Birthday Party Surprise

Birthday is the name given to the particular date each year on which many people in many cultures celebrate the anniversary of their birth. It is often marked by a birthday party when gifts are given to the person celebrating the birthday. It is also customary to treat the person celebrating their birthday as “special” on this day, either generally acceding to their wishes, or subjecting them to a rite of transition.
It is thought the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire. Such celebrations were uncommon previously so practices from other contexts such as the Saturnalia were adapted for birthdays. Because many Roman soldiers took to Mithraism, it had a wide distribution and influence throughout the empire until it was supplanted by Christianity.
Surprise parties are very common for birthdays. At most birthday surprise parties, guests arrive approximately one hour earlier than the honored person does. They assume hiding positions, and as the honored person walks in the front door, everyone emerges from their hiding positions yelling, "Surprise!"
For many surprise birthday parties, it is generally considered a good tactic to shock the honored person. Streamers, silly string, and balloons can be used to great effect. All evidence of a party, like decorations, should not be visible from the outside.

Here at CARSON wrappedhershey.com, we recently were asked by our customer Eyvonne M. to help her create a birthday wrapper for her Father’s 70th Birthday and surprise party!  Thanks so much for letting us take part in this special and fun occasion!

I just gave my dad a 70th Surprise Birthday Party and used your candy bars as the party favor at each seating.  Everyone went crazy over them.  They said they never saw anything like that and just LOVED them!!!  What a great product!!!  Thank you for the great service and quick turn-around time!! I will definitely refer this product to anyone having a special function!” -Eyvonne M.

First Communion

First Communion is considered one of the holiest and most important occasions in a Roman Catholic's life. It means that the person has received the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Most Catholic children receive their First Communion when they're seven or eight years of age because this is considered the age of reason.  First Communion is a very important and holy day for Catholic children because they are receiving, for the first time, the body and blood of Jesus Christ. By continuing to receive Holy Communion for the rest of their lives, Catholics become one with Christ and believe they will share in His eternal life.

First Communion is also traditionally an important festive occasion for Roman Catholic families.  Traditions surrounding First Communion usually include large family gatherings and parties to celebrate the event; special clothing is usually worn. The clothing is often white to symbolize purity. Girls often wear fancy dresses and a veil attached to a headdress, as well as white gloves (long or short).

Here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com, we are honored and privileged to help many families celebrate their child’s First Holy Communion.  Recently, we were sent a photo of one of the most beautiful little girl’s on her First Communion Day!  As I looked closer at the picture, I noticed the beautiful little girl’s birth bar in the curio cabinet she was posing in front of.  Not only was Carson privileged to help celebrate this lovely little girl’s First Communion, but we had also been able to take part in the celebration of a her birth several years before!  Thanks so much for giving us the privilege of being part of your special memories!

The guests absolutely loved the candy bar wrappers and thought it was so cute. We had so many compliments on it – including the fact everyone was glad it was a 5 oz. bar!! We will definitely do this again for a special occasion because it creates such a beautiful memory.” -Michele M.

Memories

Memories are important to us as human beings. They help us to know where we have been, what we have done, how we have grown and changed through the years. They help us to make meaning of our lives and our relationships. They help us to know what our deeply held values are. 

A quote from the popular television show The Wonder Years says, "Memories are a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."

Memories are timeless, enjoyed and cherished by both young and old. Elias Lieberman eloquently states, “Memories are all that we really own.”  Knowing that memories are such a valuable and irreplaceable gift in life, it is an unexplainable feeling when customers share their memories, which our product has helped them to create.

