We march to the beat of our own drum when it comes to little extras
Workers found this card while working at our home in Hershey.
Workers found this card while working at our home in Hershey.
A worker installing trim in our renovated kitchen found a vintage card from the old Schutter-Johnson Candy Co. of Chicago and Brooklyn, originator of Bit-O-Honey.
Like our house, the card dates to the 1930s and features a drum major on the front. After a little research, I discovered that it was one of 25 cards in the “I’m Going to Be” series.
This is how an auction house described the set: “A brightly hued celebration of young Americans' innocent ambitions, this production depicts a variety of future occupations as envisioned by 1930s schoolchildren, each one featuring a different career option.”
But it’s the back of the card that really intrigued me.
“Absolutely free of charge, postage prepaid, we will give to everyone sending in a complete set of 25 pictures, numbered from 1 to 25, his choice of a baseball mitt, a wrist watch or a pair of roller skates. Your 25 pictures will be returned to you with this free gift.”
The 25th card, “Strongman,” was the “impossibly rare redemption piece,” according to the auction house. Apparently, not many kids got their mitts on baseball mitts, which seems impossibly cruel considering it was in the midst of the Depression.
A relationship with customers
It reminds me of a scene from “A Christmas Story,” which is set in 1939 Indiana. Ralphie eagerly awaits the arrival of a decoder ring from the “Little Orphan Annie” radio show, only to discover that the secret message is to “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.”
“A crummy commercial?” Ralphie asks incredulously.
My point is, customers, no matter their age, aren’t just means of extracting money. Stay is in business to make a profit, of course, but we want a relationship with our customers that extends beyond transactions.
That’s why we give away pin-back buttons at every show, no matter whether someone purchases a tee. We appreciate any time that people give us and trust that they will become customers eventually if they aren’t prepared to do so in the moment.
We include a sticker or button with every online purchase and have since we started in 2017.
Giving away a sticker or button might seem like a small gesture. In fact it is — drum roll, please — which is exactly why it’s worth doing.