Who's First?

The wedding season is fast approaching and ordering favors for their guests is at the top of the busy bride’s “to do list,” making spring a very busy time for all of us at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com.

We have wrapper designs for nearly every theme, color or look the couple is using for their big day. Though we have over 70 wedding designs to choose from, the happy couple can do something completely unique with our Create Your Own option. Whatever they select, personalized wrapped Hershey’s bars make for a fun surprise and a memorable favor for wedding goers.

One question that seems to always go along with ordering personalized wedding wrappers is whose name goes first, the bride or the groom? Everyone wants their bars printed "the right way." We receive many phone calls and e-mails asking which is the proper etiquette.

We advise that there is no right or wrong; it's simply a matter of personal choice. The tradition of the bride's name going first on wedding invitations apparently goes back centuries ago when the young woman's parents would have a dowry to give to the groom-to-be. It was often the case that the bride's parents were paying for the wedding, and considered the true hosts of the event.

Just for fun we conducted an informal poll of CARSON associates and found them split right down the middle in terms of how to list the names, with these thoughts:

If a photo design is selected, the names should correspond with the photo; if the Groom is on the left side in the photo, he should be listed first.

The names should sound right when spoken aloud. The way the syllables in the names flow can dictate their order.

Whether you prefer ladies first or the man in the lead, we support your decision!

Shipping Simplified

 It used to be that shipping was a concern for our customers; how long will it take...should we pick air shipping or ground... especially when we are talking about chocolate.

Our customers always had questions and made many suggestions concerning those shipping issues. We listened to them and made changes based on their feedback.

We now have 4 new shipping options to choose from. These simplified shipping options are now based on when you want to receive your order. You no longer have to calculate processing time and time in transit; it’s all wrapped up in each of the new selections.

The new options only require our customers to ask themselves one question… When do I want my order? The shipping chart or any customer service associate has the answer to which option is best for your needs. If you are not in a hurry to receive your order Basic is your best option. With a Basic shipping selection you will receive your order within 6 to 10 business days, Express is 4 to 5 business days, Premium is 2 to 3 and we also offer Next Day.

Like always our customers get an e-mail confirmation from UPS with their tracking number. You can then track your order online or call CARSON wrappedhersheys.com and we will be happy to track it for you.

Hurricane Havoc

We are accustomed to hearing about hurricanes this time of year, just not in Cincinnati. On Sunday, September 14th the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through our area causing havoc. It was quite a sight... exciting and scary at the same time. While siding and shingles were ripped from buildings, trees fell causing widespread power outages. Three people in suburban Cincinnati were killed as a result of the storm. According to Duke Energy nearly 700,000 residential and business subscribers were without power. With so many without power the local news dubbed it as The 2008 Blackout. It affected everyone ...from schools to businesses.

At CARSON wrappedhersheys.com we got the word mid-morning on Monday that our power was back on and we should report to work at noon. Most everyone arrived safely to work with stories to tell. As our day progressed we intermittingly lost our internet connection. Our customers never knew though. Everyone here at CARSON is very knowledgable about our products so our service to them was never interrupted. We were able to happily help each and every one of our customers with their questions and decision making. Some we just walked through the order process as they placed their order online at home, while others we called back later to place their order when we had internet and yet with others we took their orders the old fashion way by writing them down on paper, and then when we were able, placing them in our system and sending out our standard order confirmation e-mail.

It was as close to business as usual in those wild circumstances. Here at CARSON serving our customers' needs, from placing their order to delivery, is our number one goal and we were not going to let a (sort of) hurricane stop us!

Around the World

A question we are asked commonly is, “Do you ship internationally?” The answer is, “Absolutely! We can ship nearly anywhere in the world.” What often goes hand in hand with international shipping is printing wrappers in another language. Can we do it? Of course!

We’ve made many friends around the world over the years, including Jetteke from The Netherlands. Jetteke recently ordered a birth announcement in Dutch for her third child, Timo. After receiving her order Jetteke shared:

Thank you very much. So far we have had great responses: “I have never seen such a birth announcement.”, “How original!” and “How does the chocolate taste?” Again thank you very much for the great service, we will recommend your company to our friends should they ask." Kind regards,  Wim and Jetteke.

If you’re interested in international shipping or a custom wrapper in your language, email us at service@carsonbars.com. Let us know where you live and what you are interested in ordering and our customer service associates will make recommendations based upon time in transit as to what shipping method is best, and provide a shipping cost quote. For wrappers in another language, we’ll ask that you send us your text translation and our graphic design team will handle the rest. We look forward to helping you celebrate--no matter where you are!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Second guessing yourself after placing your order? Then you're in good hands! Here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com modifications to your order prior to shipping are not a problem. Decide to increase the number of chocolate bars? Want to change a personal message? Or possibly change the shipping address?  Simply call our Customer Care Center to discuss your need! We delight in making our customers happy.

