A few days before Valentine's Day, I got an email from someone (we'll name him Willy) who had heard of Morph, but wasn't too sure what we actually did.
"I want to order a few desserts from Sugarland on Franklin to be delivered to Southern Village on Sunday / Valentines Day. Doesn't look like there is anyone they use for delivery. Do you know if there are any delivery free-lance services that will bring anything anywhere?"
Well...yeah. I guess I knew one. Morph! I promised Willy that I would deliver his wife cupcakes no matter what- with or without Sugarland's blessing, Willy's wife would have cupcakes on Valentine's Day.
An hour after hanging up, I had biked over to Sugarland, pitch prepared. I sought out Katrina Ryan, founder and owner of the bakery, but instead found her loyal steward and husband- Doc. I told him what Morph does, and that I have at least 5 contacts who want to place an order for cupcakes. Sure, it was really only one guy code-named Willy, but the truth doesn't always sound so glamorous in sales.
Doc Ryan enthusiastically agreed to work with Morph. I thought it was the easiest sale I'd ever made. He had the same problems other small business owners do. He is often the one stuck making deliveries because he does not want to hire a driver for the store. Because his time is valuable, he charges $25 per delivery- a price that very few are comfortable paying. So the orders come infrequently, and are a hassle every time.
Doc and I agreed on $5 per delivery as a Valentine's Day special. It wasn't much, especially as tips rarely happen with cupcake delivery, but as I would be the one delivering orders, I didn't mind. The time of an employee is precious- at least $15 an hour. The time of a startup CEO is free. There's no hourly rate I expect, so I'd happily work for peanuts. That's more than I usually get, anyway!
Ecstatic, I leave the store ready to promote. I spend a few hours designing promotional fliers and posting them all across campus. Danny and I walked to every fraternity and sorority on campus, promoting $5 Valentine's Day Sugarland delivery. I Tweeted, Instagramed, Facebooked. I did everything I could to promote their delivery. I was stoked.
Saturday morning, the day before Valentines Day, I decided to order some cupcakes myself, to up that order total and treat my friends. I call, and the girl answering the phone says "of course we deliver!" I smiled.
"Delivery will be $25. Is that okay?" I frowned.
A bit of questioning revealed that my friend Doc didn't do a great job spreading the word to his employees.
That was immensely frustrating. I had worked so hard to promote the deal, and they didn't even tell their own employees about it. I had no idea how many people might have called excited to get cupcakes, and hung up immediately once they heard a price 5X what they were expecting. I had to get it sorted out.
I went straight to Sugarland to talk to Doc. I told him that I would really appreciate if the girls operating the phones knew about the deal, so that our promotion can work well. I was patient, listened a lot, and made my points with minimal pressure and a ready smile. Finally- finally!- I think we were on the same page. $5 delivery. Everyone would be told. They promised.
Sunday went well. I had hoped for 10 deliveries, and we received 8 in total (including one that I placed, but we can't be picky). That's not bad, considering the handicap of no one actually knowing about our deal. The most important part of the day for me was the support that friends gave me. Half the orders were from friends who wanted to support me. Orders were placed as gifts from as far as New York, and it meant a lot.
The next day, I went back to Sugarland to discuss how the previous day went. They were very happy. We saved them a lot of time, provided them with extra orders, and did a good job. A few decisions remain to be finalized, as Katrina (the big boss) needs to sign off on our agreement. I am pretty optimistic that we'll be able to get something done, and bring our customer grand total to- can you believe it- three!
