Hey Quest! Thanks for the Swag!

The last couple of weeks I’ve been trying to build up a backlog of posts that I can schedule for publication. This was one of the suggestions made by Steve Jones over at SQL Server Central during his session in 24 Hours of PASS. However, something happened today that I must comment on. It deals with how to gain and retain a customer.

One of the things I’ve seen mentioned to gain and retain customers, followers, people that like you, etc. is to occasionally give away goodies. Brent Ozar is doing this as we speak, offering up a couple of 120 GB hard drives that he had hanging around in his office. I’ve seen some other bloggers do this as well.

This technique isn’t the sole domain of bloggers. Companies can do this to great effect as well. Today when I got to work, I found a package on my desk from Quest software. Now, I’ve never really taken the time to use their tools, and I really hadn’t planned on doing so any time soon. Needless to say the package surprised me.

When I cracked it open, I found inside a couple of posters for SQL Server’s DMVs and a quick reference guide for 2008. I had thought about requesting them awhile back, but I had never done so. It turns out though, that I did register for and watch a presentation given for their “Pain of the Week” broadcasts.

Quest sent the posters to me just because I had registered to watch an hour of free training. In my book, that’s awesome. I recognize that it’s a little thing, but in my world, the little things matter. So, I just want to thank Quest, and they guys that I have interacted in the community that represent Quest, Brent Ozar and Kevin Kline. Keep up the good work guys, and thanks for the swag.

– Dandy