Kibbles & Bytes Blog

I was saddened to hear of the death of one of my role model heroes, Nelson Mandela. Madiba was a man that I first learned about while in high school, and I closely followed his life as I embraced the non-violent movement for change.

A man of ultimate conscience and sacrifice, he has been an inspiration to me and the world. He fits very well with Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. as men who devoted their lives to non-violent change and love. While his 27 years in prison for his belief that all men are created equal and apartheid was evil is enough to make him a hero, it was his commitment to reconciliation, forgiveness and peace that really showed the true character of his soul.

Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa, won the Nobel Peace prize and has been an inspiration to millions. We mourn his passing and celebrate his life!

bq. __”For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”__ -Nelson Mandela

_Dear Friends,_

I am back in the Green Mountains, but they are looking a bit more white than green right now. We had a very successful Thanksgiving weekend at our stores and online. We have some great special bundles and offers for the holidays that Kali and Stephanie will highlight, but I want to point out something that we are doing differently this year. Each year the pressure to discount our prices is intense. We offer much more than the big box stores in terms of our sales process and our after-the-sale service, and discounting is a race to the bottom that simply means customer service suffers. We are committed to making customers for life and we prefer to “buy” our customers with service and expertise rather than simply having the lowest price.

This year we have decided to devote *1% of every sale at our retail locations* to some specific charitable organizations. In Vermont, we will be donating to the “*Vermont Foodbank,*”:http://www.vermontfoodbank.org in our Manchester, NH store, we will be donating to the “*Manchester Animal Shelter*”:http://www.manchesteranimalshelter.org and in Key West, we will be donating to the “*Florida Keys SPCA.*”:http://www.fkspca.org

As you may know, we operate on __very__ slim margins from Apple, and this 1% may be as much as 20% of the gross profit on Apple products, so we do not make this choice lightly. We are very happy to devote this 1% of our retail sales to these worthy organizations and still be able to offer you some great deals for the holidays!

Making customers for life is a winning strategy. I know while I was in Key West, I met a lot of customers who would come in and tell me that they bought their first Mac from Small Dog 15 or 20 years ago and brag about their collection of little plastic dogs. I spend time teaching our employees that the profit we may make from a single transaction with a single customer pales in comparison to the life-cycle value of a loyal customer!