Greening Business Every Day

Ethos Vegan Kitchen Has a Winning Recipe!

2011-06-07T21:16:00.009-04:00

Some restaurants have great food and some have great atmosphere, but VERY few have both. Today I discovered Ethos Vegan Kitchen, a neighborhood charm in across the street from Gaston Edwards Park in Orlando. Well, I didn't exactly "discover" it by accident, I found it after I did a search for vegetarian-friendly outdoor dining in Orlando. Ethos had some of the highest online ratings on various restaurant search engines such as my VegOut iPhone app where they hold a Five Star rating with 56 reviews! On Urbanspoon 90% of 372 people like it! According to Ethos customers, owners Laina and Kelly Shockley know how to please!

From the online photos and the view from the road, I wasn't so sure about the restaurant. But as soon as I stepped inside, I felt at home in this inviting atmosphere. The warm yellow and red tones on the walls are accented with brick and wood. The floors are partial tile and partial rough concrete. It works very well for this down-to-earth locally-owned restaurant. The lighting is just right--not too high or low. And the music is a mix of sensual tunes like Midnight In A Perfect World by DJ Shadow and Brown Skin Lady on Black Star, an album assembled by emcees Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

While I was in line, a talkative birthday girl celebrating her 40th randomly introduced herself to me. I told her it was my first time to this restaurant and she raved about the food telling me that everything on the menu is fantastic. She was talking among lots of her yogi friends in line telling them all about the fabulous food.

It was quick and easy to place an order. You order at the front register and then they bring the food to your table. The two tables near the front windows are great seating with a view of the park and lake. It's also a nice spot to sit if you're waiting for a friend to arrive before you place your order. The front windows are bright and beautiful in the daytime! And if you're inside, you can access free WiFi.

Near the back of the restaurant, there's a great area with not only tables, but also a couch and some chairs. It's a comfortable place to congregate and that's just where the 40th birthday girl was schmoozing with her friends.

No business is complete without local art! If the number of pieces were a measure of their commitment to local artists, then I would say that Ethos is very committed to the well-being of the local community--not only in providing tasteful vegan delights, but also in supporting local artists. In fact, when I asked about the art, one of the employees told me that they recently had an art show put together by their resident artist, Scott White.

"Resident artist?"

How many businesses can boast of their resident artist?

Apparently Scott recently coordinated an art show displaying collaborative art among local artists. How much more can one restaurant help create camaraderie among local artists and customers? Check out this creative concoction between Scott White and El Shanebo. Priced at only $60, this piece is sure to be adopted by a customer very soon! I like how they used both images and words in this work entitled "Go Robot." Learn more about Scott at his website GhostsOfScottWhite.

After you've had a chance to check out some local art, be sure to check out the scenery. If you're near the front of the restaurant either inside or out, you can look across the street and through the park to see the lake. I saved the best for last. Not only can you get great healthy food here, but you can also sit outside and enjoy the your meal in a covered area. Rain or shine you can enjoy the fresh air, well at least as fresh as it can be alongside a street with occasional cars going by. And you can also enjoy the green plants in the eating area.

But that's not all that's right about this restaurant. They have three restrooms with signs on the door that say "bathroom." That makes so much sense! Other less efficient restaurants can learn from this. If the ladies room is locked at Chipotle or another restaurant where they label the doors "men" and "women," I often use the men's room because it's not an efficient use of any woman's time to wait for the women's room if the men's room is free! Yet so many obedient female customers do just this--they wait and wait and wait, and don't never complain to management! If you want to learn more about my restroom philosophy, check out my "Gotta Go" video on YouTube:

When I was planning my trip to Orlando, I thought about contacting owners Kelly or Laina in advance to see if I could interview them, but I didn't want my first experience to be swayed by people who have a vested interest in the business. I'm not even sure if they were in the restaurant for the majority of my time here, but I'm pretty sure they weren't there most of the time because I didn't see anyone who looked like them walking around the restaurant.

That's even more points for this successful business--for their willingness to show their faces on the About page on their website and one more point for the fact that the customer experience is fabulous whether they're here or not.! I saw lots of happy customers coming and going and I didn't notice even one complaint or go-back! All the staff was friendly and you can learn more about them on the same About page. It's clear that the owners value their employees.

At most restaurants I have to search for ways to say more positive things than negative, but the opposite is true here. If I were to offer a few suggestions for improvement and potential for increasing profitability, here's what I'd say in order of priority:

Collaborate with a sustainable local greenscaper to improve the outdoor seating area by adding an enveloping, rejuvenating greenspace, perhaps even including some edibles.
Offer consulting services to other locally owned healthful restaurants in Florida. You obviously have a tremendous scope of talents that other like-minded restaurant owners need.
Open a second Ethos closer to a place with higher foot traffic, like St. Augustine please : )
Set a goal to continuously increase your 50% organic food to higher percentages over time.
Add more character and context to your restroom. When people are sitting around or standing in place for a minute or two, you have time to give them a message. Don't lose this opportunity.
As it got dark, the track lighting on the ceiling felt a bit harsh--replace purple/redish bulbs with something less harsh. It distorted the color of the artwork after sunset.
Add free WiFi to the outdoor seating area.

Next time you're in Orlando, I highly recommend that you stop by here for at least one meal. I'm sure I'll be coming back!

Downtown Disney Designed to Roast Tourists

2011-06-06T17:00:00.003-04:00

Downtown Disney was designed to scorch its daytime visitors. On this sunny afternoon in June, I was just as hot as all the other tourists walking on this hard surface pathway. Disney knows how to do greenscaping, but I guess the greenscape design person was on vacation when they drew up the plans for this "downtown."

This could be a beautiful shaded walk zone where people could enjoy a stroll in the park along the water, but instead, it's more like a frying pan. And designs like this in Florida trigger people to say things like, "it's hotter than hell here," and "let's go get ice cream." Downtown Disney was designed to get people to go into the air conditioned stores to shop and into the restaurants for overpriced cold drinks.

On the Environment and Conservation page of their website, Disney states that they're taking action to protect the planet. I sure hope that they add Downtown Disney to their list of initiatives soon! They really need to tear up some of the stone walkway and add some trees for shade! It's nice that they make statements about how they're helping the planet, but it's even more important for them to first act local and set an example by greening their own properties.

One thing that they did do right here at Downtown Disney was to include a ferryboat where you can go to and from four different resorts. This helps reduce the use of cars and buses and it's also safer as vacationers go out for dinner and a few drinks--at least they have a safe way to get back to their resort. In the future, it would be great if Disney could connect more of its waterways so visitors could go between and among more of the properties via water taxis.

Because I'm staying at the Dolphin Hotel, I didn't have the option to travel to Downtown Disney by ferry. I need to fess up that I drove my own vehicle to get to Downtown Disney because the bellhop told me that it would take much longer if I took a Disney bus to get there. Not only would I have to wait on both ends for the bus, but the ride itself would take longer because of the frequent stops at various resorts.

One of the main issues with public transportation in the U.S. is that it generally takes longer to ride a bus than use your own car. Until we plan for the opposite, people will continue to choose to pay a higher price with their own transportation to save the time.

Got any other suggestions to help make Downtown Disney a bit more sustainable? Please leave a comment. I'd love to hear your ideas!

Stir It Up at St. Augustine Beach

2011-05-31T13:35:00.002-04:00

“I’ll do a Get up Stand up with a Nutty Mother,” says a barefoot young lady wearing a hot pink bikini, as she adjusts her dark sunglasses and green visor.

“And I’ll take The Boss with Good Karma,” says her friend in navy swim trunks as he shakes his foot sporting a white ankle bracelet.

This is what you’re likely to see and hear if you’re in line at Stir It Up. You’ll find this Florida eatery on “A” Street just a few doors back from the St. Augustine Beach front. Locals regularly line up in tank tops, shorts and flip flops for their favorite “Veggie Heaven” menu items. Tourists find Stir It Up on their way to the beach or through the fantastic online reviews. “If all vegetarian food was this good I would consider becoming a vegetarian,” says one reviewer on TripAdvisor.

Look for a white house with blue trim and a line of customers on the front steps. Although this lunch spot has the right location, location, location, it also has the right burritos, quesadillas and salads made primarily from organic ingredients. Whether you’re looking for a turkey sandwich (Smokin’ Turkey), a vegetarian hummus burrito (burRita Marley), or a chicken quesadilla (Cheesy Chick), you’re in the right place. If you want vegan, be sure to ask. And a healthy beach lunch wouldn’t be complete without a fresh fruit “Natural Mystic” smoothie made with thirst-quenching tropical fruits such as bananas, mangos, pineapple and coconut.

This isn’t a typical restaurant where you walk through the front door to be greeted by a hostess. Here you walk up to the front door and look through a screen window to place your order. Nothing goes through the front door except your order and your cash. No credit cards. While waiting you can play with toy dinosaurs or leaf through magazines. If you’re here to stay a while, check out the community bulletin board to find a yoga class, concert, or apartment for rent. When your name is called, you pick up your food from the window next to the front door.

You’ll see customers sipping smoothies at barstools pulled up to the front porch railings. From here you can read lyrics to Bob Marley’sStir It Up tune such as: “cool me down when I’m hot,” and “quench me when I’m thirsty,” which are painted in bright colors on the inside of the porch trim.

Yelp appropriately categorizes the ambiance as “hipster, dive-y and casual.” In this 100% open air restaurant, you’ll feel like a welcome guest hanging out on a surfer’s porch which wraps across the front of the house and opens up to a large side deck extending to the entrance of the Pit Surf Shop.

You’re likely to see ladies in sun dresses eating at a black wrought iron table on the deck, and a group of surfer dudes under a thatch roof gazebo at the corner of the deck. You could see a family at the picnic table under palms in the front yard and a couple sitting at purple or white Adirondack chairs by the mailboxes. Wherever you sit, you’ll get to enjoy the beach breeze.

You might hear music coming from the kitchen, but what you’ll surely hear is “yums” and “ahs” in conversations among companions as they enjoy “positive food in a positive place.” This isn’t just a slogan at Stir It Up, it’s exactly what you’ll experience when you eat at the best lunch spot at St. Augustine Beach. Bob Marley says it best: “Your recipe is, darlin’, is so tasty.”

Porch Furniture Doubles as Drying Rack

2011-04-24T13:43:00.005-04:00

It's a beautiful day in St. Johns, FL! If you have similar patio furniture, consider giving your dryer a little vacation and dry your clothes outdoors.

This is an example of something even better than repurposing. I've double-purposed our outdoor furniture. Not only can our family and friends enjoy an afternoon on the back porch, our clothes can also enjoy hanging out by the water every now and then.

Got another good idea on how to double-purpose your outdoor furniture or save money drying your clothes? Please leave a comment.

Go for Green Hair in a Sunlit Chair

2011-04-20T09:45:00.023-04:00

How can you tell if your hair salon is green and the staff cares about the health of their employees, their customers and their community?

Here are just a few things you can look for next time you head to the salon:

Management Commitment

The owner is committed to creating a sustainable and healthful business. Lisa Thomas, Owner of Verde Eco-Salon, believes in providing a safe, nontoxic, environment for her customers.

From the time you step in the door, you can see that she has designed her salon using repurposed furnishings. Check out the beautiful antique wood pieces that she uses for storage near the reception desk. And this is just the beginning!

Safe Products

If you have your hair colored every four to six weeks, it's important to know what your body might be absorbing through your skin and lungs. Next time you're at the salon, ask about the products that are being massaged into your scalp. Ask for the brand names and then look them up on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website to check on their safety rating. You might be surprised at what you discover.

At Verde Eco-Salon, they're using Organic Colour Systems, a paraben-free, ammonia-free, formaldehyde-free, thioglycolate-free, cruelty-free, organic, environmentally friendly, fair trade product. I'm very pleased to do business with a company like this, even if it's indirectly.

In case you aren't familiar with the effects of ingredients that may be in your hair products, check out some of the recent and potentially fatal health concerns linked to formaldehyde.

When a business chooses to use or sell a product from another company, they're supporting their supplier's principles and ingredients. They're partnering with the beliefs and values of their suppliers. That's why health-conscious customers who have their hair done here at Verde Eco-Salon are more likely to head to Whole Foods or Native Sun instead of Food Lion on their way home. They want to do business with companies who screen their suppliers.

Media, Music & More

Over the years, I've been to a lot of salons that had TVs, but you won't find this distraction at Verde Eco-Salon. It's just one more thing I like about the atmosphere. TVs discourage conversation and it's impossible to find shows that all your employees and customers will like.

Verde plays nice music and it's at just the right volume for holding a conversation with your stylist. To me, it's most important that my stylist gives me the right cut & color, but after that, conversation is equally important. I like my stylist here at Verde. We never run out of things to talk about.

Several years ago, I stopped going to a very experienced professional who did a great job on my hair. I didn't stop going because of what he did to my hair. I stopped going because of what he did to my ears! He did all the talking and never cared to ask about what was going on in my life. He was too concerned about telling me stories about how great he was to his family and friends. But based on how he treated me, I wasn't so convinced about his mercies toward people when he was off the clock.

