The most exciting thing...

I remember when the website first got up and running we knew the names of almost every customer, as we would get a couple orders a week. I’d have the 800-number ring into my cell phone, and I’d get a chance to answer questions personally about our keepsakes. Three years later, we’ve grown to the point that we don’t get to see each order, as they are coming from different sources – catalogs, stores, internet, phone.

We are still so appreciative on a daily basis of each order we receive. There is an inexplicable feeling to think “we created this product and someone thought it was cool enough to search us out and buy it.” It is truly humbling, not in a cliché way, but in a way that makes you feel very blessed.

I remember having some sleepless nights last Christmas season. Our staff grew to almost 50 people to meet the holiday demand, and some of us worked 7 days a week. With the little time we had to sleep, I’d wake up and think “I just don’t want to disappoint anyone. I want everyone to get their keepsakes in time for Christmas!”

We started getting two UPS pickups daily after Thanksgiving, because with one pickup we’d fill up the warehouse with outgoing shipments, and it made it tough to operate. We worked right up until 6PM Friday evening before Christmas and got those last boxes on the truck just in time. Mission accomplished.

Through all of that, we were so thankful for the people who were willing to work tirelessly to meet the demand, the vendors who got us our materials in a timely fashion, and for each customer who said “I want to give a Sticks and Stones for a gift this year!”

I sometimes wonder after being on the receiving end of paltry customer service “at what point did that company decide I was just a number?” It certainly wasn’t a conscious decision, but it happened at some point in their evolution.

Here’s to the fact that almost three years later I still get excited when I hear that little chime on my cell phone that tells me we just got an order. It’s as much of a rush as it was back in 2005. Thank you for being our customer!