Yesterday afternoon I heard from a customer who let me know that I’d shipped his package to the wrong address.  As soon as I saw his email, I stopped what I was doing and looked into it.  Sure enough, I made the mistake, and he had missed out on two bottles of Jungle Juice.

I make a lot of mistakes, actually, more than my family, friends, clients, and past co-workers realized.  I’ve always told people that I’ve learned more from my mistakes than from the anything I do right.  You can’t learn anything from being perfect all the time.  Yes, I was one of those irritating people who made all A’s except for two B’s in college.  That’s another story.

Then I joined the workforce all those years ago, and I found that “real life” was a lot more complex than the classroom.  And I learned to welcome every mistake, however painful, admiting them immediately and then making corrections.  Or even better, I learned to tell my boss, “Look, I made this mistake and I corrected it, and now the program is better than it was…”  I got a reputation as a problem-solver and fix-it man, but all of that came with the knowledge that finding a solution sometimes meant trying ten different solutions — all of them wrong — and then trying the one that worked.

Fast forward years later, and now I work by myself, for myself, in my own home-office.  And I’d made a mistake, and this customer didn’t get what he should have had.

Once I had a chance to figure out what happened, I contacted the customer, apologized, and told him I would send him replace product in the morning.  He doesn’t know it yet, but I’ve sent him a little something extra in his package to emphasize how sorry I am and to make up for his trouble.

So all’s well that ends well.  Until next time.

The 20% SUMMERBLOWOUT discount is ending in just a few days.  Be sure to take advantage of it before it expires. To get the discount, be sure to click through this link and read and follow the instructions.  You can keep using it until the end of August, but the discount does not happen automatically.  You do have to put it on your order during the checkout process.

While I have your attention, take a moment to look at the Poppers And Your Health page that I’ve just added to the web site.  Putting this information here was prompted by some very thoughtful questions from a gentleman in San Francisco (more on this later).  While I may (or may not) be your Daddy, I’m not your nanny and I’m not here to dictate how you live your life or how you have sex.  The health information is presented for you, so that you can make responsible and educated decisions.

I’ve heard from a couple of customers who failed to get their 20% SUMMERBLOWOUT discount.  One was quite irate, another was very friendly and understanding.  Before you shop, if you want to get the discount, be sure to click through this link and read and follow the instructions.  You can keep using it on as many orders as you want, all month long, but the discount does not happen automatically.  You do have to put it on your order during the checkout process.

And by the way, no I’m not giving away free bottles of Rush or Amsterdam.  That yellow box that appears when you get into the online store is telling you that if you buy Rush, then you will receive free condoms.   It’s written again on the Rush product page.  Anyhow…

As far as irate customers go, I’ve had one or two in my time.  Most of them don’t realize that GayHankies.com is actually just one person.   They seem to think there is some “company” here that’s making stupid mistakes or is out to take advantage of them.  Of course, they’re frustrated, and they don’t know it’s just me on the other end of the email.  I’m doing the best I can, and I’m being as careful and as patient as possible.  And yes, I do refund people’s money from time to time, sort of like a small-scale kinky Nordstrom, just to keep them happy and keep them coming back.

Unfortunately, I cannot make your experience perfect.  I can’t guarantee that any bottle of poppers that you buy won’t give you a headache, nor that it will be strong enough to satisfy, nor that it will stay fresh as long as you and I would like.  I can’t guarantee that the dildo you buy won’t be too big or too small, or that the suction cup will stick wherever you want to place it.  I can’t match prices.  I can’t keep the lube from drying out, nor from running out at the most inconvenient moment.

What I can do is listen to you, honestly and fairly, and do my best to fix the problems and satisfy your needs.  And of course, I make mistakes, and I do my best to correct them and learn from them.

This business is built on a small group of very loyal customers — you know who you are — and I’m very grateful to be able to think of you as friends unmet.

Surprise!  A tropical storm came out of nowhere and is coming to our neighborhood on Tuesday, possibly as a hurricane.  There is a possibility that I will not be able to ship orders that day.

Although we moved 50 miles inland last year and are no longer in a storm surge zone, there’s a possibility of power outages and other disruptions which would prevent me from taking care of your orders.  I appreciate your patience with whatever develops.

This week I’ve had several cases of orders submitted with invalid credit card information. Seeing this, I went back over my records and discovered that over 3% of the orders entered over the last couple years have had this problem. This is not necessarily a case of a credit card being overlimit or fraudulent or anything like that. What typically happens is that when going through the checkout process, someone accidentally puts in a bad expiration date.

Usually I discover this the following morning when I’m reviewing the orders and credit-card authorizations, and it’s only then that I can contact the customer and let them know that their card didn’t work. For privacy reasons, I do this by email. I don’t want to disturb you at home or out you to your family or roommates or whoever. I also don’t store your credit card information, except for the last four digits of the card number and the expiration date. Again, this is for your protection. With all of this, the order usually is delayed a couple of days until the customer gets the email and re-enters the corrected information on this web site.

Did you know that I’m also the one who does the custom program modifications for this web site? I wish I had time to re-program the software so that it would process credit-cards “in real time” and let you know immediately, while you are at the checkout, if you make a typo or a mistake. Unfortunately that isn’t feasible right now. What I can do, though, is ask you to double-check your order before you hit that “Submit” button to finalize it. Making sure that all your information is accurate will also make sure that you get your package ASAP.