At Verde, they offer some basic hair magazines, which makes good sense for a salon. The magazines are displayed on a beautiful ShabbyChic-like magazine side table between two chairs with hair dryers. I noticed other magazines appropriate for a sustainable business like Renovation Style. On this particular day at the salon, I also noticed that they had magazines that don't necessarily support healthful living. It's a small detail perhaps, but something they might want to think about as subscription renewals come up or as they're cleaning up at the end of each day.

Sustainable Local Art

MacTruque pieces have been displayed in Verde Eco-Salon ever since I started going there. I thoroughly enjoy seeing his art when I'm there. The mix of color, texture and sheen pops off the sky blue-grey walls in the salon.

But today I learned even one more good thing about these round pieces. They're painted on old tabletops that might otherwise have ended up in a dumpster! What a great way to repurpose these rounds that were formally used in a restaurant!

You can find more of MacTruque's fantastic pieces at Avondale Artworks or Stellars Gallery.

MacTruque says his dad used to let him draw on the walls in their house. And now his art can hang on the walls of homes and businesses anywhere in the world!

It's especially nice that Verde has chosen to support a local artist. Selling local art at a salon is a win-win-win partnership. Artists get more local exposure; stylists get to see some variety in the art on the wall, and customers have the opportunity to browse as if they're in a gallery and the option to buy if they just can resist.

Interior Design

In Verde, all the stylists have doors to their stations, but the doors are always wide open. Doors re-purposed from a prior life are just part of the chic uniqueness of this one-of-a-kind salon in Jacksonville. The doors serve as separators between the stations.

Open carts on wheels display the tools of the trade: hair dryers, brushes and clips. It's all out in the open, and I like this. I never did like seeing a stylist pull a brush from a drawer that also stored their lunch container or a water-stained hair magazine dated several years back.

But what I like best about this salon is the fact that it smells fresh and clean, unlike many salons where the odor of strong products gives me a headache.

Because they planned well and installed a washer and dryer in the back, they wash their towels and capes on-site. This helps reduce the cost and save energy they would otherwise incur if they sent their stuff out to be washed at some off-site location. It's a good business practice since the stylists have time to manage loads between customers.

Natural Light

So few businesses take advantage of natural light, but it's especially advantageous in a salon where customers might want to check on hair color or highlights under natural light--our beloved Florida sunshine!

Verde Eco-Salon has taken advantage of their large windows draping them with light translucent window treatments. They invite the sunshine to come inside to cheer up everyone inside.

Here I am with Jessica Gould, a great stylist from New York. She loves sunshine and butterflies. Verde offers up the sunshine, but they don't have a butterfly garden yet.

The further back you go in the salon, the more you'll notice that they also have other electric-dependent lighting. But don't look up for too long. It's a dated drop-down ceiling that would probably look better if it were removed to reveal whatever might be above it. Lots of businesses achieve a great industrial look by exposing and painting all the stuff that's up on their ceiling.

Customer Experience

Next door to Verde Eco-Salon there's a cafe with tables on the sidewalk. I sure would like to go to a salon that offered outdoor seating. If you know of a licensed outdoor salon, or one that at has a courtyard or some type of outdoor space, please leave a comment with the name and location. I'd love to check it out!

For more ideas on how to help your salon go green, check out GoGreenSalon, a Toronto-based association dedicated to helping salons & spas join the green movement.

The next time you go to your salon, look around and pay attention to what's really going on. Give it the sniff test. If it doesn't pass, then start asking questions about what they're doing to continuously improve their services. If they aren't sure what you're talking about, you might want to start shopping around for another salon.

But do me a favor on your way out: encourage them to contact me at www.DrLorraine.net so I can help them begin their journey toward a safer, more eco-friendly salon.

A few small changes each week or month add up to big improvements over time! I'm committed to green hair, are you?

Free Water: How to Get Some

2011-04-15T14:18:00.004-04:00

Check out this great video on how to build a rain barrel. It was produced by Greg Nagel & Roger Linville through St. Johns Riverkeeper, an organization whose mission is to work on behalf of the community for clean and healthy waters in the St. Johns River, its tributaries and its wetlands, through citizen-based advocacy.

Got a rain barrel tip or story you want to share? Please leave a comment.

Make It Easier to Save the Trees

2011-04-13T14:50:00.007-04:00

When I see signs like this asking me to be green in one way or another, I'm very willing to comply.

So when I saw the sign I looked all around the restroom, but didn't see any hand dryers except for the paper dispenser in front of my face.

I didn't see anything near the water faucets or on the other walls in the room, so I pulled out a few paper towels and dried my hands. I put the paper towels in the garbage along with all the others, and then when I headed out of the restroom, I saw the hand dryers in the hallway. I didn't notice them on the way in because that wasn't the main thing on my mind at the time.

Are you with me here?

One of the first rules of good design is to keep things where they're going to be used most, and this is especially important in public places. I didn't even see the hand dryer until after I dried my hands. I wonder whose idea it was to install them around the corner in the hallway? McCarran needs to hire new restroom designers who understand the needs of travelers.

I was pulling luggage on wheels. The last thing I wanted to do was to grab my luggage with wet hands and start looking around for hand dryers. If this had been several years ago, I might have sent one of my kids off for this game of hide & seek.

The partially bubbled bumper sticker on the paper towel dispenser is a clue that the hand dryers were probably an afterthought, installed after management at the airport decided to take efforts to be more green. The bubbles in the bumper sticker also whisper out a lack of concern for quality by the person who installed it.

I suppose it's better to have the hand dryers in the hallway than not to have them at all. Maybe the employees know about them and use them. But they're sort of in the way in the hallway. Although there wasn't a line when I used the restroom, I'm sure the dryers are inconveniently placed if people are entering and exiting the restroom with luggage while some people are standing around drying their hands. This seems like it's designed to create a traffic jam.

If McCarran wanted to encourage people to use the hand dryers, they'd be the choice closest to the sinks. I just checked out the McCarran website and I didn't see anything on their "GREEN Initiatives." Since they screamed out "GREEN" on their bumper sticker, I thought they'd have a quick link to "GREEN Initiatives" on their website, but if it's there, I couldn't find it.

On a green design scale of 1-10, I give them a 3: one point for the bubbled bumper sticker, one point for installing the hand dryers and one more point for good luck next time I'm in Vegas.

If you're a member of the American Restroom Association or the World Toilet Organization can you please spread the word that McCarran might have a few underused hand dryers that they can donate to a good cause?

Interested in flying through greener airports? Plan your next trip around a long layover at one of the World's Ten Greenest Airports.

Got an airport story you want to share? Please leave a comment.

Ideas From a Big Green Palace in the Desert

2011-04-12T12:19:00.021-04:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of getting lost in a big green palace (or palazzo in Italian). The Las Vegas Sands Corp. claims that The Palazzo, The Venetian and Sands Expo & Convention Center development is the "largest green building on the planet." That's quite a claim, but they do have LEED Silver certification and specific business practices to back up their assertion.

When we checked into the Venetian a few days ago, I noticed a "Sands 360" brochure entitled "Leading the Way to a Greener World," and I was impressed with all that they're doing to be greener than the average hotel. If the brochure wasn't in the room, then I probably wouldn't have had any idea of how much they're committed to sustainability. You can't find it easily on their website, so I guess they think it doesn't matter to the majority of their customers.

Here are just a few elements of their beautiful green design:

1. Atria skylight that takes advantage of natural desert light:

2. Extensive planting areas and permanent built-in planters create a vegetated roof, which help reduce building temperature and storm water runoff. In addition, they're irrigated with a subsurface drip irrigation system which reduces water wasted through evaporation, typical of traditional irrigation systems. It also allows the pathways areas to stay dry so guests don't have to duck when the sprinklers are running.

3. Wall to wall mirrors in the elevators reflect and increase light. Although this is a good idea to reduce the need for lighting fixtures, perhaps they can put the elevators on outside walls in their next development so that they can utilize natural lighting for the majority of the day.

4. They installed five large mirrors in the bathroom and in the hallway just outside the door. The mirrors help to reflect and enhance light in this room that has no windows. This is good, but it could be better. In their future developments they can improve on this by bringing natural light into the bathrooms.

5. They give the customer the option to minimize the washing of bed linens & towels, and I like how the sign requires customers to put the sign in the bed if they want it to be made rather than the opposite. I've also stayed in hotels where customers are asked to place the sign on the bed if they don't want it made and this makes much less sense!

And check out the Green Palazzo link on the back of the sign where you can find more details about their green design and processes.

6. It's difficult to take a picture of the indoor air, but I can tell that I feel good breathing the air in this hotel. In most hotels, I usually notice unpleasant odors. But not here.

7. And here's a great way they're helping the local community--they partnered with Opportunity Village's linen and terry (i.e., sheets and towels) recycling program. Opportunity Village converts used fabrics to cleaning cloths while providing jobs for local special-needs residents.

Not only is this a good idea for every hotel, it's also something you can do in your own home! Here's a colorful sample from my home. My mom always used old towels & linens for rags, so I've always done the same:

Thank you Sands for your green efforts. I'm happy to have the opportunity to be your customer!

But here's the best news about Sands that most companies haven't figured out yet. For every $1 that Sands has invested in being more sustainable, they've gotten a $4 return! Read more about this in their Sands Eco 360 Overview.

If you have more ideas about greening the design or business processes of hotels, please feel free to leave a comment.

Eat Every Opinion With Respect

2011-04-10T15:29:00.008-04:00

Today I had the chance to stop by a Fresh & Easy store in Las Vegas. I'm the type of person who always reads the "writing on the wall." My eye is naturally drawn to the written word, especially when it has been edited by a comedian.

What might a designer do to avoid this issue in the future?

Put the writing on the wall much higher
Paint the sentences on the wall instead of using glue-on letters
Be prepared to handle repairs immediately as needed

Personally, I think writing on a wall is a super design idea not only for Fresh & Easy, but for any business. So don't avoid it, just look for better ways to get the font on the plaster. It's a great way to display company values or to send subliminal messages to all the readers who enter the space.

I wonder if the company who sold them the letters provided installment instructions or suggestions for optimal use?

Go any other ideas about writing on the wall? Leave your comment here. I believe in eating every opinion with respect.

Sign Here to Reduce Toxic Chemicals in the US

2011-04-08T14:33:00.005-04:00

Want to protect citizens from toxic substances?

Today I got a call from the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) asking me to support their efforts in helping to reduce our exposure to toxic chemicals.

If you want to live in a safer world, please take a minute to sign this petition for the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). I just signed it and it literally took me less than 60 seconds.

Thank you for taking the lead on this ASBC!

Experts For Sustainable Design Projects

2011-04-07T17:52:00.013-04:00

Looking for an expert who can assist you with a sustainable interior design project?

The American Society for Interior Designers ASID has chapters throughout the United States listing members who can assist with your projects. Some of the chapters also include an advanced search where you can find designers with expertise in sustainable design. Here are a few examples:

ASID Florida North Chapter Find a Designer

ASID Florida West Coast Chapter Find a Designer

ASID California Central Nevada Chapter Find a Designer

If you have a story you'd like to tell about a sustainable design project with an ASID expert, please leave a comment.

Green Lodging Program Helps to Sustain Florida

2011-04-02T16:52:00.002-04:00

Got a trip to Florida coming up?

Or are you a Florida designer or business consultant who knows of a hotel that wants to save money and improve its occupancy rates?

Check out Department of Environmental Protection Florida Green Lodging Program to locate a hotel or to assist a hotel with setting up more sustainable business processes.

Next time you're in St. Augustine, FL, check out the St. Francis Inn Bed & Breakfast, a green place to stay in the nation's oldest city. If a building dating back to 1791 can go green, then certainly any other hotel in our nation should be able to give it a try as well, right?

Please leave a comment if you a favorite green hotel in Florida you'd like to mention.

Green Up Your Next Off-Site Meeting

2010-11-17T15:22:00.003-05:00

Looking for some ideas on how to green your off-site meetings? Start with a sustainable location. Check out this "Green Meetings" presentation for more information on choosing a green hotel:

To locate a hotel with at least some awareness or attempt at sustainability, check out these sites:

Green Hotels Association
Greener Hotels
Green Key Global

There's no guarantee that these hotels are "greener" than the hotel down the street from them, but at least they've taken a step or two in their journey toward greater sustainability.

If you'd like to find a hotel that is truly committed to sustainability through third party auditing and verification, look for a Green Globe Certified Hotel and check out the criteria they follow to earn their place among the most sustainable hotels in the world.

If you have another site you'd like to add to the list, or if you have a tip on how to green meetings, please comment on this posting.

To learn more about sustainable meetings and events, check out the Green Meetings Industry Council, an organization committed to education and activities related to planning better meetings.

Want to see an example of a green hotel? Check out this Hospitality World Network article about the Aria.

I Don't Own a Blow Dryer

2010-09-30T09:40:00.006-04:00

"I don't own a blow dryer. You should see the looks from hair dressers when I say that out loud. Oh well . . . it goes with the lack of makeup I wear."

Barbara Virany
CFP & Portfolio Manager
Pittsburgh, PA

Water or Grass Yard?

2010-09-17T09:12:00.006-04:00

"I think I would rather have water for a yard than grass! Water...it come in...it goes out... & occasionally you have to pick up a bit of left-over crap! No mowing, weeding, pruning . . . AAARRRGH! Must be the Alaskan in me!"

