When a family who moved from the UK to New Zealand had a problem getting a payment processed for their SmugMug account, they humorously offered a sheep as payment.



SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill runs a company that doesn't seem to miss an opportunity to enjoy a little public relations boost.

A couple of weeks ago, MacAskill cheerily offered disgruntled Flickr users a 50 percent discount off their first year with SmugMug if they wanted to try out the service. That offer came in the wake of Yahoo's disclosure that Flickr's "old skool" users would have to get a Yahoo ID to keep using Flickr.

They have a new story to promote, and while it is in the tradition of kind of showmanship we last saw from Moist von Lipwig in Terry Pratchett's "Going Postal," it is a nice little tale of kindness that builds goodwill with existing and potential customers.

A SmugMug spokesperson said UK residents Naomi and Roger Smith moved to New Zealand and immediately encountered an issue with their international credit card payment. So they jokingly wrote to the SmugMug Help Desk and asked if they would accept a sheep as payment.

SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill said, "Smuggy is such a studly sheep we gave them a lifetime account." In gratitude, Smuggy received a little SmugMug makeover.

And the world is a better place for it, for a little while.

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Tag: SmugMug

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