Archive for the tag 'Business'

Just Answer My Question

Penguin February 3rd, 2007

Fedex left me a package slip today. Figuring it might be the prints, I ran over to pick them up. I showed the clerk behind the desk the ticket and she kindly told me that it was Fedex Ground, not Express. Obviously, I should’ve known this because the ground tag is green and the express tag is orange. Obviously. In order for me to pick up the package, I would have to go to the Ground station, which, she didn’t know the location of. This should’ve been a hint towards what kind of help I would get from Fedex.

I didn’t want to waste my trip out to Fedex, so I asked her if she had any information about their small business shipping. Unlike UPS’s site, Fedex makes it tedious and virtually impossible to find any sort of information. Just like her knowledge of Fedex Ground, she couldn’t help me. But she kindly directed me to their customer service line.

I dial up their number and quickly get Tony. Yay! I live person, and I didn’t have to wait that long. I lay out where I’m coming from and ask him my question. He obviously didn’t know, so he transferred me to software, and I talked to Rachel. She told me to download some software, but still didn’t answer my question about API’s and PHP. So she transferrs me to tech support with Abbey. I’m not on the line long with Abbey when she transfers me again. But this one was only a stepping stone to Customer Service where they wanted me to set up an account.

Rachel had taken my name and given me a case number. Now, why would I need a case number? All I’m trying to do is find out if Fedex allows me to make webservice calls to their systems. I spent a good 30 minutes on the phone, only to be redirected back to where I started. Frustrated, I decided to just hang up.

Why is it so difficult to have my question answered. I understand that they may not know the answer, but you would think the software people or the tech support people would have some sort of idea. At no step during the process did anyone try and figure out what I was trying to ask.

I’m going to make you this promise. If you email me with a question, I will do my best to answer it. I may not know all the answers, but I will do my darndest to Google it or Wiki it and if that doesn’t work, I will give you my deepest apologies.

That’s a promise.

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Launch Delayed

Penguin January 31st, 2007

Originally, we had intended to launch the true face of Ninja vs Penguin this past monday (1/29), but delays in development and Penguin’s busy schedule at work has forced us to push back our launch by a week.
We’ve cut back on some of the features, but we’re going to do our best to put them into ver 1.5.

If everything goes smoothly, you’ll be able to see what NvP is truly all about.

Get ready, this is going to be one crazy ride!

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Recieved Tubes

Penguin January 23rd, 2007

We received our first order of shipping tubes today! Even if the website isn’t 100%, the prints are still going out.

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First Order of Prints

Penguin January 23rd, 2007

We put in the first order prints for a total run of 300. I’m really proud of the work and effort and love Ninja put into them. Hopefully, you’ll all love them just as much!

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Google Now Owns the Internets

Penguin January 22nd, 2007

Sneaky, sneaky, Google:

Google controls more network fiber than any other organization. This is not to say that Google OWNS all that fiber, just that they control it through agreements with network operators. I find two very interesting aspects to this story: 1) that Google has acquired — or even needs to acquire — so much bandwidth, and; 2) that they don’t own it, since probably the cheapest way to pick up that volume of fiber would be to simply buy out any number of backbone providers like Level 3 Communications.

Needless to say, this is all kind of scary. As much as I use and love Google products, the more I fear that they will become that evil corporate giant that they don’t want to be.

Please be gentle, Google.

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UPS or Fedex?

Penguin January 19th, 2007

I started looking up shipping costs between UPS and Fedex. Based on my initial investigation, UPS will cost, at most $7.02 for a 1 lb package and Fedex will cost, at most $4.81 for a 1 lb package; both within the continental US.

So, the consideration now is, what kind of services do UPS and Fedex offer? Both in terms of API for the backend and service for our customers. I know that I don’t want to pay $7 + handling, but if UPS offers better services, we may end up going down that route.

This is not to say that we can’t change suppliers, but I want to make the best decision for our customers early on.

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