Tish Young Haataia
Myrtle Creek, OR
Pelican, AK (hometown)

My Review of Seventh Generation Disinfecting Bathroom Cleaner, Lemon Grass & Thyme, 26 fl oz

2010-08-13T11:09:00.001-04:00

Vote for Triple Bottom Line Companies

2010-03-29T15:48:00.000-04:00

America is the land of the free and the home of the impatient. Check out this video where Dr. Lorraine Haataia encourages viewers to pay attention to the companies they're supporting, and to choose to buy from CSR triple bottom line companies like Patagonia, Whole Foods Market and Chipotle Mexican Grill, and to think twice before making too many purchases at large, low-price stores like Walmart.

Dr. Lorraine encourages buyers to slow down just a bit to “Google” the companies and manufacturers they’re voting for with their dollars.

If you’re interested in having Dr. Lorraine Haataia speak at your organization, contact her at www.DrLorraine.net.

Earth Hour Over Candlelight

2010-03-27T19:47:00.003-04:00

On Saturday night, my husband and I celebrated Earth Hour at home. For dinner, we had Kirkland wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon from Costco over salad with Annie's Naturals organic Caesar dressing. He cooked the salmon on Fire & Flavor cedar planks on our outdoor grill and I made the Caesar salad in the kitchen.

After we put the salmon over the salad, he hit the breaker switch and turned off all the power to the house. We enjoyed our candlelight dinner for one hour and seventeen minutes, so in case you need an extra few minutes, we can lend you a few.

We talked about how quiet it was without hearing any air conditioning, music or anything at all running in the house. It was surprisingly dark in the house without all the LED lights that shine from the kitchen appliances and television equipment. We're so accustomed to them that we don't even notice until they're gone. We have dimmers and motion sensors on almost all the switches in our home, but "off" is much darker than dim lighting!

We talked about how big the impact can be on any cause when you multiply the number of participants. We also talked about how much of an impact this could have worldwide if everybody participated. We walked out to our backyard and looked at our neighbors' houses and everyone else had their lights on, so they obviously didn't get the Earth Hour memo. It was a bright moonlight night, so it was very easy to walk in our backyard. I could take on some guilt and say that I didn't do anything to promote it in my neighborhood, but I certainly can next year!

Earth Hour was sponsored by the World Wildlife Foundation. What did you do for Earth Hour? Please feel free to leave a comment.

Green CPA Looks Forward to the Future

2010-03-15T15:58:00.000-04:00

Today I had the privilege of talking with Brian Setzler, MBA, CPA, and Co-Founder of TriLibrium, a “green CPA” firm in Portland, OR. The “tri” in TriLibrium stands for triple bottom line and the “librium” stands for equilibrium. To learn more, read their Story on their website.

Here are just a few things I got out of my meeting with Brian that you might want to apply to your business:

Look forward to the future. Brian says that traditional CPAs spend 80% of their time looking back and reporting what already happened. One of the key things that sets TriLibrium apart is that they encourage their clients to spend 80% of their time looking forward at what they can improve in the future. Once decisions are made and the bills are paid, you can’t do too much to change the past. TriLibrium encourages their clients to think about their strategy and spending going forward and what they can do to become a more sustainable company.

Get rid of the garbage. This sounds unthinkable for most businesses because most Americans have a throw-away mentality. Brian showed me a paper bag in the closet that’s there for emergency just in case something is no longer useful and can’t be recycled. The only thing in the bag that day was a small piece of plastic film from some packaging. When someone goes to the garbage in the closet, they joke with each other that it’s “the walk of shame.” In their kitchen area you won’t find any disposable cups. They’re all the real thing.

Replace garbage cans with recycle bins. If we all focused on producing less garbage and separating the garbage we did make, our landfill growth rate might slow down a bit. Replace the garbage cans in your office with recycle bins for paper, aluminum, glass, batteries, and any other common items regularly consumed by employees and your business processes.

Involve employees in shaping the company. TriLibrium employees don’t feel oppressed with a lean and green work environment. They all have a say in defining the company. Below is a collage they put together with words and photos that describing their ideal company. So it’s no coincidence that TriLibrium employees get a weekly massage by a masseuse in the same building.

See the bike in the picture? TriLibrium gives clients a bus ticket if they come to the TriLibrium office by bike or bus. Even clients partake in minimizing TriLibrium’s carbon footprint.

One of the other few works of art in the office is a painting entitled “Accounting Services for a Sustainable World” done by one of the employees, André Furin. Teachers take pride in their student’s work in K-12 schools every day, but this is usually where it ends. Why not include employee works of art demonstrating your company values?

Keep things simple. The office has a courtyard entry from the center of the building. The courtyard includes a few large potted trees and a few chairs. When I entered TriLibrium’s second-floor office, I felt a sense of spaciousness and clarity. Because it’s a courtyard office, they’re able to light their office with a lot of natural light. There’s no place for clutter here, just the essentials. I really got the sense that I was in a business with focus where people not only believe in the work they do, but also enjoy it. One of the keys to sustainability is to weed out things that don’t serve a clear purpose. Brian believes in transparency and authenticity and he helps his clients achieve these goals. Brian is a graduate of Bainbridge Graduate Institute and now serves as a staff member going back once a month to teach. “It’s a great place to make connections,” he says.

Become a B Corporation. When a company earns the status of a B Corporation, they’re making a public statement that they’re committed to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Use the GRI Reporting Framework. If you’re serious about sustainability, use the Global Reporting Initiative Reporting Framework to measure and report on the economic, environmental, and social performance of your company.

Say no. Brian invited me to check out their conference room, primarily lit by natural light, well as much as you can get in Portland, anyway. This March day happened to be unusually sunny for the green city which is usually covered by grey skies this time of year. The EnduraWood conference table is made of sunflower seeds, wood pulp and natural resins. One of the few things on the conference table was a copy of their 2009 Sustainability Report. I asked if I could have a copy and he very politely told me that they only printed ten copies, but I was welcome view the report on their website.

“We do very little printing in this office,” Brian said. “We only used three reams of paper our first year in business. When you hear the printer running in our office, you know it’s something that really must be printed.”

TriLibrium helps their clients develop business plans and strategies. Their typical client is a small to medium size company with under $10 million in revenue.

Keep up with the latest news and tips from Brian on his Green CPA blog.

Shapiro Uses Beeswax to Create Green Art

2010-03-15T15:11:00.008-04:00

Have you heard of encaustic painting? Me neither, until today when I had the opportunity to meet encaustic artist, Rebecca Shapiro, at her studio in Portland, OR. Unlike entering the studio of an artist who works with oil paints, the studio of an artist who works with beeswax smells refreshing and delightful. The melted wax is a form of artistic aromatherapy.

Here's what Rebecca has to say about her art:

Influenced by a childhood in the Pacific Northwest, I strive for sustainable practices in my studio and earth friendly materials in my mediums. I have always embraced a green heart and am currently exploring what it means to be a sustainable artist seeking kinship between art, nature and the human experience. I hope my art will help us all remember the interconnectedness of life.

A few years ago, I switched to encaustic because it is a more earth friendly choice for me. There is very little waste and I don't have to wash anything down the sink when I rinse my brushes. There is also a satisfying unity between the plants that inspire me, the bees that pollinate them and the beeswax. Each layer of wax allows me to be innovative, building my subject with glorious textures and ethereal depth. Sometimes, forty to fifty layers of wax are fused in a piece to abstract the essence of a plant. This sensuous medium gives me the freedom to express my love for the wild braid of colors, lines and forms in plants.

As being green and sustainable practices are being implemented in business, I would like to see businesses take their commitment a step further by purchasing/leasing art from artists who share the similar philosophies about being green. I would like to see a new breed of art patron emerge, that of the eco-art collector. These are people and organizations who use their dollars and support artists and their art who are considering their materials, studio practices and personal philosophy and in some cases, even their subject matter.

So, just what is sustainable fine art? In a nutshell, sustainable means to be made from renewable resources without depleting future resources, something that can continue indefinitely. If you look back through time, art certainly does that. Look at the paintings of Lascaux, DaVinci or Picasso. These works can be defined as sustainable because so far, they have continued indefinitely and we want to do everything to conserve them.

But now, things have changed. Sustainable fine art can’t just mean that you’ve created an image worthy of preservation. Sustainable fine art means that you, as an artist, must consider your materials, your studio practices and your personal philosophy. It means that you, as an art collector, use your dollars to support sustainable art and create a new breed known as the eco-art collector.

No, what I’m talking about is digging deeper into what sustainability means and apply art to the cradle to cradle concept. Cradle to cradle asks us to transform the way we make things – the way we make art. When a product returns to its industry at the end of a useful life and its materials are used to make valuable new products that do not return to the landfill, this is sustainable.

Why not design products so safe they don’t need regulation? Imagine a relationship between artist and eco-art collector where the artwork is returned, reworked and reinvented at the end of its life. Imagine a painting that has served its purpose, tossed on your garden for composting which feeds plants that are used to create pigments for future use.

There is amazing fine art out there made from recycled and reclaimed materials. But what about the fine artist like me that uses paints, pencils, inks, charcoals, pastels, paper, adhesives, varnishes, photography, etc? I might be green in my beliefs, studio practices and imagery but what if my medium isn’t sustainable? How can I create art but make choices that leave little or no impact? I don’t have all the answers but it’s worth having a conversation and exploring.

If you're looking for beautiful botanical art, check out Shapiro's work. Her pieces are ideal conversation-starters in locations such as:

flower shops
natural food stores
aromatherapy shops
green spas
anyplace that sells honey or bee products
green art galleries
businesses located near bee farms
organic or healthful restaurants
botanical garden shops
natural museum stores

If you have more ideas about where encaustic art might be featured, or you have something else you'd like to say, please leave a comment and add to the buzz about encaustic art! It's safe art without the sting of toxins.

Support Triple Bottom Line Companies

2010-03-04T13:49:00.000-05:00

Dr. Lorraine Haataia encourages viewers to pay attention to the companies they're supporting, and to choose to buy from triple bottom line companies like Patagonia, Whole Foods Market, Chipotle and Nike.

Mercury in Your Mascara?

2010-03-03T17:08:00.007-05:00

Before you go shopping for your favorite cosmetics again, check out the product ingredients at Environmental Working Group's Cosmetic Safety Database. There's a good chance you'll be looking for a new brand!

If you have a favorite safe brand or product you'd like to mention, please post a comment.

Find Your Reps on Project Vote Smart

2010-03-03T13:58:00.002-05:00

Project Vote Smart makes it easy to find your representatives. Search by candidate's or official's last name, or enter your zip code.

Let your representatives know what you're thinking!

Celebrate Climate Care Day on March 26

2010-03-01T09:45:00.004-05:00

Learn more about Climate Care Day in this short presentation:

Be creative and find a way to make this work for your organization!

Get Recharged On National Battery Day

2010-02-18T09:28:00.010-05:00

Allesandro Volta, inventor of the first battery, was born on February 18, 1745. That's why February 18th is National Battery Day. Every great invention deserves a special day, doesn't it? Even if you've never celebrated this little-known holiday, it's not too late to start!

If you have a car, cell phone, computer, flashlight, or a wireless mouse, then you have batteries, and you may not realize how much they've improved in the past few centuries! If you aren't already using rechargeable batteries in your gadgets, today is your day to begin.

Check out this video to learn more about new UltraLast lightweight and compact solar and USB battery chargers:

This time last year, 63,590 people participated in FC EXPO 2009 & PV EXPO 2009, the world's largest hydrogen & fuel cell event and Asia's largest photovoltaic event. If you're really into batteries, you can attend this year's event or one of the many other upcoming photovoltaic events.

The next time you need batteries, choose rechargeables to help reduce the number of batteries that end up in our landfills.

Walmart to Host Sustainability Summit

2010-01-20T09:33:00.011-05:00

Walmart Canada is hosting a summit on sustainability, highlighting the very real business case for going green. Collaborating across industry sectors, the Summit will accelerate the implementation of profitable, environmentally sustainable business practices.

On February 10, 2010, Walmart Canada, along with leading Canadian CEOs, heads of government, NGOs and environmental leaders, will workshop new ideas focusing on Energy, Waste & Material Management, and Green Products & Solutions in downtown Vancouver, BC.

Presenters include Dr. David Suzuki and David Cheesewright:

Dr. David Suzuki – Keynote Speaker

David Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He is renowned for his radio and television programs that explain the complexities of the natural
sciences in a compelling, easily understood way. Learn more...

David Cheesewright

David Cheesewright is the President and CEO of Walmart Canada Corp., which operates a growing chain of 300 locations nationwide. Walmart Canada employs 80,000 Canadians and serves more than one million customers
each day. Learn more...

“For the good of the planet we must share sustainable business practices across all business sectors. We have a huge opportunity to drive environmental collaboration.”

David Cheesewright, President & CEO, Walmart Canada Corp.

Take the Natural Step & Olympic Leap

2009-11-18T21:16:00.008-05:00

Are you familiar with Natural Step? If not, see Olympic testimonials from Canadian Whistlers here:

Obama Visits Largest Solar Plant in Nation

2009-11-02T21:39:00.001-05:00

Want to learn more about solar energy in the "sunshine state?" Check out this video:

For more details about Florida Power & Light's Next Generation Solar Energy Center in DeSoto County, Florida, see FPL's Project Facts & Benefits.

