Linc is a genius. I came up with a rough idea for this year’s holiday card about a month ago. This year, a number of clients had been telling me that, which our creativity and skills generally outshine competition, our customer service is unrivaled. They love our committment to customer satisfaction. So I thought, why not show our clients and friends what it would be like if customer service in the North Pole wasn’t that hot (so to speak).

The idea was to create a fictional company called “PolarExpress Shipping” (or PolEx). Sorta a Chris Van Allsburg - FedEx rip-off…If you just groaned, then I did my job well. The customer service elf, Winky, is supposed to help you find your lost package or gift or whatever. Instead, you just get frustrated asking him questions when he has absolutely no desire to help you.

I’ve personally been in this position with a number of companies lately (Sprint, Home Depot, Best Buy, Verizon, T-Mobile, HIP Prime, A Security Depot, etc.) and thought people might like the idea that we’re recognizing that customer service has gone down the tubes. A neat tie-in to this idea is that era//404 offers a number of applications geared toward improving end-user customer service (Lyrek, Timebank, MediaPASS, era//404 CMS, etc.), yes, that’s a shameless plug.

Anyway, Linc illustrated our card last year (which was listed in Communication Arts/Design Interact’s 2nd Annual, Unofficial Holiday Card Contest) and he volunteered to do it this year as well. I love the guy. He has a way of drawing and thinking that’s so perfect, I feel somewhat upset that I know I’ll never ever be as good as him. I take comfort in the fact that all my friends that illustrate, draw or doodle, certainly won’t either.

era//404 2006 Holiday Card
Interact with a customer service elf
Meet Winky