The other day, we were sitting at a marketing staff meeting, talking about the wretched heat that mother nature has bestowed upon Wilmington, NC lately.  Fred was wearing a waffle-weave polo that we had on closeout eons ago, and Corey (our sales manager), was, quite coincidentally, wearing the same shirt on the same day.  They both cited the same reason for wearing that particular shirt “It’s HOT outside today!”

Test-Driving some Polos

That made me think back to visiting Western North Carolina a few weeks ago (Apparently, I really loved that trip, because I keep blogging about it!), and how HOT it was out there in the MOUNTAINS.  We were looking forward to a break from the heat, but that was not to be.  During our meeting I noted that I felt much cooler when wearing the pique knit shirt than I did on the day I wore the jersey knit shirt.    Rarely do I have such a “controlled” (read CONSISTENTLY HOT) environment in which to do direct testing myself.  (If it’s over 85 degrees and I’m not riding my bike or at the beach, I am inside.  And, from inside, all of our shirts are equally comfortable.)  The difference was amazing!

The “Can’t Wait to Recreate” Polo

When you’re outside-teeing up for golf, showing houses, playing tennis, manning a booth at a festival, pressing the flesh while campaigning, etc. a pique (pronounced pee-kay)  knit is the knit for you.  It will help you stay cool by wicking the moisture away from your skin and evaporating quickly to help you avoid sweat stains.  The pique knit has larger spaces between the yarn, allowing for the air movement.  Our Two-Ply Pima Pique Polo, style 1400 is modeled after the original Lacoste polo, and is the “shirt that started it all” here at Queensboro.

The “Office Space” Polo

I love the movie Office Space. I’m also very attached to my stapler.  While I was going on and on about how much I loved my pique-knit polo, Fred reminded me that I need not forget the merits of our jersey-knit polos, namely that they are perfect for office environments.  I definitely agree.  The piques are lovely, too, but the smooth knit of the jersey fabric really makes your logo POP off the shirt.  That’s just good for business.  Additionally, the jersey knits, notably our new 1440, the Two-Ply Pima Jersey Polo (the new version of our customer favorite style 1430), are  affordable, soft, and comfy for a day spent in the air conditioning–or the up and down temperatures of every office I’ve ever worked in!

The “I’m a Messy Cook (or Barbequer) Polo”

The Stain Repel and Release Sportshirt, style 1209, is perfect for our new friends at the KCBS.  We’ve recently made friends with lots of BBQ teams, and this shirt would be great for them-look great while cooking up a storm.  The cotton/polyester blend helps with wrinkle resistant.  It does let go of pesky barbeque stains more easily than our other offerings.  This polo is good for anyone who wants to look fresh while working in a tomatoey/greasy/messy/dirty situation, without needing to replace all of their shirts every couple of weeks.

The “Chillaxin” Polo

There are few shirts more comfortable than our Fine Pima Jersey Polo, style 1490.  This is the perfect polo shirt for relaxing at home, a day antiquing in a quaint seaside or riverside town, watching your local baseball team clobber their unfortunate visitors, etc.  This polo is made from some of the softest cotton, and is great for a day of casual/upscale fun.  You know-those days when a t-shirt would be too relaxed, but a buttondown or polo too formal?  This is the perfect in-between shirt.  It says “I’m stylish but not uptight,” “I can pick out my own clothes,” you get the drift.

The Four Polos of the Well-Appointed Closet

So, if you went on the show “What Not to Wear” they would probably tell you that you don’t need four different types of polo shirts.  They would be so wrong.  People who work hard, play hard, and lead active, busy lives can never have too many polo shirts.  Yes, you’re going to want some other clothes for your closet.  I’ll give you that.  But, in almost every situation, you can’t go wrong with a polo shirt.

Tomorrow, Jenn M. turns 30.  Happy, Happy Birthday, Jenn!   Today, Jenn got bad news.   Last night in Wilmington, NC, we got about 6-7 inches of rain in as many hours.  Our storm drains are not equipped to handle that, especially not with the rapid development here in New Hanover County.  There are areas that frequently flood, though it is usually just a few closed streets and lots of warnings on the news not to drive into standing water.