     

CARSON Wrapped Hershey's Chocolates were a big hit at my parent's fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration in December. They were the perfect party favor for an occasion that was attended by people as young as 15 months and as mature as 84 years of age. My parents just loved the beautiful gold paper  and the tasteful graphic design of the wrappers. As I walked around the reception hall, I saw several guests at different tables holding the bars, obviously discussing them with approval with their table-mates.  I also overheard compliments about the bars. One cousin, not knowing that I was the one who chose the party favors, told me that the wrapped bars were a "great idea." All of the guests who were younger than 20 couldn't wait until after dinner to enjoy the chocolate bars. I saw many of the adults slipping the bars into their purses or jacket pockets. Even though we had empty places at a few tables, there were no spare chocolate bars at the end of the night! On a sadder note, Mom passed away less than a month after the celebration. I will always treasure the knowledge that with your product I was able to contribute to one of the happiest evenings of her life. -Claire B, Albuquerque, NM

A Customer's Experience

The average person typically spends over 2,000 hours at work each year.  On average 50% of all workers are unhappy with their jobs (U.S. Department of Labor Statistics).
I have currently been in customer service with Carson for almost a year now and must say that it has been some of the best spent and most enjoyable 2,000 hours that I have ever had in the working world.   I can’t imagine not loving or being unhappy at this job. At Carson we are committed to exceeding our customer's expectations and partner with each other and our customers daily to enhance their special occasions and promotions.   

	I have spoken with Jennifer earlier today & had also e-mailed Matt last evening indicating my approval of the wrapper based on our discussions, sight unseen . . . . I just got home, opened my e-mail & am so delighted with the results . . . it definitely exceeds my expectations! Thank you again to all your staff for their patience and good cheer with my order. I plan to definitely use your services again.  I would be pleased to offer a testimonial to the quality of your product, and the superior, personal customer service provided by your excellent staff --- this is my 2nd order with your company and I have been extremely pleased! C O'Donnell

One of my responsibilities is to maintain the customer appreciations and testimonials.  Our customer’s invite us into their lives when they call for our assistance.   I can’t express how wonderful an experience it is after getting to know a customer and creating an order for them, when they call back or email in about the success and happiness our product and service has made towards their event. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to come into their lives and make their events extra special and SWEET! 

How Do You Spell Your Name?

We see many unique names and various interesting spellings of common names.  We called Bil just to check that it was not supposed to be Bill but it turned out this is how he spells his name.
It’s always fun to see that someone does things a little differently.  And this spelling makes perfect sense, as it’s pronounced “Bil” not “Bil-il”.  We appreciate that Bil recognized our efforts.

	Yes, the spelling is correct..." Bil " I appreciate you checking for accuracy. Your care in fulfilling orders is one of the reasons I like doing business with your company. Thanks Again yours     Bil

You Can Be The Artist

Many times the most creative ideas come from our customers!  Did you know you can create your own wrapper design with or without the help of our on-site graphic design team?

Here’s a great example inspired by a customer’s own imagination to help celebrate her husband’s retirement at a surprise party.  In this case she had an idea in mind, sent us the pieces and we helped her pull it together.  Her husband didn’t know anything about the candy bars and she said when he saw them he was so excited because his number was even on them!  Her daughter steered her Carson’s way for party favors and she said she was so pleased with the experience that “went off without a hitch”.  In fact, she just shared a left over bar with a friend, pointing out our contact information the wrapper back, and recommended our services.  After receiving her order she sent the message below to thank us. 

	Received my order today.  They are perfect and will be so much fun for my husbands retirement party.  Thank you for doing such a nice job on them - Amy H.

If you have your own design background, or just wish to try your hand at creating something unique, you can submit finished artwork to us and we’ll simply print.  Use invitations, photographs, favorite patterns and colors to help you get started.  Add your own special text for a truly unique design.  Happy creating!

