Wenger Adler 17- by 15-Foot 3-Room 11-Person Family Cabin Dome Tent

Gather up the gang and head to the great outdoors with the comfortably spacious Wenger Appenzell three-family dome-style tent, which can comfortably sleep up to 11 people and divides into three rooms. It also features large zip-down walls that turn the tent into a screenhouse--perfect for hot summer afternoons. The rooms are created by simply closing the sewn-in divider curtains. It has a base measurement of 17 by 15 feet, 193 square foot area, and 80-inch center height. It has a polyester taffeta with double pass polyurethane coating tent body and a sonic-sealed polyethylene floor. The tent also includes an embossed rip-stop fly with quick-release buckles.

The Climate Control venting system allows for hotter air to escape and cooler air to enter the tent for more comfortable sleeping. The mud mat attaches to the ground in front of the door to help keep your tent floor clean. A number of storage options will keep your gear out of the way, including a gear loft organizer and e-port for electrical cord access. The frame is composed of shock-corded fiberglass poles that are color-coded for quick assembly. When packed up, the tent weighs 33 pounds, and can be easily toted around in the included zippered carry duffel.

Manufacturer's Warranty
Ten-year warranty

Amazon.com Tent Guide
Selecting a Tent
Fortunately, there are all kinds of tents for weekend car campers, Everest expeditions, and everything in-between. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Expect the Worst
In general, it's wise to choose a tent that's designed to withstand the worst possible conditions you think you'll face. For instance, if you're a summer car camper in a region where weather is predictable, an inexpensive family or all purpose tent will likely do the trick--especially if a vehicle is nearby and you can make a mad dash for safety when bad weather swoops in! If you're a backpacker, alpine climber or bike explorer, or if you like to car camp in all seasons, you'll want to take something designed to handle more adversity.

Three- and Four-Season Tents
For summer, early fall and late spring outings, choose a three-season tent. At minimum, a quality three season tent will have lightweight aluminum poles, a reinforced floor, durable stitching, and a quality rain-fly. Some three-season tents offer more open-air netting and are more specifically designed for summer backpacking and other activities. Many premium tents will feature pre-sealed, taped seams and a silicone-impregnated rain-fly for enhanced waterproofness.

For winter camping or alpine travel, go with a four season model. Because they typically feature more durable fabric coatings, as well as more poles, four-season tents are designed to handle heavy snowfall and high winds without collapsing. Of course, four-season tents exact a weight penalty of about 10 to 20 percent in trade for their strength and durability. They also tend to be more expensive.

Domes and Tunnels
Tents are broadly categorized into two types, freestanding, which can stand up on their own, and those that must be staked down in order to stand upright. Freestanding tents often incorporate a dome-shaped design, and most four-season tents are constructed this way because a dome leaves no flat spots on the outer surface where snow can collect. Domes are also inherently stronger than any other design. Meanwhile, many three-season models employ a modified dome configuration called a tunnel. These are still freestanding, but they require fewer poles than a dome, use less fabric, and typically have a rectangular floor-plan that offers less storage space than a dome configuration. Many one and two-person tents are not freestanding, but they make up for it by being more lightweight. Because they use fewer poles, they can also be quicker to set up than a dome.

Size Matters
Ask yourself how many people you'd like to fit in your fabric hotel now and in the future. For soloists and minimalists, check out one-person tents. If you're a mega-minimalist, or if you have your eye on doing some big wall climbs, a waterproof-breathable bivy sack is the ticket. Some bivy sacks feature poles and stake points to give you a little more breathing room. Also, if you don't need bug protection and you want to save weight, check out open-air shelters.

Families who plan on car camping in good weather can choose from a wide range of jumbo-sized tents that will accommodate all your little ones with room to spare. A wide range of capacities is also available for three- and four-season backpacking and expedition tents. Remember, though, the bigger the tent you buy, the heavier it will be, although it's easy to break up the tent components among several people in your group. It's also helpful to compare the volume and floor-space measurements of models you're considering.

