Still no sign of that Raspberry Buttercreme at Gocakego.com. When will our long national nightmare be over? How can a people who have feasted on the variety of 300 beverage choices at 7-Eleven reconcile a business that offers only one choice of cake, just because they want it in a green box with "FREE" shipping?
Since I'd rather you didn't starve to death waiting for the green box to show with a Raspberry Buttercreme, might I suggest some Silver Label Cookies from Solomon's? They're a new addition to our site, and they're gooooood. Really, really gooooood. A lot of cookies cross my desk over the course of a year, and these truly wowed me. I can't use competitors names or superlatives on the site, but if you asked me in person for my opinion of these cookies, I'd tell you that they're the "Well-known gourmet chocolates that come in a gold ballotin of cookies." God, I've a hankering for some of those cookies right now.
Did you get your Valentine a present yet? Me either, but that's not an example you should follow. With 12 days to go, you should try to get your order in soon. Most retailers don't complain about it, but Valentine's is one of our busier seasons.
Just don't give your Valentine flowers. I mean, come on, flowers? You're getting raked over the coals for those roses, and she would much rather be surprised with roses on a random Tuesday than get the obligatory Valentine's dozen. I could never understand why we express our undying love with something that wilts in a few days. Must be a guy thing.
Give a single rose, if you must invoke the floral tradition, then think outside the box. Go over to our Seasonal Treats page and pick out some cookies or petits fours. Your Valentine will be surprised, and you'll get a cookie or petits four as a reward for being so thoughtful. Just try taking one of those roses home and see what happens.
"But Derek," you're saying, "How can you expect me to pay those overnight shipping charges to get the stuff there on Tuesday?" Hey, if you really loved your Valentine, cost would be no object, but since you're probably down a few bucks from feeding Exxon's record profits, here's some money-saving advice:
Order the gifts for delivery on February 10. Pop the petits fours or the cake in the fridge, and they'll be nice and fresh for Valentine's Day. Order by 2PM Eastern on February 8, and you can get Second-Day Air shipping.
Or, if you'd like to get some of the nice mini cookies from Supercookie, order by 2PM on Thursday, February 9, and we'll have them there on Valentine's Day. They ship in sealed tubs, so they'll survive the weekend without losing a bit of their freshness.
Then get your Valentine some jewelry or tickets to a game. Please stop buying the novelty boxers with hearts on them. They're disturbing.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Suggestions for All
I really shouldn't dispense free advice to the competition, and I doubt I would if I thought they would seriously take it, but that seems to be the case at Gocakego.com. They've added an actual address and--gasp--phone number to the bottom of most of their pages. They're still, however, only guaranteeing a "cake-rageous" experience, and I've got no idea what that means. I'm thinking it's one of those things that means something different to everyone. I prefer to order from places that offer a simple money-back guarantee, like the one we offer. And there's still the odd lie about FREE shipping.
Don't forget to use the BLOG discount to get $5 off our Chocolate or Vanilla birthday cakes. Type it into the Coupons field at checkout, and remember, we've got two flavors, they've got one. Really, if you're going to launch a site and offer two flavors of cake, shouldn't you have both flavors available at launch? It's not like you're tackling the Herculean task of offering three kinds of cake.
Maybe they're just waiting for raspberry preserves to come back in season.
Speaking of competitors, I get the odd call for someone looking for larger cakes than the ones we sell, specifically half-sheet and full-sheet cakes. Los Angeles-based Cake2go.com has you covered. They use a network of bakeries to fill their orders. I don't think that's the best way to do it, but I will concede that there's no practical way to ship a half-sheet or full-sheet cake, which is a very fragile thing. If you need something that size, visit their site.
Don't forget to use the BLOG discount to get $5 off our Chocolate or Vanilla birthday cakes. Type it into the Coupons field at checkout, and remember, we've got two flavors, they've got one. Really, if you're going to launch a site and offer two flavors of cake, shouldn't you have both flavors available at launch? It's not like you're tackling the Herculean task of offering three kinds of cake.
Maybe they're just waiting for raspberry preserves to come back in season.
Speaking of competitors, I get the odd call for someone looking for larger cakes than the ones we sell, specifically half-sheet and full-sheet cakes. Los Angeles-based Cake2go.com has you covered. They use a network of bakeries to fill their orders. I don't think that's the best way to do it, but I will concede that there's no practical way to ship a half-sheet or full-sheet cake, which is a very fragile thing. If you need something that size, visit their site.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Fix cake fix?
I'd like to say things are looking better at Gocakego. I'd like to say we won the war in Iraq, too, but like so many abandoned roadside cars, the problems with our cake-selling friends offer convenient places to hide customer service problems.
They fixed the broken logo on the inside pages, and they added a Contact Us link at the bottom of the page. Too bad that link goes to an e-mail address labeled "info." I bet everyone's tripping over themselves to answer those e-mails. When you send us an e-mail, it either goes to me or to Chef Steve. If we're here, we answer them within an hour. If we're not here, those e-mails are the top priority when we arrive back at work.
Still no sign of the vaunted Raspberry Buttercreme cake--rumored to be at least partially responsible for the Denver Broncos lackluster perfomance in the AFC Championship game--but a visit to the Double Fudge page (which still lies about FREE shipping) reveals a new link, called The Guarantee.
It seems that if your experience is anything less than "cake-rageous," they'll "...fix it. Pronto." I find that the truly "cake-rageous" experiences in life are too few and far between. And nowhere in this do they actually say what they'll do. Do they offer a free replacement? Is this a money-back guarantee like the one we offer? Will sending an e-mail to an address labeledn "guarantee" result in the kind of high-speed, life-affirming customer service that you, a wage-earning productive citizen, should claim as your birthright? I'm guessing that the answer to all of those questions is, "Well, maybe, sorta," especially since I don't see a phone number anywhere on the site where I can call and yell.
As you determine whether your experience was insufficiently "cake-rageous" enough to warrant the dangers of sending that e-mail, be sure to note Gocake's claim that, "Birthdays are not to be taken lightly." Neither are Web sites. Do it right, with all the links and information that customers need, or go away. That would be "cake-rageous."
In other news, someone called twice on Sunday to complain about our shipping rates. We're not here on Sunday. We say that very clearly on the site. The caller claimed that our shipping rates are too high. I might agree with that point, but I don't set the rates. The shipping companies set them. If you'd like to call UPS, FedEx, and the Postal Service and ask them why they charge so much, I'd love to hear the answer, particularly where the concept of "dimensional weight" is concerned.
As I've explained in the past, we don't make money on shipping. In some cases, shipping costs eat into the margins we're supposed to make on our products, because shipping is a complex voodoo science when you're selling nationally. Here's some information you can use to help understand the problems:
1. We ship stuff in oversized boxes. Cakes and pastries can't be crammed into standard boxes. When we use our own packaging, which we need to do for many of our products, we're billed for what's called "dimensional weight," becuase our boxes are larger than the standard UPS, FedEx, or USPS boxes. In other words, we're billed for the additional space our packaging takes up on the airplane on a per-pound basis. Dimensional Weight can add as much as two pounds to our packages, resulting in a higher shipping cost.
2. Cakes are heavy. Three DVDs may weigh less than two pounds, but one cake weighs about five pounds. Throw in some dry ice or an ice pack to keep the cake cool in transit, and we're up to a seven-pound package. Since shipping is priced by the pound, it adds up.
3. We can't use ground shipping. You don't want to wait five days for your cake to arrive. Especially if it's going to Texas. Trust me on this.
So I'm left with these very real expenses (and we take advantage of every discount we can get). That leaves me with two choices: Charge $35 for a dozen cookies or $65 for a cake and claim FREE shipping (it's not FREE if it's not in all caps, ask any marketer), or break down the price so you know exactly where your dollars are going.
If you find that level of honesty unsettling, there are folks online who'll lie to you and offer all the "FREE" shipping you can handle. You're welcome to do business with them, just don't call and complain to us first, please.
And if you want to know how much that "FREE" shipping cost you, here's some fun you can have at home. When the package arrives, go to Intershipper.com. Type in the originating ZIP Code (where the package came from), your ZIP code, and the package weight, and you'll find out how much they paid for shipping. If they do a ton of volume, you can subtract 20% of the shipping cost. Subtract the shipping cost from the purchase price of the product, and you'll know what you really paid for that "FREE" shipping.
They fixed the broken logo on the inside pages, and they added a Contact Us link at the bottom of the page. Too bad that link goes to an e-mail address labeled "info." I bet everyone's tripping over themselves to answer those e-mails. When you send us an e-mail, it either goes to me or to Chef Steve. If we're here, we answer them within an hour. If we're not here, those e-mails are the top priority when we arrive back at work.
Still no sign of the vaunted Raspberry Buttercreme cake--rumored to be at least partially responsible for the Denver Broncos lackluster perfomance in the AFC Championship game--but a visit to the Double Fudge page (which still lies about FREE shipping) reveals a new link, called The Guarantee.
It seems that if your experience is anything less than "cake-rageous," they'll "...fix it. Pronto." I find that the truly "cake-rageous" experiences in life are too few and far between. And nowhere in this do they actually say what they'll do. Do they offer a free replacement? Is this a money-back guarantee like the one we offer? Will sending an e-mail to an address labeledn "guarantee" result in the kind of high-speed, life-affirming customer service that you, a wage-earning productive citizen, should claim as your birthright? I'm guessing that the answer to all of those questions is, "Well, maybe, sorta," especially since I don't see a phone number anywhere on the site where I can call and yell.
As you determine whether your experience was insufficiently "cake-rageous" enough to warrant the dangers of sending that e-mail, be sure to note Gocake's claim that, "Birthdays are not to be taken lightly." Neither are Web sites. Do it right, with all the links and information that customers need, or go away. That would be "cake-rageous."
In other news, someone called twice on Sunday to complain about our shipping rates. We're not here on Sunday. We say that very clearly on the site. The caller claimed that our shipping rates are too high. I might agree with that point, but I don't set the rates. The shipping companies set them. If you'd like to call UPS, FedEx, and the Postal Service and ask them why they charge so much, I'd love to hear the answer, particularly where the concept of "dimensional weight" is concerned.
As I've explained in the past, we don't make money on shipping. In some cases, shipping costs eat into the margins we're supposed to make on our products, because shipping is a complex voodoo science when you're selling nationally. Here's some information you can use to help understand the problems:
1. We ship stuff in oversized boxes. Cakes and pastries can't be crammed into standard boxes. When we use our own packaging, which we need to do for many of our products, we're billed for what's called "dimensional weight," becuase our boxes are larger than the standard UPS, FedEx, or USPS boxes. In other words, we're billed for the additional space our packaging takes up on the airplane on a per-pound basis. Dimensional Weight can add as much as two pounds to our packages, resulting in a higher shipping cost.
