Today I talked with my publicist, the bright young owner of a very successful public relations firm on the east coast. She is a master at finding just the right kind of publicity for authors and last year helped me launch a radio campaign that first introduced Make Mom Happy by Mail to over 24 million households. With Mother’s Day approaching, it was time to talk about this year’s campaign.

“Let me tell you what I’m doing for my mom this year!” she said as soon as I reminded her of last year’s campaign. Always on the lookout for good stories, I was all ears.

“I take her ‘virtual shopping’ using Peapod.com.

And what the heck was Peapod? And what the heck was virtual shopping? I wondered.

“Well, Mom likes to get her groceries at her local Stop and Shop so using www. Peapod.com, an online grocery shopping and delivery service, we go to the Stop and Shop website and I take her down every aisle. She doesn’t have a computer so I tell her what aisle we’re in and ask what she might need in laundry detergents or canned food or baked goods and so on. It’s particularly good to order the heavy things or things in bulk and have them delivered,” she said. Of course we’ve learned that the produce isn’t too good but this just gives her a chance to call and complain when something isn’t perfect. And she kind of likes that too.” She laughed.

After they’ve done the shopping, a few mouse clicks and the order is on its way to her mom’s house.

“They send the order in this big white truck with bright fruits and vegetables on the side. Then a very nice driver will carry it all into her house and even offer to put it away for her. She tells him she’d rather put it away herself (to get the exercise of bending and lifting just a bit) but loves the fact that he offered.”

And do her neighbors notice this big white truck with the nice driver? You bet they do.

“She’s the talk of the town!” she told me. “Your daughter does this for you?” they ask. And her mom is proud to say that her daughter does indeed do this for her. She might even mention that they do the same thing with CVS.com where her daughter will take her down the cosmetics aisle and pick up that rose colored blush but not the lipstick. She still has plenty of the lipstick, thank you very much.

I loved hearing this story of a new and high tech way to make a mom happy. When I asked if I could share her story, she agreed that would be fine and there might even be more stories about her mom whom she says she loves to please. That’s my kind of gal! Oh yes, and her mom’s neighbors are asking if this thoughtful daughter might do some virtual shopping for them too!

Note: Peapod currently serves Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Chicagoland, Milwaukee, S.E. Wisconsin, Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia. They can be reached on the web or at 1-800-5-Peapod (1-800-573-2763)

Please send me your stories so I can share them with other.

Be well and bring joy.



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