Rush Processing is a Winner

Carrie is just one of many customers we’ve helped out at the last minute.  Our standard processing time is short, but with rush processing we can help out nearly everyone.  Carson won’t let you down…

	Hi there!!  My name is Carrie, and me and my family had ordered candy bars from you guys!! I just wanted to tell everyone thank you so much!! The candy turned out WONDERFUL, and were a big hit at our party!! We had a surprise birthday party for my mom, she turned 50. Me and my 3 siblings are sending her to Vegas and she didn't know that either! The candy was a perfect match, being the Vegas logo, it was awesome!!  We had ordered a calender from walmart to show my mom what days that we were gonna send her, and they failed to mail it out on time, even with us paying extra for overnight shipping, we never received it, and now were trying to figure out where our lost calender is!! But you guys are amazing, you guys shipped them and we got them, we really appreciated that!! Well I will stop blabbing!! Thanks again, I see us ordering from this site again!!

Fundraiser a Huge Success!

We receive many requests for information about using our personalized Hershey’s bars for fundraising.  Our graphic team can create a fantastic wrapper announcing your organizations mission or cause, contact details or thank you message.  Everyone loves chocolate and we’ve found time and time again that this is a great way to raise money.  Below is an example of how one of our customers used our bars for a very special organization.

"We can’t thank Carson’s enough for your help to our organization.  The Anna Foundation For Inclusive Education (www.affie.org) is a non-profit agency that assists schools with educating individuals who have Down syndrome.  We provide tutoring services for children who have Down syndrome and are in an inclusive program.  We also provide education to students who share a class or school with a person who has Down syndrome.  We are currently working on a training program for education professionals who have children with Down syndrome in their class or school.

With Carson’s guidance, we were able to kick off our first fundraiser for the Anna Foundation!  Your creative department helped us create candy bars with our own logo and website on the front of the bars and a thank you for donations written on the back.

Your team at Carson’s even helped us determine what would be a good price for the candy bars by sharing what others have done with us.  We used your advice and placed a $3 price on the regular sized candy bars and a $5 price on the larger candy bars.  Instead of suggesting that people “buy” the candy, we told them that for their $3 “donation” we would thank them with a candy bar and the same for the $5 “donation”.  We had almost 200 candy bars to sell over an October weekend at our area WalMart.  We went through all but 50 candy bars and we collected over $1,000 for our organization!

Thank you so much for your assistance Carson!  This fundraiser was a huge success for our group and got many people in our community aware of our organization!  We will be repeating this fundraiser in the future!"
-  Lin Rubright – a personal customer and a corporate customer

(PS Michelle, as a mom of six little girls – WE LOVE the quick, personal ways we can say “thank you” at all our birthday parties with Carson candy bars!  We also enjoy the fun holiday goodie bags as hand out to teachers, bus drivers, basketball coaches, Girl Scout leaders, etc.  After all, who doesn’t like a little chocolate with their holiday!  Thanks for helping a busy mom still take time to be nice to others!)

One Happy Wife = One Grateful Husband

What wife wouldn't be happy to have her husband order special birthday wrapped Hershey's chocolates!  Great job to you, Josh.

"I just needed to drop a quick email to someone at carson to let them know about the amazing job you all did on my wrappers.  I couldnt be any more happier about these, they are perfect and my wife couldnt be more excited that I picked them out. THANKS A MILLION-Great job!!"
- J. Bilek

Color Your Custom Wrapper

One of the more common requests we receive regarding customizing wrappers is matching colors.  You can send us a napkin, swatch of fabric from a dress, a piece of ribbon – anything!  Our designers can create your personalized wrappers in matching or complimentary colors, for an added special touch to your event.

“The Candy bars were a hit at my parents 50th Celebration! They looked beautiful on the table, which matched perfectly with the floral arrangements & theme of the party.  Thank you so much for the special design & the added attention to making them perfect match the invitations. Best wishes.”

- C. Lepore

Keeping An Eye on Your Package

At Carson Wrapped Hershey’s Chocolates, our customer’s satisfaction is of the highest importance to us. One way we try to show this is through our careful attention to your packages as they travel around the country or globe. Each day we receive a very detailed report from UPS of all the packages that have suffered slight setbacks to their UPS guaranteed delivery time. In order to get the shipments to the desired destination as quickly as possible, we proactively check into the packages on the report and call the customers to let them know what has taken place. Sometimes it may be a rescheduled delivery date. Other times it may be an address error has occurred or UPS is having an issue with finding the address. Whatever the case, even after your package is no longer in our hands, we do everything we can to make sure you receive your order.