This month I’ve been running a special on RUSH and other small PWD-brand poppers. All of the small bottles regularly $7.99 are on sale for $7.49, fifty cents off. When you factor in free shipping and delivery right to your door — hey, who wants to use that four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline to drive across town to buy poppers? — this is quite a deal. But time is running out. Take advantage of this deal no later than May 31, or else you’ll miss out.

And why miss out, anyhow? Some of my customers learned about the savings early on, and some of them have come back several times to order a few more bottles. How to get the word? Simple. Sign up for the GayHankies.com email newsletter. When I have a deal like this, it’s offered to the newsletter customers first, and and only after that through other channels. There’s another special coming up in a few days, but if you’re not getting the newsletter, you probably won’t know about it for awhile.

Don’t miss out. If you’re not receiving the newsletter, click here to get in on the deals that help you get in on the fun.

It seems like prices are going up week after week on most of the things we buy – gasoline, food, and more. Now postage rates are going up on Monday, May 12, and, yes, it’s going to affect GayHankies.com.

I want to help you enjoy your playtime and not worry about making ends meet. So, I’m holding the line on shipping costs: Free Shipping is always available on every order. If you spend at least $60, I’ll give you Free Priority Mail shipping. In most cases, that will get your purchase to you in two or three days.

If you spend less than $60, you can still enjoy Free “Super Saver” shipping, which means that I’ll ship your order by the least expensive method. Usually that will be First Class Mail or Parcel Post. And of course, you’ll still have the option on these orders to upgrade to Priority Mail.

Either way, you don’t have to worry about using up that expensive gas driving to a leather shop or “adult” store, because your poppers, supplies, and toys will be delivered right to your door. And of course, the packaging is, shall we say, “discreet”.

Tax time has just passed, gas prices are at an all time high, and every day seems to bring a bigger bite to our wallets. Looking for a little good news? Don’t drive downtown or to an “adult” store to buy your poppers, lube, and supplies – shop here with me at GayHankies.com where you get low prices and free shipping, always.

To make it even easier, I’ve just placed eight different poppers on sale for at least a dollar off now through the end of April. I know you’ll check them out, because you know a bargain when you see one. Brands include Jungle Juice, Iron Horse, ManScent, and more. Click here to see the deal, and buy as much as you want – but act fast, because the sale ends April 30, 2008.

And have you taken advantage of our Spring Sale Coupon yet? Save 10% off your order when you spend $25 or more. Click through http://www.gayhankies.com/catalog/coupon_click.php to read how to get the savings using coupon code SPRING2008. This coupon is for only one order per customer and cannot be used again if you have taken this discount on a previous order, but you can pass it along to a friend. This deal also expires April 30, 2008, so act quick and don’t let it get away.

And if you want to be among the first to receive these offers, make sure you’re getting my e-mail newsletter. The sale was announced first for newsletter customers on Thursday, April 17, then added to this blog a few days later. I appreciate the loyalty of my newsletter customers and all of you who shop with me time and time again.

I heard from a customer last week whose order arrived with two broken bottles of Amsterdam. He was wondering what to do and how I would take care of this. After some quick discussion, we worked out how I would replace the broken bottles for him and everything was fine.

Broken bottles don’t happen very often, but every once in awhile your package may get crushed in the mail, or there might be a problem with my packing, or who knows what. Typically I pack an order of poppers in double plastic zipper bags with vermiculite, which will soak up leaks or spills. Then the poppers go into a Tyvek “bubble-mailer” with the bottles either cushioned by styrofoam “peanuts” (if I have them) or else wrapped in crumpled newspaper. It seems to work well, since I’ve only had two or three cases of customers receiving broken bottles since I started this business 4-1/2 years ago.

By the way, the “bubble-mailer” actually does not say “GayHankies” in the return address. I have customers who always write to me to make sure that I’m “discrete” in my packaging. As I always say, I’m not going to out you to your mailman. Your package comes in plain packaging with the return address my from company’s name with a “Dept GH” on the end. Not to worry…

Back to the matter at hand: If you ever receive one or more broken bottles, don’t send them back. It’s not a good idea to ship them like that in the mail. Instead, either send me an email at gayhankies@gayhankies.com or write to me using the “Contact Us” page on the GayHankies.com web site. Although every case is different and I don’t have a one-size-fits-all policy on these things, I’m committed to keeping my customers satisfied.

Looking for clearance poppers? They’re sold out. I announced the latest round of the “Aroma Clearance Grab Bag” sale last Thursday in the GayHankies.com email newsletter. By Friday they were sold out. By customer request, I scrounged around to find some more to move into the clearance inventory. Once again, by Saturday they were gone.

What does this tell us?

Sign up for the newsletter. This is the best way to find out when there’s a sale. With sales like this, when quantities are very limited, the newsletter customers find out first before I post the information on the web site. In case you hadn’t noticed, this business is based on relationships and a high level of customer service. Some of you have been shopping with me since the site began 4-1/2 years ago. I appreciate your loyalty, and I reward it.

I’m planning on doing some clearance sales on a couple other types of inventory soon. Basically, I need to trim down and eliminate some product lines that don’t sell well or don’t make money and concentrate on the ones that do. Another way of looking at is you vote for what you want, by the way you spend your money. It’s time for me to count the votes and send the losers packing. When I do that, you’ll have a chance for some great savings, but you’ll need to watch for the sale, and then strike while the iron’s hot.