2. Cakes are heavy. Three DVDs may weigh less than two pounds, but one cake weighs about five pounds. Throw in some dry ice or an ice pack to keep the cake cool in transit, and we're up to a seven-pound package. Since shipping is priced by the pound, it adds up.
3. We can't use ground shipping. You don't want to wait five days for your cake to arrive. Especially if it's going to Texas. Trust me on this.
So I'm left with these very real expenses (and we take advantage of every discount we can get). That leaves me with two choices: Charge $35 for a dozen cookies or $65 for a cake and claim FREE shipping (it's not FREE if it's not in all caps, ask any marketer), or break down the price so you know exactly where your dollars are going.
If you find that level of honesty unsettling, there are folks online who'll lie to you and offer all the "FREE" shipping you can handle. You're welcome to do business with them, just don't call and complain to us first, please.
And if you want to know how much that "FREE" shipping cost you, here's some fun you can have at home. When the package arrives, go to Intershipper.com. Type in the originating ZIP Code (where the package came from), your ZIP code, and the package weight, and you'll find out how much they paid for shipping. If they do a ton of volume, you can subtract 20% of the shipping cost. Subtract the shipping cost from the purchase price of the product, and you'll know what you really paid for that "FREE" shipping.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Just Go, gocakego
Here's another one of my snide posts wherein, through sarcastic commentary, you might learn a thing or two about how not to run a Web site.
As a veteran of the dotcom bust, I like to think that the days of style over substance are gone. That Web entrepreneurs have learned that it takes more than pretty pictures and a little Flash to be successful. Then I see gocakego.com, and I'm reminded why phishing scams still work. In short, just because you spend years telling people not to do things via every available avenue, it doesn't mean they'll listen.
Go take a look at the site. The link's right up there. These are the same folks that had a teaser page online for so long that I began to wonder if someone had (wisely) pulled the plug before this venture got off the ground. Imagine my surprise at seeing actual content, albeit in short supply.
These folks sell cakes. Well, cake, since clicking on the "Show me the cakes!" button reveals that their much-anticipated Raspberry Buttercreme is still in development. In this high-speed day and age, when Presidents can't wait for a court order to start wiretapping, you can't have a cake in R&D for so long. The new Duke Nukem game may be on the market before this cake materializes.
In gocakego's defense, the site seems to be all about simplicity. Nothing's simpler than having only one cake, even if half the people who come to your site don't like it. Those customers, we'll assume, just go away, leaving only those who approve of Double Fudge cakes. And the pictures are pretty. Very, very pretty. Too bad the end of the gocakego.com logo gets cut off once you're off the home page, or that would look pretty too.
The green box also looks pretty, if you like green. Did I mention that the cake comes in a green box? That's a big part of the strategy over there, so much so that they've carried the green motif, with ample blue highlights, into their site design. Are there any two less appetizing colors than green and blue? I've done the research, and the answer is no. But the cake comes in a green box, and I'm sure they were careful to ensure that none of the gocakego.com logo was cut off on the box.
Assuming you get past the green and blue (blue, by the way, is nature's chromatic equivalent of the skull and crossbones, which is why sensible food marketers avoid it), you can order your choice of a Double Fudge or a Double Fudge cake for a mere $59.95--"Includes FREE shipping." As I've said many times before, there's no free shipping.
Let me repeat that: There's NO free shipping. Free lunch may actually exist, expecially if you're good at sneaking into marketing conferences without credentials, but there's no free shipping. The shipping is priced into the cost of the cake, which, incidentally, serves 6 fewer people than our Chocolate Birthday Cake, which, incidentally, comes with all the same stuff (minus the green box), and only costs $5 more with second-day air shipping.
Cross some names off the guest list, honey. We're getting FREE shipping. No you're not. You're being lied to on a green and blue background. Please do me, and the rest of the decent online retailers out there, a favor this year and stop buying things from people who lie to you.
If you insist on buying from people who lie to you, go ahead, use the Shopping Cart. As they say, "Ordering from our store is quick & easy." So quick & easy that they don't even bother spelling out the word "and."
First, give them the Shipping address. Be sure to notice the "Shipping and Handling" charge of $0.00 at the bottom of the page. It must really be free! You also get the choice of creating a customer account or buying as a Guest. Clicking the "What's a Guest?" link tells you that if you don't register, you won't be able to track your order. Now that's simple!
I also need to assign some bonus points for the error message that keeps popping up on the checkout pages, informing customers that "This page contains both secure and nonsecure items." That always makes me feel safe when I'm shopping online. Usually it's an image that's the source of the problem, but I've looked at the pages with nonsecure items turned off, and I can't tell the difference, so if it is an image, it's an invisible image that's probably being used for some search engine optimization purposes. Cheaters.
Once you tell them where to ship and who to bill, the next page tells you to "Select Your Shipping Method." You get as much choice here as you do with the cakes, as there's a single radio button next to the words "Free Shipping." These folks lie like Scooter Libby in front of a grand jury.
You'll be asked for a Discount Code and to choose a Delivery Date. It doesn't say anything about delivery restrictions, but there's an asterisk next to the field. The asterisk doesn't point to anything or link to anything, which must make it feel like less of an asterisk. That sort of abuse of one of the most useful and reliable symbols in language has always bothered me. For fun, I suggest trying to place an order for same-day or Sunday delivery. You won't get any error messages. You also won't get a cake, but you might get a fun phone call from someone in customer service. If you do, be sure to ask them why you can't get your Double Fudge cake the same day or on Sunday, then ask them why it didn't say that on their site. Then cancel your order.
This, of course, assumes that they have customer service. If they do, it's nowhere to be found on the site. Nor is any kind of shipping information, physical address, security information, or a privacy statement. They're all about simplicity over at gocakego, and those boring bits of information just complicate things, don't they? Maybe all that information is coming once the Raspberry Buttercreme cake is ready for the world.
Of course, why would you want the basic staples of online customer service when you've got a Party Online feature? Not only will they send you your choice of a Double Fudge or a Double Fudge cake with FREE shipping on a Sunday, but they'll also fill your e-mail box with birthday wishes. All you have to do is send them the e-mails of everyone you know. Which makes no sense, because you're not sending a birthday cake to yourself, and you probably don't know all the e-mails of the cake recipient's friends and family, unless you're hacking into his or her Hotmail when nobody's looking. With no Privacy Statement on the site, this is probably what gocakego recommends. And what happens with all those e-mails, anyway?
When you violate as many basic e-commerce requirements as gocakego does, it's understandable that you wouldn't put a customer service number anywhere. Personally, I wouldn't order from these folks if they were the only cake site online and my only other birtday gift option was a box of last year's Limburger, so long as I knew the Limburger was coming from a secure site with a clear path to customer service.
If you want to save the five bucks and take a gamble, go right ahead. Actually, I don't want you to do that, because I care about customers and I don't want shoddy sites like this wrecking the reputation of e-commerce. So try this instead: Order a birthday cake from us and use the Discount Code BLOG at checkout to save five bucks. I'll even give you a choice of chocolate or vanilla. You'll only match their price if you choose Second-Day Air shipping, because Express Overnight and Saturday cost more. And no, we can't deliver it on Sunday or Monday.
You won't get a green box and you'll have to send your own Happy Birthday e-mails, but you will be ordering from a safe, secure site with customer service a toll-free call away. The choice is yours.
As a veteran of the dotcom bust, I like to think that the days of style over substance are gone. That Web entrepreneurs have learned that it takes more than pretty pictures and a little Flash to be successful. Then I see gocakego.com, and I'm reminded why phishing scams still work. In short, just because you spend years telling people not to do things via every available avenue, it doesn't mean they'll listen.
Go take a look at the site. The link's right up there. These are the same folks that had a teaser page online for so long that I began to wonder if someone had (wisely) pulled the plug before this venture got off the ground. Imagine my surprise at seeing actual content, albeit in short supply.
These folks sell cakes. Well, cake, since clicking on the "Show me the cakes!" button reveals that their much-anticipated Raspberry Buttercreme is still in development. In this high-speed day and age, when Presidents can't wait for a court order to start wiretapping, you can't have a cake in R&D for so long. The new Duke Nukem game may be on the market before this cake materializes.
In gocakego's defense, the site seems to be all about simplicity. Nothing's simpler than having only one cake, even if half the people who come to your site don't like it. Those customers, we'll assume, just go away, leaving only those who approve of Double Fudge cakes. And the pictures are pretty. Very, very pretty. Too bad the end of the gocakego.com logo gets cut off once you're off the home page, or that would look pretty too.
The green box also looks pretty, if you like green. Did I mention that the cake comes in a green box? That's a big part of the strategy over there, so much so that they've carried the green motif, with ample blue highlights, into their site design. Are there any two less appetizing colors than green and blue? I've done the research, and the answer is no. But the cake comes in a green box, and I'm sure they were careful to ensure that none of the gocakego.com logo was cut off on the box.
Assuming you get past the green and blue (blue, by the way, is nature's chromatic equivalent of the skull and crossbones, which is why sensible food marketers avoid it), you can order your choice of a Double Fudge or a Double Fudge cake for a mere $59.95--"Includes FREE shipping." As I've said many times before, there's no free shipping.
Let me repeat that: There's NO free shipping. Free lunch may actually exist, expecially if you're good at sneaking into marketing conferences without credentials, but there's no free shipping. The shipping is priced into the cost of the cake, which, incidentally, serves 6 fewer people than our Chocolate Birthday Cake, which, incidentally, comes with all the same stuff (minus the green box), and only costs $5 more with second-day air shipping.
Cross some names off the guest list, honey. We're getting FREE shipping. No you're not. You're being lied to on a green and blue background. Please do me, and the rest of the decent online retailers out there, a favor this year and stop buying things from people who lie to you.
If you insist on buying from people who lie to you, go ahead, use the Shopping Cart. As they say, "Ordering from our store is quick & easy." So quick & easy that they don't even bother spelling out the word "and."
First, give them the Shipping address. Be sure to notice the "Shipping and Handling" charge of $0.00 at the bottom of the page. It must really be free! You also get the choice of creating a customer account or buying as a Guest. Clicking the "What's a Guest?" link tells you that if you don't register, you won't be able to track your order. Now that's simple!
