I got a surge of pride today from an online product review. TimL left the following comment on the page for PIG® Oil-Only Absorbent Mat (bolding added). Thanks, Tim!

We have been useing Pig Mats for quite a few years now. They have always done a great job, when used for what they are designed for. We have had other companies attempt to sell to us, and give us samples. The sells pitch usualy starts out with “Our product is as good as New Pig.” Thier products are usualy smaller and/or lighter, they do not realy compare. I believe that if you want the best buy from the people that others try to compare themselves to.

Below are two emails from the same customer that I have permission to share. I’m very happy to do so, even though it involved a problem with one of our products designed to pull dirt off shoes and wheels that pass over it. The customer liked how we resolved the issue.

Thanks to New Pigger Mike Kinney for making a trip to the customer site and showing exactly what kind of company New Pig is!

Hi Folks,

I just wanted to send a follow up e-mail about the way your company took action about the safety issue that started occurring a few months ago with your product of the Sticky Steps® Mat. I have dealt with Betty for over 20 years and I have never complained before; however the quality of the Sticky Steps Mat changed by not being a smooth surface, causing a potential trip hazard rather than cleaning the bottom of your shoes. Betty took immediate action and contacted Mike who wasted no time in contacting me and investigating the situation. Mike took the time and went through his inventory and even made a trip here to see our stock of Sticky Steps® Mats. Mike went through each box and said that the product is unacceptable and said that he has already taken action with the supplier and switched to a better quality vendor. Mike also said for me to call Betty and tell her how many boxes that we have in stock and throw them away and Pig will replace all of the Mats for free. This shows that your company (PIG) stands behind their products and will not tolerate any kind of a safety issue. It is an honor to do business with a company such as yours who stands behind their product.

Please pass this to the owner of your company.

THANKS

Here’s a follow-up email received just yesterday:

Hi Folks,

WOW … what a difference in the packaging and the quality of the Sticky Steps® Mat. Night and day difference in all aspects of the product. Thanks again for your quick action to take care of the issues with this product. You are a great company to work with and understand our needs in the working field.

THANKS

The email below (shared with permission, name of customer and company withheld, emphasis carried over from the original) set all of New Pig oinking. We’re happy to have satisfied this customer and this site; it’s what we aim for with every customer contact!

Good afternoon.

Please see that this feedback is circulated to your staff members.

In the past 6 months, I have worked with New Pig to order a variety of spill containment supplies for our manufacturing plant. My experience has been extremely positive thus far, for the following reasons:

1) GREAT product selection - anything related to spill supplies, I have been able to find on your site

2) GREAT product quality - from what I have seen, everything appears to be durable and trustworthy. I am glad to have it in the plant.

3) Very reasonable pricing - the values are very similar to what we would pay for similar products from in-city

4) Very good lead times - we have had the shipments within 1 week without exception. (And sometimes within only 2 days!)

5) INCREDIBLE, PHENOMENAL, and NOTHING-LESS-THAN-AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! In the last 6 months, I have placed between 15 and 20 phone calls to your people, and in all but 1 case, I have received accurate answers to my questions over the phone! In the other case, I was called back promptly.

When wondering what protective gloves and suits would be best, I sent some of our MSDSs to your technical staff, and they assisted me in selecting the exact suits / gloves we needed for our application / chemicals. Your people are VERY knowledgeable, and VERY friendly, CONSISTENTLY!

Finally, your money-back guarantee is unbeatable. We had a spill pallet that was ordered incorrectly, which had unfortunately - by the time we realized it - been used. Your customer service reps were still willing to refund the money, even though they could not take back the pallet! INCREDIBLE! UNHEARD OF!!

No lie: NewPig is THE BEST company (overall) that I have EVER DEALT WITH, in either my personal or professional life!! I look forward to opportunities to dial 1-800-HOT-HOGS!!! I MEAN THAT!!

I am recommending your company to everyone I meet who uses spill supplies. I am EXTREMELY impressed, and look forward to many future dealings with New Pig! (Notable mention to Jennifer and James in the technical department, who have been helpful on numerous occasions). Your people are worth any reward / recognition you are able to give them.

Many thanks again!

Most sincerely,

Facilities Engineer

Following is a transcript of a call to our 1-800-HOT-HOGS® order line that we haven’t received yet.

But we could … any minute now …

Thoinks for calling New Pig! How can I help you?

I need a pig.

A PIG® Mat?

No, that doesn’t sound right.

A pad for absorbing leaks or spills?

No, this is sort of a cylinder.

PIG® Mat comes in rolls, too.

No, this is a solid cylinder, like a tube.

A PIG® Sock? It’s tubular and also for cleaning and comes in different diameters: 3 inches, 5 inches, 10 inches …

10 inches sounds right. It’s for cleaning the inside of an oil pipeline.

Oh, that kind of pig! I’m so sorry, but we don’t carry that kind.

Image © Jim Parkin - Fotolia.com

Isn’t this New Pig?

Ab-sow-lutely.

The place for industrial cleaning and maintenance?

None swine-er!

But you don’t carry pigs?

I know it’s ironic, but you need a pig for maintaining a pipeline, also called pigging, and that’s not our area of expertise. We focus on leaks and spills. Sorry!

Do you know any experts on “pigging”?

I can refer you to an excellent website: ppsa-online.com. The Pigging Association!

The Pigging Association! This is too much.

Too much, or may I give you a piece of trivia?

Fire away.

Pipeline pigs figure into three James Bond movies.

Get out.

