There's no pleasing Ms. Brody

WHERE IS MY ORDER??????????? This was the exact title of an email sent to me yesterday along with the exact amount of question marks. Upon opening it, the body of the email went on to say she had ordered 3 patches on September 26th, the money was out of her account, she sent three emails and she was tired of getting my stupid newsletters. She ended with "and I still have not got them - WHY NOT???????????" 

Funny thing is I had deleted her first email after responding but then received this near duplicate even after I had asked for additional information and why her address in Ireland did not have a house number or street. This is almost the exact email she had originally sent me--there were no responses to the questions I had asked in two previous emails. Is this how most people inquire about their order? I would stick my neck out and say...no way! Having no record of any prior emails sent from my Gmail account, I told her that and expressed my concern about her address seeming incomplete.

Getting no where with her, things escalated where my response to Marion included phrases like, "Stop being rude and act like an adult" and "Calm down...I am trying to work with you." She analyzed the phrases and responded back to me, "I must say its no wonder nobody is buying from your site, you have no customer service skills and you seem to be running a one man shop answering your e-mails through your Blackberry!! Have a read back over your reply again - my god you are the rudest, most arrogant, patronising man I have ever come across. How dare you tell me to 'act like an adult' - is that what you are doing by speaking to a customer like that? You are a joke!!!"

Emails are a very imperfect means of communication and I have to admit, this is not the first time someone has misinterpreted my email. Three is no misinterpreting Marion's email--it was pretty clear. Phone calls are always the best methods for communicating between a buyer and a seller--but a phone call to Ireland was not in the budget for this $10.38 purchase for 3 decals (not patches).


So, after checking the paypal database for her order, I found it was actually made under someone other than herself. But it was filled and sent to Ireland within 24 hours. Why it didn't get there, no one really knows. Had I actually heard from her sooner, I would have bent over backwards to please her because that's how I feel about all customers. Occasionally an order does not find its mark and I will re send. In this case, I got frustrated and refunded her friends account because she never answered my requests. Before this email came today, I even sent another order to the same address (she insisted it was where she received mail the past 3 years) just to see if there was any way to make this lady happy.

So the last part of her latest email read, "I work in a company and had an order for 78 of your decals from my staff, but because of the way you treated me I won't be placing that order now - so its your loss for being so arrogant. I will be highlighting your web page to all my contacts and telling them not to order from you. Now you 'calm down' and try and be nice to people in the future."

Lessons learned: The customer is not always right. I do have to take responsibility for the statements I made out of frustration but I am human and like customers, my buttons can be pushed as well. I am a one man show but take pride in making the happiness of my customers the most important part of what I do. The reputation of the 9/11 Patch Project the past 10 years is impeccable--there should be hundreds of you out there willing to come forward to speak to that.

In the end, I have lost a customer but I am convinced that there is nothing more I can do. Emails are not the best means of communication and this case history is a testament to that. If Ms Brody wants to make her ambition bad mouthing the 9/11 Patch Project, there is nothing I can do. After serving over 15,000 customers these past 10 years, losing one is something I can get over. There is nothing that I said that called for the demeaning response I got from her. I have run this project the past 10 years to help folks remember the heroes of 9/11 and raise funds. This is what I do and the support I get from 99.9% of folks out there is what fuels me.

Brett Hill- Founder
9/11 Patch Project

Honoring American Heroes This Veterans Day

This 3.5" X 4.5" car decal was created by the 9/11 Patch Project nearly two years ago. As the founder of the project, I have also been a firefighter in Southern California for over 20 years and created the decal to combine support for our nations soldiers, firefighters and police officers.

I have seen many cars out there with a police support decal, a military support ribbon and the iconic fire helmet decals. Giving folks the opportunity to show support for all three American Heroes feels like the right thing to do. So the larger than average decal was created and done with one of the most fade resistant 3M decal products to insure it won't fade or peel up in the corners. In fact, after having the decal on a car window for a few years, you should be able to actually peel up a corner and remove it without razor blades or other scrapping tools.

