Elfster over the years has grown beyond our founder Peter’s family and the staff has grown apace. We remain a small, agile staff who often wear more than one hat at our jobs, but we’re all doing what we love: helping people and making people happy! We’ve been asked more than once about the people behind the elf and we’re happy to shed a little light on one of our most integral staff members. If you’ve ever sent an email to Elfster (or if Elfster has sent a personal email to you), you’ve probably dealt with Shannon! How this Elfster power user became a pillar of the Elfster staff is a story that begins even before Elfster did!
Shannon recounts to me how she started as a user: “Peter and I used to work together, when we both had boring day jobs!” When they each left to pursue other employment opportunities, they stayed in touch. With five siblings who were getting married and having families of their own, Peter invited Shannon to help test out Elfster with her quickly expanding network of relatives. The days of pulling a name out of a hat until you got one that wasn’t your spouse disappeared forever.
“Because we lived all over the place, it didn’t take any coaxing to try out Elfster. Over the years this has grown to include the children in a cousins exchange (there are now 12 kids who participate) and even my parents have decided to join the adult exchange. We have done exchanges with my husband’s side of the family as well, and at least two of my sister’s in law are using the site for their families as well — it really is contagious.”
Quitting her high-pressure, long hours job to be a full time mother to her daughter, Shannon was invited to help our during Elfster’s busy season in November 2007 — being familiar with the site, she was a perfect fit for customer service. Expecting to be finished in January, she was invited to stay on as a year-round helper elf, and she’s been with us ever since!
During the busy holiday season (from about September to January), the Elfster helpers expands to include not only Shannon and Jean Marie, but also Meghan and Meghan — one is a cousin, the other is a sister.
Shannon’s favorite part about being an Elfster user is seeing how the site has adapted over the years to fill gaps she didn’t even think of many years ago when doing traditional family exchanges:
“It has been really cool to see the children use the site, too. Several of them are teenagers now, and it is fun to see what they are wishing for and the things they are into, even if that is not a draw for anyone in my immediate family. The kids used to exchange pajamas; now it is more open to whatever they’re wishing for. Being able to use the site to add sizes and other specifics is awesome, and saves everyone from the dreaded post-holiday returns.”
Whether you’re a new user to Elfster or a longtime veteran, you can always contact us at help@elfster.com for any assistance or feedback, comment on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/elfster, check out the latest pins at http://www.pinterest.com/elfster1/,
