I wanted to post this in the Vendors forum, but I don't have sufficient privileges or the right color shoes or something...
Right. Anyway...
I got a phone call Tuesday evening from Rachel at SmartMadness. Seems she and Boris had a lapse of memory regarding the color scheme of the new headlamps I ordered for my Cabrio[1], and rather than risk sending the wrong flavor of headlamp or dig through the bzillions of emails I'm sure they must get every day, she called me up to straighten it out. We did have some initial confusion[2] on the order, but that had been cleared up. Now, for some reason, one of the Dynamic Duo at SmartMadness[3] thought I might've ordered red-trimmed lamps for my [*ahem*] BLUE car. Anyway; order quickly cleared up, no blood, no foul. And, as if that wasn't enough, I also got to chat with Rachel. I score that as a "win."
And then I got a phone call Wednesday afternoon from Ernie's BPP office goddess, Sally, because when I ordered my Euro-bumpers and wrote down all my billing info, I forgot to put my charge card expiration date down with the card number [4]. She wanted to confirm what the date was, so she could ship my bumpers out. They're en route.
Win.
And this afternoon I called up Paul at SmartRRParts to tag onto one of the mesh gear bags he's tagging along for free with other stuff you might order... I just looked and the thing's already on its way to my home. Less than an hour after calling in the order.
Win.
So why am I telling you this? Because for the first items, it would've been just as easy, if not easier, to shoot me an email clearing these issues up, but it would've taken much longer. And I know what time it was when I phoned Paul; it would've been a lot easier for him to wait 'til tomorrow to get the bag into the system, but it would've taken another day to get to my house.[5]
The vendors who support these forums are taking damn good care of us. I wanted to drop a note here to say that I, for one, appreciate it very much.
[1] Which, BTW, *still* stubbornly refuses to tell me what its name is...
[2] All on my part, I assure you.
[3] Who shall remain nameless, but his first initial is "Boris."
[4] Because I'm quite often a dumbass in the morning.
[5] Not that it matters to me; I won't see home[6] for seven weeks anyway.
[6] ...And the Cabrio. [1]