Most people that go to a Disney theme park have a good, sometimes great story to tell. In reading the book “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions” by Guy Kawasaki, I read a personal story in which the individual tells of a situation in which a Disney employee “enchanted him for life.” This prompted me to tell my little … Read More
The Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, WA is famous for WOWing people. This is the fish market that is famous for throwing fish. It’s a little bit of theatre and a must do on most Seattle visitors’ itineraries. This is a company worth emulating and it is easy to learn from John Yokoyama’s great company. He and long time business coach … Read More
I will start with what I consider a missed opportunity. A young woman, let’s call her Stephanie, has drawn a name for a company gift exchange. The individual she draws if British so Stephanie decides to put together a gift basket and include some English tea. She goes to a shop for the tea, and after she gets it home … Read More
One of my top ten favorite business books is “Customers for Life” by Dallas car dealer Carl Sewell. He’s one of the business owners I respect because he understand Retail DNA. I will refer to this book from time to time to discuss lessons for all of us in retail. For today’s post I will just share two ideas from Sewell. The first comes … Read More
I’ve noticed that some retailers are seriously understaffed. I have gone into stores with the intention of making a purchase and left without the item(s) I needed. I was unable to find the item and was also unable to find any help on the floor. A few years ago when the economy was very strong it was hard to find staff. Today, since … Read More
The only way to get out of my community is to go north. We have a Provincial Park to the south which is a wonderful feature for residents but it cuts off access to and from the community to the south. There is a community strip mall which is located south of my home. It’s a fairly typical retail center … Read More
With the recent announcement that Sky Service has gone under, I am motivated to tell of our worst vacation experience. It is perhaps ironic that this nightmare involved Sky Service (the charter airline) and Conquest Vacations (the tour operator). Conquest ceased operations in April of 2009 and now Sky Service ceases operation in April 2010. In both cases they … Read More