Googlejuice

I'm almost finished reading Jeff Jarvis's book "What would Google Do?", and very much enjoying it.  I'm also still somewhat dealing w/ an online retailer fiasco, w/ GFC (tawdry details in earlier post).  After 5 weeks of poor communications on their part, yesterday they, in a much clearer and more professional response, kindly requested I remove my review of their business on "resellersratings.com".  Kinda defeats the purpose of the review, doesn't it? The book WWGD could well be a training manual for online businesses- how your worst customer, the one that gets fired up enough to write to you and about you, can be the one to provide the best constructive criticism to you.  It was very cool to watch the effectiveness of a single review change this (albiet) small company's response, as their recent emails suggested I was obligated to buy from them, even though they are unable to provide the product or delivery date. 
And yes, Backcountry came thru in a flash with exactly what I needed, fair price, great communication, fast shipping.  I think they've read the book!

Reading the Velo Orange blog, I saw mention of Old Spokes Home in Burlington, VT.  I got in touch w/ owner Glenn, a friend from years back- I had met him & partner Mary on while bicycling the Sierras and Cascades in the mid 80s,  they  were finishing a round the world bike trip.  Check out his site, and shop if in the area.  Better collection in Ordinaries than the Smithsonian. 

Good online merchants

In order to balance yesterday's whine fest, I thought I should add a note of positive customer service and a great business.  Today's feature is Backcountry.com.  I've been dealing more & more w/ them of late, have found prices good, website clear and direct, easy to find extra information there, inventory status is listed with the item, so you know if you can possibly receive the item.  I've been blown away by the speed of delivery, and I've always opted for the free shipping-  typically 2-3 days to my doorstep!  These folks are definitely on the right track. 

Damn, scammed!

Well, it's happened again- it doesn't happen often, but I was drawn in by low price and good looking website.  I ordered a large number (40) of Primus fuel cans from " Gear For Camping " in Pensacola, Fl.  My first twist in the gut was the charging of my Visa card instantly.  Sure, some retailers do that, but many charge when the item ships- a nice arrangement, the you paying part when they are fulfilling their obligation.  But, of course, many transactions you pay up front and wait.  Well, wait you will with this retailer.  Little information followed, eventually a packaged arrived a good while later, 8 days, 10 days, I don't know.  It appeared pretty small for 10 fuel cans, 1.5 liters each- Oh, only 4 shipped. Hmm. It is 2009, it's fairly easy to inform your customers about those details.  My requests for expected delivery of the balance of my order was met w/ terse, anonymous emails.  My requests to cancel the orders ("100% satisfaction guaranteed!") was met with- "you can't cancel, we ordered from supplier for your orders, should be shipping soon."  Red flag!  But, hey, small businesses can't keep everything in stock.  Not the way I'd treat customers, but... So it's been gnawing away at me for some time, I keep thinking maybe today they will ship. 
This morning I happened to see a short feature on a morning news/ talk show about a security consultant creating a false website for very low prices on popular cellphones, how it took a few minutes to mock it up, paid Google a bit for sponsored listing, and started reeling in lots of visa card numbers, etc.  His site then stated the purpose of it, that you haven't been scammed, but this is how easy it is. 
So, I (finally) started researching Gear For Camping.  Survey says.... not good.  All reviews @ http://www.resellerratings.com/ are identical to mine, and POOR.  Oops!  A quick call to Visa got my problems ironed out.  Yes, I certainly should have done my research prior to the order, but it's been a very busy few months.  This experience pales in comparison to my dealings with Chase Bank, but that's another story.  I have had so many great transactions with other suppliers I think I let my guard down.
In good news my Tool Tube supplier let me know my custom production run of Mega tubes is enroute, should be arriving soon!  And, custom tool rolls should be on the way soon, high quality, very well built, US made.
Oh, I asked the Visa rep how to best avoid future mistakes like mine-  She said Google the company- anything negative about them will pop up, someone will blog about it.  It wasn't a direct order to me, but if it helps somebody else, it's worth it!  Devon

News from the Shop

Hi, this is a new venture for me, blogging, that is.  I decided to follow a bit in the steps of a successful business, Velo Orange.  Chris had started a few years ago selling a headset spacer for a bicycle bell to mount to in a cleaner, sharper fashion, and grew the business from that small item to a great business.  A great website, good information hub, a constant source of fresh ideas and products.  Bike frames, a fairly complete line of parts, and a blend of new designs in the spirit of some vintage and classic bicycle parts.  Pretty cool growth from a headset spacer.
I had started this past spring selling on eBay a simple component useful to motorcyclists- a tool tube- basically a sturdy canister, good for an extra fuel bottle, some tools, or whatever.  I packaged it with good stainless hardware, the stuff I'd be buying for my own motorcycles.  I figured I'd sell a few, and be done with it.  Apparently, there is a need and desire for this, I've sold enough since then to launch my business, thetooltube.com.
Not being a website designer, and not being able to update my site as readily as I'd like,  I need a way to keep my customers current with new products, ideas, and related thoughts.
Currently the business resides in a corner of my garage, and travels to the living room to weigh packages and print postage.  Delivery is sometimes handled by my kids, chasing the mailman down the street.  I like getting stuff that I order quickly, so I try very hard to get customers orders out asap.
I now am carrying 3 different tool tube sizes, custom made liner bags, 2 sizes of fuel bottles, locking options.  Soon to arrive are tool rolls, possibly custom mounting brackets.  My catalog link is http://www.thetooltube.com/T3_Catalog.pdf.
I'm experimenting right now with another track for the business, a different market than the motorcycle/ snowmobile / sailboat enthusiasts I'm currently targeting.  More on that as it develops.
I welcome ideas for improvements, related products, etc.  I hope to post photos of customers tubes, and hopefully some related photos of their stomping grounds- My buyers are from Greece, Chile, Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, Brazil, Canada, Germany-  I've been shipping all over-  it's definitely time to put up a world map and plug in the pushpins for sales locations!
Devon