It looks like my long referenced idea of doing web design and development for non-profits is finally getting off the ground. It's not exactly official yet, but I'll soon be part of a company with long time friend Alan Phillips focused on non-profits and their internet related needs called Ananda Web Development, LLC.

If you happen to know anyone that might need these services local to Akron, Ohio (or maybe even not local to Akron, Ohio) drop our name out there. My main goal here is to help a whole lot of people and maybe even transition to doing it part-time. We'll see how it goes, though. Either way, I'm pretty excited and I think we'll be able to do a lot of good.

I was just trying to order tickets on a scenic railroad in the area. It turned into a mini-trial.

The web site is a complete mess; chaotic, slapped together and dead end after dead end. I have a feeling that most of the people that go to the site need three things, an easy to use schedule, a list of special events and a way to order tickets. The list of special event seems to be the only thing they got right, but for me, who just wants to order tickets on the regular schedule, the whole site seems backwards to what I'm trying to do. Where's the big button that says "Plan your trip"? Better yet, where's the big button that says "Order tickets here"?

After about an hour of searching, I finally figured out that I can't order tickets from the site. I see that as a major problem. Instead I called their toll-free number, which seems to be a corporate line because making reservations was option number 6, which I found out after listening to every other option for about a minute. Then I was put on hold for another three minutes. Really? You're that busy on a Friday morning?

I just want to give you money! Real money. I know what day and time I want to go (I think, it was hard deciphering your online schedule) and I have my credit card right here. It should never be hard for your clients to give you money. Ever. It would be simple to set up Paypal on the site to order tickets. A complete reservation system wouldn't be that hard to build. Heck, get a dedicated lines for reservations so people aren't sitting through option after option on your call tree! If you're worried about how much that would cost, I can guarantee that you're losing sales because you don't have it.

The hard part of a sale should be convincing the customer to buy your product, not taking the customer's money. If it is, you should probably try and fix it.