Posts Tagged ‘Philidelphia’

The Next Entry: The Split – Chapter 3

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Hello Vick Dog Chew Toy Fans! I appreciate your continued support and hope that you, your family and friends are having a enjoyable and safe Holiday season.

I appreciate your patience with the postings. Certainly the time of the year takes much, if not all, of any available time any of us have. The Official Vick Dog Chew Toy has been VERY busy with the Bark For Awareness efforts and are very proud of the charitable work we have been able to do. If you have not read about the activity associated with this endeavour I encourage you to do so. Votes, YOUR votes, help to raise awareness through charitable organizations and FREE Official Vick Dog Chew Toys.

I have also received many messages associated with this blog. Mainly, when is the next update coming. Well, read forward and you will have the next update. One item I do want to clarify is this: the Official Story of the Official Dog is a historical recount of how the Official Vick Dog Chew Toy was created and came to life. At this point in the story, we are at or around early 2008.

I appreciate your interest in my story.

To bring you up to speed, this is entry three in what I am calling, “The Split”. My insistence on a safe product that meets the original concept advertised, and subsequent insistence that no compromise be made was a driving force behind a split within my organization.

Once it was clear that the rogue partner was going his own way with intent, funds, and intellectual property, the following happened:

1) The website we developed, promoted, and captured all sales from was gone. It was now in the hands of the rogue employee.
2) The rogue employee immediately used the website to change the product that was going to be shipped. A new product was now advertised.
3) The new product was the one that I initially rejected when the rogue partner tried to promote a dog chew toy while waiting for The Official Vick Dog Chew Toy to be created and shipped.
4) Shipping to those that had ordered and had been waiting for our product commenced. Instead of the product that was originally advertised, the product that I was still working through delivery, a solid cavity, hard rubber toy that bore no resemblance to The Official Vick Dog Chew Toy reached the hands of those that placed orders.

The rogue partner found an alternative manufacturer that quickly produced the toy. Since I owned the rights to the original mold this alternative Vick dog chew toy could not resemble the original product advertised. I continued to hold the rights to the main communication channel, the contact email box, so I was privy to the initial reaction.

An outpouring of discontent immediately followed shipment of this imposter product. Consumers that were originally content with waiting for the product they had originally purchased were immediately calling for a refund once they receive this imposter product. These second hand products were shipped to as many original consumers as inventory could support. Upset customers by the hundreds expressed their outrage.

How do we handle this? Consumers have no idea and no care for what was going on internally at Aim To Beginn. All they wanted was the product we advertised and they paid for. We have the product; the rogue employee has the funds. This is a very awkward situation.

How we attacked this is the subject of the next entry. I appreciate your interest in my story.

Official Dog Blog – Entry 2 of The Split

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

I appreciate your interest in my story.

All involved with The Official Vick Dog Chew Toy at this stage thought that we were all working in lock step. Everyone, including our Manufacturer and myself, thought that the goal was clear. This is where we messed up.

Earlier in my blog entries you will remember the fund holding plan that was developed. You will also remember in that entry that trust was something that we thought was formed. It was at this time that funds were due to our new manufacturer in order to pay for cast costs, mold cost, initial product development, shipping and handling fees. The money was available through the initial orders received. That money was locked in a Paypal account in the name of the rogue employee.

That was the big mistake that presented itself at this point.

By denying that individual the right to produce a product that fell short of the product originally advertised, by denying that individual the right to sell cheaply made products that garnished our logo, by denying that individual the right to pursue another manufacturer and intentionally disrespect and compromise the relationship we had built with the company that provided us critical mold time and guaranteed the safety of our product, I unintentionally drove a divide with the person that held the account that held all our funds.

My integrity, the values I had developed regarding The Official Vick Dog Chew Toy and the operational mission we had all agreed to in regards to how we would operate as a company was all the reasons why we lost the rogue partner and subsequently lost all the funds.

Losing the funds of those that paid for our product was concerning, disappointing, and extremely disturbing to me. The reasons why we lost the rogue partner from our organization and partnership was not.

What comes next is extremely interesting.

I appreciate your interest in my story.

Bark For Awareness Give Away – Week 4!

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Welcome Back Official Vick Dog Chew Toy Fans! Week 4 of the NFL season is in the books! It is time to announce the winner of the BARK FOR AWARENESS GIVE AWAY!

As I am sure you all know, the Philadelphia Eagles were off in week 4. Good thing, because they had some mending of some key injuries to worry about. Just because the Eagles took a week off, Aim To Beginn said NO WAY! We work all season to raise awareness and give back!

The commitment in week 4 was to donate two Official Vick Dog Chew Toys to the top vote getter. Since the Eagles took a week off, there were no touchdown awards to give out, and no double awards for a Michael Vick touchdown to pass along.

So, who was the top vote recipient for week 4? I am proud to announce that a long time supporter of the Official Vick Dog Chew Toy, as well as an original member of the Bark For Awareness Give Away campaign, took the top spot and won the TWO FREE Official Vick Dog Chew Toys! Rugaz Rescue has been with us since the start and took 40% of the total votes in Week 4. Congratulations Rugaz Rescue! Two FREE Official Vick Dog Chew Toys are on their way!

poll_week4_winner

A little info on Rugaz Rescue: Our mission is to foster, rehabilitate, and re-home abused, neglected, and abandoned APBTs that are seized by Authorities or forfeited by their owners. In an effort to save as many of those pitbulls, who are scheduled for euthanization, as possible, we will work closely with surrounding Animal Control facilities. Further, we will make every attempt feasible to assist individuals who are painstakingly forced to surrender their pitbulls due to emergencies, changes in family structure, and financial instability. Our in-home support will aid families with unruly pitbulls and encourage a stronger bond while keeping them together forever. We will always value the importance of community involvement by continually seeking ways to educate and promote responsible pitbull ownership to the public. The welfare of our dogs will be placed above all else and we will strive to make their lives better by any means necessary.

Congratulations to Rugaz! Thanks for all you do! Congratulations to all that voted and participated.

Guess what? Week 5 of the NFL season brings the Philadelphia Eagles back on to the field and brings back the opportunity for huge free toy giveaways! The Official Vick Dog Chew Toy Bark for Awareness Give Away campaign is back on in it’s original format! One FREE Official Vick Dog Chew Toy for every touchdown that the Eagles score goes to the top vote getter. Double that for every touchdown that Michael Vick scores!

Good luck and thank you for keeping us going for almost three years now! Our dog supporters inspire us to support the mission and vision of giving back and raising awareness!