What Dutch Brothers Has

I am always impressed by great customer service. My mantra since starting Toddler Tech USA has been "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless. Customer Loyalty is Priceless." My husband had told me this when he was taking a class/reading the book for his MBA and it has stuck with me ever since. If I get good or bad customer service, know that I will shout it from the mountain tops (or twitter). Good customer service buys you more business. Great customer service buys you my undying affection. I believe that this is where Dutch Brothers excels so much over Starbucks. Here's my story:

I am on a diet and refused to give up my coffee, so I made a compromise by adding 2 shots of espresso over a 1/2 cup of ice to mix with my sugar-free syrup and shake mix for the perfect iced coffee drink. Most of the time I just make really extra strong coffee with my French Press and call it good. But nothing beats 2 shots. Oh the looks I get when I make my order. What? No cream? No sugar? Uh-uh. Ohhhhh-kayyyy...

Here's the first place I notice how Dutch Brothers does it right. "No Problem!" says the uber-happy guy as he simultaneously works the yummy-caffeine-making-machine and asking me about my day. And this isn't an off-handed "How's your day going" with passing interest. He's being genuine. "That will be One Dollar" he says as he hands me my drink, precisely as ordered. Awesome! Not only do I have my drink, but it's a reasonable price and I feel liked not just as a customer, but as a person. 

When I asked for the exact same drink from a girl at the Starbucks drive-thru, I got nothing but attitude. It was as if I were subhuman. Did I not drive the right car? Was it because I didn't wear designer clothes? They stood there making whispered comments to each other and laughing. While I'm sure it had nothing to do with me, it still made me feel self-conscious. I got a snotty attitude and a teenage girl sticking her hand out at me saying "That will be $1.80" and not even looking at me. It took 3 minutes after she ran my card ($1.80??? Starbucks, are you on crack?) for them to hand me my drink, even though they had it sitting right next to the window the whole time. 

Starbucks, you get an F for customer service. First of all, you are WAY over-priced. Second, you've gotten too big for your britches if you think that allowing your employees to have an attitude towards your customers will help your customer base. I for one, will not be going back. And little girls that work at the store I visited; you work in Hillsboro, Oregon, not on 5th ave in New York, so you can ditch the tude. Ok...so I'm still a bit grumpy about it. 

But Dutch Brothers, you totally rock in my book. You have everything you need to keep your customers loyal. Great product, awesome price points, and above all, wonderful customer service. I need a DB window sticker...and a Dutch Press (how cool is that?). But I will have to settle with shouting out my loyalty on Twitter. 

Do you have a story about Great or Bad Customer Service you received? Please share!

This I Love...

This I love... A program simple and easy to use, and perfect for my 4 year old Super Dude. The other night I was at an awesome fundraiser for Yehu.org and won a game from JumpStart called The Legend of Grizzly McGuffin. 

How cool is this? JumpStart is an award-winning adventure-based 3D virtual world that is super-personalized, wildly imaginative and really fun, but don't let that fool you - it also teaches math, reading, and critical thinking skills so kids get a real jump start in life. How smart is that?

And speaking of smart, I love the idea of Yehu.  

Yehu’s mission is to combat poverty by empowering poor rural entrepreneurs in Kenya to help lift themselves out of poverty through enhanced accessibility to sustainable financial services. This includes enabling them to save and earn interest while giving them access to micro-loans, which can be used to start or expand their small businesses. Yehu also provides some business training, micro-insurance and other services to improve the lives of its members.  They, in partnership with Basa Body, have created employment for over 100 Kenyan families.

Basa Body has some great products too! I got to try out the Basa Body Lotion and the Basa Body Stick. I decided to buy the "Kiss Me" gift pack for my mother in law for Mother's Day. Not only does it include the lotion and the stick, but these oh so very yummy soaps; Cherry Chocolate Truffle and Mint Chocolate Truffle. I wanted to eat them...badly! 

Another sponsor of the Mom It Forward fundraising event was GiftTree.com. The donated a huge basket - no, I didn't win and I'm still sad - with chocolates, wine, and treats. Amazingly generous! 

Toddler Tech USA was also a sponsor and gave away loads of Dapper Snappers. We are also donating 20% of proceeds from online sales for this week to the Mom It Forward/Yehu.org fundraising campaign. It's not too late to donate, or to buy products in support of this wonderful cause. 

It's My Birthday. I Can Give Away Whatever I Want To!

In celebration of my 38th birthday, I am giving away 38 sample Dapper Snappers. These are FREE samples, all you have to do is pay shipping. They are samples due to flaws in manufacturing (stencil marks, too short for packaging, incorrect hemming/snap placement, etc.). These flaws in no way affect the functionality of the Dapper Snapper. I am just a perfectionist and have high standards for what I will sell. 

Available in foliage, girl beige, and boy beige in limited quantities. You can try to request one of those colors, but there are no guarantees.

Please only one sample per family/household. Just trying to be fair...

You will need a coupon code to get it for free: 38freesamp

Happy birthday to me! Or is it to you?

Calling All Vloggers!

Calling All Vloggers! (of the mom/dad variety)

I have had a ton of reviews on Dapper Snappers nationwide. It has been wonderful! But now I want more... 

I will send free samples to qualified Vloggers (video bloggers) in exchange for video reviews of Dapper Snappers. To be qualified you must have an established blog (not something you threw together last week), steady followers and comments, and kids (grandkids, nieces/nephews, sons/daughters all okay with parent permission) ages 9 months to 5 years with DDS (droopy drawers syndrome). You must also be willing to have a product demonstration as part of your Vlog Review and be willing to have a link to it posted on our website. No names or faces of children required. We want to protect the innocent but still be able to show how the product works on a child. 

