakh is the term to denote 100,000. In the case of the Nano, 100,000 rupees, or about $2,500 USD. The next step up Indian number system is the "Crore". (A "crore" is 100 lakhs.)As such, it is a significant milestone in counting.

In the west the magnitudes; thousand, million, billion, trillion etc., all go up by three places. So a figure, such as 30 million, would be written 30,000,000.

But if the sum is to be paid out in rupees, as is the case in the photo above (and enlarged below), the commas are placed differently.

Detail of photo from Friday magazine, March 30, 2012

Here the commas are used to indicate the number of crores (3), and the number of lakhs (0). So unlike western numbering where there are three digits between each comma, here there may be either two or three.

The critical lesson is that what is normal for me in the west may seem very odd to someone in India, and I can't assume that my way of doing anything is their way.

Canton, now part of Germany

2010-2011 Canton catalogue

Founded in 1972, Canton is a German manufacturer of loudspeakers. The firms offers three ranges; "HiFi, Home Cinema, and Pro House".

When I saw the brand name I first thought the firm was from China. (The city now know as Guangzhou was once known to Westerners as Canton.) But Canton has a long tradition of manufacturing top quality products in Germany.

So, how do you get the name Canton for a company with forty-year old roots in Germany? According to the firm's website (canton.de), "the name Canton is a combination of the Latin word "cantare" (to sing) and the German word "Ton" (musical tone)". Thank makes some sense. Cantare as in Cantata.

But, the problem remains how to overcome the incorrect first impressions of people like me who don't know the history of the development of the brand name. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

ID required, or perhaps not. (It all depends what you buy.)

Sign in a private liquor store

I saw this sign in my local private liquor store. It is produced by the British Columbia provincial goverment and advises customers that 2 pieces of ID (Identification)  are required to verify their age when buying alcohol.

No problem there, until you look at the details.

Detail of liquor store sign

So, does this mean that I do not need to provide ID if I am buying beer or spirits? Or is the store not licensed to sell beer or spirits?

Either way the inconsistancy of the message on this sign  and the fact that it does match the store's product assortment, makes the sign a lot less useful and also makes the consumer question the bureaucracy behind the sign program. Nothing like taxpaper's money being wasted on inaccurate signs with confusing messages.

How to keep a washroom clean (And drive consumption of your products)

Washroom cleaning instructions at Safeway

Ecolab is a major manufacturer of commerical cleaning products. Although the firm is pretty much unknown in the consumer market.

According to the Ecolab website, "Around the world, businesses in the foodservice, food processing, hospitality, healthcare, industrial, and oil and gas markets choose Ecolab products and services to keep their environments clean and safe, operate efficiently and achieve sustainability goals.
For nearly 90 years, we’ve worked behind the scenes to keep food safe, prevent the spread of infection and protect vital resources. And today we’re doing more than ever before." (Source: http://ecolab.com/our-story)

I saw this sign on the wall in the washroon in my local Safeway store. The most interesting part of the sign was the level of detail in the instructions. What products to use for what surfaces, how much to use, and how to use them to actually ensure that they products work as intended.

Following these instructions to the letter will ensure that the washroom gets clean, and that the full compliment of products get used, in the appropriate quantities. You can't really argue with spending money to customize these signs for each customer if it means that they use the correct amount of each of your products. It will probably mean more product sold to the customer. From Ecolab's perspective you can't argue with that.

Volume discounts in the AV rental business

Woodhouse & Associates website. http://www.woodhouseav.com/

Yesterday I wrote about this firm as an example of someone who understood colour theory. Today I'm looking at their rental pricing model.



Pricing from http://www.woodhouseav.com/pricelist

The discounts are pretty sizable if you rent for longer periods of time. But apart from wear and tear on the equipment, does Woodhouse really have a lot of extra costs when the equipment is out for longer periods of time? Only a few items, such as projectors with limited life bulbs, actually have a measurable replacement cost when they are in use.

And once the equipment is out the firm does not have any costs for additional days. (Apart from the opportunity cost of lost potential revenue.) And the vendor only needs to produce one invoice. A week is almost 1/2 of the cost for seven individual days, and a month is 1/3 of the cost of 30 individual days. (Interesting to see that they charge the same amount for 28, 29, 30, and 31 day months. If you rent in February you are getting up to 10% less for your money.)

