About a month ago I received an inquiry from Jack Bratus of Kingston, Ontario.  I could tell from the tone of his writing that this internet stuff was new to him, and that he was willing to give it a try…but first he was gonna ask a lot of questions.  He asked about the option of picking up at the factory, about the different sizes, and, of course, about the fabrics.  But his most extensive questioning involved the method of payment that I accept. It seems he belonged to a credit union, and that kind of eliminated my favorite form of remittance:  INTERAC Email Money Transfer.  I’ll write about that some other time…today I want to talk about Jack.

Finally, after going back and forth for a few days, Jack placed his order on January 28.  This came at a time when the factory was only recently back from vacation, and had fallen behind on the timely turnaround of its orders.  Instead of taking the normal 1-2 weeks, they were now scheduling shipments in 2-3 weeks.  That’s when I got the following email from Jack:

Old Jack lived alone in the Limestone City.
Found a Lofa while surfing the net.
Deciding to buy, fired a draft in the mail,
Not knowing Canada Post moves like a snail.
So many days he’s out his cash, but old Jacks’ hopes are alive,
Of the day that his Lofa would arrive.

Besides the fact that I’m not used to getting poems from customers, this was the first time that Jack had referred to himself as “Old Jack,” which I found quite interesting. Kingston, BTW, is known as the Limestone City.  Not to be outdone, and wanting to assuage his nervousness about buying something online while having to pay for it before receipt, I penned the following response:

While Jack has high hopes, the weather’s quite bleak…
So I phoned the plant in order to speak.
They told me they’re able
To wrap and to label…..
Your LofaBed WILL be shipped out this week!

This seemed to calm Old Jack down, and I was THRILLED to receive this email from Jack a little while later:

Hello Mitch,  Love the LofaBed!  The company delivered and set it down in my living room, taking away most of the packing. Your e-mail directions for set-up were clear and right on. Took me awhile (due to my own limitations in kneeling), but when the arms got on it was a breeze. It looks nicer than I imagined, classy, and it really is comfortable.  I’m a 6′ 2″ guy around 300 lbs., and can still stretch out on it if I choose. Great!  My teen daughter will be tickled now that she can stay over with a nice bed to sleep on. The storage area is an amazing plus for bedding. Thanks, Mitch,  for all your correspondence and help—and thanks for your LofaBed creations!  ALL the best in future business and your life! Sincerely, Old Jack—-Kingston, ON

Now THAT’S the kind of email I could get used to, y’know?  I didn’t know that Jack was old…or that BIG…or even that he had a teenage daughter.  All I knew for sure was that he was gonna love his LofaBed. Everybody does.

Mitch Wapen
www.lofasofa.com
lofasofa@videotron.ca
877-424-1431

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