I also need to assign some bonus points for the error message that keeps popping up on the checkout pages, informing customers that "This page contains both secure and nonsecure items." That always makes me feel safe when I'm shopping online. Usually it's an image that's the source of the problem, but I've looked at the pages with nonsecure items turned off, and I can't tell the difference, so if it is an image, it's an invisible image that's probably being used for some search engine optimization purposes. Cheaters.
Once you tell them where to ship and who to bill, the next page tells you to "Select Your Shipping Method." You get as much choice here as you do with the cakes, as there's a single radio button next to the words "Free Shipping." These folks lie like Scooter Libby in front of a grand jury.
You'll be asked for a Discount Code and to choose a Delivery Date. It doesn't say anything about delivery restrictions, but there's an asterisk next to the field. The asterisk doesn't point to anything or link to anything, which must make it feel like less of an asterisk. That sort of abuse of one of the most useful and reliable symbols in language has always bothered me. For fun, I suggest trying to place an order for same-day or Sunday delivery. You won't get any error messages. You also won't get a cake, but you might get a fun phone call from someone in customer service. If you do, be sure to ask them why you can't get your Double Fudge cake the same day or on Sunday, then ask them why it didn't say that on their site. Then cancel your order.
This, of course, assumes that they have customer service. If they do, it's nowhere to be found on the site. Nor is any kind of shipping information, physical address, security information, or a privacy statement. They're all about simplicity over at gocakego, and those boring bits of information just complicate things, don't they? Maybe all that information is coming once the Raspberry Buttercreme cake is ready for the world.
Of course, why would you want the basic staples of online customer service when you've got a Party Online feature? Not only will they send you your choice of a Double Fudge or a Double Fudge cake with FREE shipping on a Sunday, but they'll also fill your e-mail box with birthday wishes. All you have to do is send them the e-mails of everyone you know. Which makes no sense, because you're not sending a birthday cake to yourself, and you probably don't know all the e-mails of the cake recipient's friends and family, unless you're hacking into his or her Hotmail when nobody's looking. With no Privacy Statement on the site, this is probably what gocakego recommends. And what happens with all those e-mails, anyway?
When you violate as many basic e-commerce requirements as gocakego does, it's understandable that you wouldn't put a customer service number anywhere. Personally, I wouldn't order from these folks if they were the only cake site online and my only other birtday gift option was a box of last year's Limburger, so long as I knew the Limburger was coming from a secure site with a clear path to customer service.
If you want to save the five bucks and take a gamble, go right ahead. Actually, I don't want you to do that, because I care about customers and I don't want shoddy sites like this wrecking the reputation of e-commerce. So try this instead: Order a birthday cake from us and use the Discount Code BLOG at checkout to save five bucks. I'll even give you a choice of chocolate or vanilla. You'll only match their price if you choose Second-Day Air shipping, because Express Overnight and Saturday cost more. And no, we can't deliver it on Sunday or Monday.
You won't get a green box and you'll have to send your own Happy Birthday e-mails, but you will be ordering from a safe, secure site with customer service a toll-free call away. The choice is yours.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Why send a cake in the mail?
The competition's heating up in the world of pastrycommerce, as evidenced by this AdWords entry from the competition over at the usabirthdays site:
Good question there, usabirthdays, and a good thing that's not the only ad that you run, because I'm about to explain a few things.Birthday Cake Delivery
Why send a cake in the mail when
you can get a cake baked locally?
First, nobody's sending a cake "in the mail," at least not from our site. The implication here is that we're tossing our cakes in a box and shoving it into the closest mailbox. That's what most people think of when they think of mail. Cakes wouldn't survive too well in that environment, which is why we've spent years developing packaging and shipping methods, and working out relationships with UPS and FedEx to ensure that our products arrive on time and in one ready-to-enjoy piece.
So now that the editorial slur against our shipping practices has been addressed, let's get to the real question that's being posed, with the appropriate revisions:
Why send a cake when you can get a cake baked locally?
Why go to Vegas when there's a casino a few hours away? Why stay at the Ritz-Carlton (lose the Flash intro, people) when you can stay at Motel 6? (Maybe because they have a better Web site.) Why eat at Ruth's Chris when Chili's has the New Cajun Ribeye?
Awesome Blossom aside, there's a simple reason: quality. When you order a cake from us, it goes straight to an award-winning bakery. The same bakery, every time. Whether it's cheesecakes from JR Bakery of Chicago or one of the amazing cakes from Bittersweet Pastries, you'll get the same quality whenever you order.
What happens when you order from usabirthdays? Your order goes to a local bakery. They could be great. They could all be using the same recipe. They may have even won an award. But you won't know. And if you order again, and you're sending to a different state, you'll be dealing with another unknown bakery. You're taking a chance on quality. I think that's okay with floral arrangements, because they just have to look good. A cake has to taste good, too, and taste good consistently. That's what makes memories and traditions.
If you want to take a chance, there's sites out there that will let you. If you think the people you love deserve the commitment to quality and consistency that we provide, we're here for you.
And we won't send your cake through the mail.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Happy New Year
I'm impressed, not just with the volume of business we did on the site this season--a tenfold increase over December 2004--but with how smoothly everything went. For all of our deliveries, only a handful failed to reach their destinations on time.
In fact, for whatever reason, I got more calls for people upset with Wolferman's customer service than our own.
I also learned a couple of things this season. If you're ordering a gift for someone, enclose a gift card. We don't charge for them, and that's the only way the recipient will know where it came from. All of our shipping companies use the bakeries' return addresses, so the gift winds up being a mystery, and that can be unsettling for some people.
In addition, if you're expecting something delivered by a certain day and it doesn't get there, call us. I might tell you to wait a day, or I might ship a replacement immediately. I'd rather eat the cost of a replacement and know that you're satisfied than take a chance on something not reaching its destination in time. I scrambled to get some croissants out to a customer in the midwest on Christmas Eve because she called and told me she hadn't recieved her order on December 23. Everyone here shares a commitment to providing the best customer service possible, but we can't do that if we don't know that something's wrong.
There's one last shipping disruption to close out the year. We're unable to ship on Monday, January 2, because the shipping companies are closed. We can deliver on Wednesday, January 4, only by Express Overnight delivery. After that, things get back to normal until November. Our ordering deadline will move back to 2PM Eastern, and we'll be bringing back Monday delivery on select products.
I'd like to thank all of our customers for their support and all of our partner bakeries for their hard work during this past year. We surpassed many of our expectations, and we're looking forward to greater success in 2006.
From all of us at 1-800-Bakery.com, best wishes for a healthy, happy, and sweet New Year.
In fact, for whatever reason, I got more calls for people upset with Wolferman's customer service than our own.
I also learned a couple of things this season. If you're ordering a gift for someone, enclose a gift card. We don't charge for them, and that's the only way the recipient will know where it came from. All of our shipping companies use the bakeries' return addresses, so the gift winds up being a mystery, and that can be unsettling for some people.
In addition, if you're expecting something delivered by a certain day and it doesn't get there, call us. I might tell you to wait a day, or I might ship a replacement immediately. I'd rather eat the cost of a replacement and know that you're satisfied than take a chance on something not reaching its destination in time. I scrambled to get some croissants out to a customer in the midwest on Christmas Eve because she called and told me she hadn't recieved her order on December 23. Everyone here shares a commitment to providing the best customer service possible, but we can't do that if we don't know that something's wrong.
There's one last shipping disruption to close out the year. We're unable to ship on Monday, January 2, because the shipping companies are closed. We can deliver on Wednesday, January 4, only by Express Overnight delivery. After that, things get back to normal until November. Our ordering deadline will move back to 2PM Eastern, and we'll be bringing back Monday delivery on select products.
I'd like to thank all of our customers for their support and all of our partner bakeries for their hard work during this past year. We surpassed many of our expectations, and we're looking forward to greater success in 2006.
From all of us at 1-800-Bakery.com, best wishes for a healthy, happy, and sweet New Year.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Send Someone a Stollen
I've been hoping that with the holidays here, our Stollen, which is quite good, would retake the lead as our top-selling product. As of this writing, we only need to sell seven more of them to get that top spot back. I know you're all up to the challenge--if you need a gift for a teacher, a delivery person, a faraway friend, our Stollen is a sweet, delicious way to say thank you or I'm thinking of you.
It's getting down to the line for Christmas orders. Here are our ordering deadlines:
For Boston Coffee Cakes, all orders must be in by today, Friday, at 5PM.
For petits fours, all orders must be in by Noon Eastern on Monday.
For cakes and tarts (except cheesecakes), all orders must be in by Noon Eastern on Monday.
For all of our other products, we will be taking orders for second-day air delivery until 5PM Eastern on Monday, and orders for Express Overnight delivery until Noon Eastern on Wednesday.
We're also expanding our live customer service hours. In other words, no weekend for me. I'll be here from 10AM until 2PM on Saturday, and from at least Noon until 2PM on Sunday. Call and order some Stollen, if you need some, and we'll have it to you, or anyone you choose, in time for Christmas.
This will be my last post before the holiday barring any unexpected developments. So I'd like to take this chance to thank you for reading and to thank you for helping us grow beyond our expectations this year. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukah.
Cheers,
Derek
It's getting down to the line for Christmas orders. Here are our ordering deadlines:
For Boston Coffee Cakes, all orders must be in by today, Friday, at 5PM.
For petits fours, all orders must be in by Noon Eastern on Monday.
For cakes and tarts (except cheesecakes), all orders must be in by Noon Eastern on Monday.
For all of our other products, we will be taking orders for second-day air delivery until 5PM Eastern on Monday, and orders for Express Overnight delivery until Noon Eastern on Wednesday.
We're also expanding our live customer service hours. In other words, no weekend for me. I'll be here from 10AM until 2PM on Saturday, and from at least Noon until 2PM on Sunday. Call and order some Stollen, if you need some, and we'll have it to you, or anyone you choose, in time for Christmas.
This will be my last post before the holiday barring any unexpected developments. So I'd like to take this chance to thank you for reading and to thank you for helping us grow beyond our expectations this year. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukah.
Cheers,
Derek
Friday, December 09, 2005
Ye Olde Nor'Easter
Thanks to the snow blowing around the Northeast today, our friends at Bittersweet Pastries are unable to accept any orders for Saturday delivery. I'm not linking to them because if I do you'll click on the link, then you'll see the delicious cakes, then you'll want one for tomorrow. But we can't ship it for tomorrow. Ok, fine, here's the link to our cakes. Just don't order any for tomorrow. Please.