But, regardless of whether you think that the rates are reasonable, I give this vendor full marks for transparency. And from the customer's perspective, having a clear idea about the pricing structure makes the buyer's job much easier.

Finally, someone who understands colour theory

Woodhouse & Associates Inc. sign, Vancouver

In an earlier post I wrote complaining about the artists who illustrated one of the Dora the Explorer books. They could not even render the rainbow correctly.

Well, this is the other side of the equation. Finally a company that seems to have a pretty firm grasp of colour theory. And how do I know?

Woodhouse & Associates Inc. Logo

If you look at the bottom of the middle of the logo, you can seen a diamond-shape where the yellow and blue lines converge. And if you recall back to grade three science, or kindergarten painting, when you mix blue and yellow you get green.

So, the science is correct, but why does this company get it right when so many other organizations don't? Their business should be a bit of a hint. The firms rent out AV equipment, including LCD projectors, screens, and lights. So they should have a bit of clue about colour.

Now, if I could only get them give some advice to the to artists working on the Dora books.

Are the IKEA catalogue's best days behind it?

2013 IKEA catalogue

Today the IKEA catalogue was delivered in my mail box. I brought mine home, but four other residents put theirs straight into the recycling bin by the mail boxes.

So, either IKEA has made a mistake and is distributing to the catalogue to postal codes that include people who have no interest in the store, or lots of people will be using IKEA's iPad app.

But, regardless, I'd say that the days are numbered for the paper version of the catalogue. (After over 35 years, Mountain Equipment Co-op published its last paper catalogue in the spring of 2012.) I can't see IKEA still producing a paper catalogue in two or three years.

A move up the supply chain

De Beers Jewellery advertisement from Architectural Digest

De Beers seems to be keen to move up the supply chain from just mining to selling branded jewellery. There is lot more money to be made selling diamond jewellery for thousands, or tens of thousands, per carat, than selling rough stones for a few hundred per carat.

But one of the most interesting thing about this advertisement, which appeared on the back cover of the February 2012 issue of the American magazine Architectural Digest, is that De Beers does not use the American spelling for jewellery. Were they looking for some Anglo snob appeal?

The jewellery is all VERY conservative and I'm sure it will sell like gangbusters. But will the American customers still wonder about that spelling? And will they associate De Beers with retail jewellery sales?

A great name for an interesting program

JointVenture brochure from the Apple Store

In its early days, Apple almost had a stranglehold on the K-12 education market. With the launch of the Macintosh people in "creative" industries such as advertising, design, and music embraced Apple's computers. Now Apple is having increasing success in penetrating the "non-creative" computer market.

Apple's distinctive industrial design is popping up in more and more businesses. And Apple seems to be both embracing the change and supporting it with programs like JointVenture. And how does Apple differentiate JointVenture from its regular offerings? The opening spread shows that this is a program for "grownups".

Inside cover spread in JointVenture brochure

This guy is a fair bit older than most of the people that you see in Apple's marketing materials, and as such is probably a more credible source for business people. They are not really looking for some guys with purple dreadlocks and a ton of piercings and tattoos.

But probably the most important part of the program is its name. JointVenture says that Apple understands business and that adopting a new IT platform requires cooperation and understanding from the vendor. I think that this can will help Apple to increase its penetration into the business market.

(Disclosure: About 15 years ago, when I was working as a copywriter, I owned a Macintosh, but I don't currently own any Apple products. However, a Macbook Pro and iPhone are on my shopping list.)

How would you get women to try this product?

"Cotton Fresh" Degree from Unilever

Companies like Unilever spend a lot of time and money to get people try to their products. As I have mentioned before, they are following the A-A-T-P-RP model. Giving away a sample addresses the Awareness, Attitude, and Trial parts of the model. So, how does Unilever get the samples of Degree in the hands of customers?

Unilever's Degree Sample Team

Yesterday I saw a team of three young women at the corner of Granville and Georgia in Vancouver handing out samples of Degree to passing women. I asked for a sample for my wife, and so I could write about it. We're they busy? This photo is a rare moment when they were not overrun by eager people seeking free samples.

Is just giving out samples enough? Well, if you look on the back of the sample, you will see that there is a coupon for 50 cents off a purchase of Degree.