Customer Review: Great tent! Would recommend!
We have a family of 6 (2 adults and 4 small children) and we were looking for a big tent. As soon as we got the tent we set it up and noticed that you really need two people to put it up with ease as the front and back keep falling in if no one supports the frame. Also, be careful witht the plastic tent clips that fasten to the tent poles. I already broke one trying to take it off and I'm afraid it won't be the last. The angle and force you have to use to open it makes it easy to snap it. Unfortunately once it breaks it really can't be repaired. I'm thinking I might have to buy a metal clip of some sort to repair it. Overall, the tent size is incredible and I think we will have fun.
Customer Review: Huge tent!
This tent is huge. It is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. Which is probably good because we want a couple more kids. My husband was pretty excited to be able to stand up in the tent! He's 6ft 2in. Over all we like it and plan to use it a lot! In fact we are going camping this weekend! The only thing is when I read 'dome' in the title I didn't realize that it seriously meant a circle! I thought from the photo it was an oblong tent, but it is round with 3 doors.

Email has been an integral part of the business world for the better part of a decade now. From finalizing business deals to corresponding with customers email can make or break a business's reputation. According to Forrester Research, email customer service is utilized by 54% of consumers to contact organizations for help (1). A bad email comment can take on a life of its own over the internet.

If businesses want to grow, they must take great care in preserving the relationships and trust built over the years. This includes providing courteous, prompt and relevant customer service emails. When customers and prospective clients ask a business questions or offer comments, they expect a high level of courtesy and that their comments will be addressed.

The wedding email forwarded around the world
Engaged couple Steve Hausman and Paula Brosnahan decided to decline the services of the Great Marquee Company, a provider of deluxe outdoor party tents in Auckland, New Zealand. The Groom, Mr. Hausman politely wrote:

"Paula and I went and viewed your marquee setup at Devonport... unfortunately we did not like it... thanks for your assistance and we are sorry that it turned out this way."

An expected response would be an email thanking Steve and Paula for their interest in Great Marquee and sending best wishes on their upcoming nuptials, this is not what the owner's wife Katrina Jorgensen sent to the couple. Instead, Mrs. Jorgensen decided email a scathing personal attack:

"Hi Steve. Thanks for your reply. Your wedding sounded cheap, nasty and tacky anyway, so we only ever considered you time wasters. Our marquees are for upper class clients which unfortunately you are not. Why don't you stay within your class levels and buy something from Payless Plastics instead?"

The Auckland, New Zealand based company is now digging itself out of an embarrassing and damaging situation. The couple forwarded the email exchange to a few close friends who then forwarded it on, and so on, starting what is now the latest worldwide example of what not to do when using email (2).

While it must be discouraging to have a client reject your services, office manager, Katrina Jorgensen's letter to the couple was inappropriate. The credibility of providing quality tents for events has now been wiped away with one email. Great Marquees "cheap, nasty, tacky" email has found its way onto wedding forums, webrings and chat rooms.

Preserving Trust and Reputation
Embarrassing messages like Mrs. Jorgensen's could be averted if people simply took a moment to look over their email or read their messages out loud. What else can you do before hitting the "send" button?

• Don't email when you're emotional:
  Mrs. Jorgensen was obviously flustered by Steve and Paula's rejection of Great Marquee's services. Her emotions negatively colored her reply correspondence. If she would have stepped away from her computer, vented and vented to a coworker the "cheap, nasty and tacky" comments wouldn't have made its way to a plethora of forums, inboxes or chat-rooms.
• Read emails before responding:
  Former FEMA head Michael Brown's lack of acknowledging the emails content caused him much scrutiny during the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe and later the loss of his job.

Good customer service is what each business stakes its reputation on. In today's fast-paced digital landscape, a reputation can be ruined with one click of a mouse. These types of bad customer service emails can go on to plague a business for years, giving you the reputation of what not to do in eCommerce.

- - - - - - - - - -

End Notes:
1.) Bruce D. Temkin, "Who Uses Email and Chat for Customer Service?," Forrester Research, http://www.forrester.com, 1. 20 July, 2004.
2.) Mrs. Jorgensen's husband was forced to fire his wife due to the backlash from the "cheap, tacky and nasty" email. Great Marquee also placed an open apology of the event on its website.
3.) Daniel Hoare, ABC Australia, The World Today, "Woman sacked over abusive email to client." 21 November, 2006.

Marilee Veniegas is a member of the the Marketing team at Essential Security Software, Inc. the premier provider of email anti-theft software, Essential Taceo(R). She also serves as one of the ESS site editors for "I Want My ESS!" a stolen work and SMB resource site.