While the rain poured down, a stretch of road where Jenn M. and Claire share an apartment flooded.  In this area near the college-UNCW, hundreds of apartments flooded, for the first time, well, ever.  Within 12 hours, the buildings were condemned and the residents ordered out within 24 hours.  Can you imagine worse news than having six inches of water in your apartment and the need to move out within a few hours?  On the eve of your birthday?  Your 30th birthday?   After you had just moved three months prior? There are a few things that would be worse, but this was bad.

If you ask anyone working at Queensboro what their absolute favorite thing about working here is, nine times out of ten you’ll get the same answer:  the people.  I’ve never worked with such interesting, warm, caring, intelligent, motivated people.  We have MBAs and forensic anthropologists.  We have fiction writers and fine artists.  In our ranks there are school teachers, horticulturists, and fashion merchandisers.  We bring a multitude of backgrounds to work every day, to solve problems and help our customers.  We also help each other.  We always help each other.

As soon as they learned they needed to move, they told their co-workers, and we immediately began making plans to help.  I am not in the office Tuesdays, so I headed over to haphazardly help load our cars.  Back at Queensboro, the troops rallied to organize labor, trucks, and boxes that would have otherwise been immediately recycled.  Jennifer G. and Baby Ella brought pizza over.  (For which I was particularly grateful!)  Steph and her husband brought an enormous truck and moved much of the furniture.  Melisa and Robert were the “IT department” and disassembled, moved and re-assembled the electronics.  Jenni and Christian brought their SUV and moved the turtle, among other things.  Heather C and her sweetie worked with Jen B. to move more furniture and the contents of the fridge.  (Which, by the way, was chock-full of treats for Jenn M’s upcoming birthday party.)  Heather L, her new hubby and Cassie came by, unpacked the kitchen and brought much-needed bottled water for us.  Our new CSR (I don’t even know his name) Josh (thanks Steph!) helped move all of the heavy stuff.  It was, in a word, awesome.  In less than five hours, we had Jenn M and Claire out of the old place, into and unpacked in the new place, and nobody had a heart attack in the process.  Many hands make light work.

Our personalities definitely showed through, and that was pretty funny to watch.  My packing and moving method goes something like this:  Open the trunk of the car and throw everything in.  Boxes, who needs boxes?  Luckily, Jen B. is way more methodical.  Once we got everything in, she organized down to the last detail.  Books sorted by size and color, desk neatly re-assembled.   Heather C., the fashionista, matched Claire’s MANY pairs of shoes, while Nicki logically arranged the kitchen.  They guys let the girls tell them what to do (smart guys), and put their burly muscles to work.

We are all very different people, and we have different strengths and personalities.  Today, and this isn’t the first time, we all came together, putting all of our energy, strengths and resources together to get the job done, fast.  When we say we’re like a big family, it is because we are a big family.  We argue, we make up, we help each other, we hold each other up, we disagree, we solve problems and we get through it, whatever “it” is.  Today started as a hectic mess and ended with lots of very sweaty (and gross!) hugs, tears and thanks.  Out of a flooded mess, a new home was put together.  It does, by the way, have a really nice screened-in porch.  I might just make it my vacation location.  Jenn M and Claire-ice down some beer, I’ll be dropping by for a visit. . .

Jenn in the KCBS Tour Team Trailer, holding her Eco Tote

While cleaning house after a couple of weeks of travel,  I decided that I needed to sing the praises of our All Purpose Eco-Tote.  I probably have one hundred bags–tote bags, re-usable grocery bags, purses, backpacks, beach bags, etc.  I just used several different varieties of bags during my recent trips, one of which was the Eco-tote (Style 4008).

When Jenn and I went out to the BBQ and Bluegrass Festival in Tryon, NC, we each took one of the Eco-totes with us.  She chose the ash gray, which is a medium gray, and I took the turquoise bag, which is a bright blue.  We had the Queensboro logo embroidered on the large front pocket, front and center.  After using this bag 14 hours a day for three days to lug business cards, shirts, water bottles, pens, permanent markers, snacks, sun screen, notebooks, barbecue sandwiches, etc., and keep everything clean, dry and organized, I think this bag deserves more than its own product description.  It deserves its own blog entry.

Stay Organized at Trade Shows

Whether you are the person in charge of the trade show tote bags to give to entrants, or are attending a trade show or conference on behalf of your company, this tote is for you.  I’ve been to a lot of conferences, and often the bag they have given me is flimsy, ugly, and not at all useful.  I really wish I had gotten one of these.  It is sturdy, has lots of pockets, an adjustable strap, and 50% of the content is made from recycled plastic!

