Tim Foley says retailers must accept that the internet bubble is not going to burst as people are seeking an ever more remote-control lifestyle...

I'd like to make you all privy to a conversation I had recently with an elderly woman from Surrey who called to enquire about a Silestone worktop, following a recommendation from her friend. 

I asked for her email address so I could send her some details, to which she declared that she had no email or PC and requested that we send her a brochure. I advised her that we didn't post out brochures. "You don't send out brochures?" she said. "What about catering for my generation. I'm 73 years old?" 

Thinking quickly on my feet, I replied: "We do cater for you, that's why I'm calling you, so that I can take note of your dimensions and get you the quote you require." 

"But what about a brochure?" she insisted. 

I replied: "We are an internet-only company and we would send out a very professional PDF brochure if you were on email." She was not best pleased. 

"I told you already, I don't have email. Why don't you do a brochure?" she continued. 

It's rare nowadays that I have this sort of conversation because most people do use email, but I sensed a growing frustration in her tone and a wave of sympathy swept over me. 

"The reason we don't do brochures is that, in some very small way, we are doing our bit for the environment by being less wasteful." She sniggered, concluding no doubt that I was clutching at straws, so I immediately added: "But in this case, I will make an exception and arrange for a brochure to be sent to your address."

"Now, that's what I call good customer service, Mr Foley. I've put your name and number in my diary and will call you when I've decided the colour I want a quote on." 

The point of the story? Even those without an internet connection are being made aware of the good service offered by certain internet traders. Retailers who feel an effective web presence won't make a difference to their future business are living in cloud-cuckoo-land.

Eight years ago, when we first started offering bespoke surfaces on the internet, we received around 20 to 30 enquiries a month. Now we receive 150 or more every month. Will the bubble burst? No, I don't believe it will, because most of us seek out a remote-control lifestyle and the internet is the ultimate remote.

The more successful businesses already operate remotely and allow their clients to do the same, facilitating online order tracking, developing easily navigable online shops, and offering live online customer support. 

I have to agree with our editor, who recently asked if the KBB industry is lagging behind in the communications stakes and needs to embrace it quickly before others take the niche left to them by the technophobes? Otherwise, it won't be long before traditional customers, like my elderly Surrey woman, are the only customers they attract.