Notecard givers, your thoughts?

Hi All,

I'm currently updating some of the stuff at my store(s), and am thinking of updating my notecard giver. It's currently the type that you have to click on yourself to receive a notecard with information. I'm toying with making it into one that will automatically give visitors a notecard when they walk into my store.
What are peoples opinions on this type of notecard giver?

I discard them everytime. They usually stop my flight. Advertising for the person to click the item for a notecard is sufficient and will go to the people who want it.

I discard automatic notecard givers every single time. If I want a notecard, I click.

very annoying! i consider unsolicited ncs as SPAM and discard immediately.

If it's a store I visit frequently - say once a week - and it gives me a notecard every time I go, I'm not likely to read it after the first one or two times.

An alternative might be to make the manual notecard giver more obvious and/or have text/texture on it that says "Updated July 10!" or something..

I agree, auto nc givers are annoying to say the least.

Mandy C

i hate them.

I agree I don't like having notecards thrown at me unrequested. Also, if it happens everytime a person comes in then repeat customers start to feel really spammed, at least I do.

If you are concerned about conveying critical product info maybe make a sign that explains the basics and then drop in a script that allows people to get more detailed info/instructions on touch if they want?

What info is in your notecard?

I hate auto notecards. I only give out notecards by intentional clicking of the sign that says 'get your info here' or associated with product upgrades.

Like many people, I will instantly throw out auto notecards out of sheer irritation.

The notecard contains fairly basic information about my products, how people should contact me if needed and LMs for my stores. I periodically update this with info about any new products.
You all pretty much said what I expected really. I should have already known the answer as I do the same myself, lol.
Showing the "updated date" seems like a good idea though. Thanks for that one Meade

At Squeeze One Plaza I have little box things on tables and in various areas that say "click for vendor info" or "click for gallery info". This has worked well for me as I've pretty much gotten the response I've wanted.

Most cards that pop up for me upon arrival somewhere get discarded automatically unless they're rules for a game sim or something I already know will be important. I like the new "accept" and "decline" options given to notecards because now I don't even have to have my view blocked!

Manual definately. Automatic ones are annoying as hell especially when you frequent a place and it gives you more than one each time. I'm glad they don't just pop up in your face anymore but rather you get the blue dialog.

I could only speculate that people who put up the automatic ones are just trying to make sure people read the rules and trying to take away the excuse of "I didn't know". I still think they're a bad idea.

Sometimes, a business owner does have information which they consider important for their customers to know upon arrival, -before- they begin shopping. Many shoppers are usually in a hurry to get at what they came for, and it's entirely possible that they could be walking away from the giver before its textures even render. My suggestion would be a compromise between the auto notecard giver and the simple opt-in click-to-get method. Script the notecard giver to send a small message through chat or IM upon arrival, welcoming them, and informing them that there is important information available, please click the giver. I think this approach is passive enough soas to only irritate those who are already overly irritable.

I wouldn't mind a nice, brief, welcoming IM, perhaps describing where I can get a notecard for more info. (And maybe even a URL to any associated website, since those still work in the chat history, unlike in the forums which suffer the disadvantage of being in the browser already. )

With only one exception to date, I will automatically leave a place if the owners/admins are rude enough to have set something up to auto-send a notecard to people on arrival... I absolutely *HATE* that.

My general thought on automatic notecard givers tends to be, "Nooooooooooooooooo! Make it stop!"

Come to think of it, the last time I visited the main oUtlet of a Renowned Texturer, I was pleasantly surprised to not get the usual stack of attorney fodder, but instead just a nice greeting IM. (Maybe the little old guy handing out leaflets at the door was on break, or maybe he recognized me from past visits, but it was nice to get through the door without having to fake a smile at him and then discretely toss the handout in the nearest bin.)