I've heard that some folks are upset about my decision--yes, you can put the blame right here--to use the word "Holiday" to describe our petits fours. I've been accused of being Grinchlike and part of that PC crowd that's out to rob Christmas of its meaning.
Most of my friends will agree that I am Grinchlike most of the time, but they'll also tell you that I'm one of the biggest fans Christmas ever had. In August, they roll their eyes when they see me waving my "Christmas #1" foam finger around. The last thing I'd ever want to do is diminish the meaning of December 25, which I consider one of the best days of the year.
There's a technical reason, rather than a PC reason, why I chose the word "holiday." Some of our partner bakeries have their own Web sites and, like us, spend a lot of time and effort trying to get those sites noticed by search engines. If I use the same product names they use, we wind up competing with each other, and they get unhappy.
So whenever possible, I change the product names a little so that we're working with our own unique search terms. Our partner bakery uses the word "Christmas" for all their petits fours, so I went with "Holiday." That's all there is to it. If I was that PC, I wouldn't have Christmas Mini Cookies on the site. It was Phil Bruno's idea to call those other cookies Holiday Lites, not mine, and Phil's often annoyed at me for not changing his product names enough.
So now you know why I chose to use "holiday." I hope this makes sense, and I'll be happy to wish anyone who calls a Merry Christmas. Call in the afternoon, when I'm less Grinchlike.
Next week we'll debate my spelling of "Menorrah."
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
What's This Noon Stuff?
As I mentioned in my last entry, the order deadline for next-day shipping has been pushed back to Noon Eastern until the end of December. There's a couple of reasons for the change. The bakeries are busy, but just as important, the shipping companies are busy, and that's only going to get worse throughout the month of December.
I realize that the noon deadline is a drag, particularly for those on the West Coast who are still trying to find their workstations and start the day. It's a necessary concession at this time of year, and we'll be moving the deadline back to 2PM in early January.
As I've said before, ordering ahead is the best way to make sure that we get your products to you in a timely manner.
Keep an eye on our Seasonal Treats page through the first week of December, as we'll be adding a few more tasty desserts to make your celebrations warm and merry.
I realize that the noon deadline is a drag, particularly for those on the West Coast who are still trying to find their workstations and start the day. It's a necessary concession at this time of year, and we'll be moving the deadline back to 2PM in early January.
As I've said before, ordering ahead is the best way to make sure that we get your products to you in a timely manner.
Keep an eye on our Seasonal Treats page through the first week of December, as we'll be adding a few more tasty desserts to make your celebrations warm and merry.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's been a busy Thanksgiving, both at the bakery and on the site. I'd like to thank all of our customers on behalf of myself and Chef Steve for helping this business to grow faster than we ever expected. In case you're wondering where the blog updates have been, I've just had too much to do over the last two weeks. That, of course, leaves me with a couple of bits of administrata to clear.
First, we won't be shipping anything between November 24 and November 28. Our friends at FedEx and UPS are taking a weekend breather before the busy holiday shipping season kicks in. They've earned it. Any orders you place between now and November 27 will ship on November 28.
Second, our Thanksgiving products are no longer available, but a new collection of holiday desserts is now online, which you can find on our Seasonal Treats page. Remember that it's a good idea to order early--our Rum Pumpkin Tart sold out before Thanksgiving, and all of our holiday desserts are available in limited quantities.
Third, as the holiday shipping season begins, we've had to make some adjustments to our Overnight Express delivery. Beginning Monday, November 28, the order deadline for next-day deliveries is Noon Eastern. This will be in effect until January 2. All other shipping will be unchanged until December 19. I'll have more information on that in the coming weeks.
Finally, as the new site gets put to the test, we're discovering a few problems with the system. For the record, this happens at every site, and I'm being more honest about it than some folks are. We've experienced occasional outages due to traffic and some minor problems with our Checkout system.
If you ever encounter a problem with our site, I do hope you'll call us at 1-800-287-9870. If something isn't working and no one tells us, then we don't know that it's broken and we can't fix it. Those calls that report problems are essential to us. I'd particularly like to hear from any Firefox users out there who are having trouble.
That's all for now. I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
First, we won't be shipping anything between November 24 and November 28. Our friends at FedEx and UPS are taking a weekend breather before the busy holiday shipping season kicks in. They've earned it. Any orders you place between now and November 27 will ship on November 28.
Second, our Thanksgiving products are no longer available, but a new collection of holiday desserts is now online, which you can find on our Seasonal Treats page. Remember that it's a good idea to order early--our Rum Pumpkin Tart sold out before Thanksgiving, and all of our holiday desserts are available in limited quantities.