How do I love This Tote?  Let me Count the Ways. . .

1.  The Eco-Tote has a clip on the inside for your keys.  This was very instrumental to our success in Tryon, as we were in and out of my car all day, grabbing stuff to give to people, or stashing stuff I bought.  “Katie-Kate, did you re-clip your keys?” Jenn said, at least once an hour.  Or “Katie-Kate where are your keys, because they aren’t on the clip!”  By the end of day one, I was (mostly) trained.

2.  The small front pocket is a perfect place to hold a water bottle, and keep its condensation away from other stuff.

3.  You can clip pens and sharpies on the pen holder inside the large front pocket, making them handy to access and write extra information on the business cards you will undoubtedly be asked for frequently.  Especially, if you are wearing Queensboro gear.  Just as a referesher-when someone asks you where you got your awesome logo attire-remember, www.queensboro.com

4.  Two additional small pockets above the water bottle pocket make it easy to reach and store business cards and cell phones.

5.  There is an inside zippered pocket for your wallet, checkbook, or other items that you want firmly secured inside the bag.

6.  The strap is adjustable.  That means that very tall Kate and very short Jenn could carry this bag with comfort.

7.  The top zips.  That makes this an ideal carry-on for the plane or traversing through a busy city during rush-hour.  It keeps everything on the inside in, and the outside out, even when you get really excited about the barbecue sandwich you are eating, and might have accidentally almost dropped some in your bag.  (I have absolutely no personal experience with this. . . )

Basically, even though I had most everything I needed to survive for three days in this bag, I never felt discombobulated or disorganized.  For me, that is no small feat.  I also made it home with everything important, relatively intact.  If you want to draw admiring glances at upcoming trade shows, or have attendees clamoring to know “Where did you get these awesome bags?” check out the All Purpose Eco-Tote.

P.S. I know that Melisa took one on her trip to NYC and carried it around the city.  I’m not certain why it did not return with cheesecake inside for me.  I need to investigate.  .  .

We had an AMAZING time in Tryon, NC at the Blue Ridge BBQ and Bluegrass festival.  All of the teams we met were super-nice.  The Barbecue was EASILY the best I have ever eaten, and I ate a LOT of it! Many thanks to all of the teams we met, who put up with our newbie questions and picture taking.  Also, Chris and Mike Peters, the KCBS tour team, were so gracious and helpful.  I am now officially hooked on BBQ competitions.  I need to find the next one near me. . .

What do you picture when you hear the name “Pigs Gone Wild?” An evening news story? A farmer chasing after his escaped swine-folk? A Discovery Channel Special?  Pigs Gone Wild is actually a competition barbecue team, grillin’ and smokin’ up a storm at KCBS competitions around the Midwest. The team is based in Ballwin, Missouri, but hits the road in the Pig Mobile almost every weekend during warm weather. They compete and cater at barbecue, beer , music, and other festivals. Basically, if the gathering involves people having a good time, Pigs Gone Wild is game.

Barbecuing’s Legal Limit

The Pig Mobile is a spectacle on wheels, largely due to the custom vinyl wrap encasing this giant ex-construction company van they found on Craigslist, and retro-fitted for hard-core barbecuing. Bobby says that the van can legally accommodate two people at a time, while moving. I think they’ve probably traveled with more than just hogs on ice in the back. . . but Bobby declined to elaborate, maybe fearing this Blogger would “squeal.” At most competitions, the Pig Mobile is parked, front and center, in their booth. It is the subject of many photographs and news reports. Their logo, emblazoned on the van, embroidered on their hats and printed on their shirts also attracts a lot of . . . attention and. . . visual interaction. (I put the light bulb over your head. It is your job to turn it on!) Anyway. . .

A Family Affair

Despite the Pig Gone Wild on their logo, Pigs Gone Wild is a family affair. Frank, Bobby and Frankie Bowlin (Bobby and Frankie are Frank’s sons), together with great friends Jim Andrews and Geff Gutmann are the core Pigs Gone Wild team.   They get lots of help and support from the ladies in the family and friends that cheer them on. I asked Bobby what his favorite thing about barbecue is (besides the eating and drinking), and he said “I can’t say one experience outweighs another. I truly cherish the ability to do these competition with my family and best friends. How great is this? I get to do something I love with people I love.” Sounds pretty wonderful to me. Especially if that thing involves smoked meat and a cold beer.

