Good Customer Service

Does everyone know about Zappos?
Last night I ordered a new pair of Chacos, because I needed more.

I received the confirmation email at 7:55 pm Pacific time. Zappos is located in Kentucky.
I opted for the free shipping, which was standard 4-5 days delivery time.

Then, at 8:58 pm I received an email saying they had been shipped, and the following message:
"Although you originally ordered Standard (4 to 5 business days) shipping
and handling, we have given your order special priority processing in
our warehouse and are upgrading the shipping and delivery time frame for your order.
Your order will ship out today and be given a special priority shipping status so that
you can receive your order even faster than we originally promised!"

At 11:44 PM last night I received the email with the UPS tracking number.

When Rich got home from work today about 4:00 pm, the UPS truck was right behind him, delivering my new shoes!

Plus, I paid $18 less than what they cost in the shoe stores.

Exciting times in Newberg, I guess!

The Way the Wind is Blowing...

We have lived in Yamhill County for 22 years, except for about 10 months when we lived in Tualatin. Every election year I have been frustrated to always very early see Republican campaign signs and rarely any Democrat campaign signs. We have worked on election campaigns and it is always a somewhat futile effort, as no matter how incompetant or bigoted or otherwise ridiculous the Republican candidate is, they always win. In the final tabulation for statewide offices, even though the Democrat wins statewide, the Republican always wins in Yamhill County.

This year, driving through the backroads of Yamhill County, I have seen LOTS of Obama signs in front of farms, and NO McCain signs. (Except now, there is actually one on our street, which might be the subject of a later blog...).

And then this morning I was looking at the Yamhill County Democrats website, and saw this little bit of AMAZING news:

Obama outraises McCain by 2X in Yamhill County

A recent tabulation shows that Obama has 4 times as many contributors (440) as McCain (99) in Yamhill County, who collectively have given 2 times as much, for a total of $48,168, to Obama.

Looking at Voter Registration data for Oregon, there are still more new Republicans registered in Yamhill County than Democrats, but I think the money thing is pretty significant.

Here's the voter registration stats through August for Oregon, county by county. (You have to go to this site, then click on the link for August, because I don't know how to just make a link to the PDF file.)

Shame in Newberg

Some of those good little Christian students who attend George Fox aren't so very Christian, I guess. Is this the influence Sarah Palin is having on the country?

The good thing is that the University administration had an immediate, strong, very appropriate response. I was going to call them up and yell at them, but they said all the things I would have said:

Baker, the college president, denounced the incident in the strongest possible terms and reiterated his vision of a campus that "more broadly represents the Kingdom of God."

"We absolutely cannot hate those around us and say we love God," he told the crowd. "It is not possible."