Now that the madness of the Christmas is behind us, can I tell you a story about a gift I helped to prepare?
It happened a few weeks ago when we were working long hours but the order queue was still getting longer and longer.
I received an email from our customer Jen. She asked whether we can replace a frame for her. She found a tiny wee dent on the back of her frame. It was hard to notice, but she wanted it to be perfect.
Our number one customer service rule is to be generous and to fix things for our customer without worrying about the cost. So I immediately said yes. But truth be told, I wasn't too happy and I felt that this wasn't really a problem.
A few days ago, I received an email from her. This paragraph hit me hard:
> It's been a shit year I was diagnosed with incurable cancer earlier this year, so I want to give my partner some good memories.
Boy, I was glad that I said yes.
So, of all the things she could leave behind her, Jen chose a collage frame with 12 photos of their trips together. 12 moments that could mean the whole world to whoever Jen is giving this gift to.
Of course, she wanted it to be perfect.
Of course, we'd replace the frame with a brand new one.
I am still feeling embarrassed by my initial reaction; I am also humbled and honoured by the responsibility bestowed onto us; but, most importantly, I feel grateful for Jen to remind us of the purpose of our work.
Here is a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has ordered from us. Thank you for supporting a small kiwi company and a few of us who feed ourselves and our families with your purchases.
Thank you to everyone who wrote in or call us. Bootstrapping a company in a competitive market is no easy job. Your encouragements, even just a sentence or two, made a big difference when the going gets hard.
And lastly, thank you to those who received a wrong order, a broken-glass frame, or a damaged paper tube. Thank you for your graceful, gentle and kind emails when you were probably a bit frustrated with the outcome.
Have a relaxed and peaceful holiday. Talk to you soon.
Hug
Alex (and the rest of the HappyMoose team)
PS. I've changed Jen's name to protect her privacy but the rest of the story is as true as my little bird brain can remember.