Coming in 2008

As the New Year approaches, there are many new features that are in our pipeline to improve our customers’ online experience.  The purpose of this article is to give a sneak peek of these improvements.

• On all 9 of our sites (trophies2go.com, issaquahtrophy.com, pokertrophies.com, cheapbaseballtrophies.com, cheapbasketballtrophies.com, cheapgolftrophies.com, cheaphockeytrophies.com, cheapsoccertrophies.com and cheapfootballtrophies.com), we will be implementing ‘Site Search’.  This will give the user quick access to all of our products, the ability to refine the search by several product attributes and help with misspellings.
• Improved product descriptions.  We will be altering all of our product descriptions to be more descriptive and give the user a better mental picture of the product.
• Product reviews.  We will be adding the ability for customers who purchase products to review them.  This will give prospective new customers another means of ensuring their product selection is right for them.
• Improved product detail page.   We will be altering our product detail page to me more efficient.  We will add product attributes, product reviews and alter the engraving input to be on this page instead of a pop-up window.
• Improved check-out process.  We will be re-engineering the checkout process to be more compact and efficient.  This will help with the speed in which it takes to check-out.  We will also be adding a guest-shopper feature that will also assist those who want to be one-time buyers.
• Improved transactional emails.  After our customers place an order, the order confirmation email, order shipped email and post-order email asking for feedback will be improved.
• And Much More!  If we told you everything we were up to, how could we surprise you?  Long story short, look for great things from us in 2008!

As we grow, our pledge is to continually improve our systems to make your awards purchase painless and worry-free.  Our goal is to be the best in the industry.  These changes will be a great step in continuing our improvement and our customers’ user experience.

In Celebration of 20 Years

For the past 20 years, we have grown.  Starting locally in Issaquah, Washington, and then expanding our reach nationally, we are proud to have been a part of celebrating accomplishments.

Today, I would like to turn the spotlight back on us, and more importantly the people who have helped the business thrive.  Part of me wants to focus on how we have grown and prospered, but for me that is not the only true mark of success.  The friendships that have been made are what make our business special.  Here are a few of those:

Bonnie and Mickey Kosko (my mother and step-father) founded the company.  Their constant support and praise have been a foundation for me and their willingness to help in times of need are much appreciated by all of our staff.

Rick and Pat French bought the company from Bonnie and Mickey and moved it to a larger location.  Rick’s mentorship has proven crucial in staying the course.

Pat Jones was an employee for 13 years.  Her dedication, devotion and caring for customers was unsurpassed.

Rod Alex was an employee for many years as well.  His technical knowledge of engraving was paramount to getting quality awards products created.

Sean Doull, Eric Goldhammer and many others were instrumental in creating a fun work environment and in doing the heaving lifting of assembly.

Jodi Conlon was instrumental in creating Trophies2go.  Her hard work, devotion and willingness to do whatever it took are the foundation for the success of our company.

Jenny Hansen helped with many aspects of Issaquah Trophy and Trophies2go; including the economics of the business and ensuring the highest level of quality control.

Jessica Anderson (my wife) has been through it all.  Not a lot of people could handle my entrepreneurial drive, but she has been very supportive and loving throughout.

Many others who are no longer here also helped and their efforts are appreciated and their legacy will not be forgotten as well.

Today, our staff consists of many.  Margene is the general manager.  Jeremy and Paul are engravers.  Gayle is in shipping.  Erin, Janice and Anne are in customer service.  Travis, Ryan, Justin take care of assembly.  Mike, Jessica and Mickey take care of other various aspects of the business.

Each one of these people is very important to the company and to me personally.  In celebrating our 20 Year Anniversary, their friendship and commitment is what I cherish most.  I very much look forward to many more years of laughter and companionship.