The Gift Exchange

I tried to order something from an online retailer and I couldn’t complete the order form. I do that very thing every day of my working life, so it can’t possibly be ME! Something was wrong with my information, but the site wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. I tried to contact the company, but there was no information for that either. It was the worst case of customer prevention and I finally just gave up.

It made me think about GiftTree and how easy it is to navigate our site. And how nice everyone is when there is a problem ordering. Then I come to work and one of my tasks is to send thank you notes to folks who wrote in to say how helpful our customer service reps are and what great service they received. It really warms my heart to work for such a great organization. I couldn’t work for a place if I couldn’t feel comfortable about their policies and procedures in caring for the customers. I love that GiftTree has such high standards and takes care of everyone as if they were our own grandmother. It makes me proud of GiftTree and proud of myself for belonging here.

Check out GiftTree’s new video. I think it’s proof that the GiftTree team knows how to have a good time. Yes, it may be a little silly, but it was fun to make and I can’t help but laugh out loud every time I watch it. We certainly can’t be blamed for taking ourselves too seriously!

Whenever I’m talking to someone about where I work I always end up discussing the uniqueness and quality of our gifts. I’m actually very proud of what we offer and can sincerely say I stand behind the company I work for. Our designers really do an excellent job at finding unique containers, products, and themes. Every once in a while I venture out to their office, take a look at what they are working on, and I am always impressed. I’ve spent thousands of dollars here and not just because it’s convenient, I’m proud to send a GiftTree product. There are a lot of gift companies out there, but I truly believe our products stand out from the rest. I’d like to hear from others to find out what brought you to our site, what was your deciding factor on the product you ordered, or simply any comments you have regarding our line of gifts. Please post a comment, I’m curious to hear what others have to say.

Moms really are what make the world go round. They give us life, love us, and send us out into the world, always ready to be there for us at a moment’s notice. A mother’s job certainly doesn’t end when her child grows up. The job just evolves.

I spent my early childhood trying to emulate my mom and then as a teenager, I was always trying to escape her. Obviously during those tumultuous teenage years, I knew everything and didn’t need to listen to the archaic advice from my mother. Surely my friends were better judges of life than my mom. (I laugh at the thought now) These days, I can look back fondly at the lessons she taught me, spoken and unspoken, when she thought I wasn’t even paying attention.

I can almost hear the unified sigh from all of us who wish we’d given our mother’s more credit for the advice they were trying to freely give. So, what is the best lesson your mom taught you? Post a comment below and share the best advice or most valuable lesson that you learned from your mom and you’ll be entered in GiftTree’s Mother’s Day contest. The Gift Exchange contributors will choose our favorite post and the winner will receive the Organic Spa Basket, for you or for your mom.

Deadline to Enter: Midnight (PST) Wednesday, May 7th. Not the winner this time? GiftTree has many Mother’s Day gifts that are perfect for mom.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. I’ve been looking at what GiftTree has available to help me tell my mom how much she means to me. We have several gifts that she would absolutely love – The Chicken Soup for a Mother’s Soul Gourmet Gift Basket would be a huge hit, but the Mother’s Day Wildflower Garden is adorable and has a sentimental message painted on the flower pot…What’s a girl to do…How about take advantage of my employer’s public blog to give my mom a Mother’s Day shout out for the world to see!

Mom, Thank you for being you and thank you for teaching me by example how to be a better mom. I love you! Jen

Now it’s your turn. Post a comment below with a special message to your mom and you’ll be entered in our Mother’s Day drawing. The Gift Exchange contributors will choose our favorite message. The winner will receive The Chicken Soup for a Mother’s Soul Gourmet Basket, keep it for yourself or better yet, we can send it directly to your mom for you.

Deadline to Enter: Midnight (PST) Wednesday, April 30th.

I know what you are thinking: wow, that must mean that she is 1,000,983,461 seconds old as well. Simple math, right? No, it’s the handy work of a birthday calculator. With the simple input of your birthday, you will learn the famous people with whom you share your birthday (I share it with two Rockefellers and have new hope in discovering that I am also from old money). You can also learn more about your approximate date of conception, your lucky numbers, ruling planets, and how much water the candles on your next birthday cake can boil (scary!). Check it out!

I attend wine tastings on occasion as part of my job. My nose isn’t sensitive enough to pick up all the nuances necessary to declare myself a leading authority in the industry, but I still manage to select some great wines for our customers. I rely more on my taste buds (and wine reviews by leading authorities). I found an interesting tidbit in today’s local newspaper.

According to the Oregonian newspaper, a Lloyd’s of London syndicate said it has insured the nose of winemaker Ilja Gort for a cool $8 million. The Dutch winemaker and taster took out the policy after learning of a man who lost his sense of smell in a car accident. Gort, 47, said his nose is essential for him to produce top quality wines at his Chateau de la Garde vineyard in the Bordeaux region of France. The custom insurance policy covers the wine maker for the loss of either his nose or his sense of smell. There are a few stipulations, however. Gort may not ride a motorcycle or work as a knife thrower’s assistant. Fire breathing is out too. He isn’t allowed to box either. (I’m sure Mike Tyson is much relieved upon hearing such news.)

If anyone else knows of interesting insurance policies, I would love to hear about them.  I seem to recall Fred Astaire’s legs being insured at one point. I’m certain Betty Grable insured her legs for $1 million and Marlene Dietrich insured her voice. The story about Jennifer Lopez insuring various body parts is false.

So me and another gal that works here at GiftTree share the same hairdresser. Our hairdresser is beyond pregnant and about to go on maternity leave. We want to get her something but are not sure what to send her. We are not sure if her employer limits the dollar amount of gifts she can accept from clients so we do want to send something too extravagant. But we still want something nice. Please help us choose. Any ideas?

Okay, let’s be honest, the only things my dog really desires are tennis balls and never ending fields to chase them in. My dog defines his breed better than any other retriever I’ve ever met! He eats, sleeps and breathes retrieving; he literally moves his legs like he’s running when he’s asleep! So, I don’t think he’s really interested in learning any new tricks but I would love it. Read the rest of this entry »

I was reading an article the other day about how most babies are born in the fall. I decided to check into it and it seems to be true. From 1990 to 2002, August and July were when the most babies were born every year. July only made the list 4 out of the 12 year study. This is just for the United States though, Europe has different trends. They tend to have a higher birth rate in the spring. As far as the high birth rate months go, no one is sure why. Weekdays are busier for births than weekends. They know why this is; it’s because there are so many c-sections vs. natural births these days. What doctor schedules a c-section on a weekend?