Obama Executes GreenGov Challenge

2009-10-31T09:56:00.002-04:00

Obama asks Federal employees to submit ideas on how to make the Federal workspaces healthier and more efficient.

Check out the suggestions at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/greengov/ideas/

Starbucks and Target Are Good Places "To Go"

2009-09-24T17:30:00.001-04:00

Ever get frustrated in a public restroom? You aren't the only one. Starbucks and Target are good places to go because they have in place excellent restroom policies and cleaning procedures. Despite their good intentions, however, you will LOL with these customer experiences.

Check out this "Gotta Go" video presented by Dr Lorraine Haataia at the Toastmasters International District 84 Division A Area 11 Humorous Speech Contest on September 24, 2009.

If you'd like to book Dr Lorraine for your next event, please contact her at www.DrLorraine.net. She's not always so funny. She's serious about helping businesses establish good policies and procedures that keep customers coming and going.

If you have other humorous public restroom stories you'd like to share, please leave a comment.

Vandalism Strikes on Poor Landscape Design

2009-08-06T14:39:00.001-04:00

In a suburb neighborhood with miles of green grass lining the roads, you're bound to have an occasional immature driver who wants to show off the abilities of his four wheel drive.

The members of the homeowner's association (HOA) who oversee the landscaping in Julington Creek Plantation in St. Johns County, FL, think it's a good idea to advertise the fact that the HOA is going to pay the lawn maintenance company to replace the sod every time this happens. And they want the hundreds of homeowners who drive by this to experience a moment of frustration and loss as they head back to their nice safe homes in the suburbs. Maybe the HOA is hoping that parents will go home and scold their innocent teens.

Every day, a small army of men and women from Nanak's Landscaping arrives to mow miles of grass, trim miles of shrubs, and weed countless flower beds in this large planned development. The homeowners pay for this costly recurring service.

The sign confirms that the HOA is dedicated to keep doing things the way they've been doing them for the past decade. Instead of thinking of more sustainable ways to manage the landscaping, they're going to buy sod and pay Nanak's to make the grass look like new again.

There is no real corrective action on this incident, just an advertisement of the obvious--someone ran off the road. A corrective action would involve adjusting the landscape design to reduce the number of "tear up the grass" incidents, and the cost of repairing them. No problem has been resolved by this sign.

Given the current state of the economy, it would make much more sense if the HOA and its paid vendors focused more time figuring out what landscaping modifications can be made to make the neighborhood landscaping more sustainable and reduce the overall maintenance costs for the customers they serve. I encourage Nanak's and other large landscaping companies to become ISO 14001 certified to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

Be careful what signs you post. They often say much more than you intend. If you're interested in finding a long term solution to a recurring problem, or if you're interested in ISO 14001 Environmental Management System certification, contact Dr Lorraine.

If you're aware of other similar issues with signs or greenscaping, please feel free to post a comment. I'd like to hear your story.

No Impact Man Enlightens World

2009-07-13T16:49:00.008-04:00

No Impact Man is one of the most inspiring documentaries I've ever seen!

Colin Beavan and his wife, Michelle Conlin, inspire the world by changing their way of life in the Big Apple. Colin believes that we all have a voice and we all need to take responsibility for our own actions. But Colin and Michelle aren't just preaching; they're the real thing! They phased in big changes in their own lives over a one year period to reduce their impact.

Colin and Michelle show how individual customers can make daily decisions that can also change corporations. Sometime in the near future, I hope to meet this couple I respect very much.

Get to know them in their reality-TV-like documentary where they welcome the world into their New York City home:

Publish Post

Michelle says the no impact way of life gave her the following benefits:

time slowed down
she felt like she lived more in the moment
she was much happier
her family became much closer

Change yourself to change the world with the No Impact Project.

Caterpillar Plows By Cayman Beach Resort

2009-07-12T12:22:00.001-04:00

If a man drives a Caterpillar on a beach in front of a Caribbean resort and no one is around, does anyone hear it? The answer is quite likely a "yes." Even if no one is on the beach, people in their rooms notice the sound and sight of a big machine not typically captured in Caribbean vacation advertisements.

On our second day at Morritt's in the Grand Cayman, my husband and I witnessed a Caterpillar dodge through tourists on the beach on a beautiful Sunday. The driver clearly had some business to do on the property, but seemed more concerned about his construction assignment than the people on the beach. And when he finished his work, much to the surprise of the tourists, he rumbled out down the beach instead of the parking lot.

The Caterpillar scattered sand a few feet away from people soaking up the sun, interrupting their peaceful afternoon, and causing some of them to flee their chaise lounges for safer ground.

If Morritt's Resort were ISO 9001 certified, something like this shouldn't have happened. Managers committed to customer satisfaction have provisions in place to monitor customer experiences taking place on their property. They also have established processes to help ensure customers concerns are taken care of promptly and appropriately.

Not only did the hotel have a disconnect between management and the maintenance crew, they also had a disconnect between the front desk and housekeeping staff. My husband and I discovered this through our pillow request. The first few days of our stay at Morritt's, we made numerous calls to the front desk requesting more pillows, but never received them.

Finally we decided that we'd try talking directly with someone in housekeeping and we got some extra pillows within the hour. Most travelers expect to call the front desk if they need some toothpaste or extra blankets. It's an unwritten "standard" in the hotel industry. After we made repeated calls and nothing happened, we began to wonder if they cared about their customers.

When a customer expectation is not met, this is, in ISO language, a "nonconformity." I don't believe Morritt's has a record of the pillow or Caterpillar nonconformities we experienced here. Although there are numerous wonderful things about this resort, I wouldn't come back a second time, and I wouldn't go out of my way to refer anyone. From the evidence I witnessed during my stay, they're not fully committed to continuous improvement or customer satisfaction and this is a deal-breaker in my book.

Ibis, an ISO 9001 certified hotel, is serious about customer satisfaction. Check out their 15 minute problem resolution policy. This type of policy fosters employee commitment to excellence which is key to building customer loyalty. It also provides a means for sharing common issues and documented best practices among their hotels throughout the world.

If you're interested in learning more about the benefits of ISO 9001 certification for your hotel, contact Dr Lorraine. Once you establish a culture of continuous improvement, your hotel will flourish in unexpected ways.

If you'd like to share a hotel story, I encourage you to post your rating and review on Expedia or Hotels.com.

Chipotle Serves Healthy Fast Food

2009-06-23T19:02:00.000-04:00

Check out this great ABC News Nightline interview with Steve Ells, Founder of Chipotle Mexican Grill:

If you haven’t already eaten at a Chipotle, take your next opportunity to try their fabulous food. It’s the best tasting and healthiest fast food around! Ells cares about the food served at Chipotle from start to finish, literally, not only for the people, but also the animals. Much of the food served in Chipotle is organic as well.

Shop and Go is a Clean Experience at Target

2009-06-20T21:16:00.000-04:00

If you're out shopping and you need a restroom break, Target is a good place to stop.

Target's outstanding clean restroom policy and procedure is clearly posted for both employees and customers to see. They really hit the bulls eye on this one. The policy sign posted for customers includes a literal "call to action," to call the team leader if the restroom is unacceptable. I wonder if this means I can call them about the little boy who looked up at me from under the next stall while his mother was busy talking on her cell phone? Nevermind, I was just kidding. Talking on cell phones probably makes shopping a more pleasant experience for moms.

The employee checklist entitled, "Restrooms are Clean," includes subheadings of "spotless, stocked and shiny." The form also provides two simple steps for employees to perform every hour: 1) check when the task is performed, and 2) press the call button when done to alert the manager that cleaning is complete. It's obvious that Target is serious about keeping their restrooms clean all day long.

At the Target in St. John's Town Center in Jacksonville, FL, on June 20, 2009, the restroom was clean and stocked. In no way does this guarantee that all Target restrooms on all days are as clean as this one, but you probably have a better shot at a clean restroom at a Target than at a nearby gas station.

So I'll give Target 7 points on a 10 point scale for their restroom policy and procedures. Here's how they could earn the extra three points in my book:

one more point if the restrooms had windows and/or more fresh air circulation and live plants.
one additional point if it included natural aromatherapy for clean nontoxic air.
one more point if they played pleasant jazz or instrumental music not only in the restroom, but throughout the store.

The red all over the store is a bit much and I think they can learn a few things from Walmart's newer energy-efficient stores with natural lighting in the ceiling. But this is just one customer's opinion.

Free Things You Don't Want When Shopping

2009-06-12T16:55:00.001-04:00

Seems like there's always a catch to free offers. It's always a good idea to read the fine print before saying yes to free stuff.

I saw this sign today in a clothing consignment store. It gave me a good idea about how this establishment feels about its customers. Although I found it somewhat offensive, I was also impressed with the layout and simplicity of it. It's eye-catching and it communicates a clear message.

What I'd like suggest to this store is that they ask the police to give first time offenders a free ride to a Scared Straight program that's set up as a daily or weekly event hosted by local prisoners. Convicts have the power not only to take lives, but also to save them. Check out this Scared Straight clip . . .

If you care about your community enough to sell them clothes, go the extra mile and take care of the few who come in looking for something else. Who knows, you might turn their life around and turn them into upstanding customers.

Walgreens May Lose Customers Who Can Spell

2009-05-12T17:56:00.000-04:00

According to Gallup's Honesty/Ethics in Professions survey, a pharmacist is the second most trusted professional in the United States, falling just behind nurses who take first place.

Ironically, the third most trusted professional is a high school teacher who could help the druggists correct the spelling on this sign I saw posted at Walgreens on Old St. Augustine Road in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 12, 2009.

As a former English professor myself, a mini-alarm goes off in my brain when I see a misspelling on a business sign. It's an advertisement that someone didn't pay attention to details. It amazes me that the store manager didn't notice! The company who made the sign didn't catch the error! The installers didn't catch it. And the pharmacists who show up for work every day aren't doing anything about this sign.

What they mean to say is that they want to ensure parking for their customers. They certainly aren't insuring parking!

Is anyone else out there concerned about this type of oversight? If you pick up a prescription at Walgreens, you want to pick up right drug. We all want to trust the pharmacist to type the correct name of the drug, and put the right pills in the right little bottle with the right instructions.

If you're investing in signs and would like a second opinion about wording to avoid possible misinterpretations, contact Dr Lorraine at www.DrLorraine.net.

Got other sign stories you'd like to share? Feel free to leave a comment.

Ten Great Reasons to Stall Your Advertising

2009-04-27T21:58:00.000-04:00

Most people who see an advertisement in a restroom stall or urinal are likely to read it because they have at least a few seconds to spare and they're compelled to read just about anything in front of them, even graffiti.

In the image below you see several colorful examples from Midwest Indoor Advertising:

Here are ten reasons you should consider advertising in your restrooms (a.k.a. indoor advertising):

Entertain while building brand recognition.
Target men or women of specific age groups.
Hold audience captive for 30 seconds or more, longer than most other forms of advertising.
Get your message through to the young, the affluent, to those who are out spending.
Offer phone numbers, calendar events or web sites that people can enter directly into their PDA on the spot.
Reach specific geographic locations.
Provide compelling news or facts that motivate reader to take action.
Capture people when they don't mind taking the time to read, unlike telemarketing, web site pop-up windows, emails, and other less appealing forms of advertising.
Customize your ads to suit a number of target markets.
Utilize this cost-effective form of advertising in your restrooms even if you don't do it anywhere else.

If you're interested in finding an ad agency who can help you with indoor marketing, see IBAA's membership directory:
Indoor Billboard Advertising Association Membership Directory

Even if you don't have a big budget to advertise outside your business, consider placing ads for upcoming events or specials in your own restrooms. Kaibo Restaurant, Beach Bar and Marina at Rum Point in Grand Cayman hung framed cork boards on the back of their stall doors. Although they would look better if they were centered on the door, some signage is better than none. The off-center would, however, make more sense if the hooks were moved more to the right so that a hanging purse, beach bag or towel wouldn't cover the sign.

The font on the Kaibo sign below is too small. They should say less with bigger font and with more attractive graphics.

The small font on April Events Calendar from REI shown below could also minimize the impact of their message. It would make more sense to advertise specific events with eye-catching photos in the stalls and place a larger calendar someplace else where people can read all the details. It would also be easier to keep the calendar more updated where the past weeks rolled off and only the upcoming four weeks were shown. I took this photo on April 27, a time when most of the April events were obsolete.

If you aren't utilizing indoor advertising and need advice on designing a customer communication strategy for your business, contact Lorraine@DrLorraine.net.

If you have more ideas about best practices for indoor advertising, feel free to share your comments.

Want to Smell Like Michael Jordan?

2009-04-03T15:56:00.000-04:00

Today I was behind Michael Jordan and smelled toxic exhaust. But just in case you want to smell like the backside of Michael, you can buy some of this bottled fragrance at Perfumania.

Advertising on the back of trucks is such a good idea. I never knew that this NBA All-Star who nailed an average of 30 points per game did this with crooked ears. No one ever talked about his disability, but things always come out in the end. I don't think this was a nice thing to do to Michael, but this is just one customer's opinion.