We send an e-mail confirmation with every order and encourage you to check this confirmation carefully after placing your order. If any changes are needed, please contact us immediately at 1-800-316-2083 or e-mail us at service@carsonbars.com. Fees may apply for changes based upon the production status of your order at the time you contact us.

Counting the Ways

Customer service at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com is very important to us, you may be glad to hear.  As a company we are dedicated to our customers' complete satisfaction; and we have quite a few ways we show this behind the scenes as well as the marvelous candy bar favors we ship worldwide, week in and week out.

One thing that has always impressed upon me working here is the way we scrutinize each order that comes in via the website to see if the customer’s information is exactly how they want it to appear on the wrappers.  It is not unheard of for a customer to make a typo whilst placing the order. We check and recheck the personalization and then call if we have the slightest inclination the order could be wrong, ruining the favors for a surprise birthday party, or devastating a bride on her big day, for example.

We also check to see the time in transit to each state to save our customers money; and we all know that saving money can never be a bad thing. We actively look for destination and the shipping option chosen by our customers. I have had many a phone call from a puzzled customer wondering why their order is shipping with UPS Ground, when they know full well they chose 2nd Day Air; only for me to explain we wanted to save them some money.

  Everyday we check the UPS exception report and proactively call the customer to advise them of the status of their order when UPS is having an issue making delivery.  It can be simply that nobody was home, or UPS is having address complications. We see this as very important, and make the necessary calls or emails to get our customers' packages in their hands. This becomes especially important when we have checked the order to see the event date is imminent.

These are just a few of the ways we strive daily to serve our customers best. And rest assured, we are always searching for new ways to attain even higher standards of customer service!

The Power of Chocolate

Here at Carson Wrapped Hershey’s chocolate we serve people everyday with enthusiasm to give the customers the service that they expect from us. We are always amazed at the power of chocolate and its ability to make people smile… that’s what makes working here so great.

What has been especially amazing is that chocolate transcends all people from all backgrounds…EVERYBODY LOVES chocolate.  From NASA Astronauts to musicians…

Last week we received a phone call from a very nice lady requesting a catalog, who’s son-in-law is Bruce Dickinson.  Bruce is the lead singer of a legendary heavy metal band and rather impressively also a British Airways commercial flight pilot.

If you are wondering where I am leading with this information it is merely to show that the chocolate bar has a natural way of making people happy from all walks of life, there is no level of society it cannot reach and make people smile….and the most amazing thing about being in customer service at Carson is that we get to make all those people happy with a product they already love, covered in their very own personalization EVERYDAY!   

In the words of the Great Willy Wonka … “So shines a good deed in a weary world.”

It’s in the Mail

The holidays are a busy time for everyone.  Family events, decorating, baking and shopping…  Let Carson help you check one item off your list by taking advantage of our mailing service for holiday greetings bars.  You can select and order your holiday bars then send us your greeting card list – and we’ll do the rest.  Bars are placed in a festive holiday mailer and sent directly from Carson.  We offer this service for 1.55oz bars at $2.50/recipient or 5oz bars at $3.50/recipient. To read more about our Holiday mailing service, click here.

Golden Tickets and Wrapped HERSHEY'S® Chocolates

Summer is a great time to promote your business and nothing sends a sweeter message than a personalized HERSHEY'S® bar.  We find that this is a popular time of year for companies to recognize employees, prospect for new business and advertise for special sales or campaigns.  We typically produce some of our largest orders of the year during the summer months and this year is no exception.  Growing in popularity is the Golden Ticket promotion.  Just like Willy Wonka, a company releases golden tickets hidden beneath the wrapping of a custom wrapped HERSHEY'S® bar.  The lucky finder of the ticket may win anything from a 10% discount on products or services to a free car!   

• Just this summer a national furniture store promoted Sweet Summer Savings and issued golden tickets for percentage discounts off of purchases and free recliners.

• A large casino used the golden tickets to promote their event taking place 7/7/07, where 7 lucky winners will find golden tickets awarding them a chance to win $250,000!

The golden ticket promotion is the perfect way to bring a little child-like fun to any event, advertising campaign or sales meeting.  Carson can help you find sweet success no matter what your promotional needs may be. 

We Want To Make It Easy

Selecting a processing time and shipping method has never been easier!
We recently made modifications in the Checkout process to our online Processing and Shipping page allowing you to select both, your desired processing time and shipping method.
Our standard 3 business day processing can be selected or maybe you need the order fast so you can choose Rush processing for a $25 fee.  This means we will process your order within 24 hours Monday – Friday, allowing your order to ship within 1 day from the time you place it.  Now that’s fast for a personalized product!
Once you’ve selected your processing time, you pick a shipping method.  Shipping options and corresponding pricing are shown and we’ve added approximate time in transit to help you make the right selection based upon when you need your favors to arrive.