QR Codes
Does anyone besides me fully appreciate how phenomenal these Quick Response Codes, aka QR codes, really are? It’s hard to believe when you stop to think about it. They can transfer a wealth of information in a split second, and they are popping up everywhere – restaurants, advertisements, signs, and even business cards. Their multiplicity of uses is apparently unlimited, but at present there’s only one that has my interest. Online shopping returns.
In the unlikely event that you’re unfamiliar with this system, I’ll give you an example of how it works. About a year ago I needed to return an online order. At that time. I had seen QR codes here and there for quite a while, but had never really grasped the concept. I didn’t think of them as something that would ever be of any use to me until the day came when a garment I had ordered online arrived. I tore open the package and excitedly tried it on. It looked awful, not even close to the picture I had in my head. I couldn’t understand it. It looked so great on that beautiful, slender, perfectly proportioned model in the ad. Why wasn’t it working on me? Didn’t I look at least a little like her? Maybe not.
I reluctantly packaged it back up and headed off to the UPS store. I had called the customer service department of the business that shipped the dress to me, and they sent the QR code that was now on my phone. I didn’t get how the whole thing worked so I arrived armed with a return address in addition to the code. When I approached the counter, the employee asked me for the code which I quickly produced. She bleeped it, the computer spit out a return label, she slapped it on the package, and I was out the door in under a minute. That fast. The return went through, and the money was back in my account in the blink of an eye. Wow.
My hat’s off to whoever came up with this system. It’s pure genius. Technology frequently confuses and exasperates me, but when it comes to QR codes, I am totally on board. So bring ‘em on. I’ll be more than happy to QR code my way through the rest of my days.