More companies should take advantage of the opportunity to advertise on these mobile placards. Millions of trucks are rolling on our Interstates everyday and many of them have nothing to say. Here are a just a few ideas:

Looking for used furniture? We're full of it. (ad for Allied)
Think out of the box. (ad for Creative Thinking Association of America)
Wish you could see where you were going? (ad for the

National Federation of the Blind

Got a splitting headache? (ad for Bayer Aspirin) This one would make the most sense to the guys loading and unloading the truck.

I'm really on a roll with this mobile billboard idea. If you have more ideas for ads on the back of trucks, I'd love to hear them.

Barba's Bioclimatic Approach Saves Energy

2009-03-24T10:47:00.006-04:00

Javier Barba, principal architect with Estudio BC Architects in Barcelona, designs with respect for nature and its resources. His bioclimatic approach includes incorporating earth-sheltering roofs and harmonizing structures with their surroundings to take advantage of the local climate conditions and good views. His timeless buildings are positioned to take advantage of natural light while avoiding severe solar conditions. Learn more about his principles on this CNN interview:

Reeds Carpets Shares Commitment to BS 8901

2009-02-26T20:58:00.007-05:00

Malcolm Hicken, Non-Executive Director of Reeds Carpets, presents Reeds' commitment to reducing the environmental impact of carpet waste in the exhibition & events industry. "Carpet is the second biggest waste generator within the industry," he says, "whose great concerns are about the mountains of post-exhibition carpeting that is being dumped into landfills every year. The industry tally is now regarded as totaling a mind-boggling, estimate, twelve million square meters of non-biodegradable floor covering every year!"

Hicken believes that BS 8901 is a win-win for suppliers, planners and the entire events planning industry and says they're working on becoming more environmentally sustainable by seeking out new processes, and developing a carpeting that will be generally recyclable.

All of this is good, but I don't understand why he didn't talk about developing flooring that could be reused many times. Producing carpeting that's made from recyclable materials is a step in the right direction, but this recycled carpeting will then just end up in the landfills too. Why not create processes and rental systems for temporary use of floor coverings that can be reused a number of times at other events? Or why not partner with convention centers and hotels to develop floor covering that is more flexible and can be swapped out as needed for various events? A step in the right direction is good, but a leap would be even better!

Top 10 Ways to Green Your Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T16:55:00.005-05:00

Check out these great gift ideas from University of Waterloo Faculty of Environment students!

It's Good to Go Behind Swisher Hygiene

2009-02-02T12:28:00.000-05:00

If you step into a restroom right after the Swisher guys have been there, you're probably going to have a pleasant visit.

Swisher's stickers are in many public restrooms that are cleaner than most. Not only are they good at swishing, they're also good at driving. I don't know much about this company, but the more I notice the brand, the more I'm impressed I become.

This truck alone says a lot. They post an 800 number on the back to keep their drivers accountable. If the employee really was driving crazy or speeding, it would probably make it hard to read the number to call it, but I just might call the number to let them know that the driver was responsible. Not many people take the time to report good news. I'm sure I could make someone's day and give them a story that they'd repeat for some time.

"Let me tell you a story about a happy lady who called," they'd say.

The logo is eye-catching and clever. You can tell this is a company that does something with lightning, curvy mountain roads or toilet flushing, but if you keep reading you get an extra hint through the website, www.SwisherHygiene.com. Those two words say a lot. It's smart.

Swisher offers customers a green hygiene option for customers who understand the value of using safer and more sustainable products. If they could figure out how to install aromatherapeutic ventilation systems in restrooms, I'd want to invest in them.

Mercedes-Benz C-230 Back In the Shop Again!

2009-01-27T11:08:00.000-05:00

This evening I had a scary experience with my little red Mercedes. I was driving on A1A in North Miami when I noticed a smokey smell, but I ignored it thinking it was just something in the air.

Then I come to a red light and stalled out. I was able to restart the car, but then a red light began flashing on my dash telling me that my alternator and battery needed to be checked. I realized that the smokey smell could be coming from my car. I was in the middle lane of a 3-lane highway, so I decided to make the first right to turn around and go back to the Trump Hotel. This is when I realized that my power steering was gone. I used all my strength to make the turn.

While sitting at another red light, I got a message to turn off as much as possible in the car to conserve the battery, so I turned off my CD player and my air conditioning, and closed my sun roof. I couldn't think of anything else I could turn off or close up. Next I got a message that the car was overheating and I realized that the burning smell was indeed coming from my car. I wasn't far from my hotel so I began praying that I would make it back without being stranded on the roadside. On the way I looked for gas stations, but found none. I made it back to the hotel and let the valet know that I was going to call Mercedes. When I got out, I saw steam coming from the hood.

Although I should have checked for the roadside assistance number in the owner's manual, I thought I had it programmed into my cell phone. But after getting back to my room, I realized that I didn't. So then I did a web search for the number for several minutes. It didn't come up right away, so I did a search for Mercedes-Benz Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. I decided to call the Ft. Lauderdale Benz on Federal Way since the location is north of my hotel, toward Jacksonville, rather than south of it in the direction of Miami.

So I called the Ft. Lauderdale number and pressed 5 for roadside assistant, as the instructions directed me to do. After pressing 5, I got a message that this wasn't a valid extension! Ugh! NCR* on Mercedes Ft. Lauderdale for an extension that leads to a dead end! My customer satisfaction was dropping fast.

Then I went back to web surfing for the USA roadside number and finally found a generic contact number for Mercedes-Benz USA. I called that number and, after just a ring or two, got a nice young lady, Angela, on the line. She was friendly and sincere. It helped to calm me. Since I was back at the hotel, she advised me to call the Ft. Lauderdale service center at 7 AM in the morning before having it towed there. I appreciated her advice and that's just what I'll do tomorrow morning.

I drove from Jacksonville down to Miami on Sunday for a Hammer seminar and the car was fine until today. I've had the care for less than 3 years and this will be the 13th fairly major repair! Something's up with this car!

*NOTE: An NCR is a nonconformance.

Szaky Turns Waste Into Sellable Products

2008-10-30T21:28:00.006-04:00

Tom Szaky, Founder & CEO of TerraCycle, speaking about graffiti and turning waste into sellable products at the IDEA Conference in New York City on October 30, 2008.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1370868150/bctid6625327001

Nike Improves Conditions for Workers in Malaysia

2008-09-18T18:12:00.000-04:00

If our clothing could talk, what cries might we hear from our closets? Check out this video before you make your next Nike purchase:

Nike improved the living conditions for workers in Malaysia once the story aired.

Thank you Australian TV Channel 7 for keeping consumers informed!

Wanted: People Who Don't Care

2008-09-18T08:35:00.000-04:00

“How about up there?” I asked.

"For a minute, I thought it might be in the right place,” he said as he opened another inventory door for me.

That’s all he had to do to clue me in that he was working for a company that needed improvement in some form. By his words and actions, he demonstrated that the store inventory was not in good order. I wanted to buy a desk lamp that was on display, but the one I wanted wasn’t on the shelf in a box among all the other lamps. I couldn’t find one so I walked around the aisles for a while until I finally found someone who worked there.

“How may I help you ma’am?” he asked with a smile.

“I’d like to buy one of the lamps on display, but I can’t find one on the shelf.”

“Let’s see what I can do for you,” he said in a very calming voice. He immediately struck me as someone who likes to help people--the type of person any CEO would want on their floor.

He looked at all the boxed lamps on the shelves, just as I did, but there was no lamp. Then he started opening doors on top of the shelves, looking at inventory numbers hand-written on the boxes. He opened two doors where the overstock inventory would logically be stored, just above the lamps, but none of the boxes had the magic number. I asked him to look in a few more nearby areas, and he agreed, saying that the inventory often wasn't in its most logical place.

He was an older gentleman, so I made the assumption that he probably had other jobs in the past.

“What did you do before you worked here?" I wondered.

“Social work, but I couldn’t take it anymore. Saw too many kids from families that have to choose between clothing or food. Then their school teachers failed them because they didn’t print out their homework on a computer. Some of those kids come from families who can’t even afford the electric to power the computer. So I started building computers for kids, on the side. Built 346 of them over the years, but finally burnt out. I worked day and night to try to help them, and never saw the state give a kid a computer so they could do their homework.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.” I started imagining that this man might not see his reward until he's in heaven. “So what brought you here?”

“Just needed to do something different--something completely different.” He kept scanning the shelves.

“Have you ever made a suggestion to improve the inventory here?” I was baffled that such a major corporation was blind to their employees' day-to-day frustrations. I was thinking that I should contact the CEO and ask him if he knows what kind of conversations are going on between his employees and his customers!

“Management doesn’t want to hear anything we have to say. Corporate sends us inventory whether we need it or not and we find a place to put it. Sometimes we have too much of one product and sometimes we’re completely out of another, but they’re not too concerned about it.”

“So you went from one organization that didn’t understand its customer to a company in a different industry who cares little for its employees and customers.”

“That’s right, but it’s easier to say 'no' to a customer with a car and a cell phone than to a kid who didn’t have breakfast or lunch.”

“Seems like you know something about quality and inventory management.”

“Yes, before the social work, I worked for a company that followed Deming principles.”

“It must be hard to walk around all day knowing how you can improve the business and the service to the customer, but have your hands tied.”

He nodded. “Everything I say here falls on deaf ears. Management doesn’t want to hear it. They tell us what to do and we're supposed to obey.”

As an advocate for continuous improvement, I find this troubling on several levels. The company is missing out on great suggestions that could come from employees. I’ve never been given a customer survey at this store, so I imagine they’re also missing out on customer feedback. It amazes me that companies like this can stay in business for years, and this is a well known company with stores all over the United States! I definitely wouldn’t buy stock in this company, and I’m going to start paying closer attention to their competition, just to see how they stand up to their competition in the upcoming years.

We couldn’t locate the lamp in the store inventory or in their warehouse, so he sold me the display at a discount. Shouldn’t they have a better process for out-of-stock inventory, I wondered?

If you work for a company where top management wants to hear the voice of the employees and the customers, you are fortunate. If you later go to a company that doesn’t want your input, you will likely feel belittled and probably won’t want to stay very long. I’ve been in this store many times before and I didn’t see this nice, helpful man. I’m wondering how long he will last in this culture. Will this good worker burn out here? Will I see him here in a few months? In a way, I hope I don’t, because he deserves better. He’s too smart and too nice to last in this top-down driven culture.

If you’re in control of your business, but your business is going down, you may be able to capture ideas from your employees and customers to help turn it around. If you’re interested in more ideas on how to continuously improve your business, contact Dr. Lorraine for a consultation. You don’t know what you might be missing. If you’re not careful, you may be running out of lamps. It’s not easy to work in the dark!

Hipocrits in the Aisles

2008-05-31T18:42:00.000-04:00

This evening I stopped by Office Depot to pick up some supplies. I arrived around 8:40 PM. Knowing the store was closing at 9 PM, I walked straight towards to my top priority—filing boxes for a storage project.

When I got back to the file boxes and starting comparing prices, about eight feet away from me I noticed a teen girl popping the plastic seal off a container of candy. It was rather noisy in a squeaky way as she was struggling to get it open, so it was hard not to notice what she was doing. I was sort of trying not to notice, but it was very obvious. This is exactly why they put these annoying plastic seals on packages, I thought.

She seemed to be moving rather slowly as if it might make it less noticeable to someone who worked in the store. After she finally popped the plastic seal and threw it on the floor, she opened the container and reached inside for one of the little packaged candies. By the time she proceeded to opening the wrapper, I couldn't stop myself from asking.

“Are you stealing that candy?”

I thought I might be doing a good deed by deterring a teen from making a bad decision. She was a sleek 80-pounds with an MP3 player in her hand and the ear phones stuck in her ears, but I’m fairly certain she heard me loud and clear because she looked straight at me, continuing to open the candy wrapper, as if in slow motion. The teen stared at me, completing her task, by now fully aware that I knew what she was doing.

About that time, a large woman about 6' tall stepped around the aisle. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “What do you say to my daughter?” She was much taller and wider than me.

“I asked her if she was stealing that candy.”

“She is NOT stealing anything. Why do you say that to her?”

“I just watched her.” I said, now beginning to wish that I had said nothing.

“I told my daughter she could pick out whatever candy she wanted. But that’s none of your business, is it lady?

I steered my cart in another direction, deciding that this probably wouldn’t turn into a pleasant conversation, but she followed after me.

“I told my daughter that she could get any candy she wanted, but that’s none of your f%)&!$^ business, is it? She’s my daughter and I tell her what she can do.”

I turned away from her, hoping she would go away.

“Just look away lady. Look at me! My daughter is none of your %&#@*&( business, is she?” Although her volume was going down, her rage was going up.

I didn’t have dinner yet, so my adrenaline triggered a low blood sugar moment and I started to feel shaky. I felt uncomfortable with her growing anger, so I decided I better wheel away quickly, and I did.

I suddenly started to feel terribly guilty about the times I’ve tasted grapes or cherries in a grocery store. I felt like I had done something very wrong—I judged someone else, when I was just as guilty. I thought that I had never shoplifted, but if everyone who went into a store did just a little bit of grazing, it ends up in quite a bit of shrinkage for retailers over time.