This seems like a good time to bring up the always-popular topic of shipping disruptions. Snow is a fact of life for a lot of places in this country, and snow does affect our ability to deliver our products on time. The shipping companies suspend their delivery guarantees during a major storm, and depending on accumulation, sometimes for a day or two after a storm. What's a "major" storm? It varies, but anything over three inches is usually enough to snarl traffic and keep airplanes on the ground.
If you're planning on ordering something, be sure to check our Shipping Disruptions page, where I'll post updates on storm-related delays as they happen. If you're ordering ahead, please try and allow an extra day for us to get things where they're going, particularly if the shipment is going to New England, New York State, and the northern midwest and plains states.
For Christmas deliveries, the best advice I can offer is to schedule deliveries for December 22. That way, should a storm arrive, we'll have an extra day to get the gifts to your loved ones in time.
This seems like a good time to bring up the always-popular topic of shipping disruptions. Snow is a fact of life for a lot of places in this country, and snow does affect our ability to deliver our products on time. The shipping companies suspend their delivery guarantees during a major storm, and depending on accumulation, sometimes for a day or two after a storm. What's a "major" storm? It varies, but anything over three inches is usually enough to snarl traffic and keep airplanes on the ground.
If you're planning on ordering something, be sure to check our Shipping Disruptions page, where I'll post updates on storm-related delays as they happen. If you're ordering ahead, please try and allow an extra day for us to get things where they're going, particularly if the shipment is going to New England, New York State, and the northern midwest and plains states.
For Christmas deliveries, the best advice I can offer is to schedule deliveries for December 22. That way, should a storm arrive, we'll have an extra day to get the gifts to your loved ones in time.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Whiskers on Kittens
We've seen a big spike in sales of our croissants ever since Oprah's Favorite Things show ran just before Thanksgiving. I didn't see the show, but I do know that the Individual Chocolate Lava Cakes from our friends at Galaxy Desserts made that list a couple of years back.
If you're thinking of getting some croissants, I hope you'll get them from us. We've got one major advantage over Williams Sonoma--ours are baked and ready to eat. Theirs need to be proofed and baked when they arrive. Many of our customers have told us that they like our croissants better than Williams Sonoma's--that's a matter of taste, as I think they're both good, but then again, I don't eat a Williams Sonoma croissant for lunch every day. I do eat one of ours, as they're one of my favorite things in this bakery.
For what it's worth, I thought I'd share a few of my other favorites from our site, just in case you're looking for a gift for a thirtysomething marketing director/web producer with a deep love for fine food.
Mini Cookies from Supercookie--Steve ordered a case of the Halloween cookies for the store. As soon as it arrived, I stole a tub of them and ate most of it the same day. Steve mumbled something about, "There go my profits," and walked away.
Vegan Blondies--I'll confess that I'm not a fan of most things that are good for you. I like steak, and I consider fruit punishment rather than a snack. But when we got the samples of these, the rest of the staff here had to fight me off to get some. They're so moist and dense, and completely free of animal products. If you've got a vegetarian or a vegan on your gift list, look no further. This is the perfect gift.
Chocolate Petits Fours--Dark chocolate for me, please, the more bitterswet the better. Divine Delights uses delicious chocolate to dip these petits fours, and their chocolate and mocha fillings are my favorites. I adore Godiva chocolate, but I'd be just as happy to get a box of these.
Chocolate Satin Cake--Someday I'm going to be left alone with a big bowl of chocolate ganache. Someday. Until then, I'll settle for this heavenly bittersweet chocolate cake that's filled, iced, and bordered with the stuff. It's like a hot fudge sundae without all that ice cream melting and messing up the fudge.
Stollen--It's NOT a fruitcake. Nobody likes fruitcake. Well somebody somewhere must, because they keep making the stuff, but I'll gladly take one of these Stollen instead. It's a sweet German bread filled with candied fruits (which is why some people make the mistake) and raisins soaked in Myers Rum. It's sweet and light, and we make it with a genuine German recipe. Pop it in the oven to warm it for a few minutes and you'll have a lovely Christmas breakfast.
Grand Sequoia Mousse--The only thing better than bittersweet chocolate in ganache form is bittersweet chocolate in mousse form. When our freezer died back in April, I was "forced" to eat all the samples before they spoiled. I love everything that Galaxy Desserts makes, but a half dozen of these would be my gift of choice.
New English Muffins--These were recently featured in The Boston Globe's Food section. All the varieties are a treat, but the five-cheese is the best of the lot. Spread on some pizza or spaghetti sauce, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds, and you've got a fantastic English Muffin Pizza.
97% Fat-Free Yogurt Cake--Did I mention that I don't like healthy foods? Here's another exception. We make this pound cake with yogurt instead of dairy, which reduces the fat without ruining the taste. I was handing samples of these out at the New England Food Expo back in March, and the visiting chefs and food directors were amazed at how good this cake tastes. Unless you tell someone, they'll never know it's a reduced-fat food. I like it just for the taste and texture.
So there you have it--a few of my favorite things from our site. If you're ever looking for suggestions, please e-mail me at derek@1-800-bakery.com . And remember, you'll never need to worry about color or size with a gift from our site. And if they've already got one, they'll be very happy to have another.
If you're thinking of getting some croissants, I hope you'll get them from us. We've got one major advantage over Williams Sonoma--ours are baked and ready to eat. Theirs need to be proofed and baked when they arrive. Many of our customers have told us that they like our croissants better than Williams Sonoma's--that's a matter of taste, as I think they're both good, but then again, I don't eat a Williams Sonoma croissant for lunch every day. I do eat one of ours, as they're one of my favorite things in this bakery.
For what it's worth, I thought I'd share a few of my other favorites from our site, just in case you're looking for a gift for a thirtysomething marketing director/web producer with a deep love for fine food.
Mini Cookies from Supercookie--Steve ordered a case of the Halloween cookies for the store. As soon as it arrived, I stole a tub of them and ate most of it the same day. Steve mumbled something about, "There go my profits," and walked away.
Vegan Blondies--I'll confess that I'm not a fan of most things that are good for you. I like steak, and I consider fruit punishment rather than a snack. But when we got the samples of these, the rest of the staff here had to fight me off to get some. They're so moist and dense, and completely free of animal products. If you've got a vegetarian or a vegan on your gift list, look no further. This is the perfect gift.
Chocolate Petits Fours--Dark chocolate for me, please, the more bitterswet the better. Divine Delights uses delicious chocolate to dip these petits fours, and their chocolate and mocha fillings are my favorites. I adore Godiva chocolate, but I'd be just as happy to get a box of these.
Chocolate Satin Cake--Someday I'm going to be left alone with a big bowl of chocolate ganache. Someday. Until then, I'll settle for this heavenly bittersweet chocolate cake that's filled, iced, and bordered with the stuff. It's like a hot fudge sundae without all that ice cream melting and messing up the fudge.
Stollen--It's NOT a fruitcake. Nobody likes fruitcake. Well somebody somewhere must, because they keep making the stuff, but I'll gladly take one of these Stollen instead. It's a sweet German bread filled with candied fruits (which is why some people make the mistake) and raisins soaked in Myers Rum. It's sweet and light, and we make it with a genuine German recipe. Pop it in the oven to warm it for a few minutes and you'll have a lovely Christmas breakfast.
Grand Sequoia Mousse--The only thing better than bittersweet chocolate in ganache form is bittersweet chocolate in mousse form. When our freezer died back in April, I was "forced" to eat all the samples before they spoiled. I love everything that Galaxy Desserts makes, but a half dozen of these would be my gift of choice.
New English Muffins--These were recently featured in The Boston Globe's Food section. All the varieties are a treat, but the five-cheese is the best of the lot. Spread on some pizza or spaghetti sauce, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds, and you've got a fantastic English Muffin Pizza.
97% Fat-Free Yogurt Cake--Did I mention that I don't like healthy foods? Here's another exception. We make this pound cake with yogurt instead of dairy, which reduces the fat without ruining the taste. I was handing samples of these out at the New England Food Expo back in March, and the visiting chefs and food directors were amazed at how good this cake tastes. Unless you tell someone, they'll never know it's a reduced-fat food. I like it just for the taste and texture.
So there you have it--a few of my favorite things from our site. If you're ever looking for suggestions, please e-mail me at derek@1-800-bakery.com . And remember, you'll never need to worry about color or size with a gift from our site. And if they've already got one, they'll be very happy to have another.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
We're Not Scrooges (Really!)
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."
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."
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.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Florida Shipping and Holiday Schedule
We're once again delivering to all ZIP Codes in Florida, and I hope the arrival of November will put this hurricane season to bed. In case you're wondering, the list of affected ZIP Codes is compiled primarily from the U.S. Postal service. These delivery outages are a result of blocked roads or power outages in the affected areas.
I always err on the side of caution when it comes to shipping our products. Some of our perishable products simply can't take an extra day or two in shipping. But as the recovery moves forward in Mississippi and Louisiana, I'm increasingly looking at a patchwork of service offered by UPS, the U.S. Postal Service, and Federal Express.
So if you'd like to send something to someone on our shrinking list of affected ZIP Codes, please e-mail me at Derek@1-800-Bakery.com or call us at 1-800-287-9870. We'll do everything we can to get your gift delivered.
And now an ineloquent segue: Thanksgiving is coming. One of my first jobs in the bakery business was to help with customer pickups on Thanksgiving. It's the single biggest holiday for bakers, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you need to order ahead if you want to avoid disappointment. Our Jack-O-Lantern cookie sold out within minutes of last week's e-mail going out, and I'm expecting the same to happen with our Harvest Petits Fours and Cornucopia Cookie.
You can order at any time and specify your delivery date by typing it into the Comments field on our Checkout page. The deadlines for Thanksgiving delivery are November 21 for Second Day Air and November 22 for Overnight Express. But again, you could find a very limited selection available by then, so if you see something you like, order it soon.
After looking over the planned closures for the shipping companies we use, I've put together our November Holiday Schedule:
We will be shipping on our regular schedule for Veteran's Day.
For Thanksgiving, we will be closed from November 22 until November 28. This means that any orders placed after 2PM on November 22 will not ship until November 28. Our shipping companies are suspending Friday and Saturday deliveries that weekend, and if this year is like past Thanksgivings, we'll need the days off to recharge.
I always err on the side of caution when it comes to shipping our products. Some of our perishable products simply can't take an extra day or two in shipping. But as the recovery moves forward in Mississippi and Louisiana, I'm increasingly looking at a patchwork of service offered by UPS, the U.S. Postal Service, and Federal Express.