These Pigs Only Wear Queensboro

A common problem at BBQ events, according to Bobby, is that the Pigs Gone Wild Queensboro gear disappears on a regular basis. Especially the hats. The team also goes through a LOT of Queensboro’s Printed Classic Value Tee (style 7700P), because, well, barbecuing is MESSY! They also have embroidered tees to wear for special occasions, like collecting trophies at the competitions. These pigs really are going wild in 2009, already placing in the top ten of several categories at different events. The year is still young, too. They will compete through October, serving up their specialty: Pulled Pork.

It’s All in the Sauce

Barbecue is a regional specialty. People in Wilmington, North Carolina cook something they call barbecue that bears no resemblance to what people in Kansas City call barbecue. (For the record: I side with Kansas City on this one.) Eastern North Carolina is all about vinegar. Kansas City is all about tomato. Memphis-style combines vinegar, molasses and tomato. Peppers (hot and sweet), tomatoes, mustard, and dry rubs all figure into the preparation of regional barbecue specialties. And then, there’s Texas, supposedly with four different distinctive barbecue styles. Some locales prefer brisket to pork shoulder. Then there is the matter of bone-in, shredded or sliced. Pigs Gone Wild prefers to use a sweet/spicy combination for their sauce, adapting somewhat to regional preferences. The recipe is, of course, a secret.

As part of our partnership with the KCBS, Queensboro is outfitting and reporting on the progress of several KCBS barbecue teams. Our first featured team is Smoke in Da Eye. We found out that Clint and his fellow barbecue teammates were already Queensboro customers when Clint answered a Queensboro “Tweet” on twitter.

I wish I would be at a contest these guys are grilling at this summer, because their Blog, “A BBQ Nation,” has some positively mouth-watering, tummy rumble-inducing pictures of barbecue. They are also the 2008 KCBS State Champions of New York State. Read on to learn how Smoke in Da Eye has used Queensboro gear to heat up the competition.

Barbecue is in my Blood

Kate: So, Clint, what inspired you start barbecuing competitively?

Clint: I’m from Texas and am married to a wonderful woman from Memphis, so barbecue is in my blood. I guess I first got bitten by the competition bug about eight years ago when I attended Memphis in May, one of the biggest barbecue contests in the country.

For several years, I would go down to the contest to simply meet teams, and try to learn some new techniques. Then, in 2006, I came across a contest near my house on Long Island, decided to jump into competitive barbecue, and entered the grilling contest. We met some great folks, held our own in the contest, and decided to try a KCBS barbecue contest about a month later. Of course, everything that could go wrong did go wrong at the next contest, and I vowed never to compete again. That promise was short-lived, and we continue to get a little better each time out.

Kate: Eating the barbecue must be the best part! What is your favorite meal involving barbecue?

Clint: Man, that would be like picking my favorite flavor of ice cream. It really depends on my mood. If I’m cooking true-low and slow-and am tired of pork shoulders, ribs and brisket, nothing beats slow-smoked salt and pepper beef ribs. Maybe with a nice German potato salad on the side and a Cold long-neck Lone Star.

Kate: I would imagine that it is fun to be a competitive barbecuer-traveling and meeting people all over the country. What has been your team’s neatest barbecue experience? By the way, did you make it onto Bobby Flay’s show?

Clint: That Bobby Flay thing is funny. A couple years ago they were looking for contestants for his latest show, Grill It. My video wound up being immensely popular on the Food Network website and continues to generate some nice traffic on other sites. But I never heard from them and rumors started to circulate on some sites that Bobby was afraid of me, that I was “too professional,” etc. It continues to be a bit of a running joke on www.bbq-brethren.com, on Twitter, and even the “Can Bobby Flay Handle the Heat” group on Facebook. Perhaps someday we can do a web grilling series together or something.

Aside from that, I’d have to say helping my buddy Jack McDavid compete in whole hog at Memphis in May a couple years ago and getting to take a walk on that huge stage. None of my personal victories since then have quite replicated that experience.

Kate: As lucrative as competitive barbecuing must be,do you still have to have “day jobs?”

Clint: Unfortunately, yes. I work in public relations in New York, overseeing several consumer products and services clients.

