AutoZone really wants to talk to you - no asynchronous feedback, but I can #cleanfish

I tend to prefer to do things asynchronously, except when I don't. While there are things that require synchronous activity - kissing, for example, is not fun if the two people aren't kissing each other at the same time - there are things that can be handled either by synchronous or asynchronous means.

I recently had to visit the AutoZone website - my tail light needed replacement, and I wanted to find an AutoZone near my work. As I entered the website, I was asked if I wanted to take one of those surveys about my experience. I was in a survey answering mood, so I gave my assent.

After leaving autozone.com, I completed the survey, and then was asked if I would be willing to be contacted about my responses. I decided that I would be willing to be contacted - on my terms. I gave AutoZone an email address that it probably already had (I'm a member of their club), but I left the phone number blank. While I'm willing to take calls at work or at home about a variety of subjects, I don't really want my life interrupted with a phone call about a retail website.

However, it turns out that AutoZone didn't like my response.

Yes, the phone number is a REQUIRED field.

In other words, if you want to do AutoZone a favor and provide additional feedback about its website, you MUST give them a phone number.

I aborted that survey.

However, I do have a good thing to say about AutoZone. When I bought my tail light later that day at the AutoZone in east Fullerton, I also bought one of those 12-in-1 tools. (I don't carry a toolbox in my car, and I needed a tool to change the tail light.) Because it is a 12-in-1 tool, it provides me with features above and beyond what I requested. For example, now I can clean fish!