How I Got Free Stuff

I designed and ordered some business cards online. I was originally going to print them myself, but my printer is B&W only. I remembered using VistaPrint when I worked for music school, so I went with them. They looked professional. More professional than the homemade ones we'd tried.

VistaPrint offers lots of free stuff, one of which is 250 free business cards. Obviously free business cards are not actually free, but that's not what I'm going to write about. So, for the "free" business cards you get about 20 options, and if you want something different you pay a fee for it. The screen said to upgrade to a deluxe design was $3.99. Okay. Still cheap. As I go through the design pages I notice the price continually going up, and eventually hitting $13.99 before shipping. Shipping is about $5 for 21 days, and increased for shorter time periods. So I was ticked. Well, ticked is the wrong word. I wasn't about to pay over $20 for business cards I originally thought were going to be $3.99.

So I call up VistaPrint and give them a piece of my mind. Actually, I was not that horrible to them. I just explained the difference in the price I had originally seen, and the customer service rep changed the price for me. I opted for the 2 week shipping for about $9. All the shipping options suck (under 2 weeks was over $10, which seems ridiculous, and the $5 shipping takes up to a month, also ridiculous), but that one sucked least. I felt alright about that situation, and that I'd at least paid a reasonable price.

All was fine until it hit today. I was supposed to get the order on or before the 14th. And of course, it didn't come. I've been checking the tracking info, and it seems the package had been in some nowheresville PA since the 11th. Not my problem. So I logged onto the VistaPrint website went through some FAQ, and found myself with some "Contact Us" options. I chose to call them. Now, I was really going to give them a piece of my mind. How dare you charge extra for shipping within a certain time period and not make good on that? Of course, I get sent through an automated system three time, even though the phone lines are supposedly open until 10pm eastern time (it was about 7pm).

Next, I move onto the "E-mail us" contact option. I simply type out the facts, telling them I expect a refund on shipping costs, and explain the phone system also sucks (but in kinder words).

Well, a few hours later I had 4 e-mails from VistaPrint. They apologized, refunded the shipping costs, and sent out and additional order of business cards at no cost.

Oh yeah.

I love doing that.

I get annoyed with the idea of achieving the life of your dreams. I'm not opposed to having a great life, but I feel like it's more luck, or coincidence than something you can make happen with enough effort. Thinking about where I'd like my life to be vs. where it is now, all the changes that would need to happen are dependent on more people than just me. I can do tons of marketing, but ultimately people have to choose to work with me. I can't force being hired. I can do my part in trying to make it happen, but all my effort is only a portion of what is needed for a successful business. I don't think mine is the only business that works that way. And business isn't the only thing. All relationships require both parties to have involvement and some sort of willingness. Even my house isn't under my total control. If it was, I wouldn't be listening to Chinese television from 9am - 10pm everyday. What I'm saying is just that I think the mindset of deciding to work towards a goal does not guarantee success. I guess there are some things in life you can "make happen", but most require other people at some level, and other people just can't be controlled.

And FYI I didn't get the idea for writing this because I'm ticked with people for not doing what I want them to. It definitely came from randomly watching an episode of Scrubs while I was eating lunch today.