Kate: Now, for the meaty question. How have your Queensboro items helped you gain an edge in competitive barbecue, and which product is your favorite?

Clint: Good question! Well it’s been nearly a year since I’ve gotten a ticket for indecent exposure at a contest now that I have good looking clothes to wear. It is also nice to see the whole team wearing matching polos or tees and baseball caps at the awards ceremony. Very buttoned up. My favorite product would be the hats since they keep us styling even after two days of non-stop outdoor cooking.

Kate: I love your blog. Tell me about it!

Clint: Our blog is called “A BBQ Nation: The Official Blog of Smoke In Da Eye.” I started with a team website last summer, just trying to learn a bit more about site design, etc. then introduced the blog in the Fall. I’m still not sure what it is or where it’s going but it’s a ton of fun and people seem to like it.

One day it’s an interview with a BBQ legend, the next day we’re deep frying bacon explosions, another we’re giving competition cooking advice or product reviews. It’s like Wheel of Fortune for foodies.

Kate: What are you most looking forward to during the 2009 Barbecue Season?

Clint: We are excited to meet even more new teams. That’s really the best part of competition cooking. At the end of the day, we’re all just one big filthy, smelly family.

Kate: Clint, Queensboro wishes you the best of luck during this 2009 Barbecue season!

My merchandising staff is always working overtime to find some of the best deals available for our customers. The ever-impressive Carrie recently found us a real gem of a shirt at a fabulous closeout price. But first, I have to give you the background behind the man behind this shirt.

A Golfing Legend

On the morning of June 18, 1960, Arnold Palmer was sitting in the locker room of Cherry Hills Country Club. Approaching the final round of the US Open, he was mired in a tie for 15th place and was seven strokes behind the leader.

Another golfer might have been merely hoping for a decent round to move up a few spots on the leaderboard. Palmer, on the other hand, still had visions of victory.

His strategy began with a plan to attack the 346-yard first hole.

“If I drive the green and get a birdie or an eagle, I might shoot a 65. What’ll that do?” Palmer asked writer Bob Drum of the Pittsburgh Press.

“Nothing,” said Drum. “You’re too far back.”

Palmer shook his head and grinned, “It would give me 280. Doesn’t 280 always win the Open?”

Drum had to admire this burst of misplaced optimism but had been around the block enough times to know that, despite his talent and confidence, Palmer was facing insurmountable odds. Bob Drum wasn’t the first or the last person to underestimate the determination of Arnold Palmer.

Palmer made good on his plan. He drove the first hole and birdied it. He birdied the next three holes as well. In fact, he birdied six of the first seven holes to score a 30 on the front nine.

With two holes left, he was tied with legendary Ben Hogan, a four-time Open winner. Palmer remained steady. As Hogan’s ball developed a magnetic attraction to water, Palmer parred his final two holes to finish with that 65 he’d talked about a few hours earlier.

Yes, his 280 won the 1960 US Open.

Palmer’s combination of derring-do, talent, and charm won him the admiration of a generation of golf fans. Other pros played golf. At times, Palmer seemed to become the essence of golf. People who had never watched golf before were soon tuning in to network broadcasts to catch Palmer in action. It was a show well worth watching.

A writer in Sports Illustrated magazine once tried to explain Palmer’s appeal. He described Palmer as “combining the boldness of a Brink’s bandit with the fearless confidence of a man on a flying trapeze. He doesn’t play a golf course; he assaults it.”

In doing so, Arnold Palmer helped establish professional golf as a lucrative professional sport and as a popular recreational activity.

Even Though I Play Tennis, I’m a Big Fan

As a long time admirer of this incredible golfer and successful businessman, I’m proud to be able to offer you an exceptional polo from the Arnold Palmer line of golf shirts. Combining the legendary softness of Pima cotton with silky polyester microfiber creates a handsome pique fabric that will go the distance on your longest day and bounce back for more.

Act Fast!

These classic pique polos regularly sell for $30 or more. Due to a special arrangement with the manufacturer, we are now able to offer them to you for a closeout price of just $12.95 each with your embroidered logo. Dress like a pro at significant savings by ordering today, as quantities are severely limited.

