Captain's Log

As somebody getting started with their own business and looking for cheap ways to advertise, my eye was recently caught by VistaPrint, that online store that will plaster your company logo on all sorts of things ranging from business cards to shipping labels and Christ knows what else.

With a plethora of free offers going on this month, including free "Premium" business cards (you pay shipping) I decided to take the plunge and order a small stack of business cards for Zangaroa Enterprises, complete with company logo, name, address, phone number, site address and e-mail. You know, perfect for handing out to prospective clients who might be in need of web design services down the road. Common practice, I know, but I was exited to be getting my little operation off the ground, and the "professionality" of having my own business cards was really the icing on the cake.

A few weeks later, I come home to find a little box in my mailbox. My cards had arrived! Though apparently, they were not the only thing that came free with my order:



ANTS. Hundreds of them. While I didn't have a camera on me immediately after opening, you'll just have to trust me that this box was swarming full of ants. There were little egg globules or something in there too. I had immediately thrown the box on my driveway, which caused the smaller box to spill out, carrying with it more ants.

Seriously, what the hell?

I call up VistaPrint, and I'm immediately greeted with some recording telling me that they are closed on Saturday and I will have to call them back during the week, leaving me waiting until Monday (scratch that, Wednesday when I get back from my mini-vacation) to get an explanation from VistaPrint why they shipped me a box full of ants when all I requested was business cards.

I wouldn't even mind so much, except for the fact that the cards are all stained with ant gunk and frankly quite nasty. Not something I want to be handing out to somebody I'm trying to convince to give me money.



So yeah, has this happened to anyone else? Or did a queen intercept my order and send me a bunch of workers as a gift? Or does VistaPrint's "free" sales this month stem from an ant infestation in their stock and they'd rather pass these savings onto their customers than simply cut their losses because of such a nuisance? Who knows!

Really bizarre way to start my Saturday.