Wednesday, November 21, 2007

It’s my birthday, and the yearly reappearance of this day always gives me cause for reflection.

The lesson to learn from birthdays, I think, is not to put things off. If you want to learn Italian, take that course. If you’ve always been fascinated by the Taj Mahal, find a way to go see it. And if you feel a nagging discontent with any aspect of your décor, get started on that redecorating project!

Anticipating a future crystal chandelier can be fun. But living with one today is much better.

A Schonbek crystal chandelier is one object of desire that never disappoints. Your chandelier will look even better in your home than it did in the showroom. It will reflect and refract the colors of your interior and enhance the beauty of every object in the room. If you're open to enchantment, it will enchant you every day of your life.

They say not to bring home your work. But I’ve brought home my work in the best possible way, by putting Schonbek crystal chandeliers in my house. I’m so very glad I did. I notice my surroundings more, and even look out the windows more, because of the crystal chandeliers. They’re too gorgeous to be ignored. And so they remind me to appreciate what’s in front of me.

Owning Schonbek crystal chandeliers also reminds me that I live in a stream of time and history. I can look at my Versailles crystal chandelier and recall the fun-loving court of King Louis XIV. I can study the rock crystal ornaments on my Renaissance chandelier and be transported to the early days of our planet, when the tremendous heat and pressure formed various types of natural quartz. I can touch that rock crystal, feel its mysterious coolness and sense the vastness of the universe.

Because my birthday falls around Thanksgiving, I have double the incentive to feel grateful for everything and to everyone. Material things are never at the top of the list, of course. But when I get farther down the list where those material things reside, I do feel grateful for Schonbek crystal chandeliers. I’ve been lucky to learn about the artform directly from Andrew Schonbek and Eileen Schonbek Beer. But anyone who lives with a Schonbek chandelier becomes a student of light and crystal. The chandelier is the teacher.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Andrew Schonbek has asked me to blog about customer service. He’s very proud of this group, and the way they’ve been groomed over decades to help people who call. Customer service is not a grudging necessity at Schonbek. It’s warmhearted and wholehearted – and results oriented.

There are hundreds of stories about customer service reps going to any lengths to be helpful.  The incident I always remember is about the woman who called up in need of an emergency repair to a Schonbek crystal chandelier.

It seems her parents had left her to house sit while they went on a three-week vacation. She must have been young, because she threw a party in their absence. The party must have been high spirited, because in the course of the evening an arm on the crystal chandelier was broken.

The house-sitting daughter, though fun-loving, was determined to do the right thing. She wanted to get the crystal chandelier repaired. And to make the mishap invisible to her parents (for her sake and theirs), she wanted to fix the chandelier before they returned.

She called Schonbek in a panic. Customer service alerted engineering, and everyone jumped through hoops to replace the broken arm in record time. The young woman’s parents came home to a house perfectly in order.

I sometimes call customer service to ask for the retail price of a chandelier, the address of an exhibit space or some other information I need in a hurry for marketing purposes. The person I get on the phone is invariably friendly and helpful. This is a real test, because I’m not calling as a customer but only as a writer of ads and releases. Not everyone is kind to advertising people. One of the requirements for the job of customer service rep must be a compassionate nature! As you can see, I’m a personal fan of the customer service department.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Once again we are approaching the Thanksgiving holiday. How ready are you for the festivities? I don’t mean the turkey and so forth. That’s the easy part. I mean, have you make the leap and obtained your Schonbek crystal chandelier, the ultimate dining room decoration?

I assume you wouldn’t be on this website if you didn’t feel an attraction to crystal.  And probably you haven’t quite connected with a crystal chandelier. You’re still in the decision or indecision stages, or again you wouldn’t be on this website.

The trouble with holidays is that they always arrive too fast. If you’re very determined, you might be able to buy a Schonbek crystal chandelier right off the floor at a lighting showroom tomorrow. But it’s probably more sensible to shop at this point for your big New Year’s Eve party. Even this is tight, so I suggest getting to a lighting showroom as quickly as possible.

Some Schonbek dealers are listed on this website. For example, showrooms that carry rock crystal chandeliers. And showrooms with a special display of black crystal chandeliers. If high tech lighting is what you want, then check out Geometrix® dealers on this website. There's also a listing of Da Vinci™ LED dealers.

But for a showroom with a good overall display of Schonbek crystal chandeliers, call Schonbek directly at 800-836-1892.

Schonbek has a wonderful customer service department. They’ll direct you to a nearby Schonbek distributor. And if you have other questions, ask away. These people really do love to solve perplexities and answer questions. They’re totally focused on you when you call. They want to make you happy. Andrew Schonbek has often told me that someone who buys a Schonbek crystal chandelier becomes part of the Schonbek family. Even if you’re only thinking about it, that family feeling is there. You’re kind of a fiancé, about to enter the inner circle.