Guilty pleasures

Alright, so this post has absolutely nothing to do with POTM, but it's fantastic content. This is a Laguna Beach gossip update, courtesy of our POTM friend Amber. All names have been replaced in the source email with (name removed), just in case they would be pissed. Also, we paraphrased a portion that might get us sued in the event anyone likely to do that actually read this. The gossip was apparently obtained through direct conversation with Kristin, Jessica, Alex H., Alex M., and Taylor (all members of the Laguna "cast") while they were in Chicago for publicity work.

> >Jessica is not very smart (duh!) nor very pretty in person. She is
> >in community college and not doing a whole lot. (name removed) asked her if
> >her parents were mortified by her behavior - she said they weren't
> >exactly pleased. She just used Jeff (boy that was at end of season)
> >- didn't really like him, just wanted someone to make out with.
> >
> >Stephen and Jason are good friends and live together in LA, but Jason

> >is always at L.C's. Turns out he and LC never broke up and are still

> >dating. Also, turns out Jason has some MAJOR issues - the reason he
> >didn't go to graduation.......he didn't graduate. He failed his
> >senior year. Ditto for Talan.
> >
> >More on Jason - he has been [battling personal/medical issues for the past year]. His
> >grandparents are the wealthy ones and his parents don't really work -

> >just live off of the grandparents.
> >
> >More on Talan - his mom used to be some actress so is pretty
> >well-connected in Hollywood. The engagement to Kimberly Stewart is
> >just a publicity stunt - they aren't really engaged. His mom is
> >trying to coach him on getting himself into the limelight.
> >
> >Stephen and Kristin are dating - they just got back from a vacation
> >together in Hawaii - she's not really dating that Jenner guy -
> >another publicity stunt. Kristin is trying to "make it" in
Hollywood.
> >
> >Taylor is at school at the University of Arizona.
> >
> >Alex H. and Alex M. are roommates. Alex M. is trying to make it in
> >the music world and Alex H. dates a guy in Alex M.'s backup band.
> >Another tidbit - Jason [had a tumultuous relationship with] Alex M. when they
dated.
> > Per Alex M., the reason you didn't see that in the show is b/c MTV
> >was trying to sell a fantasy. That is also why you don't see Alex M.
> >and Jason actually break up.
> >
> >LC is supposedly the meanest person of the bunch - they say she is
> >the least approachable.
> >
> >Another thing, is apparently MTV and BMW have some sort of deal,
> >which is why you always see them driving around in BMWs - ie,
> >Kristin's dad didn't really buy her the BMW - she got it from MTV.
> >
> >That's it, folks! Hope you enjoy the gossip as much as I did when I
> >heard it! Yes, I will be watching Season 3 and The Hills......

Best gift message yet

We recently gave our pickle givers the ability to add a nice gift message when giving Pickle of the Month. Some of these messages really demonstrate the wit and humor of our great customers. Take this one from last week, by far our best gift message yet:

"Just thought we'd give you something to suck on once a month!"

Good times.

I'd also like to throw a shout out to Curt Kendall, for mentioning Pickle of the Month in his pickle-themed Christmas card. Thanks Curt, we appreciate it.

Ah, the holidays

This was a busy week on many fronts, unfortunately none POTM-related until now. I was waylaid with a nasty cold Tuesday-Thursday, just in time for: my wife and I to host Thanksgiving at our house, a software go-live with a major client at my real job, and oh yeah, an attempt to remodel the bathroom and laundry room. Bad timing all around on my part to say the least, which culminated in a trip to the emergency room to have my grandpa's leg stitched up on Thanksgiving day.

But we all survived, and in POTM news we're set to roll out the Pickle Blast! this week. What is this Pickle Blast! you ask? It'll be all four flavored pickles sent via one shipment in a giant tube. Cheaper, instant gratification versus the 4 month subscription we're currently offering. And just in time for Christmas! In our opinion, it's pure genius, and we have our friend Scott to thank for the idea (and the catchy name). Check the site in a day or so for it.

One Month Progress Report

I bet you're wondering how Pickle of the Month is doing. Since we don't have the Pickle Meter on the site yet, this question must be gnawing at your very being. Ok, that's probably a bit dramatic, but you may be thinking, "I bet those jagoffs haven't sold squat yet, I told them they were smoking something funny."

Well, after one month, we've taken 33 orders from 24 people (we have a couple of heavy hitters, thank you Nance and Pam). Our break even point per month is roughly 12 orders, so at least our wives/fiancees can't yell at us for losing money.

In other news, people from Sweden really dug our site yesterday ....



In fact, all of Europe seems to find our idea funny, here are some stats through November 15th ...

Almost a Very Bad Morning

Last night I decided to perform our mid-month pickle packaging for about 12 orders. No big deal, right? Well it took slightly longer than I expected, and 1:30 am rolled around before I finally wrapped up. Next time I’ll start BEFORE that Seventeen Magazine show, Run’s House, and any other joyously brain-rotting shows on MTV suck me in. By the way, Run’s House is fantastic. Add it to the Laguna/Seventeen pantheon of ridiculously awful awesome shows I now watch.

