Archive - December, 2005

CD Baby And Customer Communication

December 9, 2005 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

I have always been a fan of business that have a bit of a quirky style when it comes to communications with their customers. Some find it unprofessional, but I find it to be very pleasant and oddly reassuring from a customer standpoint. In addition to making me smile, this style of correspondence also causes me to do something that I don’t normally do with automated emails…read them. I recently made a purchase from CD Baby, and in addition to having the from name on all of their emails show in my inbox as “CD Baby loves Andrew”, this was the exact text in their shipping confirmation notice:

Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved ‘Bon Voyage!’ to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Thursday, December 8th.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as ‘Customer of the Year’. We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you once again,

Derek Sivers, president, CD Baby
the little CD store with the best new independent music
phone: 1-800-448-6369 email: cdbaby@cdbaby.com

http://cdbaby.com

I really can’t tell you how much I love this and how much I wish more companies approached customer communications in the same way.

Boston Real Estate

December 8, 2005 in Miscellaneous with 2 Comments

Welcome to Boston. Skip the $1.25 for the tolls and take the back roads. You are going to need to save every red cent if you want to live here. According to DoYouWanna.com, and a slew of other websites, publications, and PEOPLE, Boston is fucking expensive. Now I know this isn’t news to anyone who resides in the bay state, but for those readers who may be soaking up the sun in Florida, wrangling cattle in Texas, or watching college basketball in North Carolina, let me lay it out for you.

In fact, let me just let Coldwell Banker lay it out for you.

Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI) shows just how huge this affordability gap can be, comparing selling prices of similar homes in similar neighborhoods in more than 300 markets.

Specifically, Coldwell Banker looked at a 2,200-square-foot house with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a family room and a two-car garage.


Here are some of the results:

Boston, Mass. ($1,260,000)
Austin, Texas ($199,381)
Miami, Florida ($671,854)
Charlotte, North Carolina ($204,336)
Atlanta, Georgia ($303,000)

Anything stick out there? Anything look out of place? I tried to be reasonable and list comparison cities that I would consider living in to keep it fair. I mean, places like Tupelo, Miss. clock in a measly $199,381, but I don’t see myself setting up shop down in the Gulf Coast anytime soon.

So what’s the point of this post? Nothing really except bitching and observation. I guess having just come back from Tampa, Florida and seeing 3,800 square foot homes with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, coming in at $550,000, I am beginning to understand what is causing my peers to load up the car and head south. For the record, $550,000 gets you a 1,500 square foot, 3 bedroom “condo” (apartment) in my neighborhood. I am not kidding, there is an actual listing for this right now.

Oh well…renting is fine with me and I long ago came to terms with the fact that I will not be a homeowner in Boston anytime soon. I love this city, and am prepared to make that sacrifice for now, in order to live where I want to be.

Besides, when the 2 family house I live in has a tax appraisal value of almost $800,000, and market value of nearly $900,000, what choice do I really have?

America’s Next Top Model – Nicole

December 8, 2005 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

America’s Next Top Model scout? Me. Much to the dismay of certain females I know, I have once again shown my prowess for picking the winner of America’s Next Top Model, before the season begins, and without ever watching the show. Now the one that I REALLY thought should win was Kim, but I added Nicole into the mix because I thought that Kim looked way too much like past winner Yoanna.

Nicole – She is the one that will win if the judges DO consider past winners and skip past Kim. She kind of has that aloof model look. And she is pasty and a bit plain. This is good for being a model. I hear she is crazy which is not only good for being a model, but is required.

And I know because of this bet hedging, some of you will say that I didn’t really pick the winner…but to you sour pusses, I say….toss off. I picked two of the final four, and I picked the ultimate winner. For the third year in a row.

ANYWAYS…if you need me, I will be off handicapping the new season of Dancing With The Stars.

New Curtain Society CD Out Now

December 6, 2005 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

I plan on purchasing this within the week. As I have mentioned before, it is always way better when you get to support a friend’s band by buying their CD and the music contained on said CD is actually GOOD.

Get yours here.

Curtain Society

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