‘Advice for Clueless Brands on Social Media’ – ‘Mashable’

Bob Garfield says, “Dear Bob & Doug:

I am so fed up with “shoppers” entering my celiac supply store to eyeball items, then stand there ordering them from some discounter online. I now charge people $5 to browse. (If they buy something else, I take the $5 off their bill.) Turning my place into a showroom for the Internet is so unfair — what else was I to do?

— Despairing Down Under

Dear Despairing:

What should you do? Gosh, hard to say. You could throw lye in their faces. It’s an equally good idea for handling your situation. Or, and bear with us because we’re just blue-skying here, you could get to know your customers and build up a relationship with them in a way that a website cannot”.