It was the week before Christmas and all was not quiet. So much remained undone. Books to be written. Presents to be given. A website suffering from lack of attention.
As usual though, I had time to check my e-mails. I had one from Editors Closet -- an Advertising Affiliate. They presented beautiful graphics of brief, and I mean brief sales lasting 24 hours in the weeks to come. The one happening now -- that moment -- was indescribably delicious. Editors Closet offers designer brand merchandise ranging from sunglasses to watches, wearing apparel to jewelry, purses and more, yes luxury items. But how could I feel guilty even though it was a recession with their discounts of 60 to 80 percent off? It was then I saw it -- a stunning turquoise ring. Seldom do I wear jewelry, but turquoise is the writer's stone. A ring that would have cost me much more was on sale for under thirty dollars. This ring isn't a piece of tacky costume jewelry. I could wear it to any restaurant in Beverly Hills, any speaking engagement. Or I could wear it when I wanted some extra writing power sitting at home in front of the computer wondering what word to type next. Turquoise opens the communication channels -- or so I'm told by those who enjoy the vibrational power of stones.
Next I saw the large, beautiful purse -- a "Melody" bag big enough to bring the kitchen sink, table, chairs, and more anywhere I wanted. Yes, this is an exaggeration. The chairs wouldn't fit. I wanted both the ring and the purse. They would be my Christmas presents to me. I'd been working hard for three, four, five years now. But wait...if I ordered them now, my site guests would miss the sale. This is what I call a "hard call." Do I selfishly order the items for myself, not caring if others have the option? Or do I go to my website and quickly post news of the sale before it closes? I went to the site. I've learned this about the universe: if something is meant to be mine, I don't have to selfishly grab it. I can let go and it will be mine if it's meant to be in my closet.
Alas, when I returned to order, I missed the boat. The self-sabotaging part is that it likely was too late for site guests to order too. We had all missed the boat. But it was only material objects. The thought counted. It wasn't about making money from my affiliate advertisers. I wanted to do something kind for my guests and for myself. Love your site visitors as you love yourself. Well, I tried to get all of us designer objects. But now we all missed the boat. Or the sale. Whatever -- I'd failed.
On the off-chance that these two objects might be sitting somehwere in a corner in a room in New York at the offices of Editors Closet, I sent an e-mail explaining what happened. The man at the ordering department, to my amazement, said he'd look through the inventory there. If perchance he came across what I wanted, he'd make certain I got it. I wrote back thanking him for his kindness. It's been a long time since a corporation cared as much about a client as Editors Closet just demonstrated they cared about me.
Days passed. No word from Editors Closet. I assumed the gentleman hadn't been able to find the items. But still, he tried. He cared. That's what mattered and it meant a lot to me. I felt proud to have Editors Closet as an Advertising Affiliate. That's customer service at its finest. Certainly they weren't going to make a fortune by selling me these two items. By taking care of my mother the past years before her passing, and then playing catch-up on my book contracts I hadn't been the best web site on which to advertise products. I was negligent most of the time at best.
Then it appeared -- an e-mail apologizing for having forgotten about my products. Within moments, I paid through PayPal. My turquoise ring and purse are now on their way.
I almost missed that boat. But hurrying up wasn't the lesson. Right now the Powers That Be are clamping down on any false advertising online, any exaggerated claims. To say that Editors Closet has classy, designer merchandise at unbelievably low prices is accurate. It's true. To add that they care about their customers and supply excellent customer service is an understatement. They went out of their way for a measley little profit. To say that showed superior customer service is what I can say and it's one hundred percent true. Thank you, Editors Closet. For those of you who haven't tried browsing their quickie sales, you might want to make it a habit. No, you may not want sunglasses right now. But maybe you do. You might have a vacation planned. Or maybe that purse is exactly what you've been looking for and you can save a lot of money. Or maybe the gift you're getting -- that quality piece of merchandise at a fraction of the price it would normally cost -- is for someone else; it's not for you.
Twas the month after Christmas and all is well. The holidays have passed. I have only one book left to finish. Cheers, Editors Closet, to you!
(P.S. -- all the stories in this section won't be about advertising affiliates but this one merited telling, I thought.)
If you have any stories about deliberate acts of kindness, please submiti them. I can't promise I'll use them, but I'll try. As I expand topics, you'll be invited to submit other stories too. The only requirement is that they're respectful and true.
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