Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer

Through the years I have changed my shopping habits. I used to venture out to the retailer and find the product on the shelf and look at the price with the hope of making a well informed decision on its value and quality. More often than not, I would buy the product because I pretty much had all of the information I could get in order to make that decision. 

Times have changed. I have changed. 

Now, I use customer reviews on the retailer's website in order to get as much information as possible before I make a purchase. If that does not give me the power I need, then I will throw the product's name into Google and add the word "review" to it and get EVEN more information. 

But now, there is a problem. A big problem. I often ask myself, "What if the retailer pays people to put up favorable reviews?" And then I ask myself, "Who are these people leaving their opinions and how can I be sure they are like me and can be trusted?" 

I would have never guessed so much information would lead to so much confusion. 

As I learn more about social media and go deeper into the course, I find myself wanting to know more about how retailers target the consumer. I want to know more. 

Our text mentions how social media allows individuals to give their opinions on anything, good or bad. This can open up a decision point for the organization. They can decide to use the feedback and try to improve. Or they can decide to try to hide and mitigate the opinions of consumers. 

A telling statistic provided in our text by the Strategic Planning Institute says that, "historically 96 percent of dissatisfied customers don't bother to complain. An astounding 63 percent of these silent dissatisfied customers will not buy from that company again." 

http://www.socialnomics.net/

Times have definitely changed. Product reviews are everywhere. I can spend more time researching a product than actually using it unfortunately. 

So let's look at an example of a product that has some interesting consumer opinions. It is the Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer and it is featured here.....

http://www.amazon.com/Hutzler-571-Banana-Slicer/dp/B0047E0EII/ref=cm_cmu_pg_t 

 I hope the team at Hutzler can figure out the curve of the banana issue that seems to be a source of customer concern.