Getting to bed that late usually means a hurried trip to the train station the next morning. This morning was no exception, and I made it out of the house with exactly enough time to A) get a parking pass and B) catch the train. That was before I slid on the rain-slicked road and into the back of a car at a 4-way stop who decided not to go when I thought he would. Luckily, I hit him at approximate 1 mph, so when we both got out and took a look, neither car had visible damage other than my bent license plate, and we were on our way. Oh yeah, and I poured a large amount of hot coffee on my leg when I bumped him. Super! This slight delay shot my schedule to hell, so though I made my train, I’m hoping the City of Waukegan falls for my ruse of an outdated parking pass obscured by the windshield wiper and spares me a $5 ticket (I know, is it even worth $5 to take the time to write it? I should be happy it’s that cheap, but for some reason that makes it more aggravating).

The moral of this tale of woe is two-fold: we put our customers first at the expense of sleep, and assume the guy stopped in front of you will NOT go when you expect him to.

Perfectly Busy

Is there such a thing? A state of ultimate balance between free time, work, and play? Free time keeps you sane, work earns you money and makes you feel valuable, and play is the fun part. If you asked me 5 times in a day how much of each item I needed to live happily, I’d probably give 5 different answers. It’s that variable. On one hand, I literally freak out when I have 15 minutes left on the train, my laptop battery dies, and I have nothing to read. Yet at the same time, I’ll rave to anyone that’ll listen about this new Monday night yoga class where, twice now, I’ve almost fallen asleep while doing nothing but focusing on my belly move while I breathe. Maybe this is what being bipolar is like…

The point of this blog is that POTM has made me, Doug and Marty a lot busier. But it’s awesome. Why? I think the answer is variety. It breaks us out of our comfort zones where we know exactly what we’re doing. Almost every day the three of us swap at least one idea about a new product offering, a new feature, a website we can learn from, a better way to do something we’re doing now.... Sunday night I worked with my brother-in-law the graphic designer/popper (he’s the one in all red) coming up with new designs for the website... While I work out at home, I put stamps on postcards and “Pickle of the Month” stickers on shipping tubes, imagining ways to streamline our packaging process…. But like I said, the variety makes it fun.

My advice? Everyone should start a company in addition to whatever it is they already do (unless you’re like my boss Kent, whose real job was starting a company – one company is probably enough for most people).

Laguna Beach, Credibility, and Pickles

I've been sucked into watching Laguna Beach by my fiancé. Alright, so I lied. She doesn't even watch it, while I faithfully catch it every week and gossip with her friends about it. And you thought the only weird thing I did was start a pickle company.

Amway, I digress. Back to the point.

This week's episode demonstrated the incredible power and tenuousness of credibility. Before making out with his ex-girlfriend in front of the whole town, Jason (the guy with the strange looking beard in the picture below), somehow gained the trust of LC. She thought him a credible suitor, and they happily dallied away their time smooching and saying completely ridiculous stuff to each other.

Jason and his ridiculous beard

Like any good jerk, Jason screwed his good fortune up by taking advantage of the situation. His stupidity astounds even the casual viewer, as he not only made out with his ex in front of the whole town, he committed this egregious offense IN FRONT OF LC’s PARENTS. What a moron. Needless to say, LC has a backbone (unlike Jessica) and won't come within 100 yards of him now. You go girl.

LC - out of Jason's league

So what the heck does this have to do with Pickle of the Month?

I am glad you asked. We highly value our customer’s trust. We will not share their information, send them unwanted emails, and we’ll treat them like we want to be treated. And, to emphasize our point, we have Marty ready to pummel any shady character who says otherwise.

What will people really think?

No matter how much you think you can anticipate people’s reactions to something, it’s amazing how wrong you can be. That’s why we love hearing about people’s initial feelings upon receiving a giant pickle in the mail. Case in point, co-worker Mike M. signed his unsuspecting dad up for Pickle of the Month. The first pickle arrived yesterday. Here are the highlights from that event:

- Friday @ 3:00 PM. Mike M. orders POTM for his dad, opting not to send an email during ordering to let his dad know what’s coming, because dad doesn’t have email (note to selves: need an alternate notification method)

- Wednesday @ 11:45 AM. Dad’s pickle is delivered. Hmm – there has to be a better way to say that…

- Evidently, Mom considers throwing the pickle out, thinking it is some form of postal spam.

- Dad follows the included instructions indicating refrigeration makes for better tasting, but somehow managed to puncture the pickle package while opening the tube (note to selves: some kind of warning on the tube to use caution when opeing?)

- Wednesday @ 1:15 PM. Mike uses the tracking number and sees that the package has arrived.

- Mike calls his parents house to see if they ask him about the new package. Initially, no mention is made. Several pointed questions later, Dad realizes who he has to thank for the unique and wonderful gift.

- Wednesday @ 4:15 PM. Mike IM’s me and makes a profound endorsement for the power of POTM…

- Thursday 10:43 AM. Mike informs me that his sister called and is seriously pissed off that he moved ahead of her on the speed dial

And lastly, check out the loafers on this fella. What the heck is Thomas Magnum doing striking a pose in somebody’s kitchen, you ask? Well, turns out fellow Bradley alum and friend John McDole “partied his face off” with Magnum this weekend, and was kind enough to send a paparazzi photo of the event...