Last week I was on a search for a specific pair of shoes online. So I did a Google search, and one of the top results was, of course, Zappos. Browsing their site at first, they didn’t have the size that I was looking for, so I went back out on Google, only to find that no other places had my size either. I was starting to lose hope, so I went back to Zappos to try out their live chat.
The lady who I spoke with on the live chat tried searching their inventory for my size, but they were all out. I asked if she knew where else I could get them, which she could have easily said no, but she searched the web and and linked me to another site that had them. They were the exact ones I was looking for. This made me very pleased.
Before I signed off the live chat, she sent me a link to another pair of shoes that were very similar to the exact ones I was looking for. I liked them a lot, but not as much as the others ones (from a different website). I ended up buying the shoes on Zappos, instead of the exact match from the other site. But why would I do that after a long search for the exact ones I wanted?
Customer service goes a long way, and finding companies that are willing to, almost, jump through hoops and provide top notch service is hard to find. The rep at Zappos was willing to send me to another company to buy shoes, as long as it meant that I was happy, and that speaks volumes. The shoes were also shipped to my door the next day for free!
Amazing customer service like that doesn’t happen often, but when it does, you never forget it. Great customer service is also what keeps people coming back. This certainly won’t be the last time I shop at Zappos. So, kudos to the Zappos team for putting the customer first.
What companies have you had great experiences with for customer service?
Hey guys, it’s been a while since we’ve had a sandbox posted up here, since I’ve been doing mostly tutorials lately. I thought I’d take this chance to show off a bright and vivid piece I did recently: Ornj:luv!
Recently, I’ve begun working with renders, randomly (and not-so randomly) generated abstract shapes that run the gamut from curvy to spiky, smooth to very, very detailed. 3D visualization and design programs are utilized for these pieces of work like Maya, 3ds Max, and Vray. There’s a thriving community online of people who love to spend their time creating shapes like these and release their works for general public use. The main render in Ornj:luv is courtesy of Old Man James (http://oldmanjames.deviantart.com/art/Render-Pack-1-19701500).
To compose this piece, I began with the main render, chose a color scheme, and then began to play with several renders blended together onto a photo of a texture from my favorite stock photo site, sxc.hu. Add in some brush work and a slick text treatment, and there you have it!
I like RSS. I like having information shipped to me, corralled by my RSS reader, and served up nice and neat. My fellow Tridea partner, John, likes getting his information the old fashion way; cruising to websites repeatedly. Sure, I venture to sites as much as the next guy, but sometimes I just want to know the most up-to-date content without running around the Internet.
Previously, I used the free RSS reader service from Bloglines.com. After disliking the fact that Google Reader didn’t pull in images from the sites I liked, I switched to Bloglines and was a faithful user of their site for over 2 years. With Bloglines, I would log in to my account on their site and there were all my feeds. Nice and neat. I was living the good life.
Then I got an iPhone. And I wanted my RSS feeds on it! All of a sudden logging in to Bloglines seemed like too much. At that time, on a mobile browser, Bloglines isn’t that great (Note: they’ve since created a mobile version that is better). So I went looking for an RSS iPhone app.
Thanks to the magic of Twitter, I got some good recommendations and came across NetNewsWire. It is a RSS Reader application. Instead of logging in, I load the application and-BOOM-my feeds are there and begin updating. I loved it. Clean, organized, iPhone-tastic! But there’s more!
NetNewsWire is also a Mac application! So I get news to my phone, read it, and when I get home my feeds are updated to reflect the content I’ve already checked out. It’s great. And it’s free. So, take my advice and get some RSS in your life! Starting with our blog!
When we finish a contract, we like to extend our thanks to the client for choosing Tridea and we send out a token of appreciation, usually a gift basket of some sort.
This year for the holidays, we’ve sent some of our recent clients a small package with a season’s greeting as a reminder that we’re always happy to continue working with them! We feel it’s a small gesture that can go a long way in keeping Tridea in the forefront of our clients’ minds while they catch up with their families and friends, and mention the progress they’ve made in their endeavors and the exciting process of coupling a new website and design with their projects.
Water Bottle and Card
From the Tridea team to all of you who we have worked with in the past and are working with presently, enjoy your holiday with your nearest and dearest, and have a happy new year!
I was just sent this interesting video on how quickly technology is advancing. I thought it would be interesting to share, and a few slides show how huge internet growth has been. Just another reason why utilizing the web will be essential for businesses and individuals in the future.