“I wanted to take the time to send a note with how pleased I am with my experience buying form Carson Wrapped Hershey's Chocolates.  In this day, it seems customer service is laughable, to say the least.  My experiences with your organization were much different.  The website was very easy to navigate through.  My order was shipped promptly and the product definitely met my expectations.  The thing that impressed me most, an attempt to deliver my order was made on Tuesday.  I was not home to sign for the package.  I signed the UPS slip for it to be left on the second attempt, Wednesday.  To my surprise, when I came home from work on Wednesday, my package arrived.  When I got inside, I had a message from Carson following up, someone noticed that UPS attempted to deliver but couldn't and they wanted to ensure I received my order.  Needless to say, that one simple jesture went a long way.  I appreciate the wonderful display of customer service and look forward to other opportunities where personalized chocolates are an option.
Thank you.”
A. Rychetsky

Job Well Done

I can almost guarantee that Cristina’s customers’ reactions will be as good as those of her staff!  While this type of feedback about our product is common, we never grow tired of hearing our customer express their excitement.

Hello!

I just received my order of 1000 Corporate Custom Design Wrapped Bars, and I’m just writing to thank you for such a great job.  The printing looks phenomenal, and everyone on staff absolutely loves them.  We can’t wait to hand them out to our customers.  If the customer reaction is just as good, I won’t be surprised if we come back to you for more!

Thanks again for a job well done!

Cristina Luther
Marketing Associate
MLS Property Information Network, Inc.

 

Reviewing Website Orders

We process approximately 3500 internet orders monthly and each order is reviewed carefully by a real human being!  We check orders for obvious typos and incomplete personalization and shipping information.  If we see an order for a 15 pound baby or a 50 year old with a birth date of 1956, we’re going to call and verify.  As mentioned by the customer below, we also review shipping selections and if you have selected Next Day Air shipping but are only 1 day time in transit from us by Ground, we are going to save you some money.  Whenever possible we want to exceed your expectations and this is just one way of doing so.

I just wanted to say thank you for making my grandmother's 90th birthday special.  The chocolate bar wrappers with her picture were beautifully done and a big hit.  I want to especially recognize Diane who noticed the date of the occasion and notified me to place a rush order so we would receive our items in time.  She also noticed that I was going to pay extra for rush shipping that wasn't necessary and saved me the extra $10.  That is what I call excellent service and attention to detail.  I will definitely recommend your service in the future.
Thanks again,
M Dressler

Making Your Ideas a Reality

We do live in a busy world and when our customers take time from their day to send an email such as this it makes the sentiment even “sweeter”.  By the way, Lyn, one of our customer service associates, really is great.  If you’re ever looking to design your own wrapper she can help make your ideas a reality.
                                                                                              - Michelle

To Whom It May Concern:

In this busy world we live in we tend to overlook the small details such as a Favor for a Graduation. We went online and came across your site. We would be remiss if we didn't tell you how satisfied we are with your company.

We did receive our order today, and were very happy and satisfied with your service and also the product. We work for a company who thrives on customer service so we are use to giving good customer service but very seldom get it back when we go to do something. From the initial phone conversation with Lyn who took our order to the updates by email. The service couldn't have been better.

Thank you for helping being apart of a memorable event for our son David.

