A Big Strong Sale! . . .

As soon as you click on to our website it becomes blatantly obvious that we have a sale!!! Sale! Sale! Sale!

The banner says it all really (only, it's not as blurred as the tiny image I've used here) which is good. It's bold, bright, and gives you a clear indication of the sort of items that are available at cut prices. It's right in front of everything and is sure to catch the eye and grab your attention. Even if you're only after a specific item, at least you know, at first glance, that we have a SALE! Then you might start umming and arrrhing, the clogs in the ol' head might start chinking away, and you may just decide to have a nose , see something you surprisingly like, and BUY!

Impulse. There's nothing quite like it!

We owe all this grand work and design to none other than our creative hero, Keiron. He done a wonderful job this morning in creating this banner. It does exactly as it says on the label, so to speak. He is a genius.

However, it was a good job that he finished it this morning. It may have been disastrous if not. He had his hair cut this afternoon you see. . . all those lovely long tresses that he had, that draped down and framed his constantly tired face, and those big bright eyes . . . and I was afraid that it was going to turn out like the story of Samson, the strongest man in the world. The instant his enemy cut off all his hair, his strength diminished, leaving him weak and feeble until it all grew back.

I'm kinda hoping that even though Keiron's hair has all gone, he will still be able to produce quality work at a high standard.

And to give you an idea of Keiron's transformation:


Keiron before . . .
. . . And Keiron after . . .

Looks just like our very own Samson . . .

D. Ilott
Cybercheckout
Gridstop Ltd

The Humane Customer Services . . .

The point I've been trying to get across through numerous blogs is that we here at Gridstop Ltd, aka Cybercheckout, are genuine people, trying our best to provide you with a standard of service that is both professional, down to earth and friendly.

It's a proven point that people like to deal with people, not companies. How many times have you been on the phone to the customer services of some huge company, insurance for example (no offence), and the replies you get are bog-standard? It's as if these people have a textbook in front of them telling them what to say. Admittedly they answer your query, but there's no life to them. I often wonder if, when they turn up for work in the morning, the place automatically turns them into machines.

And it's here that I refer you to an episode of Friends, where Phoebe gets herself a job selling toner and meets a man who wants to kill himself. Her famous response: Is that because you're out of toner? But her textbook failed to explain how she should answer such a decline in sale, and she was stumped (notice how there's an episode of Friends for every occasion?)

It's not the case here. Here we are living and breathing - flesh and blood. We have no textbooks to follow. We answer your queries in a down-to-earth manner, and if you end up having a giggle at the same time, then so be it. It's not breaking any rules, and we're only human.

And to prove we are human, a classic blonde comment from a colleague whilst eating a Rice Cake.

"Are rice cakes made from the same stuff as Polystyrene . . . ?"

*rolls around the floor in a fit of giggly laughter . . .

I love working here . . .

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Gridstop Ltd

Test or Tents . . . Tents or Test . . .

Yesterday. The weather was warm, the sun was shining and it was dry - perfect driving conditions for a test, unlike today, which is very wet and thundery.

Yes, it was D-day, yesterday. At 12.40 I was finally climbing in the car with the examiner, about to start my test. Was I nervous? That's an understatement. Did I fail? Surprisingly no! I passed. I am now officially allowed to jump behind the wheel of a car and terrorize our good ol' British highways. Such joy!

I had to come into work for a few hours yesterday morning. I had originally book the entire day off, but they would have been lost without me, so I agreed if someone was to pick me up. See! That's how much I love and am dedicated to this place! Our Spiritual Guide offered, and now claims that Cybercheckout should get all the credit for my pass. If I had stayed at home, I would have been thinking about the test and stressing myself out, but because I came in, my mind was taken off it, and I was more relaxed and unwound. I don't quite see it somehow, but if it keeps his mind happy, then I'll simply nod and agree . . .

Also, we had a new tent in. The Everest 12 berth tent. I was involved with the last batch of tents, putting them up, taking photos, etc, but because of my test, I missed out on this one. And a good job too, in a way. Just think of the number of bees I'd end up murdering, especially after last time. This tent is the same fantastic quality as the others, only BIGGER . . . and sleeps twelve people. HUGE!

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/p-1336-everest-12-man-waterproof-camping-tent.aspx

However, despite the fact that my royal presence was absent, I still managed to employ a spy to capture any dodgy shenanigans that went on behind my back. And look! I'll let you make what you will out of this photo . . .

