It happens to me every time I call Delta Airlines customer support. I love to hear it. In fact, for some quirky reason, it's one of the reasons that Delta is my first choice whenever I fly.
Dale Carnegie swore by it.
And Accenture recently found through surveying consumers in the United States and United Kingdom, 56 percent of them said they would be more likely to shop in-store and on-line at retailers that recognize them by name. That's the most basic yet reliable form of personalization.
That's it - it's recognizing and greeting a person by his or her name. It makes customers more loyal.
In today's world of robotics, algorithms and artificial intelligence, it seems so ironic, if not trite, that a technique predating our great grandmothers can have such a significant impact on customer loyalty.
But it does.
And it probably always will.
As long customers remain human at the core.
And they probably always will.