Category — Brands I love

Yes, you read that right.  Ass shrinkage.  The continuous pursuit of shrinking my ass and other body parts.

You probably refer to it as losing weight or dieting, but I think ass shrinkage has a nice little ring to it.

As a result, I’m always on the lookout for delicious, healthy foods that will help get me to the promised land.  (In case you are wondering, that’s code for a single-digit dress size.)

Truly drool-worthy!

Last week, I stumbled upon one such product at my Whole Foods.  It’s a line of delicious, gluten-free, all natural cookies under the Ginny Bakes brand.  And the “double chocolate happiness” variety was only 60 calories, each.

In fact, these cookies were so good, I decided to visit the website and send an email of praise to Ginny, herself.  I think it’s important to support and encourage entrepreneurs.  Particularly women who take a risk to follow their passion.

She wrote back and as coincidence would have it, she was going to be demo-ing the cookies at my Whole Foods this afternoon.  So, after lunch at my church supporting the annual Greek festival and a pitstop at Bed Bath & Beyond to get credit for a $5 coupon I forgot to bring with me yesterday, I zipped over to Whole Foods.

Ginny and her family were there sampling their line of cookies at two different stations.  (People…this Whole Foods is huge!)

Turns out Ginny is a lovely as her cookies.  (I also should probably mention that the macadamia nut flavor is also a real winner in my book!)

So, folks….if you are in Chicago, pick up a box.  (Also available in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida, with more locations to come shortly.)   Your taste buds…and your ass…will thank you!

Now for my random Sunday night thought.  I just received my bulging electric bill.  Note the gift-giving idea on the envelope.   I can just picture it.  Hi, I was going to bring a great bottle of wine for dinner, but instead I’m giving you a gift certificate toward your electric bill.

Nothing says “thoughtful” than the gift of kilowatts.

Or, congratulations on your graduation.  I was going to give you an iTunes gift card, but instead, I bought you a bucket of kilowatt hours.

That’s about as thoughtful as the person who gave me a used vase as a wedding present.  With old root clumps still in the bottom.

I would like to publicly announce my deep affection for Korres and Pinkberry.

You may be wondering why I am choosing these two brands to demonstrate my brand evangelism.  It’s because both demonstrated superior customer service earlier today.

First let’s chat about Korres.  It’s a Greek skin and body care line that I stumbled onto last year.  (Amazing!)  I discovered Korres via my health club’s monthly newsletter.  It invited members to visit the pro shop to check out the new  line.

The next time I was at the club I remembered to have a look. Lo and behold, the lotion smelled great and went on smoothly.  Plus, the labels were written in both English and Greek.  (I never thought I would be buying something at the East Bank Club with a bilingual label which I could read in either language.  Go figure.)

Little by little, I explored the whole line and I became a total convert. (It’s super natural with none of the bad stuff typically found in cosmetics.)  From moisturizer to body scrubs to lip gloss…I’ve bought it all.

Fast forward to last weekend and my trip to New York City.   The only freestanding U.S. Korres store is in NYC’s Soho neighborhood.  The plan was to have breakfast with a friend in the meatpacking district and then walk down to Soho.  (And by walk, I mean find a sherpa to carry your food and water.  It was three miles away.  What the hell.  I needed to walk off the pancakes and turkey sausage.)

When I arrived, I found the store shuttered.  The problem was the website was still communicating that it was open.   After all of that effort to get there, I was pretty pissed off.  So much so, that I had a minor rant on Korres’ Facebook page after I returned.  After all, I had spent a significant amount of money on their products and was really annoyed at being inconvenienced.

My post did not go unnoticed.  I had an exchange with a Korres representative who offered to send me some complimentary products.  I didn’t have to provide an address.  It was simple enough for them to check their records to see my buying history and location.

These tubes will be my secret weapon against winter.

Here’s where a brand that cares about their customers separates itself from those that don’t.  Today, a big box arrived from Korres.  It contained the following large tubes of body lotion which they call body butters.  (Oh, yeah…they are!)  Each has a retail value of $29.00, plus tax and shipping.

Korres just sent me more than $200 of its products.  I’d say that more than pays for my inconvenience.  Moreover this generous gesture has further locked in my loyalty.  Euharisto Korres!

Now for Pinkberry.  I had heard about Pinkberry though coverage in the media.  I didn’t understand what the big deal was about another frozen yogurt place. That changed when I had a cup this weekend.  (Waay yum!) It’s got innovative flavors and an interesting approach to toppings.

When I returned to Chicago, I decided to see if Pinkberry had made its way to my city.  Uh yeah.  Four blocks from me!  (This could have serious ramifications.)

Having visited the doctor this afternoon (and also dealing with a low grade fever and a sore throat) I decided that I had to pick up a Pinkberry to have after dinner.  To give you an idea of how obsessed I was, I circled the neighborhood six times until a parking spot became available.

I walked in and ordered what I wanted.  I asked the young server if she could put a lid on the cup.  And that’s when she said something that stunned me.

No, I'm not sharing. Go get your own.

Would you like me to pack that to-go with an ice bag?

Whaaat?!  You are seriously going to pack my cup of yogurt in ice to keep it cold for the whole 8 minutes it’s going to take to get home.  Hell yeah.  Ice me!

So, people.  It’s pretty simple.  Take care of your customers.  Treat them right and they will love you forever.  (It’s a bonus when the products make your skin smooth or taste yummy.)