Categories
Musings

The Ultimate In-Home Gourmet Dining

I finally got the chance to experience Gourmet Station, an absolutely delightful web-order/mail-delivered catering service.  I knew about Gourmet Station from my marketing buddy & blog-mentor, Toby Bloomberg, as it’s one of her clients.

It’s an interesting concept: heat & eat three- and four-course gourmet meals delivered to your home … complete with candles and lace-trimmed napkins to enhance a special dining experience.  But until recently, I had only hear about it by word-of-mouth.

Until last month when I had the opportunity to dine ala Gourmet Station.  The meal was delectable – bistro mushroom soup and tomato basil soup (I had a taste of both … yummm!), seared salmon with herb sauce and chicken Wellington (ditto!), creamed spinach, and amaretto cheesecake.

Gourmet Station makes a great & unique gift for any occasion.  And if you can’t wait to be on the receiving end, go ahead & treat yourself.  You won’t regret it.

Categories
Musings

Happy Birthday!

What do Abraham Lincoln and this blog have in common?  Both were born on February 12th!

Hard to believe I launched my blog one year ago today … especially since I’m somewhat technologically challenged (as my son, Jason, will attest).

Special thanks to my blog “birth” parents: Toby Bloomberg of Diva Marketing and Dana VanDen Heuvel of Blog Savant … and to all my regular readers, visitors, and colleagues who provide feedback & encouragement.

I haven’t yet figured out how to share cake & ice-cream through the blogosphere.  Just know that I’ll think of you as I indulge in a little celebration.

Categories
Musings

Another Vote for the Caveman Ad

My favorite “Super Bowl” ad goes to FedEx & their caveman spot for its creativity and humor. AND because it’s effective – everyone I heard talking about it today knew it as the “Fed Ex” ad. (Unlike some TV spots that folks enjoy, yet can’t remember who the advertiser was.)

However, despite the humorous scenario, there was something ‘dark’ about the ad that resonated with me.  When the poor caveman gets fired & tries to explain that FedEx hasn’t been invented yet, the Neanderthal boss claims that it’s not his (the boss’s) problem.  That’s the point where you can feel the caveman’s pain & frustration … especially those of us who’ve had the misfortune of working for bosses who blame you for things outside your control.  What a perfect set up for getting crushed by corporate arrogance & insensitivity.

Categories
Musings

Best Wishes in the New Year

Dear readers & fellow bloggers,

With the New Year approaching, this quote from comedian Joey Adams is timely:

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.

Best wishes for a happy & healthy New Year!

 

Categories
Musings

Katrina Brings a Flood of Memories, Help & Hope

To all those who find their way to my blog, this is more than just another request for aid for Katrina victims … it’s also a personal reflection of what has transpired this past week as well as over thirty years ago.

Painful memories

My family was fortunate to survive the flood brought on by Hurricane Agnes in 1972 … our family home was (& still is) just a few blocks from the Susquehanna River in northeast Pennsylvania.

Recent media coverage of Katrina has brought back many memories, and I vividly recall the feelings of helplessness, despair, frustration, depression, etc.  I also remember the sense of displacement I felt  … we spent several weeks staying with relatives, friends, even a college dorm (this was late June & July, so the space was available).  Walking through blocks of dried mud & silt (we had to park several blocks away from our neighborhood) to get to the house each day in our own “operation clean-up”.  Hosing down the walls in our home … all the clean up & restoration that seemed overwhelming at the time.  Grateful for the sandwiches provided to us by the Salvation Army who came through the neighborhood while we worked on our homes …  And angry at the tourists who drove by in their clean clothes & their clean cars.

It didn’t seem like it at the time, but we were fortunate to HAVE a home still standing that we could clean and fix up.

Water, water everywhere …

I also remember the ultimate luxury back then was being able to take a shower … we lined up at friends’ homes (those unaffected by the flood) or their temporary homes (offered by their friends & relatives) to do this.

Then there are the bizarre things people do in times of crisis.  My mother remembers when we were allowed to go back to the house for the first time after the flood waters receded … somehow she found one of her potted plants among the wreckage, and the first thing she did was water it.  She may have been in shock, but it was a life-affirming gesture.

Hope & help …

So my heart & prayers go out to all those affected by Katrina … and to all the relief staff and volunteers who are helping them.

