it's.amazing.what.marketing.can.do

I ordered some stuff from this company called red lollipop the other day. Since it was for a christmas gift, I selected the 2-day shipping option which cost $20.77. I figured this was worth it, since the total for the items plus the $20.77 shipping fee was still about $15 less than if I were to go to a local store and pick up the same things. I placed the order on monday. I received the confirmation e-mail on tuesday. I didn't receive the items on wednesday, but I figured that they wouldn't have shipped the items until tuesday, so two days from that would make it thursday. They didn't come on thursday. Or friday. Every time the bell rang to notify us that there was a new batch of boxes sitting on our porch, my heart would skip, and I'd dig through the pile, hoping for one with my name on it. By 1:15, I was irritated, and worried that my brother wasn't going to get his gift. I called the toll free number, and after many rings, an answering machine picked up. I didn't leave a message. Next, I sent an e-mail to their contact address. I immediately got an auto-message back saying that they were opened monday-friday from 9-5 pacific time, and that the e-mail would be responded to quickly- sometimes within minutes of sending it- if it was sent during these times. 1:15 east coast time=10:15 pacific time, so I should have been good. I never got an e-mail back. When my brother called that night to ask a question about our other brother, I told him he might not be getting his gift on christmas. Since he's twenty six, and a new home owner (which automatically makes him a grown-up), he didn't complain, and said it wasn't a big deal. While I knew he wouldn't be upset, that wasn't the point. I paid extra for it to get here in two days. I wanted it here in time for christmas. What fun is it to say, " sorry, I got you a gift, but it isn't here yet. I'll mail it to you when it finally arrives." You don't get to see them open it, and guess if they like it or hate it. You look like a loser who waited until the last minute to shop for people, which automatically means that you probably didn't put too much effort into it- neither of which are true. I'd built up quite a bit of resentment towards red lollipop and their non-existent customer service (so opposite to that of elizabeth w (from a previous post)) and I wasn't sure what to do when I received the package today at 1:27. I was trying to decide between being relieved that it got here, or being annoyed that it took five days to arrive, when I opened the box. Along with my brother's gift and the shipping info (which did say 2-day shipping) was a perfect, round, old-fashioned style red lollipop. I was immediately impressed by this clever marketing strategy, and rationed that it wasn't really their fault. It was right before christmas, and surely things get busy around the holidays. After all, I did get it in time for monday (even if it was at the last possible minute) and I got a tasty treat as well.