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Smugglers Bay has been around since the internet was new. Licensed as a computer repair
business and Internet Service Provider (remember dial-up? LOL) in 1994 in Ventura, California by
Ben Alls, Smugglers Bay recognized the potential of the internet for its
business clients and quickly learned HTML. Coding by hand and later in Microsoft FrontPage, Ben moved
clients into more sophisticated web sites that included complex coding. Ben now works primarily in
Macromedia's DreamWeaver, CSS 2.0, XHTML, utilizing PHP and mySQL for database operations. Ben's
office walls are covered with certifications, some on papyrus issued by one of the late Pharaohs in
Egypt (yes - he is that old). Ben's partner in all this is Rose Mary Weber,
a pharmacy technician formerly of Michigan, provides that woman's touch and view point so critical to
business these days. Her love of mom & pop shops and all things Victorian softens Ben's cut and
dry approach to Smugglers Bay.
Having visited hundreds of small businesses and meeting hundreds of new owners,
Ben found many struggling to both run their business while trying to create and maintain a web site.
They knew what to do with the business, but were tired of getting the run around by some nerd
supposedly working on their web site, or having to learn to program to create and/or maintain their
web site.
In 1994, the crew at Smugglers Bay recognized an unmet
demand in the marketplace: small businesses websites lagged behind their larger competitors, and
were under-performing as a result. With the goal of using web technology to deliver great business
services. we developed a unique approach to improving small business websites that is both
high-impact and cost-effective.
16 years later, we continue to build on our range and quality
of services, recommending the most appropriate and cost-effective website changes to businesses
across the globe. We focus exclusively on small businesses and tailor big-company services to the
needs of small businesses.
How We Work
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Site Assessment:
We assess your current website in the context of your business goals. By understanding both
what you have, and your business needs, we develop an appropriate strategy and
implementation plan to get your website delivering tangible results for your business.
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Before You Commit:
We'll deliver a clearly written ervice Agreement that specifies your requirements in detail,
outlining our recommendations for your website.
- You get a detailed written proposal so you know exactly what you're getting.
- Fixed Price: No surprises, no hidden fees, no overruns.
- Set Timeline: Delivered when promised.
There is no obligation to spend any money with us. We never give you the hard sell. If
your site is great, we will tell you. If there are ways we can improve it to get you
results, we'll let you know what those are.
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We Do the Work! Then we take your website off your hands, and make
the changes that will produce an immediate tangible impact on your business. We start
milking your site to ensure it is delivering the results you need. All work is done in
our San Diego office. We complete your order on-time and on-budget, exactly as quoted.
The job is not complete until you say it is. If for any reason you are not completely
satisfied with our services, just let us know within two weeks. We will perform any and
all revisions necessary to complete the work as quoted. Or, if you'd prefer, we will restore
your site to its exact state before we started work on it and refund your money.
Our Client Pledge - To deliver the most value and have the greatest impact on
your business, we pledge to:
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Do Good, Honest Work: We take pride in our work and take your businesses
seriously. We have invested, and continue to invest, a great deal of time and effort in
developing products and services that deliver value to small businesses.
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Make Practical & Appropriate Recommendations: We don't recommend
products just to make a sale. We only recommend service packages that are practical and
appropriate for your company and goals. If we're not a good fit for your site and business,
we will let you know.
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Provide Great Client Service: We enjoy what we do, and want our clients
to enjoy working with us. We strive to make your every interaction with us efficient and
stress-free.
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Speak Your Language: Our whole team is located in San Diego, California
and we make a point to ommunicate and answer all questions in plain English without technical
jargon. This is really tough for some of older Nerds who have been working with computers
before there were PC's and were old when the Internet started in the '90's. NOTE: If our
Nerd falls back into Techno Babble - just tell them - "WHOA, Nerd - what does that
mean in English?" Works every time!
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Provide Reasonable Pricing and Stand By It: We work efficiently so we
can provide you with reasonable fixed pricing. When we quote a price, we stick to it. You
will know exactly how much each project with us will cost.
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Deliver On a Fixed Time Line: Every one of our proposals includes a
project time line so you know exactly when your project will be done.
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Guarantee Everything We Do: We guarantee all our work. If you're not
completely satisfied with our work, just let us know within two weeks of your project
delivery and we'll make it right or refund your money and return your website to it's
original state. NOTE: We do NOT guarantee page rankings,
traffic, or website performance!
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We look forward to working with you!
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| About Smugglers Bay |