So if you'd like to send something to someone on our shrinking list of affected ZIP Codes, please e-mail me at Derek@1-800-Bakery.com or call us at 1-800-287-9870. We'll do everything we can to get your gift delivered.
And now an ineloquent segue: Thanksgiving is coming. One of my first jobs in the bakery business was to help with customer pickups on Thanksgiving. It's the single biggest holiday for bakers, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you need to order ahead if you want to avoid disappointment. Our Jack-O-Lantern cookie sold out within minutes of last week's e-mail going out, and I'm expecting the same to happen with our Harvest Petits Fours and Cornucopia Cookie.
You can order at any time and specify your delivery date by typing it into the Comments field on our Checkout page. The deadlines for Thanksgiving delivery are November 21 for Second Day Air and November 22 for Overnight Express. But again, you could find a very limited selection available by then, so if you see something you like, order it soon.
After looking over the planned closures for the shipping companies we use, I've put together our November Holiday Schedule:
We will be shipping on our regular schedule for Veteran's Day.
For Thanksgiving, we will be closed from November 22 until November 28. This means that any orders placed after 2PM on November 22 will not ship until November 28. Our shipping companies are suspending Friday and Saturday deliveries that weekend, and if this year is like past Thanksgivings, we'll need the days off to recharge.
Friday, October 28, 2005
Shipping Resumes to Texas
We're once again able to ship throughout the state of Texas. It's good to see the number of affected ZIP Codes dwindling as services return to the areas hit by hurricanes this season.
Meanwhile, there's snow in the forecast for Boston tonight. I've got to go plan a costume that includes mittens and a knitted cap.
Meanwhile, there's snow in the forecast for Boston tonight. I've got to go plan a costume that includes mittens and a knitted cap.
Monday, October 24, 2005
And now Wilma...
I'll be glad when this hurricane season is over. For those who follow these sorts of things, Wilma is the last named hurricane we can have this season. Seems they've run out of names, so if another tropical storm develops, it will be called Hurricane Alpha, unless the marketing folks step in and buy the naming rights. Hurricane Disney, perhaps?
The US Postal Service has suspended shipments across parts of Southern Florida for today. As always, I'll be monitoring the situation and keeping you up to date on our Hurricane Information Page.
The US Postal Service has suspended shipments across parts of Southern Florida for today. As always, I'll be monitoring the situation and keeping you up to date on our Hurricane Information Page.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Making a Friend of Monday
I'd promised a big announcement today, and here it is: We can deliver products on Monday.
That's the big announcement? Yes, and let me explain why it's so important.
We're not a network of bakeries. All of our products are bakery-direct, which means you get them from the same bakery--the bakery that created the original recipe--every time. We don't farm out your order to the bakery down the street because we know it's hard to maintain consistent quality when you do things that way. Besides, the bakery down the street doesn't have our products.
It's been a standard practice in bakery-direct e-commerce that Monday delivery was a no-no. Because we, and other bakery sites, want our products to arrive fresh, we don't want them sitting at a shipping depot over the weekend. We don't pack our products with preservatives, so it's important to protect them while they travel.
The down side to all of this is having to say "No" to customers when they ask if something can arrive on a Monday. I don't like saying "No" to customers, and I'm sure it seemed odd to you that in a seven-day week, there were really only five days when we could deliver.
After talking to our partner bakeries, I was able to find some products that can be shipped over the weekend and arrive fresh. Some of them are durable, others are packaged in airtight containers. As with everything we sell, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee along with our pledge that we'd never sell you anything we wouldn't proudly serve in our own homes.
I'm working with our partner bakeries to expand our Monday offerings. I hope you'll find the added flexibility valuable.
That's the big announcement? Yes, and let me explain why it's so important.
We're not a network of bakeries. All of our products are bakery-direct, which means you get them from the same bakery--the bakery that created the original recipe--every time. We don't farm out your order to the bakery down the street because we know it's hard to maintain consistent quality when you do things that way. Besides, the bakery down the street doesn't have our products.
It's been a standard practice in bakery-direct e-commerce that Monday delivery was a no-no. Because we, and other bakery sites, want our products to arrive fresh, we don't want them sitting at a shipping depot over the weekend. We don't pack our products with preservatives, so it's important to protect them while they travel.
The down side to all of this is having to say "No" to customers when they ask if something can arrive on a Monday. I don't like saying "No" to customers, and I'm sure it seemed odd to you that in a seven-day week, there were really only five days when we could deliver.
After talking to our partner bakeries, I was able to find some products that can be shipped over the weekend and arrive fresh. Some of them are durable, others are packaged in airtight containers. As with everything we sell, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee along with our pledge that we'd never sell you anything we wouldn't proudly serve in our own homes.
I'm working with our partner bakeries to expand our Monday offerings. I hope you'll find the added flexibility valuable.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Second-Day Air Returns
Good news for you cost-conscious folks thanks to the cooler temperatures of autumn. I'm pleased to announce that second-day air shipping is back for all of our cakes from Bittersweet Pastries and all of our petits fours, with the single exception that we must continue to ship our petits fours overnight to Florida. It stays hot there all year, which must be nice.
With a little forethought, you can save up to 50% on shipping costs. Everything else seems to be getting more expensive these days, so it's nice to be able to offer our customers a chance to save.
High fuel prices are a concern for everyone these days, especially in the shipping business. We're working to find ways to maintain or possibly reduce our current shipping charges for many of our products. I'll keep you informed on all the developments.
And speaking of developments, we're getting ready to do something unique in bakery-direct e-commerce. It involves breaking our own rules (just a little), but it will give us the flexibility to provide you with even more memorable gifts.
Look for the announcement on Thursday.
With a little forethought, you can save up to 50% on shipping costs. Everything else seems to be getting more expensive these days, so it's nice to be able to offer our customers a chance to save.
High fuel prices are a concern for everyone these days, especially in the shipping business. We're working to find ways to maintain or possibly reduce our current shipping charges for many of our products. I'll keep you informed on all the developments.
And speaking of developments, we're getting ready to do something unique in bakery-direct e-commerce. It involves breaking our own rules (just a little), but it will give us the flexibility to provide you with even more memorable gifts.
Look for the announcement on Thursday.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Long Weekends and the Holiday Rush
Officially, we'll be closed on Monday to enjoy the long Columbus Day weekend. Our friends at Bittersweet Pastries tell me that they'll be around on Monday, so if you need an emergency Chocolate Birthday Cake or a tasty Cranberry Walnut Tart for Tuesday, they'll be able to ship them out.
This is a good time to start thinking ahead about holiday orders. Bakeries get very busy at this time of year. Thanksgiving is the biggest holiday of the year in terms of sales for most bakeries, followed by Christmas, Easter, and Valentine's Day. With so many orders coming in, products can sometimes be in short supply.
While we pride ourselves on being able to ship overnight anywhere in the continental United States (except on Sunday and Monday), at this time of year, it's far better to order ahead. By ordering in advance, you can be certain that you'll receive the special tart, cake, or cookies for your holiday gatherings. As colder weather moves across the country, you'll also save on shipping by taking advantage of Second Day Air delivery. Look for that option on our products as October comes to a close.
Ordering ahead is as simple as typing the delivery date in the Comments field on our One-Page Checkout form. For more information, you can check our Choose Your Delivery Date information page.
As a bakery insider, I can't tell you how important it is to order ahead during the holidays to avoid disappointment. We'll do our best at 1-800-Bakery to take last-minute orders, but product selection may be limited as specific holidays near.
Finally this week, the government has put together an informative and valuable site about protecting yourself online. Security continues to be an important issue for responsible online retailers, and I encourage you to visit the government's site and learn how to protect yourself while you're shopping online.
This is a good time to start thinking ahead about holiday orders. Bakeries get very busy at this time of year. Thanksgiving is the biggest holiday of the year in terms of sales for most bakeries, followed by Christmas, Easter, and Valentine's Day. With so many orders coming in, products can sometimes be in short supply.
While we pride ourselves on being able to ship overnight anywhere in the continental United States (except on Sunday and Monday), at this time of year, it's far better to order ahead. By ordering in advance, you can be certain that you'll receive the special tart, cake, or cookies for your holiday gatherings. As colder weather moves across the country, you'll also save on shipping by taking advantage of Second Day Air delivery. Look for that option on our products as October comes to a close.
Ordering ahead is as simple as typing the delivery date in the Comments field on our One-Page Checkout form. For more information, you can check our Choose Your Delivery Date information page.
As a bakery insider, I can't tell you how important it is to order ahead during the holidays to avoid disappointment. We'll do our best at 1-800-Bakery to take last-minute orders, but product selection may be limited as specific holidays near.
Finally this week, the government has put together an informative and valuable site about protecting yourself online. Security continues to be an important issue for responsible online retailers, and I encourage you to visit the government's site and learn how to protect yourself while you're shopping online.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Why We Don't Like Mondays
Strange things going on around these parts. But before I get to that, let me kick off October with a hearty GO RED SOX in the hope that they'll win a World Series while I'm here in Boston to enjoy it.
Now about those strange things...the weather folks are telling us that fall foliage is coming late to New England this year. Typically you don't have to venture too far north into New Hampshire to see autumn colors by Columbus Day, but thanks to a warm September, even northern Vermont is only at 20% of peak foliage. I'm convinced that the seasons around here get a little further behind the calendar each year. Snow in late March is a lot more common than it used to be, and the hottest part of summer arrives in August instead of July.
On another calendar note, Halloween is on Monday, October 31. Monday is bad for us. We don't like Mondays. Because even though we live in a seemingly on-demand world where products appear at our doorstep the day after they're ordered, the shipping companies still insist on having their Sundays off. So anything we ship second-day on a Friday or Saturday gets a one-day layover in a warehouse somewhere.
We don't like layovers because we want your products to be at the peak of freshness when you receive them, so we don't do Monday deliveries. Ever. With only a couple of exceptions that you, the readers of this blog, will know about.
I know with complete certainty that a few of our products ship well enough that we can take an Express or Second-Day Air order and let them enjoy a day of rest on Sunday. Specifically, the rugelach and pralines from Steve's Mom are shipped in a sealed, airtight gift tin that keeps everything fresh. In addition, the cookies from SuperCookie travel well. The minis are sealed in a plastic tub, and the big cookies are packed in a plastic bag.
We can't ship cakes or petits fours on Monday, but the Big Birthday Cookie is a fun and surprising alternative for someone celebrating another year.
