September Reflections: Many Sports and Moments

Now that September is winding to a close, I'm reflecting a little on the month we've had.

I don't know if there is any time of the year where there are more sports going on than they are right now: Football, Fall Baseball, Volleyball (which is new for us), Soccer (which was new last year) and some Lacrosse. Add that basketball officials are ordering early this year, and it makes for a busy, challenging and fun time for us.

"Busy" translates as "Good for Business".

"Challenging" is related to having to order and carry quite a bit of inventory to satisfy our customers needs this time of year vs. other times.

And "fun" are for moments like these:

• Getting new products. We admit we're like kids in a candy store when we get new stuff: Some highlights include our new AWB3 Ultimate Referee Shirt with Side Panels, the Flip 58 possession switch for basketball official whistles, the new CCA baskeball jacket and a quilted football/lacrosse jacket.
  
  
• Taking an order from and talking on the phone with a new roller derby referee about his sport, how he got into it and his experiences. Ok, so let's add roller derby to the mix above.
  
  
• Seeing our new ZX1 featured in Referee Magazine with a photo of our very own Paul Nelson (Shipping Manager/Referee Model). Though, we are worried that Paul will be courted away from us for other modeling gigs.
  
  
• Sending out a well-known celebrity's order for a football referee uniform (that included our ZX1) to wear at an event. I wish I could tell who this star of a past sitcom is but can't due to privacy issues. Perhaps we'll follow up with her, ask her if all was well with her items and ask her permission to share her name.
  

The 2007 "Litzenberger" Volleyball Referee Collection

Due to planned growth this season for football and soccer, we were on the fence about whether we wanted to take on even more with the addition of volleyball... until John Litzenberger came along and pushed us off the fence.

I received an e-mail from John, a veteran volleyball referee from Idaho, encouraging us to add some volleyball items. He went over and beyond by offering his expertise and thoughts from his association in picking what volleyball officials liked best at what price points. I couldn't resist taking him up on his offer.

After much supplier and item research and many e-mails later, we decided on our 2007 volleyball official offerings including an accessories kit.

So a big thanks to John and the other Idaho volleyball officials for helping us get started.

Crazy Fraudulent Order Attempts

One thing you experience as an online retailer are order attempts using a stolen credit card. We have several safeguards built-in on several levels. I won't share what those levels are here, but we do a really good job of keeping such orders from leaving our warehouse. Regardless, here are some attempts for orders that I thought were a little comical.

1. Order from Gaza Strip, Israel for black basketball jackets, black shoes, black pants, black caps, black socks and new Shock Doctor black bags with blower/heaters. I mean everything was black. I Googled the city provided and found it was a Palestinian refugee camp. Now what was the person planning on using all of that for?

2. Order from Georgia wanting 8 umpire jackets overnighted in early September. Who needs umpire jackets that bad in early September in Georgia? More interesting is that in Googling the customer's name and city I found some ties to his last name to the Nigerian Liberation Front. Not good.

3. Get an e-mail from someone wanting 80 umpire pants delivered to a foreign country and wanting a quote. I asked what size knowing they are upcharged for larger sizes. The response: "It doesn't matter. Just send me what you have, and we'll pay for the fastest shipping possible." Are you kidding? He might as well said, "I have a stolen credit card. I will be able to resell what you send me no matter the size and pocket the money. And shipping costs are no object as... well... it's not my money".

If you have an E-Commerce store, even if you are a competitor, and need help with fraudulent order attempts, give me a call. Be glad to share some things that work for us.

Ultimate Referee Shirt Stories

Just had an official today call us saying he had forgotten his shirt for last Friday night's game and borrowed one from a member of his crew. It was our new ZX-1 ultimates. He said in 32 years of officiating, it was the most comfortable referee shirt he's ever worn. That's "32 years" and "ever worn". I thought that was pretty cool. Of course, he now had to get one for himself.

A customer suggested an improvement to the shirt: "Make the collar stiffer so that it holds its shape better". I spoke with the designer and manufacturer the same day and they came up with a solution the following day. I don't know the ins and outs but the collars now receive a treatment for the desired effect. So far, the feedback has been well received on the newer collar feel and the shirt overall continues to be a big hit in its first season.

New Customer Service Team Member

Amy Pender, shown here with husband Dave, will add yet another hat to wear as she helps us with our growing customer service and marketing needs. Hats she's worn for a while include mother of 2 boys, budding glass-blowing artist and good friend of many already on our team including myself.

Because she's from the same mold that Jeanne Nelson, our customer service manager is from - smart, personable and conscientious - we think she'll keep our customer service at the world class level we expect.

She'll start out like all our staff do - packing your orders and stocking inventory - which is the best way to start learning about our expanding product selection.

Her services will be much appreciated this week as Jeanne and husband Paul, our shipping manager, are headed to the Jersey shore this week for a little well-deserved R&R.