Heartfelt Yoga
"Overcoming Reservations"

Kripalu yoga instructor Abby Lentz was searching for a local printer that offered personalized journals with corporate logos. Based in Austin, Texas, Lentz runs Heartfelt Yoga, which has wellness programs for the heavyweight.

Not finding a good supplier in her locality, Lentz half-heartedly decided to take her search online. Like most consumers, Lentz admits to being nervous about doing business on the Internet.

"I worry that I wouldn't be happy with my purchase, or that the timing and product wouldn't be right. I also worry that if things went wrong, I'd be stuck, or that there were hidden costs somehow," Lentz explains.

Her online search brought her to Branders.com, where she came upon journals that would make perfect giveaways.

Some of the notebooks were for her yoga students to record their individual progress in. A number were for the women's retreats she conducted, while some were to be sold online at her Web site.

"I was told giving gifts away at workshops is very old school and nobody does it anymore," Lentz says.

"I wanted my students to feel that I appreciated them by giving them journals. I wanted them to have a useful memento of our time together," she reveals.

First impressions

The first thing that attracted Lentz to Branders.com was the wide selection offered by the site, with more than 90 different models available.

"There were many journals that had the look I wanted at a price and a minimum order quantity I could afford as a one-person company," she attests.

Having received a sample of the notebook, Lentz put in an order for 110 pieces of the 5x7-inch Essence Journal notebook.

Unfortunately, the batch she received was a disappointment.

"I couldn't read the green text on the front cover. I could read it fine online for the proof, but with the product on hand, the font I had chosen just didn't show up. I thought it was my fault, that the color I picked didn't match my design," she remembers.

Satisfaction guaranteed

When her sales representative, William Howard, called to check about the delivery, Lentz honestly told him her complaint, not expecting him to do anything about it.

"Was I wrong!" she exclaims. Howard arranged to have all the journals picked up and had these reprinted with a different color to make them easier to read.

"I was amazed that doing business online with someone I had never met was so meaningful. It was as if my sales rep was sitting next to me," Lentz recalls. "William was terrific! My fears about ordering online are totally gone!"

Lentz notes that while the satisfaction guarantee clause is common among online companies, "it is when things go wrong that you see the company's integrity."

"It's nice to know Branders.com really does mean it when it says total satisfaction. It was my first order and it was messed up. Branders.com fixed it so well that I'll be back," Lentz attests.