"Cotton Fresh" Degree from Unilever, Front and Back

Women who pick up a sample not only get to try the product, but if they like it they can use the 50 cent off coupon on their first purchase. This addresses the P (Purchase) part of the A-A-T-P-RP model.

So, as a way to get women to try a product and become regular customers, this promotion seems to address all of the key points. For years my wife has been a loyal Ban customer. I wonder how she will like Degree, and if the free sample will change her loyalty.

How small are the customers?

NASCAR shopping cart at The Home Depot

I don't know about you, but if I was a kid today, I'd insist that my parents took me to The Home Depot. These shopping carts are amazing.

NASCAR shopping cart at The Home Depot

I took these photos long before my daughter arrived on the scene, but once she saw them she felled in love with these carts. Her one complaint about The Home Depot is they never seem to have enough of these carts around. If no NASCAR cart is available when we arrive at the store, she will look enviously at the kids who get to ride in these carts.

And I'm sure that most parents find that if their children are happy playing in the shopping cart, then the whole shopping experience is much more enjoyable.

Most research has shown that happy customers spend more, and for a retailer what could possibly be wrong with that?

This is a "healthy habit"?

Better Homes and Gardens - October 2009

The world is filled with "Fast Food" restaurants, or as they usually prefer to refer to themselves "Quick Service" restaurants. Most of them have a struggle convincing their customers that their offerings are healthy. Subway does better than most as its offerings can be configured to potentially offer less of the ingredients that are deemed to be unhealthy. But does this focus on healthy habits extend to activities portrayed in Subway's advertising?

Better Homes and Gardens - October 2009 (Detail)

Well, if you think that riding a bicycle without a bike helmet is a "Healthy Habit", then Subway is setting a great example for children.

Yes, the ad is almost three years old, but the point is still valid. It is not as if the whole concept of bike helmets only cropped up in 2011. People have been, or should have been, conscious of the benefits of bike helmets for many years. I am surprised that Subway let this photo slip past its lawyers.

Perhaps the healthiest habit of all is due diligence. Too bad Subway can't seem to manage that one.

Of course you are professional

Sign on health care provider's office

There are lots of things that signs tell prospective customers. In this case the basic information is about the business's hours. But it is the rather decrepit looking sign above the listing of the "Open Time" that I find interesting.

"We are professional" Really? Because that peeling piece of vinyl sure does not say professional to me.

What it tells me is that at some time in the past you may have been professional, but now you just can't be bothered and you've let the standards slip. I wonder how shabby things are inside?

Billboards in a wet climate

Billboard for Molson Canadian 67 Sublime

In Vancouver most of the billboards are controlled by Pattison. And in Vancouver it rains a bit. One of the things that I notice is that the billboard have a nasty habit of peeling. (See the upper left corner.)

When you have a few layers of paper up on the billboard, and it's been raining, the weight of all of that wet paper often leads to the paper curling down at the corner.

So, either Pattison is trying to save money on the glue, or save money by not stripping the old posters off billboard often enough. But either way, a vigilant advertiser could hold Pattison's feet to the fire and get some extra display time for free.

I can see a day at some time in the near future when all billboards would have a wireless camera trained on them and the billboard firm could keep an eye on the quality. Much cheaper than have to offer makeup time for billboards that didn't meet the agreed upon quality standards.

When is a dollar store not a dollar store?

Reading glasses from DAISO

The world is filled with retail stores whose central strategy is a fixed price point for every product. In the UK it is the Pound store, in Canada and the United States is the Dollar store, and in Japan it is the 100 Yen store.

And when DAISO, the Japanese price point store, came to Canada the price changed from 100 Yen to $2.00.

But the remarkable thing about the products in DAISO is the quality. Most of the products at Canadian dollar stores are pretty uninspiring. For some products, in order to hit the magic price point, the manufacturer has to reduce the quality. And in some cases, the quality is reduced to the point where the products is barely functional.

So, is a $1.00 pair of reading glasses worth the money? And is a $2.00 pair of reading glasses, from DAISO, really twice as good?

In a word, NO and YES. The products from DAISO are much better than the stuff I find at the dollar store. Yes, the DAISO glasses are twice the price, but the quality is 10 times better. The DAISO reading glasses have better frames and lenses and are far more comfortable. 