I thought I escaped from her and that the whole scene was over, but I was wrong. She found me and continued her verbal attack:

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t give a little b%*&) like you much notice. I told my daughter that she could get any candy she wanted, but I didn’t clear that with you because you aren’t her f%*#@^) mother.” She continued to mouth derogatory comments and threats. I turned away again, pushing my cart to another section of the store.

Wherever I went, she followed me, staring at me from the end of each aisle, mouthing to me with an angry eyes, “I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

Then in another aisle, “I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

I couldn’t find an item I was looking for and I could hardly think straight, so I found a sales clerk and asked for help.

The mother was standing at a distance with her daughter, both of them watching everything I was doing. She might have thought that I was asking for protection, but I simply couldn’t find the letter openers. I’ve been in this store before, so I knew that I was being assisted by the store manager. He walked me to the letter openers, and then asked me a question that I’ve always considered to be somewhat annoying, but today found it to be a magical retail question, “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Yes, I’ll need someone to walk out with me after I check out. There’s a woman in the store who threatened me and said she would be waiting for me in the parking lot.”

He squinted his eyebrows together as if questioning what I just said, but then he replied, “yes ma’am, we’ll be sure that one of the men walk you to your car.”

“Thank you,” I said. I picked out a letter opener and then headed for the register.

She was still watching me as the cashier rang up my purchase. I turned away, again trying to ignore her.

The manager was near the exit talking with another employee, waiting to walk me out, and he did. As the automatic doors opened into the dark parking lot, I worried what might happen next. Did she have a big husband waiting in a truck outside? Would she watch me get into my car and follow me?

Kudos to the manager who walked me out. I didn't see the mother or the young girl in the parking lot, but I won't forget this experience anytime soon. And I won't be tasting cherries or grapes in grocery stores anymore.

What Executives Need to Know about ISO 9001

2008-05-22T14:42:00.001-04:00

When is the last time you had a bad experience as a customer and complained about it? Was your complaint resolved to your satisfaction? When your experience as a customer doesn’t meet your expectations, it creates a gap between you and the business.

Let’s say you walk into a jewelry store and to drop off your favorite watch for repair. They tell you it will be ready in three days. On the third day, you realize you can’t find your receipt. In fact, you don’t remember getting one when you dropped off your watch, but you don’t think much about it. So later in the day you go back to the store and find out they can’t find your watch and they have no record of your order. You ask for the manager and the clerk on the other side of the counter smiles and tells you he’s the owner.

It’s good business practice to create a record of an order and to have an organized and efficient system to track customer property. These are standards that most people expect when doing business with a reputable company. These are also examples of two ISO 9001 standards regarding record-keeping and customer property.

The Greek word for “equal” is “iso.” ISO is also an international organization that publishes over 16,000 standards. Companies worldwide voluntarily follow the standards in order to facilitate their efficiency in doing business with others. It is the largest standards organization in the world. ISO 9001:2000 is one, among many, of their sets of standards. This 25-page document describes the basics for running a business with a high quality management system. It outlines management responsibilities for managing resources, products and services. It also describes minimal requirements related to measuring improvement of the business, such as improving cycle time or customer satisfaction.

ISO standards are developed by experts who understand their trade. Professionals come from every industry including: medical, engineering, communication, construction, technology, transportation and distribution. Experts typically distribute drafts of standards for public review and feedback. Then they debate them until they reach consensus on new standards or updates on existing standards. They tell stories and think about examples of how their criteria might apply to various organizations throughout the world. They criticize every word in every standard. They must be clear, concise and thoughtful to make it work worldwide.

Companies wanting to meet the standards of ISO 9001 are required to track their mistakes and find ways to prevent employees from making the same mistakes week after week. In ISO language, this translates to tracking nonconformities and following through with corrective actions to the business processes. ISO 9001 certified companies are also required to monitor customer satisfaction. The standard outlines best practices for any type of business.

If you own a small company, you may not want to pay an outside agency for official ISO 9001 certification, but if you learn the basics of the standard and apply them, and you’ll have a better company. If you own a large company and aren’t already ISO 9001 certified, look into certification immediately. You’ll be surprised at what this standard can do for the culture of your company and how much it will empower your employees to make it a better place to work and a better place to do business. If you’re interested in learning more about basic ISO 9001 standards, contact Dr. Lorraine for a consultation. A few years ago, I didn’t know much about the ISO system, but today I’m a believer in its value for businesses and the customers they serve.

Knuckleheads put themselves out of business. Talented people learn from others and build businesses that last years. Time is money.

Harry's Broken Process Eats Up Time

2008-05-18T17:56:00.002-04:00

Last night my husband and I drove to St. Augustine to enjoy an evening walk on the the beach and dinner. The walk on the beach was great, but the dinner experience wasn't as pleasant.
We strolled around St. Augustine checking out our restaurant choices. We passed by several for various reasons: we weren't in the mood for Mexican, the music was too loud, the outdoor chairs didn't look comfortable, we didn't care for the musician, the wait for outdoor seating was too long, or whatever. And so we kept walking, until we came to Harry's of course, my husband's favorite restaurant in the ancient city.

Harry's has a quaint courtyard and they usually have a mellow live music on weekend evenings. My husband had Harry's on his mind before we even arrived, so I knew that he'd be disappointed if I chose another restaurant. But next time I probably will.

We arrived at Harry's about 9:30 PM and we were told that we'd have about a 30 minute wait. So we got a drink and sat down on chairs in the outdoor waiting area. We sat down hoping to relax. About five or ten minutes later, two other couples with British accents joined us in the outdoor waiting area. Immediately, they started commenting about all the empty tables that we were looking at--some clean and some not so clean. They grew impatient quickly and the two men sat down at an empty table for two. A few minutes later, a waitress asked them to leave the table.
"We've been standing around staring at this empty table while our wives are holding their drinks on their knees," he said with his British accent. "What's the hold up?"
The waitress informed him that the kitchen was "backed up" and that they would be seating customers at this table soon. They had too many orders in the kitchen and they couldn't keep up.

In the meantime, we all joked critically about the empty tables, commenting about their slow service. The employees were all wearing black pants and black shirts so it was easy to identify three of them standing in a corner chatting. If you know Harry, please let him know that it's not a good idea for customers to stand around waiting for service, while they watch three employees stand around talking. It gives us the impression that the customers here are a low priority.
The next time someone in black walked by the British customer, he asked, "Can you please let me know why we're standing in this waiting area when there are so many empty tables?"
"Our computer went down and our tech guy got in a fight with his girlfriend, so he left." The guys turned to us and brought us up to date with the latest report.
The next time I saw someone walk by in black, I asked if she could request the manager to come talk to us. A manager came out right away. She had black spiked hair and lips pursed with frustration. As soon as she came out to the courtyard, the people in black started looking busy. They walked over to the dirty tables, started wiping and pushing dirty dishes around. They ought to get some of these people back in the kitchen to lend a hand, I thought, to learn to make a salad or something!
"We've been looking at empty tables for almost half an hour. Is there a reason why we can't wait more comfortably at a table?"
"You've been waiting for 18 minutes on pager #152," she snapped. "We can't seat any more people or our kitchen will go down." I wondered how she knew our pager number. After getting home and downloading my pictures, my camera time showed 25 minutes between the time we arrived and the time I took a photo just after talking with the manager. I was irritated enough to check the time the next day!
When our pager finally went off and we went to the hostess station, I asked a young lady how long we had been waiting. "The pager time just cleared out," she said with a smirk. "Follow me please," she said as she grabbed two menus. I wasn't surprised that she wasn't tracking the promised time against the actual wait time. Their lack of appropriate measures was evident. If the restaurant had some better process measures in place, the manager could have improved customer service this evening. They obviously didn't have a goal of getting tables cleaned quickly or getting customers seated as quickly as possible.
We eventually got seated and had a good hot meal, but we certainly didn't have a romantic evening of conversation on Harry's patio as we had expected. Instead, we got caught up in conversation with other frustrated customers as we witnessed their broken process. We all agreed that we'd rather be waiting at a table conversing with our companions than standing on the sidelines. There weren't enough "waiting" seats for everyone who was waiting, even though there were plenty of chairs in the courtyard.
I shot a photo of my dinner plate when it arrived at 11:12 PM. If I had known we were going to wait more than an hour and a half for our dinner, I wouldn't have chosen Harry's.
If you're a hungry tourist in St. Augustine tonight, I don't recommend Harry's, but if you don't mind sitting or standing around in a nice courtyard for an hour or more, you might enjoy it.
We have visitors coming into town next week and we were planning on bringing about a dozen people to Harry's. Now we're working on Plan B. We've been going to Harry's occasionally for several years and this is the worst service we've ever experienced.
Does anyone know what's up with Harry? Is he doing OK? Even if a business is going down hill, it can survive by taking advantage of tourists who don't know any better. Tourists beware!
Harry could do any of the following to begin the journey of improving his customer satisfaction:

put customer feedback cards on every table
train the busboys and busgirls to help make salads when the kitchen gets backed up
hire managers who have more empathy with customers
redesign the measure that's forcing the hostess not to seat people at empty tables until the kitchen is ready

If you own or work for a business where you believe you can be doing a better job and would like help improving your processes, contact Dr. Lorraine today. Better now than later.

LOL at the Old Yellow Pages

2008-04-24T16:10:00.000-04:00

“I need to make some copies to be ready for my class tomorrow morning. Do you know where I can make some copies?” Page asked, as she tugged down her tight purple top which barely covered her midriff.

“Office Depot,” her manager answered.

“Do you know the phone number?” Page demanded as she tagged another shirt.

“I’m not sure,” the manager began walking further away from the register area.

“I need to find out when they close, but I don’t want to run up my phone bill for the number,” Page pleaded, flicking her nose ring forward and backward.

“There’s a phonebook under the register, help yourself,” her manager responded shaking his head.

Page lifted the thick dusty book off the lower shelf. She plopped it on the countertop--the thump added an extra loud drum beat to the store’s contemporary rock music. She started pushing the pages forward and backward with great frustration.

The old yellow pages have little significance to a younger generation. I was recently in a clothing store around 7 PM when I overheard this conversation between a young college student and the store manager.

“How do I find Office Depot? What do I look up?” she asked. With these questions, she captured my full attention, and at the same time, lost the attention of her agitated manager who walked yet further away.

“Look up FedEx Kinko’s,” I suggested. “I think they’re open later than nine.”

“OK” she said, as she continued flipping pages randomly without any effort of finding any particular letter of the alphabet. She dropped her head back, adjusted her pony tail and rolled her eyes.

“It would take forever to find anything in here,” she pushed a few buttons on her cell phone and asked for FedEx Kinko’s. A few moments later, she announced, “I'm screwed! Kinko’s closes at nine.”

“Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples all close at nine too,” I told her, hoping to save her some time and money in making the extra calls.

“Can I finish up here and leave early? I have to do my homework,” she begged without looking up, while at the same time responding to a text message on her phone.

I’m not sure how this story ended because I left. The rock music annoyed me and I was turned off by employees who were more concerned about clothing and classes than they were about their customers. Neither one said 'hello' or asked if I wanted help.

Although I didn’t purchase anything, I did leave with a free treasure. I learned something about the younger generation. Page and the older manager definitely weren’t on the same page! Page had very little patience for a thick heavy phonebook--to her it was nothing but inefficient. She grew up with the expectation of instant answers after typing a few letters or numbers into a cell phone or into an online phone directory.

Some people in older generations may be baffled by a text message written in foreign acronyms, LOL, while the younger generation is equally puzzled why anyone would value a thick book full of hard-to-find numbers that gets updated only once a year!

If the success of your business is in the hands of a younger generation and you'd like to be sure to accommodate their ideas and their needs, while maintaining overall employee satisfaction, contact Dr. Lorraine for a consultation. If you didn't know that LOL stands for laugh out loud, use a tool like AcronymSearch.com, or Slang, Chat and Pop Culture acronyms on AcronymFinder.com. Your answer will pop right up!

BBL

Dr. Lorraine

Write Down Your Processes for Goodness' Sake

2008-03-26T16:23:00.000-04:00

"Last time I was here, I had no problem swapping mashed potatoes for the French fries. So why is it a problem today?" a customer retorts with frustration.

"When I bought the car, I was told your service policy was to wash my car every time it comes in for service, but half the time, you tell me my car is ready, but I'll have to wait longer if I want it washed."

Sound familiar? Ever had the rules changed on you?

Are you familiar with the Telephone game in which one person whispers a message into the ear of the next person? The way this game goes is that a group of individuals form a circle and one person starts with the original news. The information is transferred from one person to the next until it goes all the way around the circle. As the message comes back around, the last person communicates out loud to the whole group--and laughter breaks out as everyone comments on what they thought they heard.

This is a favorite party game around the world because it illustrates how much each person distorts the message to the extent that the final message is often completely unrelated to the original. The larger the group, the more erroneous the message becomes. It's downright funny how unreliable verbal communication can be. In a game the result is laughter, but in business, the result is leakage!

Now imagine relying on verbal communication in a company with dozens of employees? How about hundreds of employees, or even thousands. People are talking--you can count on it!It's management's responsibility to ensure they're all sending the same message. If top managers want to allow substitutions, do all of your employees permit customers to swap mashed potatoes for French fries? If it's your policy to wash all cars after servicing them, are you counting how many actually get washed? If these things aren't happening consistently, what impression do you think you're giving your customers?

