Consumers can lose trust in marketers because the marketers have systems in place for their own convenience instead of the consumer’s.

My son is going to South America. It was a last-minute decision, and I decided to use frequent flyer miles from an airline I don’t use much. I didn’t know my PIN number.

When I called the airline, there was a wait on hold because I didn’t know the number. Then there was another while they tried to work out the trip details. Then another person on the phone gave me grief for not knowing the PIN number.

It turns out that for $35, they will reissue me a PIN number, but I have to fax them a copy of my driver’s license, along with a notarized letter. This is a big sweat

Sometimes lost trust is the result of a marketer simply dropping the ball, rather than either an overtly hostile action or a system-based snare.

I was teaching a class on the Apostles at a Sunday school. After one of the networks aired a special on the Apostle Paul, it offered viewers a chance to purchase the program online. I ordered it in April, and paid extra for second-day shipping, since I wanted to review it before incorporating it into my class.

I didn’t get a confirmation e-mail when I placed my order, so on the third day, when it didn’t arrive, I went online to find out the order’s status. Without a tracking number, I was unsuccessful in doing so. My attempts to find a number to call were equally futile.

It arrived in mid-July, 99 days (I counted) after I had ordered it, and two months after the class ended. But at least when it finally showed up, it was sent via second- day shipping!

I will never order anything from that network again. They lost me not because of what they did with my data, but rather what they did not do with what they knew about me. All it would have taken was a quick e-mail: