TALES FROM THE FRONT

Don't want no scrubs

In this month's mailing misfire, a Multichannel Merchant staffer received a copy of the Smart Scrubs catalog at home. While we like to think that we do our job with surgical precision — and that we have a terrific bedside manner — we have absolutely no use for medical scrubs. (Though wearing scrubs would make us easier to spot at conferences.) What's more, an ink-jet message on the back says, “If this catalog is an extra, please pass it on to a friend.” We don't think any of our friends or colleagues are in the market for scrubs either, so there will be no pass-along this time. But we will recycle the book.

Blanket statement

An update to the saga of the Multichannel Merchant staffer who had a monogrammed blanket ordered from Soft Surroundings for Christmas (see “Backword,” February issue). The stitching on the blanket was unraveling on the first blanket, plus the monogram appeared to be on the wrong side of the blanket, so it was returned in late December. A replacement blanket arrived in mid-January, but without a monogram, so that was returned. A third blanket arrived in late January, monogrammed, but in the block-type style instead of the scroll type specified on the packing slip. At this point the staffer gave up on trying to get exactly what she wanted and kept the blanket. Soft Surroundings did refund the $15 charge for the monogram and said it would send the customer a letter of apology with a $25 gift certificate. A gallant gesture, but the cataloger really needs to step up its quality control and accuracy if it plans to continue offering personalization.

Hey, that's me!

Everybody likes to see his name in lights — or in print — even if it's only on a personalized sample product in a catalog. Considering that most personalized products are embossed or embroidered with generic names such as “Smith” or “Jones,” it was quite a surprise to come across a recent Plow & Hearth catalog featuring a polypropylene doormat imprinted with the name “Dowling.” For the record, Multichannel Merchant executive editor Melissa Dowling was not the recipient of the catalog, but she appreciates the mention just the same.

CONTACT US…

E-mail: melissa.dowling@penton.com
Phone: 203-358-9900 Fax: 203-358-5823
Letter: 11 River Bend Drive South, Stamford, CT 06907
or visit us on the Web at www.MultichannelMerchant.com