I know there are many worthy organizations collecting for the relief effort, and bloggers have listed some great links (like on my friend Toby’s Diva Marketing).

If you are considering a contribution, I’d like to suggest an organization that is not well known but has a unique approach to helping communities during and after disasters.  Check out the Global Facilitators Serving Communities, a worldwide network of volunteer facilitators who “train, prepare and mentor other professionals & caregivers in Disaster Intervention Facilitation.”  At their website, you’ll also find access to free disaster intervention materials.

I first learned about this organization & its dedicated volunteers when I was searching for a relief organization following the recent tsunami.  It was one of the organizations I chose for my relief contribution then … and now.

To all the relief organizations helping on the Gulf Coast, thank you.  And to all those who have survived Katrina, hang in there.  People do care.

Categories
Customer service Musings

Go Figure!

OK, so it’s not a perfect world. Even in successful, customer-centric organizations there are still pockets of staff who don’t recognize or respect their internal customers.  It’s hard to believe, though, how certain areas can get away with this.

One of my colleagues works for a company that is part of a larger organization.  When we met recently, she shared her frustration about a particular (more like peculiar) department in the parent company. In dealing with some of the staff there, her requests for assistance are typically met with one of three responses.  “Sometimes we’re mildly ignored, ” she told me, “and other times we’re barely tolerated or just dismissed.”

We pondered this situation over lunch, including various efforts to bring it to management’s attention at the parent company (to no avail).  And we concluded that it’s just one of corporate life’s little mysteries.

The good news is the rest of the organization is genuinely committed to customer satisfaction.  And the even better news is my colleague and her associates don’t let this one department affect how they treat their own internal (& external) customers.  Way to go!

Categories
Musings

Baseball Fever

I decided to take a break from my internal marketing postings and get personal … to stop & smell the ballpark.

It’s that glorious time of year — spring & baseball season.  Understand I wasn’t always a baseball fan.  It came about gradually, spurred over time by my favorite baseball movies: Field of DreamsMajor LeagueBull Durham … and now, Fever Pitch.

When my son was younger, we made several trips to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  What a fabulous place! Filled with great baseball memorabilia shops (“we have the baseball cards your mother threw out”) … posters of Abbott & Costello’s “Who’s on First” routine …

Another major contributor to my love of the game came from watching minor league baseball when I lived in Northeast PA — the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons.  (I’m hoping my husband & I can get back there this season to catch a game.)

My family roots for the Orioles — my husband’s a Baltimore native, and our son Jason was born in 1983, the last time they won the Series.  I’m also a Cubs fan since I spent a lot of time in Chicago over the past 20 years.  And with the curse of the Bambino finally broken, hope springs eternal for the same to happen to the curse of the Billy Goat.

It’s the stadium experience that I really enjoy. I rarely watch baseball on TV because you only get to see what’s on camera … but in the stadium, you get to see anything and everything you want to.

To really appreciate how special baseball is to me, you need to understand that I have little patience when it comes to most other sports.  Football?  I never understood it and still don’t get it.  (How many times my father, then my husband, and then my son tired to explain a first down to me!)  It’s not just that I fall asleep when football is on TV, I once nodded off in a football stadium DURING a game!  Unfortunately, football season will be here before you know it … which is why I gotta get to a baseball game soon.

Categories
Engagement Marketing Musings

Warm & Fuzzy Marketing? Get Real!

Since this is my first post on the new Quality Service Marketing blog, I wanted to tell you about my concept of internal marketing.  It can best be summed up by this quote from hotelier J. W. Marriott: “Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your customers.”

It’s a philosophy and corporate culture espoused by Marriott and many others (whom I’ll be citing over time in this blog). And it’s based on the premise that the way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel.

What’s amazing to me is the reaction I get from some executives when I talk about internal marketing. You can see their eyes glaze over as they say to themselves, “Here it comes, the old ‘warm & fuzzy’ stuff.”

On the contrary, it’s not ‘warm & fuzzy’ but crystal clear in that customer relations mirrors employee relations. Here’s the bottom line: if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers!

Unfortunately, too many organizations claim employees as their number one asset, but don’t walk the talk. In this day and age where employees are expected to create a positive experience for customers and deliver on the brand promise, managers can no longer afford to pay lip service to employees. Employees can tell the difference and so can customers!

I’ll have more to share in future posts …