Yesterday, I called the dermatologist to set-up an appointment for my 10-year old son to have his moles checked. My red-haired, blue-eyed California boy is a prime candidate for melanoma, especially since his grandfather and I have both survived one.

The receptionist kept offering me morning appointments that would require plucking him out of school. I persisted in my request for an afternoon appointment.

"Late afternoon appointments are reserved for patients coming in for laser and botox," she cooly replied.

"Excuse me?!" I asked incredulously.

She repeated the policy.

So the convenience of working folks in search of vanity treatments trumps those of freckle-faced fifth graders who don't want to miss spelling tests.

In this situation, I was a mom on the phone. Yet I'm always a marketer at heart. At my company, Maternal Instinct, we believe that how a company treats mothers -- and anticipates their needs -- is the single greatest determining factor in their success with this market. (We call it the "What's Your Blanket?" phenomenon.)

Dr. K's office either doesn't know, or doesn't care. They may be in the business of erasing lines from foreheads, but they sure put one on mine.

Labels: customer service, mom marketing

Please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below, even if -- no, especially if -- you don't agree with what I've written.

Yesterday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a press release about a new law about to take effect. Mark your calendars, Moms: starting February 1, children's clothes and toys can't be sold if they contain lead in more than 600 ppm (parts per million). (Oddly enough, just two months later, the acceptable amount drops to 300 parts per million.)

At first glance, moms everywhere will high-five this legislation. The mere utterance of the word "lead" makes mothers recoil in skull-and-crossbone horror. Lead is such a household boogeyman that living rooms get repainted before they get furnished in homes with small kids.

But scroll down in the CPSC press release and this paragraph will stop any mom in her tracks:

...resellers cannot sell children's products that exceed the lead limit and
therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.

What this means is that mothers' club postings, eBay sales, Zwaggle, consignment shops and countless other second-hand resources are now suspect. In short, little brother can't get used togs because Mom's being watched by Big Brother.

What will happen? How will the government enforce this? Can we envision a day when the unsuspecting "mom" who shows up to buy your 3T ski bibs flashes a badge and slaps you (and your leaden pants) with a fine?

Labels: CPSC, Lead Testing, Resale, Second-Hand Clothes

Please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below, even if -- no, especially if -- you don't agree with what I've written.