Best wishes,

We are always telling you that our Extreme Sport Duffel is big.  Just how big?  Well, today, we bring you proof.  Susan, from Customer Service, can fit in this bag.  See:

Susan in the Bag

If you want a bag for yourself, please come visit us and get one. Remember, our four piece minimum is flexible, so you can buy a bag, a shirt, a golf towel and a jacket.  Then, you can live in the bag.  (just kidding!)

Because of my nerdy interest in all things business related, one of my favorite movies this spring was Confessions of a Shopaholic. The movie release coincided nicely with my “cutting up my credit cards/money diet” and overall life makeover, so I identified more with the character than some others might have, judging from the reviews. Some critics thought that obsequious display of materialism shown by “the girl with the green scarf” (the main character in the movie) was a bit much to take while 401ks were tanking all over the country, and CEOs were flying to Washington to ask for money in their private jets while their employees were having trouble scrounging enough food for a decent meal once a day.

I am not one of those critics. I feel like this movie had a great message, one that was easy to take based on the principle “a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.” I identified with the character Rebecca Bloomwood because I am Rebecca Bloomwood. (I don’t have debt collectors calling me, but I do know the thrill of buying a new designer purse. And how fast it dies. And how unpleasant it is to get the credit card bill.) Why am I writing a movie review on a shirt blog? I have a point. Stick with me. I’m not as pretty as Isla Fisher or as hunky as Hugh Dancy, so we’re not talking about eye candy here, but we are talking about a pretty important topic re: spending money when you don’t have much to go around.

The Big Idea

The idea that so enthralled me was the idea of Cost vs. Worth. Some people would say price vs. value. To me, they’re not exactly the same thing. Cost incorporates more than a dollar price. Worth incorporates more to me than wringing out each drop from each product or service you purchase. However, some people always equate Price/Cost with Value/Worth. And, if you are one of those people, you might think that our prices seem impossibly low, and there is no way we can send you a quality polo shirt with your embroidered logo for $14.95, first, I would refer you to the “Queensboro Bailout” post, with customer quotes, but next, I would ask you to keep reading, and then re-examine the way you assign “worth” to products and services.

A $20 Hot Dog

The heroine in the movie gets a lesson in cost vs. worth when she is trying to buy a lovely green scarf (that she doesn’t need), and finds that all of her credit cards are maxed out. She has enough cash to buy the scarf, minus about $15. So, she goes outside to a hot dog vendor and asks if he can give “cash back.” A HOT DOG VENDOR. She is one desperate cookie. She makes such a racket that the gentleman in front of her pays for his hot dog and asks the vendor to give Rebecca the change. She says “Why would you pay $20 for a hot dog?” He tells her that cost and worth aren’t the same thing, and the $20 is worth it to make her go away. OUCH.

Of course, he ends up being her new boss at the finance magazine she starts working at, they fall in love, etc. and so on. While she works at the finance magazine and spends some time with Mr. Right, she starts learning the value of cost and worth. She’s too embarrassed to be writing financial advice under her own name, so she goes by the title “The Girl with the Green Scarf,” and writes about finances in a way that normal people can understand and relate to.

She becomes so successful that the collections agency man eventually finds her, despite her best efforts to hide, and she has to sell everything she owns to pay down the debt and recover her good name. She even auctions off the famous green scarf. I’m not going to tell you how the movie ends, specifically, but I’m sure if you have seen a chick flick or two, you can figure it out on your own. What matters is not really the plot details, but what the characters learn in the process. I enjoyed the movie because it is much like columns written by the “Girl in the Green Scarf.” It had a good message that I could understand. It was written in the language of the designer purse. I speak that language.

Cost Vs. Worth

When you read reviews of the movie, they say that the real message is that things and money can’t buy you happiness. Ok, duh. Why I like the movie, including the end, is not just about money buying happiness. I know that. I like the actual discussion of cost vs. worth, which is demonstrated by the turnout of the auction, including the green scarf. To Rebecca, the scarf is worth more than any price that could be put on it. Originally, she believed the scarf had worth because it was brand-name and made her feel great to own. (for about a minute)  It was expensive, which meant it was more valuable.   But then, the scarf took on a life of its own, becoming the symbol used in her highly successful financial column, making it worth much more than she originally paid for it. The worth of things should not necessarily be judged by their price or cost-high or low.  Is something a bargain, even if it is inexpensive, if it doesn’t do the job?  Not really.

Cue the Shirts

We have to get around to shirts here. So, this is my argument.

