January 11, 2007

Freakin' muggles

You're probably going to see this all over the knit-blog-o-sphere, and that's exactly the way it should be, so astonishing is this story.

What follows is a copy of a letter that I received from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, home of Socks That Rock, the revered and esteemed handpainted sock yarn of so much acclaim. I got it because I am a member (last year and this year) of the Sock Club, where you send them some money and they send you several fixes kits, with yarn and a pattern to make fantastic socks all through the year.

What has happened, and I confirmed all of this in a phone call with Tina, is unbelievable. Blue Moon needs a bank to accept their credit card orders. (Be warned that when I run the world, banks will be in charge of far less...but I digress.) When Blue Moon started accepting orders for the Sock Club recently, the bank flinched.
They contacted the Blue Moon and questioned the possibility of this being an actual business thing. Blue Moon explained to them the concept of a sock club, and the bank held a meeting.

Now, I was not a fly on the wall at that meeting, but oh, how I wish I had been. Over the course of said meeting, the bank decided, with the business information of Blue Moon in front of them and the concept (and CASH) of a "Sock Club" laid out, that.....and here is the incredible thing... (Perhaps you should take a deep breath or sit down or put down your cup of tea.)

They decided that it was not possible that this many people could be this interested in sock yarn (I know...I know) and that therefore, considering the complete impossibility of this being a legitimate business concept (can't you hear them? "This many people just can't want sock yarn!") that Blue Moon must be running a SCAM, and (holy moths I can scarcely type it) Shut. It. Down.
They rescinded Blue Moon's ability to take credit card money (that's right, a bank turned down money...) and (breath deeply) REFUNDED to customers all of the money that they had received for the Sock Club.

You ok?

I will assume, since I know that you are not stupid, my lovely readers, that I do not have to spell out for you what the emotional and financial consequences of a bank deciding to refund money to your last several hundred customers would mean to a business. Let's just have a moment of respect for the fact that Blue Moon is still coherent at all.

Now, the ladies at Blue Moon (and they are ladies, so my sister Erin, owner of a small business and the lucky recipient of several inexplicable bank decisions herself, would like to take this opportunity to ask you if a bank would have done this to a group of men?) are a clever and tough bunch, and they have already fixed it. They have sent out a letter to all of their customers (and asked bloggers to help spread the word) explaining that they need to make sure that they have received a refund, and sign up again for the Sock Club...with the new bank, which seems to have no issues with accepting money.
That letter is below.

The ladies at Blue Moon also (and this demonstrates to me the depths of their class) have declined my offer to provide each and every one of you with the address of the bank and the Bank managers email address, so that you (ALL of you) could provide him with an expansive email detailing your feelings about sock yarn, his behaviour and the relationship between the two.

I would not have had that amount of class.

Knitters...say it with me. Freakin' muggles. They have no idea who they are messing with.

SUCCESS IS SWEET . . . SO THEY SAY?!
Please read this for IMPORTANT credit card information.
The sign-up for the Rockin' Sock Club 2007 has been a resounding success. So much so that our bank thinks we are running some type of elaborate yarn scam and is refusing to accept our members' money! So, you know what they are doing? You are not going to believe this. They are sending all of that money back! Unbelievable and astounding!

Here are the details. Within the next ten days, all of you who signed up for the Sock Club by paying either $210.00 (domestic) or $240.00 (international) between December 31 and January 5, will be getting a credit back onto your Mastercard or Visa. It is the Sock Club only, all other yarn orders placed will go through and you will be receiving your yarn soon.

Do not panic!

Everyone affected by this incredible situation is guaranteed their spot through the end of January, including those on the wait list. After you receive your credit, just go to our website and use your same registration number to pay for your Sock Club (yet again). The website is temporarily under construction in order to install the new bank’s (who has guaranteed us they will have no difficulty accepting your money!) system. The site should be back in full swing in the next couple of days. In the meantime, you can view products and place phone orders.

If you have any problems, call or email us and we will gladly help. Keep in mind that there are a lot of you involved! It is going take us some time to sort through the mess the bank has so graciously created for us. Remember, those of you that ordered other products from the Blue Moon website during this period are fine. It does not affect your orders! It is the thought of a Club for knitting socks they cannot get their heads around.

This certainly is NOT how we envisioned starting the New Year, the launch of our website upgrade and the 2007 Rockin' Sock Club! We cannot apologize enough for any inconvenience this causes you. To honor all of your dedication and patience, we are including a coupon in your first shipment to help compensate for this.

So, knitting comrades, we can choose to look at this in many ways (and believe me we have run the gamut on this one). Disbelief, shock, outrage . . . it has been a surreal experience for us. This is not just about us here at Blue Moon. It is about knitters as a group. We are extraordinary people. We have seen our power when rallied . . . large fundraising for great causes, KAL’s across the planet, and standing room only at knitting-related gatherings. Because of this, the Rockin' Sock Club 2007 will prevail! We will have a blast and knit awesome socks that will be the envy of all nonbelievers!

We thank you so very much for your support, and community. There will be more (much more) to say about this saga in the first shipment’s dyer’s notes!

Our socks are still rockin',
Team Blue Moon

email: sockclub@bluemoonfiberarts.com
phone: 1-866-802-9687
web: http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com

Posted by Stephanie at January 11, 2007 11:20 AM