Review your sausage stuffer; win a MIG welder (and our first annual Christmas quiz)

I love Northern Tool+Equipment ("Where warriors prepare for battle!").

I've only bought one item from them -- the inimitable Northern Industrial Vertical Sausage Stuffer with 15lb capacity -- but, since it showed up about five minutes after I bought it (OK, a few days, but I do live 4000 miles away), and since their customer service is "tiptop at Toots,"*  I'm a fan.

I'm bemused, though, by their customer satisfaction survey invitation. Filling it out lands me in a pool to win a Hobart Handler 140 MIG welder. What on earth am I going to do with a MIG welder? I wouldn't know how to fire up the thing, much less use it with skill. This offer, far from being an incentive to fill out the form, is a disincentive to participate. I'm afraid of winning.

Now, I applaud the effort. More companies -- all companies -- should ask for customer response. And an incentive helps pull that response. But if you are company with a long product line -- like Northern Tool+Equipment -- it makes sense to a) pick a "prize" that reflects the customer's buying habits or b) offers the chance of a flat discount on the next order. I have my eye on a lot of Northern's food processing gear, but I have no need for a MIG welder.

Christmas Quiz

*The first annual Christmas Quiz refers to a quote made earlier in the post.

1) Name three people at the table where this statement was made. 2) Which one taught an Olympic gold medalist. 3) Who was that athlete? 4) Which of the three principals is still living?

The prize is a $25 gift card from Amazon.

Respond by comment here. The first to answer all four questions before December 20 wins the prize!

Best of luck, Allan

Posted by Allan Jenkins on November 25, 2008 at 12:13 AM in Business, Games, Marketing | Permalink

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Comments

I have no idea on the quiz, but Mom is buying me a new car for Christmas. I pick it up tomorrow.

Posted by: Carol Johanningsmeier | Nov 25, 2008 1:35:34 AM

Well, hell yeah. I don't think a car is in my Christmas stocking this year.

Posted by: Allan Jenkins | Nov 25, 2008 1:57:09 AM

Allan:

I'll have to work on the quiz . . . but more importantly, I've been considering my own sausage maker for quite some time. Would you recommend the beauty above? Does it grind and stuff, or just stuff?

Steve Crescenzo

Posted by: Steve C. | Nov 25, 2008 2:14:32 PM

Highly recommended.

It only stuffs.

I have an electric grinder that is supposed to stuff, but it's terrible at it. Grinds wonderfully, but fails on stuffing.

So I went over to old-fashioned manual stuffer last year, and this baby this year.

They have a smaller version, but I was wary of customer reviews complaining about the plastic gears. This one is all metal.

Posted by: Allan Jenkins | Nov 25, 2008 2:54:15 PM

If you /do/ win the MIG welder, send it to me! I know how to fire it up, and what to do with it.

Posted by: Diane Rudulph | Dec 13, 2008 7:28:41 PM

I googled the quote and came up with nothing useful. Have you had any correct answers?

Posted by: Carol Johanningsmeier | Dec 19, 2008 2:45:07 PM

No correct answers, yet.

I suppose I can offer a hint. "Toots" refers to Toots Shor's restaurant. The three principals are a writer, a poet and a boxer. The boxer is still living.

Posted by: Allan Jenkins | Dec 19, 2008 2:52:35 PM

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