Queensboro shirts are kind of like the green scarf, only our shirts don’t start out at a price that most people think is high. In fact, our shirts start out at prices that seem so low to so many people, they can’t believe that they would have much worth, in terms of advancing their business. Because, a lot of people do associate a higher price with better quality, value, and worth. (That is what got Rebecca the Shopaholic into trouble in the first place-not just the shopper’s high upon getting a great new outfit-but looking at herself and her self-worth in terms of her ability to buy expensive, high-fashion clothes.)

Queensboro shirts are worth a lot more to most of our customers than they cost, but some people don’t figure that out until they actually take the plunge and order from us. When money for your business is scarce, it is important to fully consider everything you spend. This is why our shirts (or hats or bags) with your logo on them are worth more than their $7.95 or $14.95 or $24.94 price tag:

• They help you look professional, which will help others perceive you as a professional, thus nabbing you more business.
• As a piggyback to the above reason, the shirts help you feel more confident, which your customers and potential customers will pick up on.
• They provide good conversation starters when you wear them out and about.
• These custom embroidered shirts and promotional products spread your brand name when you wear them or take them out, or when people you give them to wear them or take them out.

A billboard costs thousands of dollars to rent. A shirt costs just a few bucks. Which one is worth more to you? That depends on your business. Isn’t it time you decided?

Queensboro staff are a pretty creative bunch. In order to have a little bit of fun, and harness the group creativity, we’ve been writing some of our own Queensboro Mad Libs. This one is (loosely) formatted as an email that a Queensboro customer might receive after placing an order with us. Below, is the original story, and below that is the version of the story with Sarah from Merchandising’s entries. Remember, all the staff had to go by was a list of words I needed, and the general theme of the story. That’s what makes Mad Libs so funny!

Original Story

Greetings Mary (name),
Thank you for ordering (action) from Queensboro! We received your order number 895612 (number) and have confirmed it for delivery. We look forward to helping you experience our high quality (adjective), professional (adjective) products. You will never look or feel better than when you are wearing one of our shirts (noun), hats (noun), or bags (noun).

After you get your order, you’ll get a brief survey (noun). We’d appreciate it if you would complete the survey to tell us the following information.

• How you learned about Queensboro?
• If you were happy with your ordering experience (action)?
• Your favorite piece (noun) in your order?
• Your primary use of the shirts (noun)?

Our legendary email (noun) marketing campaign is famous (adjective) the world over (location). So are our videos on YouTube featuring Fred Meyers, Queensboro’s Founder (type of business person) and President. You can’t miss our great blog, either. You can find it by visiting http://queensboro.wordpress.com (website address) We love to feature stories of our customers, and staff, as well as providing tips for ordering your own custom embroidered apparel (noun, plural). If you would like to be featured on the blog, please send us a picture of you and your team wearing your Queensboro gear (noun), and we’ll definitely consider you for a feature story.

Thank you for choosing Queensboro to create your custom embroidered apparel and accessories. Have a wonderful (adjective) day.

Sincerely,

Queensboro Customer Service Team

With the “Mad Libs” Treatment

Greetings Luke Skywalker,

Thank you for shredding from Queensboro! We received your order number 0.5 and have confirmed it for delivery. We look forward to helping you experience our swimmingly, adjacently shirts. You will never look or feel better than when you are wearing one of our potato peelers, sticky notes, or scrunchies.

After you get your order, you’ll get a brief hand fan. We’d appreciate it if you would complete the hand fan to tell us the following information.

• How you learned about Queensboro?
• If you were happy with your ordering swoop?
• Your favorite plunger in your order?
• Your primary use of the helmets?

Our legendary boomerang marketing campaign is flagrantly known at the reel cafe. So are our videos on YouTube featuring Fred Meyers, Queensboro’s Milk Man and President. You can’t miss our great blog, either. You can find it by visiting http://iseeyou.com. We love to feature stories of our customers, and staff, as well as providing tips for ordering your own custom embroidered hamsters. If you would like to be featured on the blog, please send us a picture of you and your team wearing your Queensboro smoke detector, and we’ll definitely consider you for a feature story.

Thank you for choosing Queensboro to create your custom embroidered apparel and accessories. Have a manly day.

Sincerely,

Queensboro Customer Service Team
Hope you had as much fun reading it as I did! Can’t wait for the next round!