By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

I don’t usually bother writing about online stores. Most offer the same old electronic shopping basket and check-out experience, most have their shipping and handling in order and I enjoy the ease of ordering online. Blah, blah, blah. But when I decided to take the Podcasting plunge and ordered up the new M-Audio Podcast Factory, I stumbled onto a site that takes customer service to a whole new level. Sweetwater.com (they do music and technology related to audio.)

To be clear, the company has no idea I am writing this, and I certainly am not benefiting financially from this posting. I found the site purely by luck after doing a Google search on the “Podcast Factory” product name and seeing they had a low price and free shipping, but when it turned out that the product was not shipping yet, a guy from Sweetwater named Art Hill (no relation) called me personally to make sure I knew it would not be arriving before Thanksgiving. Not only was he nice on the phone, he also wrote me when the product was ready and mentioned it seemed like a cool product when we were talking about the delay. Here was a guy sitting in a cube somewhere, and yet he wanted to know about this Podcast product. (He also had no idea about this blog or who I was.)

Anyway, my product arrived yesterday and inside was a new catalog, a receipt signed by two inspectors, and even some candy. Yum! So, to the folks at Sweetwater, let me just say, you had me at hello. Great service, and a great reminder that even though online shopping is faceless, it’s still a chance to connect with your customers. And give young Art a raise!

Give them a try here