As an added incentive for you Contest Vloggers, we are willing to provide a Toddler Tech USA $20 off coupon to each lucky winner (1 per review/site please). 

Wanna give it a go? Email me at CazellaInnovations (at) gmail-dot-com. 

PS. Please don't say you are going to do a review with no intention of doing so (it's called stealing). I had way too many reviewers do that to me already and we really can't afford to send out a ton of samples. K?

We have/had a winner

Okay, so I did the drawing on Thursday for the Dapper Snapper winner and neglected to post it. I'm suckin...sorry! The winner is Reiza. Congratulations!

Here's the high-tech drawing method...

Closed my eyes, stuck my hand in, swished them around, and pulled out a piece of paper. Woohoo...that's some kinda high-tech process right there! 

My Voicemail Greeting Needs a Dapper Snapper

I just got an 800# for Toddler Tech USA and I'm having trouble coming up with an appropriate greeting for my voicemail that doesn't make me sound like I'm getting too big for my britches because I'm not trying too. Really my voicemail greeting needs a Dapper Snapper. The greeting I just recorded makes it sound like Toddler Tech is a huge company (Insurance company level) when really I just want to be taken seriously when I give out my number. People have a tendency to shrug me off when I leave my local number.

So I need your help. Yes, YOU! Help me decide which of the following voicemail greetings I should use or suggest your own. WANNA WIN SOMETHING??? I will give a Dapper Snapper of choice to one winner that will be picked at random on February 12th. This means my impromptu contest will end February 11th.

Here's what I want from you; Leave one comment with the following information:

1) Which greeting you choose or your suggestion.

2) Your email address in the following format: youremailaddress [at] youremailserver [dot] com

3) Which color Dapper Snapper you would love to win (does not include Snapcessories/Snapcessorized). You can see all the color selections at www.ToddlerTechUSA.com. Don't forget that you can also choose to customize your Dapper Snapper!

Wanna earn extra entries? You may leave one comment each for the following actions:

1) Follow Dapper Snappers on Twitter (if you're not already) and tweet one the following messages (without quotes) to your followers: "Need your input. You could win a Dapper Snapper just for sharing your opinion. Go to www.dappersnappers.blogspot.com to enter." or "Baby needs a new Dapper Snapper! Help me out here... www.dappersnappers.blogspot.com"

2) Become a Facebook Fan of Dapper Snappers and tell your facebook friends that you just became a fan and they should too.

Now here are the voicemail greetings. If yours is good enough, I just might add it to the list...

1. (This is the one I'm using now) Thank you for calling Toddler Tech USA. All representatives are currently helping other customers. Please leave a detailed message and a representative will call you back shortly. Thank you.
2. Thank you for calling Toddler Tech USA. We are unable to answer your call at this time. Please leave a detailed message and your call will be returned shortly. Thank you.
3. You have reached Toddler Tech USA. We are not available to take your call at this time. Please leave your name, number and a brief message and we will return your call as soon as possible.
4. You have reached Toddler Tech USA. We are unable to take your call at this time. Your call is very important to us so please leave your name, number, and a brief message and we will return your call during regular business hours between 9 AM until 5 PM Pacific Standard Time Monday through Saturday. Thank you.
5. Suggestions?

So, what do you think?

A Plan and a Sale

Here is a letter I sent out to my overseas retailers:

Because of recent developments with the CPSC and the new CPSIA laws coming into effect February 10th, Toddler Tech USA will no longer sell Snapcessorized Dapper Snappers or Snapcessories. The cost involved in having the accessories tested is not within our budget and testing is required for all children's products (ages 12 & under), even if they are being exported.Our Original line of Dapper Snappers will still be available for sale. We are testing them now for compliance with the new laws. If you would like to order any Snapcessorized Dapper Snappers or Snapcessories, you will have to do so by February 1st. As an added incentive, if you place your order by January 15th, you will receive an additional 10% off. As always, any orders over 130 pieces will qualify for free shipping.If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.


So that is that... Meanwhile, I have a bunch of Snapcessories in inventory that need to go. I bought them and will lose a lot of money if I can't get rid of them. So here's the deal:Get 10% off your Snapcessories/Snapcessorized Dapper Snappers by using coupon code cpsia10off. Oh, and I'm not above begging. So please help me get rid of this inventory before it's too late!

What is a Snapcessory?

A Snapcessory snaps around the back center belt loop to add style to your child's Dapper Snapper. Here's the gist of how it works:




You can buy them singly, or as a Snapcessorized Dapper Snapper. You could even make a custom Dapper Snapper (like in your favorite sports team, school colors, or just to match an outfit) and add a Snapcessory to it! So make sure you order now. I will only have these until the run out or it's February 1st, whichever comes first. If you have any questions or want to order one that's not on our site, please contact me.


Here's what I have left in stock:

2 Hello Kitty's
(These are on the website, so you will have to contact me directly for them)

2 Pigs



1 Monkey




2 Pandas (with or without Bow)
(These are also not on the website, so contact me)




3 Lime Cupcakes




Lots of Leather Footballs




1 Embroidered & Felt Football
(Again, not on website. Please contact me.)




Lots of Basketballs




Lots of Purple Flowers




Lots of Brown Flowers




Lots of Princess Frogs




Lots of Pink Cupcakes