When I went to the bank again earlier this week, there was the teller, and she smiled and greeted me by name. Not “Ms. Werker,” mind you. But “Kim.”

This is the kind of outstanding, and fairly effortless, customer service that sets companies apart. Not only am I back to being thoroughly happy with my bank as a whole, but I now also know that if I have a problem, even a relatively minor one, I can go to them. They will help me the best they can, and they’ll be pleasant about it. For my part, I’ll be pleasant, too.

Kids, the Dunbar & 28th branch of the Bank of Montreal is made of WIN.

Now. Remaining on the topic of customer service but bringing things around to the realm of online*, check out Shannon’s post about Zappos. Zappos is pretty much the uber-example of how a company can successfully utilize social media tools.

Example #1: They are rocking Twitter. How? Both by making the company seem extremely accessible (it’s the CEO that does the twittering), and by paying attention to what people tweet (see Shannon’s experience).

Example #2: Their own website. The product image and info below are the result of a simple block of code I copied from the (um, awesome) product’s page on the Zappos site. That’s how easy it was to embed their product in this post, showing it (with a direct link to the page where you can buy it) to all of you. In an even more unique move, Zappos also provides text for a shortened link on the page, and says this about it: “Zapp.me links are tiny urls that you can copy & paste into blogs, emails, twitter, etc., so you can share this product with the world!” Since Twitter posts can only be 140 characters long, people often have to shorten long web addresses by using services like TinyURL. Zappos saves this step. Genius.

I’m fairly overwhelmed by how beautifully Zappos gets it. They get that their consumer base is their strongest asset not only because, duh, they pay money to Zappos, but also because their enthusiastic word-of-mouth makes their friends and acquaintances and perfect online strangers aware that people enjoy buying things from the company, and that just might lead them to pay Zappos money, too. The first comment on Shannon’s post is from Amy, who said, “Maybe we should tweet about shoes more often!” Exactly. Zappos, for the win.

* The Bank of Montreal’s website is awful. Good thing their humans are so wonderful.

Making Happy Happen: An Update & Zappos is a post from Kim Werker's blog.

A Visual Assault, originally uploaded by kpwerker.

The horrah! Does it make your eyes spin in spirals?

This is my first granny square for the granny-along (hi Craft readers!). I might change the way I make the cream border, but I’ll border square in that yarn. Mostly because I have a lot of it and only have scraps or odd balls of the rest.

Also, the ripple is growing steadily and I still love it.

Right now I’m sitting here jittery and giddy because my editor at Interweave sent me an image of the cover of the Crochet Me book. And it looks gorgeous. I feel creative and satisfied and ohsovery excited.

Gotta go walk the dog so I can get the lead out.

A Visual Assault is a post from Kim Werker's blog.

Ripple + Ugly Doll: Day 7, originally uploaded by kpwerker.

Ripple + Ugly Doll: Day 7 is a post from Kim Werker's blog.

Ripple, Day 5, originally uploaded by kpwerker.

Ripple, Day 5 is a post from Kim Werker's blog.

Ripple, Day 4, originally uploaded by kpwerker.

Ripple, Day 4 is a post from Kim Werker's blog.

Ripple, Day 3, originally uploaded by kpwerker.

I didn’t make too much progress last night, but the second green + brown definitely change the look of the blanket. I’m not sure I’m loving it at the moment, but I’m optimistic about the big picture. I can’t wait to pick the next colour!

Join in on the Ripple-Along, or at least check out the pretty pictures on the new Flickr group!

Ripple, Day 3 is a post from Kim Werker's blog.

Ripple, Day 2, originally uploaded by kpwerker.

Progress as of last night.

Ripple, Day 2 is a post from Kim Werker's blog.

Ripple-Along, Day 1, originally uploaded by kpwerker.

I did this last night (the red row isn’t finished yet).

I’m using a 5mm hook and various DK to light worsted weight yarns from my stash. The grey at the beginning will the be most represented, as I have four balls of it to spread out. I’m grabbing yarn at random, so we’ll see how it progresses. So far, I like it.

I chained 219 for a blanket just over 60″ in width. My loose calculations say each pair of rows uses about 60 yards of yarn, so my 15 balls or so will yield more than I’d originally thought. Phew!

Ripple-Along, Day 1 is a post from Kim Werker's blog.

Ripple-Along!, originally uploaded by kpwerker.

But I’ve been recovering from some physical ailments of late, and the therapy involved in making a giant ripple afghan out of soft, luscious yarns is absolutely undeniable. I can not wait to start. Wanna be a joiner with me?

I’m Not Usually A Joiner is a post from Kim Werker's blog.