Today’s post is brought to you by guest blogger Jason Williams.  Jason is Big Ass Fans’ own CAD Drafter and self described Corporate Techno Weenie.  Jason’s post relates an incident where being of the Big Ass Staff can give you the upper hand.

I normally don’t do too well with confrontations. I never look for a fight, and if I have something remotely antagonistic in mind to say, I save it for a later that never comes. This has been a challenge lately.

The name “Big Ass Fans” is self explanatory. There isn’t really a justified question about what this company makes. The context of the name, while somewhat juvenile, isn’t evidence to the downfall of civilization. All that said, it seems hard for some folks to wrap their head around. While talking to vendors on the phone, I often grimace when I see that unavoidable explanation ahead. “Yes, that is our name… Yes, we do sell a lot of fans… No, my Mom loves the name,” Usually in that order.

Recently, I spoke to a sales coordinator of a possible vendor about a quote request I had sent through their website. After going through the standard responses mentioned above, I asked if they had received my earlier request thru the web. To which she sheepishly replied, “Yes we did, but I thought it was a crank posting”.

“Do you get a lot of crank posts from your website?”

“No, this would have been the first.”

I can give them some leeway understanding that they have never heard of the company, of me or my charge of getting quotes. Still, could they have not verified one of the eleven cells of information that I filled in on the web form? One of which was the web address, the other a direct phone number.

But again, this situation is more common than not for me and my fellow Big Ass Staffers. So, against type, and with considerably better form than I normally execute, I managed to take a moderate gain in the direction of the rest of the conversation. Not to the point where I could loudly proclaim “carte blanche” and start making unreasonable demands in my favor. It was just enough to speed up what usually takes longer than it should. In the end I even asked if she wanted some t-shirts and hats for her trouble. Call it a deposit into the Big Ass Fans Bank of Karma.

Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger, Marie Confroy, our own Documenation Control Specialist here at Big Ass Fans. Marie gives her personal take one what it means to be a Big Ass Staffer.

When I tell people I first meet that I work for Big Ass Fans, I am often met with a startled look complete with wide eyes and a gaping “O” of a mouth. The typically follow-up is, “Are you serious? Is that really the name of a legitimate company?” My response, contrary to their expectations, is “Yes, I am a big ass and I am proud of it!”

It took me sometime to come to that realization myself and to be able to proudly declare my place within this company I like to refer to as my “urban family.” However, this was not always the case; believe it or not, I was not always so proud of my big ass heritage. But, since working here I have come to understand there is more to a big ass than meets the eye.

If you are looking for a comfortable, laid-back, and accommodating working environment, then you may be a big ass. If you are friends with your co-workers, spend time with them outside of work, and come to form deep bonds with them, you may be a big ass. If you actually enjoy your job and the thought of coming to work doesn’t cause a hard knot to form in the pit of your stomach, you may be a big ass. But above all, if you are walking through the office on a Friday afternoon and find spongy donkeys being thrown around you, then you know you are a big ass.

There are many things that contribute to making me a big ass. I feel I have finally arrived at a comfortable and comprehensive understanding of what it means to be a part of this big ass family. I am truly lucky and fortunate to be a big ass. (Who would have ever thought I would ever be saying that?) And, I look forward to growing in this company. So, basically I guess I am just looking forward to having a bigger ass in the future.

Green. These days, if you are a company without an eco-friendly schtick you are falling behind. At Big Ass Fans we don’t know what the fuss is all about. Our fans have been energy efficient alternatives or supplements to traditional HVAC systems from day one. Just check out our website to find out how they do it.

Being so inherently green we decided to make our second appearance at the Greenbuild show in Chicago earlier this month. We unveiled a new booth design complete with recycled and recyclable cardboard seating from Molo Design.

We also introduced our clo.08 campaign. I could wax on about it, but you can get the whole scoop and even order your own clo.08 t-shirt here. Donations from the t-shirts go straight to ASHRAE’s research for Standard 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. Their research will help us to find even more ways to save energy, keep people comfortable and make them established HVAC design standards.

Our Greenbuild appearance and our clo.08 concept has been much discussed in the blogosphere. BuildingGreen.com’s Mark Piepkorn called our clo.08 shirts the best giveaway at the show. Mark even did a podcast interview with Josh Eddy our Engineering Sales Manager. Best Green Blogs lead off their Greenbuild wrap-up with a review of the fans. A bunch of individual bloggers gave us mentions too.  Thanks!

The Rural Media Group, the parent company for the venerable RFD-TV cable channel has decided that the wholesome values of Don Imus are exactly what their viewers want and have agreed to simulcast his new WABC-FM radio/TV morning drive-time show.

It is genuinely surprising that anyone would want to pick up a show by the controversial Don Imus. What is remarkable is that it was RFD-TV. This same channel sent Big Ass Fans packing when one of their show hosts (and a rider we sponsored at the time) plugged our fans as a viable product for indoor horse arenas and barns. I’m talking hate mail from the president of the channel.

So Don Imus is good enough for RFD-TV, but Big Ass Fans isn’t. The hypocrisy could knock you over, but maybe I’m just splitting hairs.

Ok, so the caps lock key is pretty cool. I mean it is akin to a shift key, but hyped up on a ‘roid rage of single-minded purpose. Those who don’t have it in their hearts to let the donkey loving fan makers at Big Ass Fans co-exist with them peacefully have harnessed the power of the caps lock key. Case in point: this merry naysayer found on our Kudos & Complaints page:

“GET SERIOUS! YOU PEOPLE HAVE NO MORALS OR CLASS. DISCRACEFULL. HOW COULD YOU STOOP SO LOW. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT FANS! I HOPE YOU PEOPLE DONT HAVE KIDS!”

Notice how the all caps draws attention to important points such as reminding us that fans are the topic of discussion. Truly, to not use caps lock in this missive would have been DISCRACEFULL.

Alas, the caps lock key is not the only tool a Big Ass Fans hater has at the ready. I give to you quotation marks. Simple text will not suffice. Bold text is passé. An underline is so last season. Quotation marks: the new black of online ranting. Merry naysayer number two from the Kudos & Complaints page demonstrates this technique beautifully:

Have you no “Integrity”? I would not even give you a second thought before throwing your advertisement in the trash. Actually I put it in the shredder. That was the smartest thing I did all day. Your name, although eye catching, is a disgrace to our society. Are you a bunch of “Red Necks” who don’t really care? It is not “cute”. Get a life!!! I can’t believe you were even allowed at our conference in Las Vegas. I guess you fit in rather well with the other low-life in that city. Don’t contact me again or even think about coming to my facility. The door will kick you in your BAF as you leave. You need to “get a life”. People that do business with you should be ashamed of themselves!

A quick read through of only the quotable comments leads me to believe they think we are cute red necks with integrity, but that we need to get a life. Wait a minute! Didn’t they just say we were in Vegas? Of course they think we don’t have a life. After all what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I do wonder how our necks got red though. Maybe someone spilled a bloody mary…

This naysayer brought up another personal favorite, the chastise us for being crude and insulting, then following up by insulting us method. They even fit in a threat of violence with “The door will kick you in your BAF as you leave.” Sure, we’re the ones corrupting the morals of America. We just love donkeys. What’s your excuse?

The point of all this Big Ass Fans hater hating? Simply this: we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Neither should you. Until next week, cheers!