With Halloween on a Monday, we've set up the following order deadlines for delivery on Saturday, October 30:
Now about those strange things...the weather folks are telling us that fall foliage is coming late to New England this year. Typically you don't have to venture too far north into New Hampshire to see autumn colors by Columbus Day, but thanks to a warm September, even northern Vermont is only at 20% of peak foliage. I'm convinced that the seasons around here get a little further behind the calendar each year. Snow in late March is a lot more common than it used to be, and the hottest part of summer arrives in August instead of July.
On another calendar note, Halloween is on Monday, October 31. Monday is bad for us. We don't like Mondays. Because even though we live in a seemingly on-demand world where products appear at our doorstep the day after they're ordered, the shipping companies still insist on having their Sundays off. So anything we ship second-day on a Friday or Saturday gets a one-day layover in a warehouse somewhere.
We don't like layovers because we want your products to be at the peak of freshness when you receive them, so we don't do Monday deliveries. Ever. With only a couple of exceptions that you, the readers of this blog, will know about.
I know with complete certainty that a few of our products ship well enough that we can take an Express or Second-Day Air order and let them enjoy a day of rest on Sunday. Specifically, the rugelach and pralines from Steve's Mom are shipped in a sealed, airtight gift tin that keeps everything fresh. In addition, the cookies from SuperCookie travel well. The minis are sealed in a plastic tub, and the big cookies are packed in a plastic bag.
We can't ship cakes or petits fours on Monday, but the Big Birthday Cookie is a fun and surprising alternative for someone celebrating another year.
With Halloween on a Monday, we've set up the following order deadlines for delivery on Saturday, October 30:
- 2PM Eastern Wednesday, October 26, for Second-Day Air
- 2PM Eastern Thursday, October 27, for Overnight Delivery
- 2PM Eastern Friday, October 28, for Saturday Delivery
After that, our Halloween specialties will be gone. If you're looking for one of the most unique Halloween treats you've ever seen, check out the Jack-O-Lantern Cookie from SuperCookie. One of the neatest things I've seen in a while and, as always, a much better value than a cookie bouquet.
Finally, we're able to ship throughout the state of Alabama once again. As people return to the Gulf states, we're monitoring service updates from the U.S. Postal Service each day. Look for more information on our Hurricane Information Page.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
More Trouble for the Gulf Coast
With Hurricane Rita churning toward Texas, it is again my unfortunate duty to caution our customers about shipping to the area. I recommend checking with friends and family in the area before placing an order, and we will review any order we receive that has a destination along Rita's path.
All of us at 1-800-Bakery.com send our thoughts to those displaced by the hurricane and offer our hopes for a minimal impact to the region.
Should any additional delivery suspensions occur, I will post them on our Hurricane Katrina Information Page on Monday.
All of us at 1-800-Bakery.com send our thoughts to those displaced by the hurricane and offer our hopes for a minimal impact to the region.
Should any additional delivery suspensions occur, I will post them on our Hurricane Katrina Information Page on Monday.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Everything but Guilt-Free
I'm happy to report that the number of ZIP Codes disabled by Hurricane Katrina decreased this past week. There have been few moments in my professional life as sad as having to create that list. As I typed each ZIP Code, all I could think was that this was a town, a city, so devastated by the storm that basic services which most of us take for granted no longer existed. These cities and towns were gone.
Seeing the list get shorter reminds me that there is hope and that people will someday return to many of the affected areas. In the meantime, thousands still need help. If you're in the Boston area, I'll be part of a comedy benefit on Wednesay night at 9:30 at The Office, 50 Broad Street, Boston. If you'd like more details, you can e-mail me at derek@1-800-bakery.com. You can also donate directly to the American Red Cross at http://redcross.org.
Look for another update of our Hurricane Katrina Information on Friday.
In happier news, we've got a new product on the site that's sure to please the vegans in your life. Vegan Blondies from Tipsycake of Chicago are chocolate bars made without any animal products, dairy, or eggs. They're cruelty free and very, very tasty, with a creamy, moist chocolate flavor. As someone who's suspect of anything lacking sugar, fat, or traditional ingredients, I must confess that I was quite impressed with these blondies. In fact, I wound up eating most of the sample box they sent.
I love products like this, because I know that there are vast stretches of America where specialty baked goods are unavailable. I'm always keeping an eye out for fat free, sugar free, and vegan foods with outstanding taste. Chef Steve and I look forward to bringing you more of these products in the coming months.
Seeing the list get shorter reminds me that there is hope and that people will someday return to many of the affected areas. In the meantime, thousands still need help. If you're in the Boston area, I'll be part of a comedy benefit on Wednesay night at 9:30 at The Office, 50 Broad Street, Boston. If you'd like more details, you can e-mail me at derek@1-800-bakery.com. You can also donate directly to the American Red Cross at http://redcross.org.
Look for another update of our Hurricane Katrina Information on Friday.
In happier news, we've got a new product on the site that's sure to please the vegans in your life. Vegan Blondies from Tipsycake of Chicago are chocolate bars made without any animal products, dairy, or eggs. They're cruelty free and very, very tasty, with a creamy, moist chocolate flavor. As someone who's suspect of anything lacking sugar, fat, or traditional ingredients, I must confess that I was quite impressed with these blondies. In fact, I wound up eating most of the sample box they sent.
I love products like this, because I know that there are vast stretches of America where specialty baked goods are unavailable. I'm always keeping an eye out for fat free, sugar free, and vegan foods with outstanding taste. Chef Steve and I look forward to bringing you more of these products in the coming months.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Katrina Update
As I was writing last Monday's post, Katrina had yet to unleash her full fury on the Gulf Coast. Levees outside New Orleans had yet to break. And America had yet to spend a weak witnessing the heartwrenching struggle for survival in Louisiana and Mississippi.
It's tempting to remove the post, just as it was tempting to remove the link to our Fall Preview on our home page. Life goes on for many of us, but our hearts, prayers, and support are with those who have lost so much in an instant, devastating act of nature.
We discussed setting up a donation drive here at the site, but we decided it's far better for those who want to help to donate to The American Red Cross. The need is immediate, and your donations will go straight to work helping those displaced by the hurricane.
We have also added a new information page on the site, which can be found at http://www.1-800-bakery.com/info/katrina.html. This page provides a list of ZIP Codes that are out of service due to storm damage. Because we use several companies to ship our products, we have chosen to use the list from the United States Postal Service, which is the most comprehensive of the three, as the source for affected ZIP Codes. We have also included areas where there are service delays as well as areas where there is no service, because we are unable to guarantee timely deliveries to these areas.
This list will be updated each Friday to reflect restoration of service in the affected areas. I look forward to the day when I can remove the page from our site, and I hope it comes soon.
It's tempting to remove the post, just as it was tempting to remove the link to our Fall Preview on our home page. Life goes on for many of us, but our hearts, prayers, and support are with those who have lost so much in an instant, devastating act of nature.
We discussed setting up a donation drive here at the site, but we decided it's far better for those who want to help to donate to The American Red Cross. The need is immediate, and your donations will go straight to work helping those displaced by the hurricane.
We have also added a new information page on the site, which can be found at http://www.1-800-bakery.com/info/katrina.html. This page provides a list of ZIP Codes that are out of service due to storm damage. Because we use several companies to ship our products, we have chosen to use the list from the United States Postal Service, which is the most comprehensive of the three, as the source for affected ZIP Codes. We have also included areas where there are service delays as well as areas where there is no service, because we are unable to guarantee timely deliveries to these areas.
This list will be updated each Friday to reflect restoration of service in the affected areas. I look forward to the day when I can remove the page from our site, and I hope it comes soon.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Hurricane Katrina
First off, the good news: None of our partner bakeries have been closed by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on the Gulf Coast this morning. That means that all of our products are available for delivery.
However, depending on where you would like things delivered, there may be some difficulties during the week, particularly east of the Mississippi River between today and Wednesday. We expect that deliveries to the hardest-hit areas will be impossible for the next 48 hours.
If you would like to send something to Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama this week, I recommend checking with the shipping companies ahead of time to ensure that they can make the delivery.
However, depending on where you would like things delivered, there may be some difficulties during the week, particularly east of the Mississippi River between today and Wednesday. We expect that deliveries to the hardest-hit areas will be impossible for the next 48 hours.
If you would like to send something to Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama this week, I recommend checking with the shipping companies ahead of time to ensure that they can make the delivery.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Change of Seasons
We got our first chilly night yesterday, a reminder that heat and humidity will soon be just another New England Memory. This is my favorite time of year in these parts, as cool nights settle in and the trees explode with autumn colors. There's also the fall harvests of apples, pumpkins, and native corn to enjoy.
The first sign of fall appears on the site today, in the form of Back to School Mini Cookies from our friends at Supercookie. Later this week, look for a preview of the many fall flavors from Supercookie, Divine Delights, and Bittersweet Pastries.
We'll also be discontinuing some of our summer items until next year. If you like Spring Mini Cookies or Golf Mini Cookies, they will only be available until August 31.
The first sign of fall appears on the site today, in the form of Back to School Mini Cookies from our friends at Supercookie. Later this week, look for a preview of the many fall flavors from Supercookie, Divine Delights, and Bittersweet Pastries.
We'll also be discontinuing some of our summer items until next year. If you like Spring Mini Cookies or Golf Mini Cookies, they will only be available until August 31.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Links at Last
The great link migration of Ought-Five is complete. You'll find Gift Baskets nestled among the various Shop by Person categories. Now if I could just find a way to move petits fours to the top level navigation...might happen, might not.
The only task remaining in our cleanup efforts is to optimize all the product pictures so they look extra tasty. Those will roll out over the next week, and then something very big and exciting will put a final flourish on all the small changes that we've made since April.
Meanwhile, some British researchers have analyzed the way men and women look at Web sites and found that a majority of British university sites have a stronger appeal to men. I'm wondering if this isn't true of the Web as a whole, where modular design is the norm.
The only task remaining in our cleanup efforts is to optimize all the product pictures so they look extra tasty. Those will roll out over the next week, and then something very big and exciting will put a final flourish on all the small changes that we've made since April.
Meanwhile, some British researchers have analyzed the way men and women look at Web sites and found that a majority of British university sites have a stronger appeal to men. I'm wondering if this isn't true of the Web as a whole, where modular design is the norm.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Good Time for Changes
Has it really been a week since my last post? It's been a little hectic here. August is a slow month in the baking business--between vacations and double-digit heat, most folks aren't longing for cake--so we're taking advantage of the chance to make a few changes to the site.
