TALES FROM THE FRONT

A shoe-in for super service

A Multichannel Merchant staffer found a pair of sandals she wanted to buy from the Aerosoles catalog. She went to the shoe merchant's Website, and to her delight the sandals were on sale. But when she clicked on the page to buy it, a message came up that said: “Due to high demand on this item, quantities are limited. Unfortunately we cannot take your order at this time on the web…” The message invited customers to call Aerosoles' toll-free number and have a rep try to locate the shoes in one of its stores. The staffer made the call, and a rep found the sandals in a store in a nearby state. The rep took all the order information and estimated that the shoes would arrive in 10-14 business days. The shoes were delivered three days later via FedEx, and the staffer was kicking up her heels.

Bedmaker makes our day

Sometimes it really pays to catalog shop — or at least, to request catalogs. After shopping online and visiting the New York showroom of beds manufacturer Charles P. Rogers, a Multichannel Merchant staffer ordered a bed from the showroom in late July. She had previously requested a catalog from the company, which arrived after she placed her order; the catalog cover had a dot whack promoting a free shipping offer. The staffer called the showroom to ask if she could apply the promotion code to her order, and the company agreed to credit the shipping — a generous offer on a wrought-iron bed frame. Thanks, Charles P. Rogers, and sweet dreams!