Robert and Christine Teodosio

The Look on His Face

While we receive numerous compliments weekly, it’s not often that we receive one expressing this much enthusiasm!  We all really enjoyed Yvonne’s fantastic comments and hope you will, too:

I received my box of candy bars today at work, and when I opened the box all I could do was just sit there speechlessly in awe.  I had no idea they would look THIS SPECTACULAR.  I can't remember the last time I ordered ANYTHING off of the internet and was more satisfied than today!!!  Thanks to your company's magnificent workmanship, you helped me put the icing on the cake to wish my son (who is stationed in Texas) a Happy Birthday.  I only wish I could be there with him to see his face when he opens the box.  As I have another son who is stationed in Alabama and whose birthday is in late June, need I say you'll definitely be receiving another order from me in the very near future.  Again, thank you sooooooo much for helping me bring in my son's 19th birthday.  Also, thank you for returning the picture and including the re-useable ice pack in the shipment as I will need it when I reship them to Texas.

Sincerely,
Y Hewitt
(Military Mom to Brenton and Robert)

A Note of Thanks...

As if my job wasn’t wonderful enough, the best part is what I am about to share with you. It’s so much fun to hear from customers after they receive their personalized Hershey’s bars.  Some customers write us with touching stories about the special contribution we’ve made to an event such as a 50th wedding anniversary… some write to say how crazy the guests at their birthday party were for these unique favors… some write just to say that they were pleased with how easy the ordering process turned out to be and how the finished product exceeded their expectations.  Your feedback helps to inspire our creativity and excellence and makes a great day at Carson even better!  Thank you all for taking the time to share your kind words and for your referrals!

Here are just some of the many comments and stories that our customers have shared with us.

Dear Carson Chocolates,

On behalf of myself, my fiance, and my family, I would like to extend the most sincere thank you to your company. We have been so impressed by not only your product, but also by the reliability and ease we felt in the ordering process. My parents own a small business that prides themselves on customer service and satisfaction. We are therefore usually disappointed by companies that make the ordering/shipping/receiving process so difficult. With Carson Chocolates we would feel comfortable not only purchasing in the future, but also recommending you to all of our friends. Throughout the process of planning for our wedding, we have had an unusual amount of RSVP's that came back "yes," and have had to purchase additional chocolate bars last minute. We knew that they would come quickly, be made accurately, and would arrive in perfect condition. We thank you for making this step an easy and pain free one. Thank you! Thank you!

Sincerely,
Kelsey Bentley

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Good morning,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful & fast job done on my daughters Sweet 16 favors. We kind of waited until the last minute to order them because the original Banquet Hall we had booked closed down suddenly & we were not sure if we were even going to have it. Luckily we found somewhere & will be having it.

You had enclosed a card with this email address to let you know if anything was wrong with the order so I wanted to email you and tell you that everything is right with my order and thank you so very much. I would definitely recommend Carsons to anyone that is need of personalized favors. I am having a 70th birthday party for my Mother next year so you will be hearing from me then.

Thanks again .
Susanne

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I ordered birth announcements through Carson with both my children.  Let me just say, your company does a fantastic job.  I received my order very quickly (done and delivered within 3 days both times).  For my daughter, who was a summer baby, I was so impressed when the bars were shipped with cold packs to prevent melting.  Your selection is wonderful - I did a photo announcement this time with my son.  And the announcements are beautiful!  (Everyone was impressed that I had something to pass out so quickly - I did the order on-line during a
nighttime feeding, got it in a few days, and people thought I was really "together" - ha ha!)  Anyway, I recommended your company to all my pregnant friends.  You've been a pleasure to work with!

Thanks,
Michelle

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Hello.

On Monday I called customer service and placed a rush order for my boyfriend's surprise 30th birthday party, taking place this Saturday that his mother and myself are planning. I've a tendency to procrastinate, so your rush service saved me!

I ordered 100 mini Hersheys bars. They arrived in perfect condition with the icepack still cold!  I even sampled one for myself! Your company saved me a lot of time and a huge headache.

Yikes, the pressure of being a good hostess for my boyfriend, an attorney, and his mother, the executive banker. You did all the work, and I'm taking all of the credit!

Your company is one of the few online companies with top notch customer service.  I communicated once by email and twice by phone in which everyone was very professional and courteous.

Thank you!
Janis Edralin
San Antonio, Texas