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Gridstop Ltd

Buzzing New Tents . . .

My apologies to all readers out there for the fact that there was no blog on Friday. We had a very busy day . . . out of the office.

Our shipment of brand new tents have arrived and are, as we speak, being loaded onto our website.

We spent the day taking advantage of the sun, and putting one of each up in a colleague's rather large garden. It was great team work, putting them up, taking photos, videoing them, testing them, and then taking them back down again. This batch is far better than our original tents (not that there's anything wrong with them anyway) but they have sewn-in ground sheets, colour coded poles and easy to follow instruction, luminous guy ropes so people don't trip over them in the dark, and . . . wait for it . . . the best comes last . . . our brand and website printed on the side. I think they're great.

Just like our last team-building day where tents were involved, the day was a success - but we did start to lag a touch towards the end. We got all the tents up, down and put away before the day was out, had a slight laugh during, and also managed to employ a few new members of staff to help us with our job . . . however, it was soon obvious that their minds were not fully on the task at hand.

Although, I do have a confession. I murdered a bee. It wasn't my fault! He was on my jumper when I picked it up and he stung my hand. By the time we acquainted ourselves he was half dead . . . poor thing. I couldn't sleep all night through guilt!

I called him Eric. 'Eric the half a Bee . . .' and this is dedicated to him:

A one... two-- A one... two... three... four...

Half a bee, philosophically,

Must, ipso facto, half not be.

But half the bee has got to be

Vis a vis, its entity. D'you see?

But can a bee be said to be

Or not to be an entire bee

When half the bee is not a bee

Due to some ancient injury? . . .

My thanks to the Monty Python clan for their thoughtful song in memory of my little Eric.

But seriously, check out our new tents!

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Driving Miss Daisy . . .

Well, my time is drawing ever closer. For those who have no idea what is going on, allow me to enlighten you. I take my driving test next week, and I'm not scared one little bit . . . honest.

I feel proud of where I am today. Just think, a little while back I didn't even know how to start a car, and now I almost own a full UK driving licence - that's if I pass. If I don't then it's just not meant to be at the moment and I'll hold my head in shame. It's a big step for me, a huge achievement. For most of the staff here it's old-school and boring, but I'm chuffed every time I park the car straight! I can't help it! I'm a proud person.

However, when I first started taking lessons, I wasn't technically a stranger to the `rules of the road`. Most of it is down to common sense, but being part of a family with a long line of lorry drivers, you do tend to pick things up quickly. Having stowed away in their cabs numerous times to go off gallivanting around the country, I've seen some pretty funny things on our good ol' British highways, and let me tell you, there are more than a few idiots out there.

I respect lorry drivers. I know most of you huff at them, and with reason, but without them everything would technically come to a stand still. Who would deliver all the goods to businesses around the country, and then who would ship the items that you buy off the Internet to your door?

But there's one thing I've learnt through all this - you don't mess with these boys! They're a driving-force among their own, and it's clearly obvious that they're bigger than you. With the immense driving power behind them, you'll only end up worse off. And who knows, one day I may be in control of a forty-foot Volvo Globetrotter. That'll definitely be a day to give up driving altogether . . .

Keep on trucking . . .

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Glastonbury Camping

Well, Glastonbury has been and gone...and I wonder how many of you readers out there enjoyed it, with all those muddy puddles and wellies.

I didn't get to experience it this year, pretty much like last year and the year before, but of course I heard lots about it. Apart from rain on the Thursday and Friday morning - giving you all those wonderful muddy puddles - the rest of the weekend, from what I gather, was dry and sunny, defying all soggy laws of wet Glastonbury festivals.

Every year, almost without fail, it rains on Glastonbury weekend, but it doesn't stop you from pitching your tents and camping out for the entire enjoyable weekend. (I wonder how many of our tents are in this picture) In fact, some people probably rely on the wet weather just so they can splash in the puddles with their brand-new wellie boots. As long as you're prepared for this then the festivals should go `swimmingly`.

There are also numerous more festivals lined up for the rest of the year, and if you've booked tickets already for any of them, don't forget to prepare. We have many tents still in stock - and don't forget our new delivery due in soon - and camping accessories to go with them.

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/c-23-tents-camping-equipment.aspx

You can never be too prepared for a weekend of festival fun, music, and camping.

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Warning! Long Blog Ahead!

