Homage To Patagonia

 

Your article should have put more emphasis on Patagonia's superb service, which I discovered in 1982, when I was preparing for a trip to Mount Everest. A mountaineering friend mentioned that Patagonia was coming out with a new piece of clothing designed to solve a problem associated with long exposure at high altitudes. Unfortunately, the item was not being introduced until the following selling season. So I called Patagonia and explained my need. They delivered the item prior to my departure for Nepal, and it performed exactly as described.

There's no mystique to Patagonia. When you combine that level of service with quality merchandise and a high degree of focus, success is almost always guaranteed. What's mysterious is that other companies have such a hard time grasping this basic fact of business.

EDITOR-NOTE:

The March issue also included Paul B. Brown's article "The Anti-Marketers," on the mail-order prowess of Patagonia Inc., the outdoor clothing specialists. The piece brought these responses from a retailer and a customer.

And that just about says it all.