Bond does use a pig to get out—of a tight spot—in Diamonds Are Forever. Also check out The Living Daylights and The World Is Not Enough.

Do you sell those movies?

Sorry!

Just kidding. Bye now.

Best wishes! Thoinks again for calling!

The world needs more of what you see below: Smiles being created.

That’s marketing guru Lois Geller in the PIG® Hat sent to her by yours truly. She’s talking about The Pig Blog at a marketing conference (see me in the slide???!!!). She said everyone wanted her hat.

Good news, you Lid Lovers! We’re always offering some kind of gift with a purchase at newpig.com. That PIG® Hat could be yours yet!

Lo, thanks for talking up New Pig and for giving permission to post this photo! See ya on Twitter!

One of our fabulous Piggers here in Customer Service, Cheri, has a “journal” full of funny quotes that were overheard. She inherited this journal from another fabulous Pigger, Leigh, who now works in another department. These are some of the tamer entries! Enjoy!

Pigger to dismayed Customer
“Fear not!”

Customer discussing a volume of liquid with a Tech Services Pigger
“You could pee more than we’re talking about.”

A shining example of our listening powers
Pigger: Did you say your name is Tom or John?”
Customer: “Charlie.”

Good stuff from customers
Customer: “We got them from your distributor—Sweat Hogs?”
Pigger: “Safety-Kleen?”
Customer: “Yeah!”

Exchanges related to promotional items
Pigger: “Do you want the Stress Balls?”
Customer: “No, I have bourbon for that.”

Pigger: “We have T-shirts, a Sporksball … That’s like a Nerf ball that looks like a pig.”
Customer: “A sports bra that looks like a Nerf ball?”

Pigger: “Just a minute, let me get out of the Shirt.” (meaning go to another part of the order system)
Customer:  (stunned silence)

Classic one liners from Pigger to Customer:
Discussing options for shipping some items: “They should be able to go postal.”

“Are you Rich?” (Yeah, how wealthy are you, anyway?)

“It has 2″ and 3/4″ bung holes for you to get in and out of the drum.”

“Let me grab Jennifer for you.”

“I don’t want to hold you any longer.”

Oscar Mayer, the third Oscar Mayer to head the famous meat products company, died at age 95 on Monday. Condolences to his family.

This brings to mind the jingle, of course (”My bologna has a first name …”), but also a little-known fact … so little-known that it will be news even to many New Piggers …

New Pig owns the toll-free number

1-800-HOT-DOGS

(1-800-468-3647)

Yes, with a “D” that goes with the number “3.”

Image © JLV Image Works - Fotolia.com

Mind you, the phone number that we promote everywhere (and have even registered as a trademark) is 1-800-HOT-HOGS® (1-800-468-4647), with an “H” that goes with the number “4.”

But it’s possible to mis-hear or mis-remember “HOT HOGS” as “HOT DOGS,” so years ago, after we became aware of this, we acquired the “HOT DOGS” phone number as well, so we would still get those calls.

By the way, I feel free to point out this tiny flaw in our timeless toll-free number (a) because 1-800-HOT-HOGS has generated countless laughs and smiles, and (b) because yours truly happens to be the Pigger who originally suggested 1-800-HOT-HOGS as a phone number just about 24 years ago (speaking of little-known facts!). I got a $200 prize for that! Nice money now and even better back then!

Anyway, our having 1-800-HOT-DOGS is all part of our customer service! If our customers encounter a common problem that we can fix, we’ll fix it!

We do get the occasional call over the HOT-DOGS number asking for hot dogs or hot dog vending equipment (and we try to be helpful with those as well), but …

Sorry, Oscar Mayer!

Sorry, Ballpark!

Sorry, Nathan’s and anyone else who might be interested in 1-800-HOT-DOGS …

… but we’re keeping it!

I just read an online excerpt from a high-profile new book, but I’m not going to link to it, because I don’t want to do the least bit to help promote it. That’s right, I’m withholding even the tiny benefit of a fledgling industrial blog.

I took an instant dislike to the writer, a reaction that I think is part of his success formula: “I’ll get great word-of-mouth if I’m skilled at being a jerk.” He does have a way with words. He did an excellent job of channeling his ugly persona.

The author looks back many years to a summer job at a candy factory. Every week, someone had to scrub down a particular piece of equipment. He volunteered because the spot wasn’t easily inspected, and it gave him a chance to hide and do his summer college reading. So apparently that piece of equipment went uncleaned for months, and the person who took over in the fall had all the more scrubbing to do.

The author points out that the weekly cleaning was required by a health regulation. That reminds me of the tainted peanut processing plant in recent news. I’m sure that any one of us would feel better about a loved one’s dying from food poisoning if it stemmed from a lazy student’s wiley way of finding time to better himself.

But what did the Boy of Summer care about any of that? In September, it was back to college for him, on the way to a “better class” of life (his words) than those who remained “stranded” in the factory.

My father and uncles worked for decades in a factory. I worked in a factory for a summer (yes, I went to college that fall). Factory workers cover the whole range of personalities from champion to rat, the same as workers in offices, schools, churches, government or any other organization. You’re as low as any person in any job if you (a) don’t do your work in the first place and (b) assume you’re superior to anyone just because of what they do. Don’t assume you’re happier than the next person either, college or not.

I’m writing this because so many of New Pig’s customers are in factories, and I despise this writer’s dismissal of factory workers as a whole. If you find out who he is (I hope I haven’t made it easy), dismiss him.

Image © James Steidl - Fotolia.com