You'll notice our new Shop by Bakery category, which was something I introduced to make managing our catalog easier. Before I had to search through all our categories to find the complete product list for a single bakery. Now everything is in one place, which makes my life much easier. It's also good if you like a product from a certain bakery--now you can see everything they offer in one place.
Keep an eye out for a couple of changes this week. "Candies and Chocolates" will be renamed "Confections," and is now the home for our Chocolate Dipped Strawberries. Gift Baskets will be removed as a category and the baskets will be relocated into appropriate Shop by Person categories.
All of this is in preparation for our coming redesign. I reviewed the first draft of it yesterday, and it's spectacular. It should be online very soon, and it will make using our site even easier.
While you wait, you can check out the newly redesigned staples.com, which has been rebuilt based on the input of thousands of users. I do find it easier to navigate, but I'm surprised that they aren't displaying more products.
And finally, a little heads-up to a new competitor I've found in baked goods e-tailing: Don't let the Postal Service catch you shipping those matches by air with your Birthday Cake Party Kit. That's illegal.
You'll notice our new Shop by Bakery category, which was something I introduced to make managing our catalog easier. Before I had to search through all our categories to find the complete product list for a single bakery. Now everything is in one place, which makes my life much easier. It's also good if you like a product from a certain bakery--now you can see everything they offer in one place.
Keep an eye out for a couple of changes this week. "Candies and Chocolates" will be renamed "Confections," and is now the home for our Chocolate Dipped Strawberries. Gift Baskets will be removed as a category and the baskets will be relocated into appropriate Shop by Person categories.
All of this is in preparation for our coming redesign. I reviewed the first draft of it yesterday, and it's spectacular. It should be online very soon, and it will make using our site even easier.
While you wait, you can check out the newly redesigned staples.com, which has been rebuilt based on the input of thousands of users. I do find it easier to navigate, but I'm surprised that they aren't displaying more products.
And finally, a little heads-up to a new competitor I've found in baked goods e-tailing: Don't let the Postal Service catch you shipping those matches by air with your Birthday Cake Party Kit. That's illegal.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Take Two, They're Small
You might see the same items duplicated in our on-site search results over the next day or so. That's because we really want you to buy those items.
Actually, it's part of the migration to a new catalog structure that should be complete by Thursday. The summer heat is no friend to bakery sales, so it's a good time to shuffle things around.
And to the nice folks at United Parcel Service, I love you. I really do. But I'd like to know why you kept dumping shipments at the Louisville distribution hub when it was shut down last Thursday and Friday. In this automated, tracked, computer and GPS world of ours, surely there's something else you can do with packages besides let them pile up while you wait for the weather to clear.
Some of those packages contain perishables. Either take a lesson from the power grid folks and build in some failsafes, or let your customers know when these situations arise so that we can make alternate shipping arrangements.
Actually, it's part of the migration to a new catalog structure that should be complete by Thursday. The summer heat is no friend to bakery sales, so it's a good time to shuffle things around.
And to the nice folks at United Parcel Service, I love you. I really do. But I'd like to know why you kept dumping shipments at the Louisville distribution hub when it was shut down last Thursday and Friday. In this automated, tracked, computer and GPS world of ours, surely there's something else you can do with packages besides let them pile up while you wait for the weather to clear.
Some of those packages contain perishables. Either take a lesson from the power grid folks and build in some failsafes, or let your customers know when these situations arise so that we can make alternate shipping arrangements.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Problems at the Pyramid?
Somebody's having a little fun over at the News & Media page of mypyramid.org. The article selection is clearly biased, and the stories are presented with fun headlines like "Why Uncle Sam Tells You What to Eat," "Industry Applauds New Food Guidance System as Unscientific," and my personal favorite, "A Plant-Based Diet Is a Healthy Choice--For Sissies."
Maybe whoever's over there is tired of those Wheat Council folks walking around like they own the place.
After you have a laugh, you can try to find some of our products on Froogle. I'd suggest searching for Stollen, which returns fewer art prints than other bakery terms. It's a good service, but I'd like to see a level of category organization thrown at it, so that I'm not wading through books and posters when I want to find food. Try the Grid View, which eliminates descriptions but makes it much easier to see your choices.
Maybe whoever's over there is tired of those Wheat Council folks walking around like they own the place.
After you have a laugh, you can try to find some of our products on Froogle. I'd suggest searching for Stollen, which returns fewer art prints than other bakery terms. It's a good service, but I'd like to see a level of category organization thrown at it, so that I'm not wading through books and posters when I want to find food. Try the Grid View, which eliminates descriptions but makes it much easier to see your choices.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Nonsecure Items
A rare double-update from me today. There's a little glitch in the site that I wanted you to be aware of.
If you enter a Checkout page, you might encounter an error message that says "This page contains both secure and nonsecure items." This is not a security flaw, and there's no need to worry about it. We've got a URL in the code pointing to an address on the site as an http rather than an https. This problem should be fixed in the next 24 hours. In the meantime, feel safe ordering from us.
Now if the message said, "This page contains insecure items," it would just be talking about me.
If you enter a Checkout page, you might encounter an error message that says "This page contains both secure and nonsecure items." This is not a security flaw, and there's no need to worry about it. We've got a URL in the code pointing to an address on the site as an http rather than an https. This problem should be fixed in the next 24 hours. In the meantime, feel safe ordering from us.
Now if the message said, "This page contains insecure items," it would just be talking about me.
What Your Food Is Telling You
Here's a modern take on the Stamp Act that even Bostonians can enjoy: The Wheat Foods Council is calling attention to the new whole-grain recommendations in the Food Guide Pyramid with three Whole Grain stamps that you'll soon be seeing at retail.
The new stamps classify whole-grain foods into three categories: Good, which offers a half serving of whole grain; Excellent, which provides a full serving of whole grain; and 100%, which contains a full serving of whole grain and no other grains, which I guess are considered junk grains now.
And here come the angry farmers to complain about that last sentence. Just kidding, folks. Put the pitchforks down.
We're taking a hard look at what whole-grain products to add to the site, and we'll be using the stamps to identify them when they appear.
Meanwhile, there's a new war on stickers shaping up in the produce aisle, with the announcement that a pilot program will test laser-etching of fresh fruits and vegetables. Everything from bar codes to advertising could be on the horizon, but for now the etching is limited to the price look up (PLU) and manufacturer.
There's some information to be found in those PLUs, if you know how to read them. If you see a four-digit code, it means the produce was conventionally grown. If the PLU has five digits beginning with a 9, it's organically grown, and if it has five digits beginning with an 8, it's genetically modified.
Those numbers can be found on the stickers on all produce the next time you're at the supermarket. If the laser etching turns out to be more effective, maybe we can burn those whole grain stamps right on the bread and muffins.
The new stamps classify whole-grain foods into three categories: Good, which offers a half serving of whole grain; Excellent, which provides a full serving of whole grain; and 100%, which contains a full serving of whole grain and no other grains, which I guess are considered junk grains now.
And here come the angry farmers to complain about that last sentence. Just kidding, folks. Put the pitchforks down.
We're taking a hard look at what whole-grain products to add to the site, and we'll be using the stamps to identify them when they appear.
Meanwhile, there's a new war on stickers shaping up in the produce aisle, with the announcement that a pilot program will test laser-etching of fresh fruits and vegetables. Everything from bar codes to advertising could be on the horizon, but for now the etching is limited to the price look up (PLU) and manufacturer.
There's some information to be found in those PLUs, if you know how to read them. If you see a four-digit code, it means the produce was conventionally grown. If the PLU has five digits beginning with a 9, it's organically grown, and if it has five digits beginning with an 8, it's genetically modified.
Those numbers can be found on the stickers on all produce the next time you're at the supermarket. If the laser etching turns out to be more effective, maybe we can burn those whole grain stamps right on the bread and muffins.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
New Cookies, New Category
Filed under Stuff You Need to Know: I'm rearranging our catalog to make it easier to use both for you and for us. That means you'll see some small changes in our categories over the coming weeks, which will be very annoying for anyone who bookmarked the pages or follows an old link from a search engine. You'll get our home page instead of the page you expected. Check the links on the right and you should be able to find what you want (or else I should be fired). I'll also post updates here at the BakeryBlog whenever a change is made.
This week, say goodbye to Celebration Specialty Desserts and hello to Birthday Specialties. The new page has double the number of products the old page had--four instead of two!
That's not terribly exciting, but I think you'll love those two new products, a Blue Birthday Cookie and Pink Birthday Cookie from our friends at Supercookie. These are a terrific alternative to birthday cake or a great gift to send someone who already has a cake. Please send those bandits with the cookie bouquets a message by ordering these.
As for the why behind the catalog shuffling, there's two reasons. First, we don't organize our products by manufacturer in our back end, which means I have to spend a lot of time hunting things down to make changes. Our Bakery List makes it much easier for customers to find products than it is for us to find them.
Second, I'm unhappy with the current catalog organization. I doubt that Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Gift Baskets warrant their own categories, and Shop by Price becomes irrelevant when you add on the shipping charges.
I'm in "Read the customers' minds" mode to figure out what all of the new categories will be. If you've got some thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
This week, say goodbye to Celebration Specialty Desserts and hello to Birthday Specialties. The new page has double the number of products the old page had--four instead of two!
That's not terribly exciting, but I think you'll love those two new products, a Blue Birthday Cookie and Pink Birthday Cookie from our friends at Supercookie. These are a terrific alternative to birthday cake or a great gift to send someone who already has a cake. Please send those bandits with the cookie bouquets a message by ordering these.
As for the why behind the catalog shuffling, there's two reasons. First, we don't organize our products by manufacturer in our back end, which means I have to spend a lot of time hunting things down to make changes. Our Bakery List makes it much easier for customers to find products than it is for us to find them.
Second, I'm unhappy with the current catalog organization. I doubt that Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and Gift Baskets warrant their own categories, and Shop by Price becomes irrelevant when you add on the shipping charges.
I'm in "Read the customers' minds" mode to figure out what all of the new categories will be. If you've got some thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
And You Thought the Cola Wars Were Bad
Interstate Bakeries and Sara Lee are preparing to throw down in a battle royale over whole white bread, according to the tale of the tape in today's Chicago Tribune. It seems that ConAgra has found a way to mill whole wheat so that it can be baked into loaves that look like white bread while retaining some of the nutritional benefits of whole wheat bread.
Again the awe-inspiring influence of the American Wheat Council and the new Food Guide Pyramid creep into our daily lives. You can even download a free version of the Pyramid for your PDA to tell the skeptical Atkins adherents in your life about the benefits of whole wheat.
