Great shopping experience!

About a month ago I blogged about a shop I found online called Ardith Keef. At the time I was working on (and am almost finished with) a new project for my Fall/Winter 08 line of items. In working on my project I got stuck along the way because the circular Addi Turbo I was using proved to be too short to continue my project.

Needing a new, longer needle, I decided to purchase from Ardith Keef because I liked the idea that I'd be helping a good cause with my purchase. I went through their system, selected the "turbo" needle I wanted and made my purchase. A few days later a package arrived with my "Addi Natura"?

The next day I called and left a message on their system letting them know that the needles I received were not the ones I ordered. I got a call back later in the day, from a very nice young man, apologizing for the mistake. To be clear, when I called I wanted to know how I could get the needles back to them and receive the correct ones. The nice young man on the line said 'keep the ones you have, we're getting a shipment in next week, we'll send you the correct ones then.' No questions asked! I asked all the questions like "are you sure? can I send these back? etc." He said 'I'm sure, use the ones you have until you get the other ones.'

I have to say, in this day and age of haggling to get what you want, that was the most pleasant experience I've had in commerce in a long time! Yesterday I was going to call them to say that the Addi Natura actually weren't that bad and that they didn't need to send the new needles, but I got an email, early in the morning saying they had been shipped!

I'm a big believer in customer service. I have walked out of shops where I felt discriminated against by the actions of the associates and never returned. I don't beleive I need to argue with you to get my way, you just don't need or deserve my money. Having said that, if I am pleased with an experience, as I have been with Ardith Keef, I will not only return over and over, but I will tell everyone that will listen about what a great experience I had.

So, if you need knitting needles, patterns, supplies, I encourage you to please give them a try. It doesn't hurt that you're helping someone in the process!

Web Finds Wednesday

I've decided that I'm going to create a theme for each day of the week (excluding weekends) in order to be more consistent with my posting. Good idea? We'll see!

Today is Web finds Wednesday! On Wednesdays I will highlight a shop, item, story or whatever I find on the web that I think will be of interest.

Ardith Keef is the coolest store I've seen in a long time. It is the namesake and brainchild of Ardith Keef who is the daughter of Missionary parents and married to a pastor. She is currently an associate professor of music at the University of Southern Maine.

All their profits go to various mission projects around the world. This includes medical equipment to a hospital in Ecuador, & Ethiopia, and supplies for children in an orphanage in Siberia. Their motto is "We exist to help others".

I stumbled upon them while looking for knitting needles, I'm going to stay with them because they offer much more than just a shop. Stop by and say hello, they may offer something useful in your craft too!