By Jill McCleary, our newest team member.
3 weeks ago, I changed from being an avid consumer member of Catalog Choice to an employee in the Berkeley office. I had used the service since the launch in 2007, and was thrilled to find my mailbox emptier and emptier as the months passed. What I never really considered was how it all worked. Seemed simple enough: make a request; stop getting a catalog.
During my first 3 weeks on the job, I’ve been surprised by the amazing amount of technology required to manage, track and communicate requests from over 1 million consumers to over 1,000 merchants. These relationships form the backbone of Catalog Choice and managing them successfully is more complicated than I’d imagined. What appears to be a simple, green system is, in fact, complex and built to grow. The growth will include expanding numbers of consumers and merchants, but also new ways to communicate consumers’ preferences and merchant marketing messages in the paperless world.
While learning what goes on behind the scenes here, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with some of our merchant partners who are pleased to participate in Catalog Choice. They appreciate what we have accomplished together to reduce paper waste and are excited about where we are headed. As we introduce new ways to help merchants and consumers go paperless, we hope you will continue to see Catalog Choice as an important resource for living green.