So it is the perfect support decal for many reasons. The cost is only $3.50 (most decals this size retail for $5 or $6) and the net proceeds will benefit the 9/11 Patch Project Fund which donates to the NY Bravest Scholarship Fund, the Terry Farrell Fund and the Feal Good Foundation.

So consider a decal or two for your cars this Veterans Day and show your support for our Nations Veterans and Heroes. You can get the decals here: Home-of-the-Brave decal

What is the 9/11 Patch Project?

From a banner displayed at the end of the "Thank You America Tour," to the sleeves of thousands of firefighters across the nation. The 9-11 Patch Project was established December of 2001, to remember the heroes of 9/11 and raise funds for the families of the heroes lost on 9/11.

The idea was to unite firefighters around the world and honor the memory of our fallen brothers by adding the 9/11 Tribute Patches to all uniforms. Fliers were sent out to all fire departments across the nation in February of 2002 and in the following months, hundreds of departments across the nation began ordering the patches and putting them on their uniforms, job-shirts, jackets or turnouts. By the 1st year anniversary of 9/11 (09-11-02) $15,000 was raised selling $3 patches, and donated to the FDNY's Uniformed Fire Officers Association.

Then pictures were sent in of firefighters from other countries that purchased the patches and put them on their uniforms. Pictures were also sent in of U.S. Military personnel deployed overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, also wearing the 9/11 Patches. The project had crossed our borders and circumvented the globe--everyone wanted to participate.

With U.S. Soldiers and even Police Officers participating, the project introduced a 2nd 9/11 Tribute Patch at the 5 year anniversary of 9/11, called the "Three Heroes Patch." Even though the project was initiated by a firefighter who was responding to the loss of 343 of his fellow firefighters, the project grew to include and remember all Public Safety and U.S. Military personnel.

With the goal of the project to get the 9/11 Tribute Patches on all uniforms, the 9-11 Patch Project teamed up with the 9-11 Rose Float and FireCareers.com to take the project on a cross country fundraising, fellowship and recruitment tour. The 9-11 Rose Float, featured in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on 01/01/11, passed the NEVER FORGET torch to the 10 Yr 9/11 Manhattan to Manhattan Tour on 01/27/11 at Manhattan Beach Fire Department. The tour embarked on what would be a 16000 mile journey across the U.S. over 9 months, through 35 States, making 175 hosted stops. The funds raised on the tour were donated on 9/19/11.

Getting the 9/11 Tribute Patches on every public safety and U.S. Military uniform or other official/un offical clothing remains one of the goals of the project. All net proceeds will continue to be donated. Over the past 10 years, 2 mailers about the project have been sent to every FD in the nation. Some were ignored, others disregarded as junk mail and many, acted upon. Please introduce this project to your organization and join over 8000 organizations around the world in making these 9/11 Tribute Patches a permanent part of your uniform. Order the patches HERE

Keeping the 9/11 Patch Project Open

The 9/11 Patch Project was established December of 2001 to help keep the memory of our fallen 9/11 Heroes alive. The objectives of the project are to raise funds though the sale of the special 9/11 Patches, Decals and Pins as well as recruit Fire, EMS, Police and U.S. Military to place the patches on their uniforms or other clothing and/or apply the decals to their vehicles or apparatus.

To date, over 8000 organizations in 25 countries are represented by either wearing one of the patches or displaying one of the decals.

All the net proceeds from the sale of patches and decals have been donated to as many as 10 different non profit organizations. The latest three non profit's to benefit from the project are the NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund, Terry Farrell Fund and the Feal Good Foundation. Each of them recently received $6300 each.

Since the 10 year mark has passed us by, sales from the project have slowed to a crawl. Unless sales and interest in the project picks up, the project will be forced to close down on its' 10 year anniversary, December 15th, 2011. I am asking for everyone's help to keep this project going another 10 years. If you want to see the project remain open and the work of the 9/11 Patch Project continue, please contribute in any of the following ways:

1. 9/11 WALL: For only $9.11, you or your organization can be added to the 9/11 WALL of supporters and show your support publicly.

