I order products from a LOT of companies. Over the years I have experienced the entire gamut of customer service: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Listed below are companies that have earned my trust for being the best in terms of customer service and support. I have actually purchased something from these companies and stand confident on my recommendation of their business practices. There are very few companies on this list, because I am very picky about what constitutes a good company. In short, these are the companies I rave about.

Headsets.com - superior and friendly customer service for all your headset needs. I purchased my Plantronics 650 headset from them, only to find out that I could have purchased the unit cheaper elsewhere. Less than 2 hours after my e-mail, a representative from the company called me back to cheerfully inform me that a refund + 10% of the difference would be credited back to my card. Plus, I received a free shipping upgrade on my order - receiving my unit 5 days before I was originally expecting to have it in hand. Now THAT’s service!

Datamem.com - where I buy ALL my memory. I’ve been a customer of Datamem since 2003. Unlike many other memory vendors, Datamem stands by their lifetime warranty promise. If you ever run into the situation (like on the rare occasion I did) where you receive a defective memory module, they will ship one out to you for FREE and pick up the defective module on their dime. No questions asked.

Blambot - The brainchild of Nate Piekos is easily one of the best resources for digital fonts on the web, especially if your aspirations tend to lean towards the sequential arts. Plenty of free fonts are ripe for the picking, with specialty and custom fonts available at very affordable rates. Many a webcartoonist (including yours truly) are already forever indebted to Nate’s generosity.

Blurb - looking to self-publish your own photo book? Look no further than Blurb. Using their freely downloadable software, you can make your own custom, high-quality book in a matter of minutes. Ordering is just as easy. And the service? Fast and friendly. I ordered three copies of the book I created to give as holiday gifts. My copies arrived a week after the order was placed, to rave reviews from the family members who received them. Everything should be this easy.

Spire - makers of top-notch backpacks, laptop carrying cases, bags and laptop sleeves. I’ve owned my Spire backpack since 1997 and it’s still going strong after all these years. My Spire backpack has housed various laptops (Wallstreet Powerbook, Pismo, and Macbook Pro) in that time, and has survived several trips, both cross-country and overseas. The stitching quality, fabric, and overall fit and finish are superb. Not only does the Spire backpack hold your notebook machine, it has plenty of roomy and well-thought-out compartments for carrying your other stuff. On long hikes, this backpack is comfortable to wear. Did I mention that Spire products are proudly made in the US of A? I was so impressed with my backpack and Spire’s lifetime warranty on their products, that I added a Spire laptop sleeve to my arsenal 2 years ago. Don’t take my word for it, check out their customer testimonials.

OvernightPrints.com - Awesome quality business cards at a super reasonable price, with incredibly fast service. That’s what impressed me about OvernightPrints.com. I’ve used other print companies over the years. Some were expensive. Others didn’t have the flexibility of ordering fewer than 1000 cards. OvernightPrints.com was not only able to sell me 100 cards for $11, but they also waived the shipping. I placed my order on a Tuesday afternoon and received my business cards on Friday morning. Just in time for a major comic book convention I was attending. Needless to say, I’m a very satisfied customer.

Please note: I get no kick-backs from any of the above organizations. I’m just a satisfied customer who likes to heap praise on companies that treat me right.