Third, as the holiday shipping season begins, we've had to make some adjustments to our Overnight Express delivery. Beginning Monday, November 28, the order deadline for next-day deliveries is Noon Eastern. This will be in effect until January 2. All other shipping will be unchanged until December 19. I'll have more information on that in the coming weeks.
Finally, as the new site gets put to the test, we're discovering a few problems with the system. For the record, this happens at every site, and I'm being more honest about it than some folks are. We've experienced occasional outages due to traffic and some minor problems with our Checkout system.
If you ever encounter a problem with our site, I do hope you'll call us at 1-800-287-9870. If something isn't working and no one tells us, then we don't know that it's broken and we can't fix it. Those calls that report problems are essential to us. I'd particularly like to hear from any Firefox users out there who are having trouble.
That's all for now. I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
No Cakes 'til Tuesday
Due to production issues, I've had to take all of our products from Bittersweet Pastries offline until Monday. This is the first time we've had this kind of a situation, and I apologize for the inconvenience.
All of the cakes and tarts from Bittersweet will be available next week, and you can continue to place orders for their products so long as the delivery date is Tuesday, November 15, or later. If you've got any questions, please e-mail me at derek@1-800-bakery.com.
All of the cakes and tarts from Bittersweet will be available next week, and you can continue to place orders for their products so long as the delivery date is Tuesday, November 15, or later. If you've got any questions, please e-mail me at derek@1-800-bakery.com.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
And We're Live
It's here, the new and improved 1-800-Bakery.com. After four months of researching, rebuilding, rewriting, and redesigning, our site has been relaunched to reward our customers.
That's the real Chef Steve gazing out from the top navigation. Now I get to look at my boss every time I'm on the site. Joy. All that's missing is a little word balloon that says, "Work harder."
I'm very proud of the new site and all the hard work from Chef Steve, the nice folks at b2services who helped with the redesign and upgrades, the customers who offered their suggestions, and, of course, the family and friends who helped us cope during this project.
There's a ton of new information and new features available on the site that I encourage you to explore. We've moved to a faster server, so you'll be seeing it all much faster than before. And there's more to come in the next few weeks, including improved product descriptions and an online glossary. Not to mention new cookies and petits fours for the holidays.
I'd love to know what you think of our new site. We designed it to be easier to use and more comprehensive than before, and I hope we succeeded. If you've got any comments or suggestions, please send them to me at derek@1-800-Bakery.com.
Addendum: It's possible that a few of your bookmarks may have broken during the redesign. To accomodate the new font size and page layout, I had to shorten the names of Hurley's Boston Soda Breads and the New English Muffin Company, as well as the product names for our Sugar Free Low Carb Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake and Sugar Free Low Carb Flourless Marble Truffle Cake. The products are all still there, but they've got shortened names, and our site uses the product name to generate the URL. There won't be any changes like this in the future, and I apologize for the inconvenience.
That's the real Chef Steve gazing out from the top navigation. Now I get to look at my boss every time I'm on the site. Joy. All that's missing is a little word balloon that says, "Work harder."
I'm very proud of the new site and all the hard work from Chef Steve, the nice folks at b2services who helped with the redesign and upgrades, the customers who offered their suggestions, and, of course, the family and friends who helped us cope during this project.
There's a ton of new information and new features available on the site that I encourage you to explore. We've moved to a faster server, so you'll be seeing it all much faster than before. And there's more to come in the next few weeks, including improved product descriptions and an online glossary. Not to mention new cookies and petits fours for the holidays.
I'd love to know what you think of our new site. We designed it to be easier to use and more comprehensive than before, and I hope we succeeded. If you've got any comments or suggestions, please send them to me at derek@1-800-Bakery.com.
Addendum: It's possible that a few of your bookmarks may have broken during the redesign. To accomodate the new font size and page layout, I had to shorten the names of Hurley's Boston Soda Breads and the New English Muffin Company, as well as the product names for our Sugar Free Low Carb Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake and Sugar Free Low Carb Flourless Marble Truffle Cake. The products are all still there, but they've got shortened names, and our site uses the product name to generate the URL. There won't be any changes like this in the future, and I apologize for the inconvenience.
Technical difficulties?
You might see some strange things happening today as we install the new site.
Wait, did I just say "install the new site"? Yes I did. And as with all things new, there's the odd technical hiccup to sort out.
So please pardon our appearance during renovation, and if the site does start acting wonky, give it a few minutes.
Wait, did I just say "install the new site"? Yes I did. And as with all things new, there's the odd technical hiccup to sort out.
So please pardon our appearance during renovation, and if the site does start acting wonky, give it a few minutes.
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