So what does this mean to business owners and managers? It can be very expensive to count on verbal communication as the primary means of running your business. Verbal communication differs tremendously from person to person. Variability is the opposite of stability or standardization.

If every employee does things his or her own way, the customer ends up having a different experience each time he does business with you. Not only does your business success depend on putting standard practices into place, it also depends on being sure that they're getting carried out every day.

Variability means less predictability and more chaos for your employees and customers. If service or problem resolution is handled a different way each time it happens, customers become frustrated and typically even inform employees how things were done around here the last time. Erratic processes increase employee stress and lower customer satisfaction.

IBM Manager Bob Haataia suggests a good idea. Imagine the same circle game but with a new rule--the first person has to write the message on a piece of paper and read it quietly to their neighbor, then pass it on to the next person and so on, until it goes all the way around the circle. This game wouldn't be anywhere near as comical as the first because if everyone followed the rules, the first message would be exactly the same as the last. You can count on it. You can predict it. No game!

If you had 10, 100, or even 1000 people standing in a circle, they could discuss other matters amongst themselves until the written message got around to the last person because they would already know how the game will end. It will end with everyone getting the same message. There's no confusion and no stress. If a company has well-written procedures and work instructions and employees are properly trained in carrying out these good practices, then the organization has a much better chance at promoting their brand by giving their customers a consistent experience.

God delivered us a message through his son, but he made sure that there were people around to write down the stories. He didn't leave it to chance. If God thinks it's a good idea, I choose to agree.

Some people may interpret the written words a bit differently, and if they do, you have the opportunity to discuss the instructions or procedures to make it more clear to everyone.

Do you have a company mission statement? Are your core business processes written down? Do they support your mission? Is everyone marching in the same direction without tripping over one another?

If you said 'no' to any of these questions and would like help in standardizing best practices in your company, contact Dr. Lorraine for a consultation. Together, we can put together plan for you to standardize and continuously improve your processes and your profitability.

How Much Is Your Restroom Costing You?

2008-03-25T14:21:00.000-04:00

On a recent visit to a doctor's office, I made a stop in the restroom. Here's what I saw--a bad sign! Someone in the office evidently thought it would be a good idea to put a basket of paper towels on top of the toilet tank. And the same person, or perhaps someone else, took the time to type, print and then tape a paper sign on the front of the toilet tank letting patients know they only wanted toilet paper in the toilet. The sign read:

Please...Only toilet paper should be placed in the toilet.

Are they serious? Where should I put the stuff I came in to get rid of? Now here's what makes the story even more interesting. They purchase the kind of towels that fold together, the kind that are meant for a towel dispenser, so that once you pull one out, the first fold of the next towel is cued up for taking, similar to the way a tissue box works.

I typically try to follow rules as much as possible, but when I pulled a paper towel to dry my hands, one more flipped over and fluttered right into the toilet. What a trap! Right about then I looked around the room to see if there was a hidden camera somewhere in the corner where someone was watching to see what I would do. Would I reach into the toilet and pull out the paper towel?

Well, I'm not quite that obedient. And by now, I've already decided they deserve a clogged toilet for setting up such a poor layout of the bathroom supplies. In the next picture you can see that they clearly have room for a towel dispenser closer to the sink.

In addition to making it easier to wash hands, it would also save the drips that end up on the toilet seat when people reach over the toilet with wet hands to get a paper towel. Don't you hate when you see a toilet with drips on the seat?

If you have a poorly designed restroom in your office or if you know of an organization who needs some help improving a restroom space, contact Dr Lorraine. I can help you set up a functional bathroom to meet your requirements and fit the theme of your organization. You may not think that your restrooms have much impact on your organization and you may not be thinking about other aspects of your environment that have an impact on the brand, image and impression that you deliver to your employees and customers.

Can you believe that a doctor would allow this in her office? One who knows much about the dangers of germs! The sign is dripping with germs, and advertises oversight on the part of the doctor and office manager.

If you'd like to learn more about bathroom ratings around the world, or provide your rating on a bathroom that you visited, see RestroomRatings.com.

Your customers and employees become more or less loyal based on the experiences they have with your organization. Why not take every opportunity to make a good impression and create a positive experience?

Manufacturing from Rags to Britches

2008-02-13T10:09:00.000-05:00

So I'm driving down the road this morning and I end up at a red light behind a truck with rag-wrapped ladder ends. For years, I've noticed that painters do this! It's just one of those obvious things that jumps out at me because it doesn't look right. It's jimmy rigged! Painters don't want to damage the interior or exterior walls their ladders lean on, so they cushion the ends of their ladders. Since I'm behind the truck at a long light, I have time to have a brief conversation with myself. Haven't the ladder manufactures talked to their customers in the past decade or two, I wonder? Don't the Home Depot guys say something to the ladder distributors about the fact that all the paint guys come in and buy rags and tape with their ladders?

And about this time, I start laughing as I remember a comedian I saw a few months ago. She posed similar questions related to manufacturers and retailers understanding their customers:

Why don't tampon manufacturers package a little chocolate in with each tampon?
Why don't grocery stores put the chocolate bars next to the female hygiene products?
Why can't you buy tampons with your chocolate ice cream cone at Ben & Jerry's or Baskin Robbins?

Studies show that about half of American women crave chocolate before and during their menstrual cycle. Chocolate helps to boost women's magnesium deficiency during this time. More importantly, chocolate sparks chemicals in the brain that give off feelings of euphoria, a much needed boost when you feel bloated.

Are you meeting your customers' needs?

Are you sure?

To the ladder manufacturers: do you talk to painters when they're on the job?

To the tampon manufacturers, such as Natracare: you may be intimately connected with your customers, but don't you know that they just want to have a good talk every now and then?

Two Feedback Questions are Better Than Thirty Six

2008-02-10T08:39:00.000-05:00

My intent in providing feedback is to help organizations better understand how customers experience their product and service offerings. Most leaders and managers have blind spots they don’t even know about. In addition, many people are uncomfortable with genuine feedback, so they find ways around it. They collect examples to support their own desires. And they gather excuses to avoid the things they don’t want to deal with. For leaders who are open to change and growth, I provide just one opinion that they may or may not find helpful.

I arrived at Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center (LYBCC) after dark on Friday, so my first impression was that it was a difficult place to find. Their directions from Jacksonville told me to come via SR-40. After I turned onto SR-40, I saw a sign that said Road closed 11 miles ahead, local traffic only. This didn't bother me. I justified that I would drive slow through the road construction and act like local traffic. Ten miles later, I came to another sign that provided one more important detail: Bridge closed, local traffic only. Bridge closed! Why didn't they mention this 10 miles ago? Why didn't MapQuest tell me this several hours ago?

Over the years I've become an expert at getting myself out of being lost. So I came prepared with my Florida map. I drove off the side of the road and pulled my reading glasses out of my luggage. When I was younger I didn't need the reading glasses step, but now I do. I studied the map and found out how I was going to go around this bridge closure. Here I was on a very dark night on the back country road in central Florida. I was disappointed with MapQuest, with LYBCC, with road construction procedures and with myself for not having gotten the memo about the bridge closure.

I was already on a tight schedule and now I was certain to be late for the Friday-night keynote speaker. But I had a conversation with myself, saying that I could get the notes, have lunch with the speaker or hear him at another conference. When I made the first right turn, all I could see in the sky was the moon smiling at me. It was a crescent in the shape of a smile. I felt safe knowing that God was watching over me and giving me yet another life lesson. By now, I was all cheered up, because I realized that I couldn't change what happened. I could only go on with this day from right here, right now. This detour ended up costing me about an extra 45 minutes.

Not only was it a challenge for me to find Lake Yale, but once I did find the property, I drove around turning my car into strange positions on the roads to shine my headlights on the building names trying to figure out how to find my group. The building names were hard to see in the dark.

When I woke up on Saturday morning, I found myself at a serene conference center on a lake. After staying here Friday night and driving around the campus a few times on Saturday, I recognized that there doesn’t seem to be any tight security here. There’s no gate at the entry, no special tags for the cars and no formal check in. Anyone can drive on or off the property with ease.

The breakfast and lunch didn't thrill me, so I ventured off site for a Subway dinner even though it was about 15 miles away. I used a map from the Guest Information notebook to navigate my way to the nearby small town of Eustis. Not only did I want a healthy dinner, but I was also craving a good cup of coffee with cream. All they served here was weak coffee with fake flavored and sugared creamers. I don’t like that stuff! I also don’t like this coffee addiction I have, especially when I’m on the road. Sooner than later, I must do something about it, but not today.

So I ventured out and got a Starbucks doppio espresso with doppio shots of hot water. This satisfied my coffee craving. As I sipped on my espresso doppio, I did a bit of reflection on my personal vision and mission. I love thinking through things or writing as a caffeine buzz kicks in. Then I went to Subway--you can always count on them for a quick healthy sandwich.

Back at LYBCC on Saturday evening when our conference room was too cold, I was able to use a phone on the wall in the in the entry of the education building to call for assistance. I called and got an answering service. This didn’t give me a lot of confidence about how quickly we would get heat, but to my surprise, we got help within minutes. The message got through quickly and a staff member adjusted the thermostat within a few minutes. He must have been here on site and responded to a page right away. The quick response time was impressive.

LYBCC really has an opportunity that they’re missing. Early on Saturday, I checked the times for their café & bookstore. They were only open from 2-4:30 PM on Saturday. I saw a lot of people walking around campus and surely these people would want to buy a coffee or other food if there were good options in the café. In addition, the café is separate from the cafeteria. Since both relate to food and coffee and people may want to eat or linger beyond cafeteria hours, I think they ought to combine the café with the cafeteria. I recognize that they would have to set up some good procedures to make it work and do some renovations, but I believe it would be to their benefit.

The cafeteria has a view of the lake, but the café doesn’t. The café only had a few unhealthy quick food options. Neither the cafeteria nor café offered a good cup of coffee with cream. Why call it a café? The cafeteria salad bar at lunch was pretty good. They offered several vegetables, but the blue cheese dressing wasn't the greatest. The drink lines weren’t set up efficiently. The Styrofoam cups were placed right in the middle of a combination drink and condiment stand.

People bottlenecked at the drink/condiment stand, trying to get a coffee or hot chocolate and then step sideways through others in line so they could make their way to the creamers and stirs. People were stirring their coffee while others were reaching across them for ketchup. Since none of the staff asked my opinion about their assembly line, I didn't say anything. This is the don't ask and don't tell principle in action. This would be a good project for a college student wanting to become a process specialist.

The dining hours were limited to one hour and I don’t mind that so much, as long as the food is good and they can get people through the lines quickly. I liked how the lines formed inside the building rather than outside. Last October I went to the LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center for a writers conference and I remember shivering in line because the doors had to be propped open to accommodate people waiting in line for their food. During some meals the temperature was in the 40s. It made for a very uncomfortable wait. The architects didn't plan to accommodate the long lines at dinner.

The pillows in the LYBCC rooms were all the same—too big and too puffy. I’m petite and my neck was propped up too high. I felt the kink in my neck on Saturday and Sunday mornings. This is the reason that some people travel with their pillows. Maybe I should look into some small travel pillow to solve this issue. I’m constantly trying to reduce the amount of stuff I travel with, however, so I’m not eager to add items to my travel checklist. I think that they ought to have a variety of pillow sizes in each room, or at least offer an extra one or two with less poof. Even if they’re trying to make sure that the bed looks balanced when it’s made, they can provide housekeeping with instructions to put two flat pillows in the middle of the king bed and two poofy ones on the sides. That way it would all balance out. Problem solved! Another way I can solve the problem is to accustom myself to sleeping flat on my back so I never need a pillow anymore. Maybe I'll find some time to read up on this to see what the sleep experts say.

Something else I really didn’t like about the room was the fact that it was somewhat musty and the window was bolted shut. The only way to get air in the room was through the noisy HVAC unit. If the room didn’t have carpeting, but had hard surface flooring instead, it probably wouldn’t hold onto as much dust and odor. Don’t get me wrong, the room was clean on the surface. Other things in the room can carry musty odors as well, such as the mattress, the bedspread, the furnishings and even the walls. On both mornings, I woke up stuffy and my eyes had that squinty red look I get when my allergies are acting up. I often feel this way when I wake up in older hotels with poor ventilation. I slept with the HVAC unit off because I don’t like the noise of a loud fan going all night.

Here are best things I found about LYBCC:

This is a beautiful property with lake views. Because it’s in central Florida and far from malls and outlets, it really promotes rest and relaxation.
The facilities seem to be well maintained and basic procedures seemed to be quite effective.
Since “Baptist” is in the name, I assume that the facility is backed by the Baptist church and therefore probably has the means to promote and improve the facility for greater maximization of its asset. I noticed a campsite on the property, for example. This mixed use of the property is an innovative idea and provides visitors with options.