2. Make a larger donation from our DONATIONS page and also be added to the 9/11 WALL.

3. Order Patches & Decals from our ORDER page

4. Share the link to our homepage to as many of your friends and family as possible: http://9-11patchproject.org

I want to thank all of you who have continued to support the project all these years and hope that you can continue to support the project by making a donation, ordering from our store or passing on the link to our website. Thanks in advance for what you are willing to do to help keep the project open past December 15th, 2011

FireRescue1 Deals

The 9/11 Patch Project recently teamed up with FireRescue1 to bring their new "Deals" program to Fire Organizations out there that could use a 25-75% discount on firefighting equipment and services.

The economy isn't getting any friendlier for both Career and Volunteer Fire Departments out there--both of which could use a break when ordering fire equipment or using critical services. The 9/11 Patch Project highly recommends DEALS for all fire related organizations out there. None of us can afford to be without these significant discounts. In FireRescue1's own words...

FireRescue1 Deals has teamed up with top businesses serving the fire service to give you 25-75% off on firefighting equipment, services and events that will help you serve your communities even more effectively.

The 9/11 Patch Project Lives On!

FDNY Fire & Ice Hockey Team Wearing 9/11 Patch

The 10 Year mark of 9/11 has passed but the goal of helping the world remember the heroes of 9/11 lives on.

It was the words of an FDNY Firefighter, "Please Don't Forget Us," that began the project back in December of 2011 and nearly 10 years later, those words still resonate in the ears of project founder Brett Hill.

Why continue to wear the 9/11 Patches or display the 9/11 Decals, even after 10 years? Because NEVER FORGET means NEVER! The words are inscribed on each patch and meant to mean what they say. It's pointless to run this project for 10 years and then move on. We can move on from the horrible images of the day but let's not move on from the memory of what our heroes did that day.

U.S. NAVY SEAL

Some have diminished the value of a simple patch or decal but the truth is, these patches have found their way completely around the world. They are seen on the shoulders of firefighters in 21 different countries and on the shoulders of thousands, from all  U.S. Military branches. These patches have brought about something positive as a result of something so tragic. They have crossed our borders, ignored politics and disregarded cultural differences. They unite people, help them honor the memory of our lost heroes and honor their professions.

Being able to donate the net proceeds from the sale of these patches and decals is another very important part of this project. The FDNY Bravest Scholarship Fund, the Terry Fund and the Feal Good Foundation are all important to the 9/11 Patch Project and will continue to receive funds. To see the latest donations and letters, follow this LINK


One of the main goals of the project is to continue getting the patches on uniforms across the U.S. as a permanent part of the uniform. We all have different patches that identify our unique organizations, the 9/11 Patches are the common threads that unite us all.

Lest we NEVER FORGET!

Honoring the 10 Yr Mark of 9/11 | What You Can Do

The 9/11 WALL was put up on the 9/11 Patch Project website over 2 months ago. This was done for those who asked how they could publicly support our fund raising efforts with the 10 Yr 9/11 Manhattan to Manhattan Tour and to be counted among the nation's supporters.

The 9/11 Bus could not visit every City on it's 9 month 30-State journey, so this also gives those who were not able to visit with the bus, the opportunity to make a smaller donation, and be seen [counted] as a supporter on the website. We have also decided to make the 9/11 WALL part of the 10 Yr 9/11 Manhattan to Manhattan Tour memory album that will be presented to the FDNY. So make your donation today HERE and we'll place you on the 9/11 WALL of supporters within 12 hours.

9/11 Bus & Melbourne (Australia) 2011WPFG athlete, wearing 9/11 Patch

We also want to let you know that the 10 Yr 9/11 Patches and Decals are in stock for an immediate turn-around. Most domestic orders placed within the next day or so will make it to you within 2-3 days. So those looking for the patches or car decals, you can still get them in time for 9/11/11. To get the fund raising patches and decals, please go HERE. Remember, the patches, decals, pins and flag, helps our fund raising efforts but also gives you something tangible to remember and honor the heroes of 9/11.