Oliver's Army
For some reason I'd expected to develop some sort of brand loyalty to Mabel's Labels, I don't know why; I've only bought them once, and they are as great as some, you know, small stcky things can be great. I could have asked Mabel for what I realized, too late, I should have ordered in the first place: element-proof outdoor labels with our phone number on them, not just the cute but useless-to-strangers "Avi and Lilah." What if someone finds that sand-shovel (don't laugh, a sand-shovel in November is a rare and irreplaceable thingt) and wants to return it but has no way to reach me? I do Sharpie phone numbers on things but Sharpie is sadly ephemeral, except on your couch or cashmere sweater or anywhere else you wish it would ephemerate itself.
But through no fault of Mabel's I decided to try a different brand and a search turned up Oliver's l labels, at similar prices and making similar claims for stickiness and indestructability. Plus they have, somewhat insanely, label-blanks "inspired by" Pucci, Burberry, and, of all people, Betsey Johnson. Here, look:
They are hideous, but they are very funny. If they made Prada ones (black on black, with interesting texture) or Lacroix or McQueen (Alexander, not Lightning), I might have to buy some.
But back on thehome page, they have another thing, less plaidy or rosy, that caught my eye. It's the "Found-It" system, an online lost-and-found where you pick up a lost sippy-cup and call in a special code and lo, the owner or owner' representative canalso go online and enter a code and claim it. How neat! How nuts!
I know this works for lost cameras and such, on occasion, and I know that my husband and I and many of our friends would totally pick up that sippy-cup and go find the site and enter the code but how many people would? It's actually kind of a pain:
What happens if I lose something?
If you ever lose an item with a Found-it™ tracking system code, have no fear! When someone finds it they will be prompted to go to a special page on our website (see "A" in diagram below) with instructions to enter the code on the label (see "B" in diagram below). We then match you to yourAnd one wonders how, exactly, the lost item is supposed to "prompt" the finder-- does the Oliver's label contain a small electric-shock delivery device? Does it implant a post-hypnotic suggestion? Does it subtly alter your DNA" Because if all it's doing is telling you to go to this web site and enter ths code and blah blah, all you really need on that label is a phone number. Which is what I ended up ordering. I'm looking forward to some day finding that coded sippy-cup though, and getting "prompted."
Comments
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The Found-it system irritates me -- I think because it's built on the belief that all strangers are bad, and giving out the tiniest bit of personal information is tantamount to selling your child on the Internet. I mean, yes, we're bathed nightly in an ocean of crime shows where a lost sippy cup is inevitably the creaking plot device engineered to bring the enucleating psycho and the cheery toddler together. But realistically, the vast majority of people are good, and the subset of people who would return sippy cups or jackets are even less likely to want to kill you.
So good for you. Put your phone number out there. Trust in the goodness of the stuff-returners without fear.
Posted by: Catharine | November 17, 2009 at 05:56 AM
Catharine says exactly what I was thinking. It's certainly a marketable idea because there is a contingent who buy into the psycho-sippy-stalkers idea, but I think it's a little over the top.
My own loyalty to Mabel's is strengthened by the fact that they are a hometown crowd, plus they have an affiliate program that benefits our twins club!
Posted by: Cardinal | November 20, 2009 at 05:50 AM
Yeah, I'm going to revisit this because I do think there's more to say about trust and community and even the nice charge of mutual good-will everyone gets when they do the exchange in person. It feels good!
Next post titel: "psycho-sippy-stalkers,"
Posted by: Andrea | November 20, 2009 at 09:12 AM