the timing couldn't be much better

When I started this bike thing, it didn’t take me long to find that bike jerseys come in all kinds of themes. One of those revolves around colleges. Alas, try as I might, I could never find one from my Alma Mater. Sure, you could find all the big schools. Notre Dame, University of Florida, Texas, Michigan…no problem. Ohio State, Florida State, Michigan State, North Carolina State, sure. My little suburban Philadelphia school, no freakin’ way. Not enough demand from a school with a total population around 10,000. Then, one night last fall, while web surfing, I found the Villanova University cycling team. They had a team jersey. They took orders. How cool…for me. So in November I sent them money, and waited. Then I waited some more. After that I waited. I offered myself all kinds of excuses. They’re college kids. It’s finals…then Christmas break…then, they live in Pennsylvania, and aren’t even thinking cycling yet. It’s winter. Finally though, winter went away and I could see, browsing their website, that they were racing already this spring. Hmmmm…they have their new jerseys. Where the hell is mine?

So I sent them an e-mail about a week and a half ago, asking in slightly more polite terms, when I can expect my jersey. Well, silence. For those of you in business, I offer this piece of Lumberyard advice. Silence is never a good plan. If you screwed up, own up. Tell whoever you’re dealing with what happened. You can be vague, or diffuse the blame, or whatever, but set their expectations. Let them know what you’re doing about it and what they can expect to happen and when. If it doesn't happen like you say it will, update them again, but let them know what to expect. Don't just leave 'em guessing. That didn’t happen. Instead they told me nothing, but.....in yesterday’s mail, something showed up.



If nothing else, the timing is perfect.