“I’m sorry, Michael. I must have skipped a byte somewhere.”
- K.I.T.T.
On July 19th and 20th, we attended a Knight Rider event called Southern Knights Atlanta. The event organizer, Mark Puette, was gracious enough to allow us to have a table at the show, and we cannot thank him enough! This year, we brought all the Fanhome parts, as well as my current project car. My wife also contributed her custom items, which will be available on our website soon. These items include tumblers, coffee mugs, pens, pop sockets, car coasters, magnets, and other miscellaneous products.
I had planned to bring a complete printed semi-trailer, but unfortunately, I ran out of time and could only bring a few items. Perhaps next year, if I am still able to make the trip, I will. For the show, I created a couple of exclusive items, with the most popular being the Season 3 and 4 gullwing steering wheel keychain and the NES cart replica keychain. Due to popular demand, both of these items will be available in our web store in a matter of days.
Thank you to Jacob Pedersen for the photo!
Thank you to Mark Ponton for the video!
A few days after returning home, I unfortunately became ill with an odd stomach bug that was circulating in my area. However, after a few days, I began to feel much better and immediately got back to work on making parts. The new custom packaging for the lens covers and stone guards has arrived, so I am assembling those and fulfilling a couple of backorders that I accidentally accepted while working on the website (I sincerely apologize, guys! You know who you are—some goodies are on the way in your boxes!).
THE BAD NEWS
Alright, let’s rip the band-aid off and get this out of the way. The tail light blackouts and other inventory will be about a week late. I know, I’m sorry. This seems to be a recurring theme for me. The expected delivery date from the manufacturer for the blackouts is now the 27th. Running a one-man operation can become overwhelming at times, and my deadlines often slip. Unfortunately, my father-in-law’s lung cancer has spread to his left kidney, which means things could become even more hectic in the future with additional treatments that we need to ensure he attends. I hope you can be patient with me during this challenging time. On a lighter note, is anyone in the Cincinnati area looking for a job? Just kidding! In all seriousness, I have a lot of inventory almost ready to go.
THE GOOD NEWS
On a more positive note, I’ve made some significant changes to the website, including RMA requests for easier warranty and returns. Tracking notifications will now be sent to you with new orders. I can’t apologize enough—I had no idea that this feature was completely missing since the website launched. Another new feature currently in development is a support board and ticket system to replace the old “Contact Us” page. You will also be able to chat with a K.I.T.T. bot, which can provide information about your order, such as tracking details, or answer questions about products when I am not directly available. Additionally, I’ve implemented a system for adding free items to your cart, making it much easier for me to remember to include these items when packing your orders.
A lot of other changes are also on the horizon, including my efforts to improve the mobile experience, especially with the following information.
In exciting news, we have a mobile app on the way! Coming soon to both the Android and Apple stores, the app will allow you to order and receive notifications about your order's tracking status, inventory updates, and other important announcements (I promise not to overdo it!). Initially, the app will be fairly basic and limited, but it will continue to evolve. A beta for android will be available very soon!