In 2012, Starbucks baristas started writing down their customers’ names on their cups. This convention spread around to other businesses. Since then, I’ve been asked my name a lot. Here is what I often seen on labels in response:

Harper

Harbor

Harvard

Trevor

Herburger

While most customers probably won’t mind, as long as the product’s good, that’s true whether or not the relationship exists or not.

If the point of this tactic was to create customer loyalty and build a relationship, it’s not working. The objective was to create an advantage that will keep customers around when a better product comes along. Yet some customers get so offended they choose not to return, even in the absence of a better competitor.

The tactic has clearly gotten stale and ineffective, yet it still remains.