I've just realised that I've been nursing this blog for three months now, posting three times a week, and taking pride in what I write. I hope, if you're a regular reader, you have enjoyed them as much as I've enjoyed publishing them. I've tried to keep it professional whilst adding a personal touch and a splash of humour. This idea was intended to show you, our customers, that Cybercheckout Ltd is run by approachable people, and not just a machine that makes you think twice before buying from us or running away.

As a team we work hard to keep this company going, especially in the current climate, and to provide a good, friendly service to our customers. You are, after all, the most important part in our equation. Without you, we would not be here today, so a big thank you to all for your support over the years.

But, how well do you know us? Seeing as I had nothing exciting to blog about today, I thought I'd take this opportunity to introduce you to the team. It's about time we all made ourselves known.

Firstly, we have our wonderful Customer Service Team. Introducing Marsha, Beci and Sarah. These three wonderful people take care of all your calls and queries. Sometimes I honestly wonder how they can do their job so well. However, soon the team will be numbering two. The lovely Sarah is a mum-to-be and will be leaving us for a time over the summer. But don't panic, she will be back, and we'll have her baby answering your phone calls in no time at all.

Then we have our superb marketing team. Introducing Rob the Guru, Alison, Lisa (our equestrian expert) and Kieron the creative. They do a wonderful job looking after our website, advertising our products, and making sure everything runs smoothly. Kieron does most of our website designs and does a great job (although I often wonder what heights he could achieve in his creativity if he were awake and sober more often).

Next we have Marie - someone who would rather be sitting on a toadstool at the bottom of your garden - and Wendy. They deal with our accounts and buying. Brainy pair, they are.

And then we have our Spiritual Guide - AKA Andrew - and the Farva, Pete, our two directors. Just between you and me, I'm actually quite proud to be working for them, but don't tell them that, especially Andrew. I'll never hear the end of it if he finds out.

Lastly, there's me! Short, tubby, as blond as they come, and apparently full of innuendos, so I've been told (Shrugs with confusion, but with a knowing grin) I work behind the scenes here. I'm the one who sends all your orders out every day. I also do a little work for the marketing team, doing the things they don't want to do usually, but I can't moan. They gave me the blog.

So that's us. Hopefully we seem a little more human to you all now - or a little bit more boring, as I've waffled on long enough for someone who hasn't got much to blog about. Ho-hum. I am a woman after all.

I think I'll go and join Marie at the bottom of the garden now. . . .

Keep buying our pools!

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout Ltd.

Team Building....Tents

Well, it's Friday once again, and you know what that means, don't you! It's Blog Day (bet you thought I was going to mention the Weekend...) This week has been far from normal for us here at the world of Cybercheckout. We had a Team Building day. It started on Tuesday, and will be forever in our minds. You could say we've been scarred.

Those of us who were included got taken down to a local park and we spent the day....putting up tents. Again, it was all for marketing purposes. We had a selection of tents that we needed to build and take photos of for our website. We worked in teams, a few building them, a few tarting them up (ie, pegging down, putting in bedrooms, and attaching guy ropes) and a few taking photos and filming. It was very...eventful.

Like I've done before, I could use this entire blog to talk about one particular tent, but that would be pointless in a way. We have a wide range, and it's not really going to be any use to you unless you are after the specific tent I choose I write about. Instead, I'm going to talk about them as a whole.

We have lots; dome tents, pop-up tents, tunnel tents, Tipees, 2 berth, 4 berth, all the way to 12 berth. It just all depends on your needs and how many people it is to house. Camping can be such a fun time, and with the summer well on its way now, it's the perfect time to start preparing.

And don't be daunted by the thought of putting one up! If our team can do it, you can do it. I don't particularly harbour that much knowledge of tents and how they go up, but I managed, and that's saying something, believe me. I even managed to take one down and pack it away perfectly by myself. I was rather impressed.

The day on a whole though was good. The weather was lovely - some of us suffered later - and our `Spiritual Guide` treated us to refreshments and Monster Munch. What more could we ask for? The innuendos were flying in thick and fast (most of which I got blamed for - can't quite understand why) and a laugh was generally had all round, until we got tired.

Soon, our tents will be accompanied by better images and video recordings on our website, proving how easy they are to 'erect' (sorry, had to slip that one in....oops), and if you're contemplating a camping holiday this summer, then check our website out. You can never plan too early.

http://www.cybercheckout.co.uk/Tents%20Camping%20Equipment/

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout ltd