Archive for April, 2008

What’s Your Idea?

15
Apr
2008

When I first got this email from them, I thought, ” Here we go, they want us to do their marketing research for them.” After a moment, I realized the genius behind the new plan.

Starbucks (yes, I still love them) has put a new website up and into action called “My Starbucks Idea” and wow, if this isn’t the smartest way to get consumers to open up spill the beans, I don’t know what is! Let’s see, you get people to come on, share their deepest purchasing desires in your stores, they have a place to discuss things, vote and see the results, and…well holy cow, what’s next, a social network? Ohhhh. I get it, that’s sort of what it is. BRILLIANT.

I only have one request, wait, make that two: please bring back Amaretto before my husband climbs the walls and two, please tell me the secret recipe for the Pumpkin Spice…I won’t tell!

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Hail Frozen Four and the NCAA

14
Apr
2008

I was fortunate enough to take in the Frozen Final Four this week, courtesy of a friend who had tickets to the game. No ordinary event, this game showcased two great college hockey teams. My daughter and I were thrilled to find ourselves 14 rows from the glass at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Anyone who knows this family know that hockey courses through our blood. We all play, we all officiate and I’ve been a coach for 7 years. You could say I’ve been waiting for this event for quite some time.

As much as I’d like to sit here and talk about hockey all day, what I wanted to do was talk about the things I saw in the arena – marketing! Yes, plenty of it. Some clever company made folding hats that resembled old timey hockey helmets. At first, my teenage daughter thought they looked silly, but at the end of the game, she was scrounging about trying to get herself one because she knew few friends would have one. Very clever. Memorabilia was everywhere and for every fan, no one was left out. Pulling for Michigan, who was knocked out days before? No problem. There were fan “experience” areas and the place was full of excitement, even though the event was a “dry” one because of NCAA rules. REAL excitement, right down to the fighting songs from the mini marching bands. It was exceptional experience and probably one of the best sporting events I’ve ever been to.

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Nice Shot

10
Apr
2008

Those who know me know I like a little latte. I’m embarrassed to say I bought a used espresso machine off Craigslist just to satisfy my love of them and to spare some of the enormous expense of having them on the road. Don’t get me wrong, I can go a day or week without coffee, but I just really enjoy the flavor, the aroma and of course, the feeling of being spoiled a bit. One day this week, I experienced something different at my local Starbucks. Now before you start booing these guys, I actually admit I like their business model and the overall experience they offer consumers. I must not be alone, they had over $9 Billion in sales in 2007, so someone needs to come clean ;) Any way, back to the story – I was at one of the kiosks in a local supermarket. As I waffled between flavors, the girl behind the counter was really vibrant (maybe infused with coffee herself) and chirps, “Want a triple?” Well, now that you mention it, that sounded like a great idea. What occurred to me is she just “up sold” me, but not in that typical “super size” way. She probably picked up on my “I hate shopping” attitude and knew a little espresso might perk me right up. I got the triple shot. It was delicious, thanks Starbucks girl. You made my day a bit brighter and made your company a little more money by being aware of the consumer.

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Bad Shipper Makes Good

09
Apr
2008

It’s funny what a difference a day or two can make. After posting my horrific experience with my satellite radio service, a few days later I had an experience that went from bad to good in one short call. This week I ordered paper – a lot of paper. I print a lot. Any way, I had a morning meeting, so wasn’t around when the delivery arrived, otherwise who knows how things might have gone. When I get back, I find two large boxes waiting for me, clearly my order. One of them, no joke, looks like it’s been hit by a car: taped up, scraped like it had been dragged down the road. I haul both boxes in and unpack them; the first box was fine, everything was intact and the paper was nicely tucked in the reams. The other box, well, all I can say is “they tried”; the first couple reams were split open, which would have been okay, until I got about halfway down the box and found dirty, ruined paper -a few reams were split open completely, I’m not even sure all 500 sheets were in their respective reams. They taped it in so it wouldn’t move. Nice…not.

Alright, I know things can happen, but this was a bad patch job and I wasn’t going to just leave things alone and put these sheets in the recycle bin without a fight. I called the supplier, which happens to also be a very successful overnight shipper. I told them what happened and she actually apologized profusely and gave me several options; they could replace the damaged reams, they could credit me for them, which did I prefer? It was refreshing to be given options, it was refreshing to have a supplier accept responsibility for a mistake, then willingly and without argument, correct it.

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