Both Interstate and Sara Lee are hoping to corner the fickle youth market with a product that kids will eat and parents will feel good about serving. Expect the battle to heat up in a supermarket near you by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, I'm wondering if you nice folks in readerland would like to see some whole wheat breads on our site. Yes? No? Let me know.
Again the awe-inspiring influence of the American Wheat Council and the new Food Guide Pyramid creep into our daily lives. You can even download a free version of the Pyramid for your PDA to tell the skeptical Atkins adherents in your life about the benefits of whole wheat.
Both Interstate and Sara Lee are hoping to corner the fickle youth market with a product that kids will eat and parents will feel good about serving. Expect the battle to heat up in a supermarket near you by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, I'm wondering if you nice folks in readerland would like to see some whole wheat breads on our site. Yes? No? Let me know.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Baked with Platinum, I Guess
I was out and about on the Web last week, checking out the competition. It turns out that cookie bouquets are a popular item on the search engines. I thought it would be nice if we carried those.
Then I started investigating the cookie bouquet sites. One wanted 90 bucks for a dozen cookies. Another was asking $79. These are large by cookie standards, and hand-decorated to boot, but I still find it a great stretch to charge that much, plus shipping, of course, for a dozen cookies.
If you're thinking of sending someone cookies, it's because that person likes cookies. Wouldn't you rather send them a lot of pretty cookies than a handful dressed up to look like flowers?
Go check out our offerings from Supercookie. You can send three tubs of our mini-cookies, around 69 cookies total, for less than you'd spend for one dozen of those bouquet cookies. That includes shipping, and the last time I left a tub of these on my desk I had to hide it after an hour to keep my coworkers from eating them all.
Then I started investigating the cookie bouquet sites. One wanted 90 bucks for a dozen cookies. Another was asking $79. These are large by cookie standards, and hand-decorated to boot, but I still find it a great stretch to charge that much, plus shipping, of course, for a dozen cookies.
If you're thinking of sending someone cookies, it's because that person likes cookies. Wouldn't you rather send them a lot of pretty cookies than a handful dressed up to look like flowers?
Go check out our offerings from Supercookie. You can send three tubs of our mini-cookies, around 69 cookies total, for less than you'd spend for one dozen of those bouquet cookies. That includes shipping, and the last time I left a tub of these on my desk I had to hide it after an hour to keep my coworkers from eating them all.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Start Hoarding Those Hi-Hos
Bad news if you live in the northeast: A fire in Wayne, New Jersey has disabled power to a plant owned by Interstate Bakeries. Conservative estimates are that the plant won't be up and baking for five days, setting the stage for the Great Twinkie Drought of Ought-Five.
Should you find your snacking interrupted, the Keebler folks would like to remind you that their reliance on elven technology ensures a constant supply of cookies to your local grocer. Or you could try our new Biscotti Sampler, which contains four flavors of delicious gourmet biscotti for just $9.95. I'll confess my bias on this product, because I'm hooked on the Chocolate Hazelnut.
Should you find your snacking interrupted, the Keebler folks would like to remind you that their reliance on elven technology ensures a constant supply of cookies to your local grocer. Or you could try our new Biscotti Sampler, which contains four flavors of delicious gourmet biscotti for just $9.95. I'll confess my bias on this product, because I'm hooked on the Chocolate Hazelnut.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
From Joy to Despair
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the London transit bombings and their families. Such acts have no place in civilized society.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Our Privacy Policy
A few interesting stats this morning courtesy of my subscription to Internet Retailer:
Because a site's Privacy Policy was unclear,
Because a site's Privacy Policy was unclear,
- 64% of customers decided not to purchase
- 67% of visitors decided not to register
This comes from a new Harris Interactive survey conducted for a string-of-words think tank associated with another string-of-words think tank and Deloitte & Touche LLP. The survey also found that 20% of respondents were victims of identity theft and 87% were aware of recent consumer data thefts.
Since this is an issue with so many of you out there, I'd like to restate our Privacy Policy in the simplest language possible:
We don't share your information with anyone. Ever. For any reason. Except to complete your transaction.
That means we need to pass your credit card to a third-party authorization company and give your shipping address to FedEx, UPS, or the Postal Service to deliver your products.
When you order from us or register as a customer, we do add your name to our mailing list so that we can tell you about new products, specials, and seasonal gift ideas. Our mailing program is managed through Vertical Response, a leading provider of e-mailing services that maintains aggressive antispam policies. If you wish to unsubscribe, just click the link at the bottom of the e-mails we send and you'll never receive the e-mail again.
In short, we value you too much as a customer to ever jeopardize our relationship with you. We treat your information with an abundance of care and concern, as if it was our own.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Can We Agree on the Vichysoisse to Start?
The G8 is off to a less than auspicious start, with national pride taking a hit over French President Jacques Chriac's comments about British cuisine. Setting a tone of optimism and cooperation that is sure to be the hallmark of this week's meetings, Chirac was quoted as saying of the Brits, "We can't trust people who have such bad food."
I'll take filet mignon over fish and chips, thank you, but Chirac went a little too far when he claimed that mad cow disease was England's sole contribution to European agriculture.
German Chancellor Gerard Schroeder one-upped the French president by insulting Scotland, which plays host to this year's G8 summit, saying, "I am not a friend of salmon and I hope I get a decent steak."
Apparently the message of Saturday's Live8 concerts is lost on these gentlemen. My advice to the chefs at Gleneagles is to serve nothing for the duration of the summit, then see who feels like complaining.
I'll take filet mignon over fish and chips, thank you, but Chirac went a little too far when he claimed that mad cow disease was England's sole contribution to European agriculture.
German Chancellor Gerard Schroeder one-upped the French president by insulting Scotland, which plays host to this year's G8 summit, saying, "I am not a friend of salmon and I hope I get a decent steak."
Apparently the message of Saturday's Live8 concerts is lost on these gentlemen. My advice to the chefs at Gleneagles is to serve nothing for the duration of the summit, then see who feels like complaining.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Freshness Under Attack
Some food for thought found its way to my Inbox this morning, courtesy of the nice folks at Internet Retailer. Michigan State's Last Mile Supply Chain Center ran a survey asking people what they thought about online grocers.
The news isn't good. 200 customers of three online grocers were surveyed, and they said that the grocery sites have become harder to use since 2003, and one grocer was faulted for a site that loads slowly. (I'd link, but it's a subscription-based article.)
The article closed with this cheerful thought: "The study also found that customers believed that the quality of products available online had declined at each retailer compared to products purchased directly from their stores."
Now the key word in that sentence is believed. The food from both sources could have been equally good, but if the customer perceives a difference, that's a problem. Though the details of the study haven't been published, I'll go out on a limb and say we're comparing unprocessed foods like meat and produce and not cans of soup.
If you're selling food, I think there are three things that need to be stressed, in this order: Quality, freshness, and taste. I don't think you get as far as taste in the customer's mind until he or she is satisfied that the quality and freshness standards have been met.
I've said before that Americans take freshness for granted, and in the case of an established relationship with a brand or seller, I believe that's true. However, we are trained from childhood to seek out fresh foods, and even though that process may slip into a subconscious acceptance of something familiar, it's waiting like a coiled snake to hit the panic button when a product seems a little off. One bad bag of chips might not keep a customer from coming back, but it gets the hackles up, and a second bad bag is the end of the trust.
In the case of online food sales, not only do we have the basic concerns of providing quality, freshness, and taste, but the additional need to promote, sell, and deliver what is essentially a blind item to our customers, understanding that any glitches or imperfections in our online and delivery systems can negatively impact the customer's perception of our products.
In other words, if the site loads slowly, is frequently offline, or offers substandard features, we can inadvertently trip the freshness trigger in the customer's mind, following the rationale of, "If they can't get this right, then how good can the food be?" Add in some shipping delays--the one aspect of this business that we can never control--and you've got a customer with diminished expectations evaluating the product. Even if the product is perfect, the hassle of getting it can lead the customer to conclude that it isn't that good.
Now add the friends and family factor. Unhappy customer tells everyone she knows about her disappointment, and their own freshness triggers trip. The result is wary eyes looking at online catalogs.
As food retailers, it is an obligation to deliver the best possible experience online and in the customer's home, so that we can minimize any shipping problems we encounter. That means responding to customer concerns about our sites in a timely and supportive manner, so that we can all benefit from increased customer confidence.
The news isn't good. 200 customers of three online grocers were surveyed, and they said that the grocery sites have become harder to use since 2003, and one grocer was faulted for a site that loads slowly. (I'd link, but it's a subscription-based article.)
The article closed with this cheerful thought: "The study also found that customers believed that the quality of products available online had declined at each retailer compared to products purchased directly from their stores."
Now the key word in that sentence is believed. The food from both sources could have been equally good, but if the customer perceives a difference, that's a problem. Though the details of the study haven't been published, I'll go out on a limb and say we're comparing unprocessed foods like meat and produce and not cans of soup.
If you're selling food, I think there are three things that need to be stressed, in this order: Quality, freshness, and taste. I don't think you get as far as taste in the customer's mind until he or she is satisfied that the quality and freshness standards have been met.
I've said before that Americans take freshness for granted, and in the case of an established relationship with a brand or seller, I believe that's true. However, we are trained from childhood to seek out fresh foods, and even though that process may slip into a subconscious acceptance of something familiar, it's waiting like a coiled snake to hit the panic button when a product seems a little off. One bad bag of chips might not keep a customer from coming back, but it gets the hackles up, and a second bad bag is the end of the trust.
In the case of online food sales, not only do we have the basic concerns of providing quality, freshness, and taste, but the additional need to promote, sell, and deliver what is essentially a blind item to our customers, understanding that any glitches or imperfections in our online and delivery systems can negatively impact the customer's perception of our products.
In other words, if the site loads slowly, is frequently offline, or offers substandard features, we can inadvertently trip the freshness trigger in the customer's mind, following the rationale of, "If they can't get this right, then how good can the food be?" Add in some shipping delays--the one aspect of this business that we can never control--and you've got a customer with diminished expectations evaluating the product. Even if the product is perfect, the hassle of getting it can lead the customer to conclude that it isn't that good.
Now add the friends and family factor. Unhappy customer tells everyone she knows about her disappointment, and their own freshness triggers trip. The result is wary eyes looking at online catalogs.
As food retailers, it is an obligation to deliver the best possible experience online and in the customer's home, so that we can minimize any shipping problems we encounter. That means responding to customer concerns about our sites in a timely and supportive manner, so that we can all benefit from increased customer confidence.
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