I was number 51 on the line at Macy’s. I had a pre-printed card that told me so. I could have been number 25, but I didn’t think I was going to wait around for Matt Moulson to arrive. The new Macy’s is very elegant with wide aisles to browse through, bright lights and high ceilings. It’s beautiful, of course. It’s Macy’s. I meandered through the men’s department trying to find an angle I could take a photo of Matt Moulson with my Amish phone without having the WFAN radio guys or the security detail cuff me for being a stalker. It didn’t really work.
Matt arrived escorted by two gentlemen in black. I’m not used to seeing him show up in public without Ann Rina. It was strange already. I couldn’t catch his eye from the 20 yards behind the khakis. I decided to stand on line.
A Macy’s representative handed me a pre-printed card with a number on it. I thought it was for him to sign. I was wrong. I stood second to the last person on line. I didn’t recognize any of the Isles fans on line, those who came holding hockey sticks and wearing Isles tee shirts and jerseys. Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a meet-and-greet line that didn’t have one of the super-fans on it. Okay, yes, this was Suffolk county.
I chatted for a good 20 minutes with the gentleman behind me who came with an Isles puck and a silver sharpie. He was on his way to the gym, but knew about the signing and made a detour. He was a devout autograph hound who spends much of his free time acquiring autographs of famous golfers, basketball players, baseball players and -- oh yeah -- hockey players.
The line wasn’t really getting longer. I was surprised. But then again, had I not seen one tweet from someone I follow yesterday, I would have never known about it. There was a full page ad in today’s Newsday on page A9 about the grand opening, but it’s in red and the type is very difficult to read. I didn’t even notice the one inch photo of Matt Moulson at the bottom of the ad.
My conversation with the gentleman behind me was interrupted a few times by people stopping to ask me what was going on and who was signing autographs. I didn’t know how to say hockey -- in Spanish. (It must be the blond hair and the extra 30 lbs. That must be it.)
I also corrected one of the Macy’s employees on the pronunciation of Moulson. You know -- like the beer.
Those who waited not only received autographs, but also personal conversation and photos. They were happy and grateful. Had there been a little more social media promotion, there would have been a lot more happy customers there. When I left, there were a few more fans on line. There were a total of 80.
While Macy’s did a great job on their rebuild and rebrand, they can take a few lessons in promotion. But I will say, the custom Macy’s hockey pucks were a nice touch. I would like to know what they are going to do with the Matt Moulson number tickets that they collected back when each person walked up to the front. Maybe I’ll find them on Ebay one day soon.
I was number 51 on the line at Macy’s. I had a pre-printed card that told me so. I could have been number 25, but I didn’t think I was going to wait around for Matt Moulson to arrive. The new Macy’s is very elegant with wide aisles to browse through, bright lights and high ceilings. It’s beautiful, of course. It’s Macy’s. I meandered through the men’s department trying to find an angle I could take a photo of Matt Moulson with my Amish phone without having the WFAN radio guys or the security detail cuff me for being a stalker. It didn’t really work.
Matt arrived escorted by two gentlemen in black. I’m not used to seeing him show up in public without Ann Rina. It was strange already. I couldn’t catch his eye from the 20 yards behind the khakis. I decided to stand on line.
A Macy’s representative handed me a pre-printed card with a number on it. I thought it was for him to sign. I was wrong. I stood second to the last person on line. I didn’t recognize any of the Isles fans on line, those who came holding hockey sticks and wearing Isles tee shirts and jerseys. Truthfully, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a meet-and-greet line that didn’t have one of the super-fans on it. Okay, yes, this was Suffolk county.
I chatted for a good 20 minutes with the gentleman behind me who came with an Isles puck and a silver sharpie. He was on his way to the gym, but knew about the signing and made a detour. He was a devout autograph hound who spends much of his free time acquiring autographs of famous golfers, basketball players, baseball players and -- oh yeah -- hockey players.
The line wasn’t really getting longer. I was surprised. But then again, had I not seen one tweet from someone I follow yesterday, I would have never known about it. There was a full page ad in today’s Newsday on page A9 about the grand opening, but it’s in red and the type is very difficult to read. I didn’t even notice the one inch photo of Matt Moulson at the bottom of the ad.
My conversation with the gentleman behind me was interrupted a few times by people stopping to ask me what was going on and who was signing autographs. I didn’t know how to say hockey -- in Spanish. (It must be the blond hair and the extra 30 lbs. That must be it.)
I also corrected one of the Macy’s employees on the pronunciation of Moulson. You know -- like the beer.
Those who waited not only received autographs, but also personal conversation and photos. They were happy and grateful. Had there been a little more social media promotion, there would have been a lot more happy customers there. When I left, there were a few more fans on line. There were a total of 80.
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