So, yes, you do get what you pay for. And DAISO does offer some great products at very good prices. I just wonder how much better the $3.00 reading glasses are?

Does the name fit the promise?

Sign at Moneysworth & Best Shoe Repair

For a few years I've been collecting photos of retail signs of aptly named businesses. In this case the name is a fabrication meant to convey some qualities that the retailer hopes that the customers will think that the business embodies.

So, for a business offering shoe repairs the two words, "Moneysworth" and "Best", offer a pretty compelling arguement.

Of course the main problem for a business like this is that these days shoes are so cheap, and cheaply made, that they are not worth fixing. They often can't be resoled and with the high cost of labour in Canada it is often not worth even trying.

But, regardless of whether or not you get your shoes fixed, the name is a good choice and carries a very positive image.

How often do you hear about someone doing something great?

My daughter has a small toy lamb that she calls BaaBaa.

Like most children with a favourite toy, she carries BaaBaa around everywhere. On more than one occasion she has tossed, or dropped, BaaBaa from her stroller and I've had to to backtrack to find him. (I have no idea why BaaBaa is male.)

When attending a wedding in Victoria, my daughter went to The Bay for lunch with her grandmother. And, disaster of disasters, she left BaaBaa in the restaurant. She was heartbroken. A call to the customer service desk at The Bay revealed that BaaBaa had been turned in by a woman who obviously recognized the importance of this little piece of polyester.

Yesterday a box arrived by Purolator. Inside the kraft paper was a yellow box.

Matt, the guy at the customer service desk at The Bay in Victoria deserves a pay raise. (And whoever in management has decided to staff this desk and pay to return the "lost and found" items has made the right decision.) Yes, this is Matt's job, but the smile on my daugther's face when she opened the box and saw BaaBaa was pretty priceless.

I spend a lot of time on this blog writing about the crummy job that too many companies do when dealing with their customers. This is the sort of service that I used to expect from the big department stores. And, frankly, I didn't think that they did stuff like this any more.

So, full marks to Matt, and full marks to The Bay. In future years I will remind my daughter about the store that returned BaaBaa. I wonder if it will affect her shopping habits? If there is any justice in the world she will be a loyal Bay shopper.

I don't think that is what you mean

Website Home Page Source: http://montessorikamloops.com/

When I was a child my mother explained the difference between "famous" and "infamous". Someone or something was "infamous" if it became "famous" for negative reasons. So, Three Mile Island, Bhopal, Chernobyl, and the Exxon Valdez are all "infamous" for their own reasons.

It appears that someone at the Montessori school is a bit confused and thinks that the "in" prefix in the word "infamous" is the same as the "in" prefix in the word "inflammable", where it means extremely.

This level of linguistic confusion is not what I am looking for at an educational institution.

I thought this was a trademark?

Banner advertisment for NETBASE webinar

The acronym "KISS" means "Keep It Simple Stupid". Many people in North America are familiar with the acronym. But for rock fans both the acronym, and the makeup shown in the above photograph, are associated with the band KISS.


Gene Simmons Trademark Makeup - Source: http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=73162223

The trademark for the makeup was filled March 14, 1978 and according documents on the US Trademark Office website, the trademarks for the appearances of the four band members have been renewed and defended ever since.

According to the USPTO the makeup is trademarked for "ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES RENDERED BY A VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC GROUP", and the trademarks are also used on a wide range of merchandise.  

I'm not an IP lawyer, but I suspect that the use of both the word KISS and the trademarked makeup crosses over the line in terms of permitted use. So, my question is; Does NETBASE not know that the makeup is trademarked? Or does the firm think that this use is permitted?

I completed it in half the time

Survey Request from TD Canada Trust

I recently went on-line to pay some bills and had this message from my bank pop up. Like most people, I usually just ignore surveys, but I thought that it might give me something to write about so I went ahead and answered the questions.

There were the usual ones about how the bank did, would I recommend the bank to friends, how was security etc. But the interesting thing was despite not rushing to complete the survey, I finished it in under three minutes. This was about 1/2 the time that the bank said it would take to complete.

So, if I am going to take some time to fill in the survey, you need to be honest with me about how long it will take to complete. But now TD has a problem. I could complete this survey, without rushing, in about half the time they predicted. The next time they give me a survey, I will expect to complete it in half the time they predict.