Demand Satisfaction!

This is the second interview with a speaker/panelist that will be at Customer Service is the New Marketing in February of 2008. Today’s interview is with Patti Roll, who is officially the Director of Community Sourcing and eCommerce with the hip bag company Timbuk2. She will be on the Customer Service as Community, Community as Customer Service panel at CSTINM.

We’ve been making custom messenger bags in San Francisco since 1989. That’s pretty unique. In the late 90’s we developed our first web-based custom bag builder and we became part of Adobe’s dog and pony show for Flash. They’d project the bag builder on a big conference screen, design a bag and drop it in the cart. We’d get the order, build the bag in our manufacturing facility and send it to the conference by bike courier. Very cool and not much different than how it all happens today.

I got involved with Timbuk2 when I was a buyer at a bike shop in Palo Alto called Wheelsmith. During that time, my Timbuk2 service contact was this cat named Anthony. Any time I called to place a bag order there was a 50/50 chance that Anthony was in a good mood. A few years later, I was hired as a dealer service rep at Timbuk2 and the very same Anthony was my trainer. Back in 1998, all six of us office folks sat directly above the sewing floor. It was noisy as hell and we had our company meetings in the founder’s bedroom, which was adjacent to the “office”. Messenger bags were becoming cool and we were trying to keep up with demand. It was a great time to be with the company. I came back to Timbuk2 in February 2007 when Perry Klebahn joined as CEO. The office has more people and a conference room that doesn’t double as a bedroom, but the vision for the brand is sharper than ever.

Customer service is important to us because we’re committed to creating a profoundly personal experience for our terrific customers. Whether it’s the custom bag they designed, the packaging that was included, or the voice in the order confirmation – the stories they tell are what keep the Timbuk2 brand meaningful and relevant. With the evolution of social networks, these “word of mouth” stories have amplification like never before and are the purest form of marketing simply because they are unsolicited and based on personal experience.

I really think I have the coolest job because the Timbuk2 offices are walking distance from my house in the Mission, San Francisco and every morning I spot at least 5 people with Timbuk2 bags heading to their own offices. It isn’t uncommon for me to head downstairs from the office to give at least one weekly impromptu tour of our manufacturing facility – a real treat for folks who’ve never seen how we make a Timbuk2 bag.

I have a long history with Timbuk2. Back when we were small it was easy to make our customers happy because they walked through the door on Treat Street and talked to us every day. We’re bigger now and are blessed that the Internet provides a new “front door.” It allows us to stay close and transparent to our ever-growing customer base.

As told to Douglas Hanna.

Remember that the last day to take advantage of Early Bird pricing ($295) for Customer Service is the New Marketing is December 31. After that, the price goes up to $495. Now is the time to act if you want to take advantage of the lower pricing. As always, all the details can be found here.