So if LYBCC were to improve on a few things, here’s what I’d suggest in order of importance:

Enhance the dining experience by doing some or all of the following:
a. provide outdoor seating with a view of the lake
b. move the café to the same building as the cafeteria and keep the café open for most of the day so people can buy drinks & snacks during their breaks
make contact with the people who come on site, give them the option to keep in touch by signing up for a newsletter and/or provide a brochure that they can take back to their church. Some type of front desk check in would probably work best. I spent the weekend here and had very minimal contact with anyone from LYBCC.
Continuously improve the look & feel of the rooms:
a. provide a way to freshen up the smell of the room, while minimizing the noise. Hint: the answer is not a deodorizer! The room is often a big part of a person’s first impression at a retreat center.
b. provide some pillows with less stuffing
c. add color to warm up the white walls

There’s no question in my mind that LYBCC has put effort into pleasing their visitors. They placed a Guest Information notebook in my room. I had notebook #417 and I was in room#709. These differing numbers indicates to me there’s probably an opportunity for improvement. I visualize a manual inefficient process going on behind the scenes. Because the notebook has so many pages, I imagine that it’s time consuming to go through it after each guest departs, to make sure that any missing pages are replaced.

The notebook included numerous computer-generated pages organized into five categories:
· Emergency Services
· General Information
· Guest Services
· Around the Area
· Comments

It looks like several people have put a lot of effort into doing this research and compiling these pages over time. It does look rather homemade, however, cheapening their effort. I think they would benefit by converting some of this information into more condensed and graphically pleasing brochures to lay out in the rooms. I'm not saying this to harm the organization, but to help the organization. If I thought it looked homemade, it's likely that someone else thought the same thing.

The three-page evaluation form in the last Comments section probably goes unnoticed by most guests. And even if a guest did notice the “Guest Evaluation” form in the Comments section of the notebook, I doubt if many people would complete a three-page form that would take longer to complete than filling out an application for a drivers license. The Guest Evaluation form does, however, provide an instrument for people to communicate to them and they clearly identify all the areas where they’re seeking feedback:

Office Staff
Housekeepers
Dining room
Groundskeepers
Audio-visual crew
Miscellaneous
Comments

It’s tempting for me to type out this three-page form so you can check it out, but I think the main value in this list is internal, for the benefit of each department head. The questions aren’t numbered, but I counted up 36, not including the option to include additional comments!

They’re organizing the customer’s comments by their departments, rather than how a customer experiences a weekend or week on their property: check-in process, room, conference rooms, dining experience and so on. Their "Guest Evaluation" might be a good checklist for the staff, but I’m certain that if we counted up the number of people who slept at LYBCC in 2007 and the number of people who completed the Guest Evaluation form, I bet we’d discover that less than 5% of the visitors found the form and completed it without any prompting. If people did complete it, it’s probably because their meeting organizer included it in their participant packets and requested them to fill it out. I'm notorious for providing feedback, but this one was so long that I didn't want to fill it out.

One final note about the Guest Information notebook is that it also included the business card of their Director of Guest Services--a bold gesture for any organization. I’ll send her this note and see what happens.

After the conference, I learned that much of the staff here are volunteers who work hard to keep this beautiful facility running. Again, I'm only one opinion, but I believe that that they are achieving their stated mission and they're doing it at an affordable price which provides an open door to many.

How do you know if your mission is translating into the results you want? What are your measures?

Are you open to feedback in the way that your customer wants to give it to you--the way the experience goes for them? Are you sure? Learning to accept feedback takes time. For individuals, it's transforming. For organizations, it's a cultural shift.

Is it worth it to you to work toward getting better and better each day? It's up to you.

Getting Paid for the Fun of It

2008-02-08T21:05:00.000-05:00

Old Navy is marketing that they want their employees to have fun doing their work. Heidi allowed me to snap a photo of her name tag to provide evidence that some companies do indeed intend for their employees to enjoy their work. Heidi didn't really look like she was having fun when I took this photo. She was having a problem trying to process a return that was originally bought online, and she couldn't figure out how to get the cash register to do what she needed it to do. I'm not sure why she didn't call for rescue from one of the fun managers, but she didn't.

What a concept! Does your employer advocate fun during work hours? Would a manager interrupt and put a halt to a meeting that included music, laughter, or other activities outside professional protocol?

Maybe it's not a coincidence that Navy is called Old. Ancient scripture tells us that we should work six days and then rest for one. And in the fifth chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes, we learn from a very wealthy man that it is a good idea to find gratification in our work. A job that satisfies our soul is a gift. Many of us spend two thirds of each day working and sleeping. We might as well enjoy the days that, one by one, make up the paragraphs of our lives.

Each year, Fortune Magazine publishes the 100 Best Companies to Work For. In 2008, Google made number one on the list, with another online company, Quicken Loans, coming in second. Old Navy did not make the list.

Do you have a story to tell about a fun shopping experience at Old Navy or somewhere else?

Does anyone know a fun place to work?

Let's Google it and find out...

Blue Gold Reveals World Water Management

2008-01-26T13:55:00.008-05:00

If you haven't already seen Blue Gold: World Water Wars, learn more about the world's water by reading the book or watching the movie. Check out the trailer:

This book and movie will increase your appreciation of water and give you some ideas about what you can do to help protect this vital resource.

Are You Still Working on Your Salad?

2008-01-19T08:05:00.004-05:00

One of my pet peeves is waiters who ask if I'm still working on my meal. First of all, I'm on vacation today, so I'm not "working!" But today when my husband and I went to lunch at the Cabana Cafe in Destin, FL, the waitress came to our table and asked me if I was still working on my salad. This is a very common misuse of the word work. Most people work to eat, not the other way around. And if I was working on my food, I'd be the one doing the cooking in the kitchen, not the one going to a restaurant so I didn't have to work to prepare the meal!

After she walked away from our table, my husband asked me why I didn't tell her that I wasn't working today. I usually return a comment back to servers saying something like, "No, I'm not working right now, but I am still eating." But it's a hopeless solution. For starters, some waitresses look at me confused when I say this, so what's the point anyway? I can go on correcting servers throughout the United States the rest of my life and not solve this linguistic faux pas and national epedemic.

Another interesting thing happened with the same waitress. After I placed my order for the Asian salad, she told me that this was a very bland choice and she suggested that I change my order. Huh, I thought? I thanked her for her opinion and glanced over the menu again. Nothing else on the menu looked as good as a salad with lettuce, fresh mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, cucumbers, red onions with ginger soy dressing. It sounded great to me!

"I prefer vegetarian, so I think I'll stick with this salad," I said. Since she said it was bland, I asked, "can you please bring extra dressing on the side?"

"Would you like chicken or shrimp with that?"

Huh, I thought again! "No thank you," I said.

I wonder if Wayne Anderson, the owner/manager is providing enough training for his staff? I know that Wayne is the owner because when we got our bill, it was attached with a clothes pin to a Cabana Cafe post card. The post card includes a picture of Wayne with his general manager, Mandy, and his coffee roaster, Sophie. I really like the gesture with the postcard and the wooden clothes pin with a joke written on it:

It's good for a man to believe in something. So I believe I'll have another beer.

Wayne's restaurant might survive simply because it's near the beach in an area that draws a lot of tourism. But Wayne's restaurant might not make it if he doesn't start asking his customers the two magical questions:

What is the one thing that you enjoyed most about your experience at the Cabana Cafe today?
What is the one thing we most need to improve?

If Wayne doesn't ask his customers these questions, he will be running his business blinded by the opinions of his own semi-loyal employees. I'd like to send my feedback to help Wayne with his business, but he has made it quite difficult for me to reach him. I didn't see or receive a feedback form when I was there today, and this evening when I looked at his website, I discovered that the website doesn't have a contact us area. I did, however, find an e-mail for a Wayne Anderson who is on the Board of Directors for the YMCA of Florida's Emerald Coast. If it is the same Wayne Anderson, then I'm impressed that he is giving to his community not only through a small business, but also through his community service to the YMCA.

The salad was very good. I wish Wayne the best with his business venture into his not-so-specialized coffee/cafe, pizza/salad buffet, lunch, dinner and everything-about-food ice cream shop.

The next time a waiter asks you if you're still working on your food, can you please help me out and tell them that you're paying them to work on your food? I think I'll ask Susie Ross of Waiter Training to help too.

Curdled Cream With Your Coffee?

2008-01-15T20:52:00.000-05:00

On a morning break, I called the front desk to request some extra coffee for my room. When I got back to my room in the afternoon, sure enough they brought more coffee. In addition, I had a voicemail asking me if I received the coffee and if everything else in the room met my expectations.

I was impressed with the follow-up system at Lago Mar Resort. I did get the coffee, but when I made my next cup, I poured one of the little half & half containers into the coffee and it curdled right there in my fresh cup of coffee. Down the drain it all went and I started all over again, hoping that the next little serving of half & half wouldn't curdle. I hate to be wasteful, but I wasn't about to try do drink that cup of coffee. I sure appreciate their effort in stocking all their rooms with half & half, but the problem with these little containers is that it's hard to know if it's bad until after it ruins a good cup of coffee.

I studied the little Wholesome Farms container to see if it had an expiration date. All I found was a series of numbers that would probably allow you to track it back to the manufacturer in the event it was poisoned or something, but this isn't much help to the end user who gets cranky without a good cup of coffee & cream.

I could complain and even blame the Lago Mar and Wholesome Farms, but I see this as my problem. I'm the one who chooses to pamper this coffee habit. I'm the one who will drive miles out of my way for a good cup of coffee and I'm the one who will feel irritated without it. I should challenge myself with my caffeine addiction or at least minimize its impact by switching over to tea. It's much easier to find a hot cup of water for a tea bag than it is to find a good hot coffee and cream. Enough of this whining over the coffee though!

The second creamer was good. So far today I had a two good creamers out of three. Sixty-six percent isn't a very good success rate, but I probably wouldn't complain about this because I wouldn't want to discourage the hotel from offering real creamers.

Very few hotels or resorts offer half and half in the rooms and this is probably why. Companies like Wholesome Farms, Coffee-Mate and Land O Lakes seem to be missing out on a BIG opportunity here. There are a lot of hotel rooms around the world without creamers. How about doing some partnering with hotels and resorts to supply creamers in their wet bars, and help establish processes to ensure their freshness? At the same time, you can supply their restaurants & cafes.

Personally, I'd give up the shampoo for the creamers. I can get my ration of shampoo through airport security, but not my cream!

If you're interested in continuously improving your business system and increasing your bottom line, contact Dr. Lorraine for a consultation.

Toilet Paper Jam Passes Inspections

2008-01-15T10:15:00.000-05:00

So let me tell you about the toilet paper in my Lago Mar room. The first time I tried to get some toilet paper, I found out that it didn't roll properly on the toilet paper holder. It's one of those upscale holders that has two independent decorative posts with a spring roll in the middle.

Whoever installed it placed the two posts so close that when you pull on the roll, it tears the toilet paper because the roll is jammed between the decorative posts. It makes for a roll of toilet paper that doesn't roll. The only way to get to the toilet paper was to unthread it. I didn't want to take a chance at ripping the holder off the wall by trying to remove the roll from the holder. Although it annoyed me for a moment, this isn't the sort of thing I (as their customer) would complain about--it wouldn't keep me up at night.

This is, however, an education and process issue that traces back to the person who hired the installer. The person who did the installation either didn't have instructions or if he did, he didn't follow them. And he may not have needed the instructions anyway if he had a lot of prior experience or training on proper installation of bathroom hardware. Even if the installer didn't have instructions, training or experience, the contractors final quality check, or punchlist should have included the mistake.

And that's not the end of it. If this happened in one hotel room, there's a good chance that it happened in ten, twenty, fifty, or maybe even in hundreds of rooms! People are quite predictable. If the installer used his good sense to do the install in my room, he probably used the same line of reasoning, right or wrong, to do others. If he was "on a roll" one day, he may have installed lots of these, which would only result in an equivalent or greater amount of rework, especially if the wallpaper had to be repaired.

The installer didn't catch the jam. The contractor didn't notice it. The resort facilities manager didn't require a change before offering the room to a customer and housekeeping didn't seem to do anything about it!

Although this is a small, seemingly irrelevant issue, it may be a symptom of a bigger problem:

the contractor may not have good hiring and/or training practices in place,
the manufacturer may not be providing adequate instructions or product design
the resort may not be listening to housekeeping staff, the ones most likely to catch the problem, or
the facilities manager may not have adequate vendor selection procedures in place.

If the contractor didn't have standards in place for something as simple as toilet paper rolls, could you trust him to work on your electric?

If you'd like to ensure that you have proper safeguards in place to ensure quality products and service, contact Dr. Lorraine for a consultation.

Create a Process to Manage Exceptions, but Don't Let Exceptions Drive Your Processes

2008-01-15T08:17:00.002-05:00

When I woke up yesterday morning at the Lago Mar Resort in Fort Lauderdale, FL, I went about my normal morning routine, and when I got to the part about drying my hair, I stepped into one of those break-my-process travel moments. I pulled the hair dryer out of a satin draw-string bag. The cord was wrapped tightly around the hair dryer and and the large plug end was tucked between the tightly wrapped cord. I had to wrestle with the plug and cord for a few minutes to get the plug dislodged. Why do they do this, I wondered? After I finally got the cord freed up, I discovered that the hair dryer didn't work. All that work for nothing, I thought. It was around 7:35 AM and I had a breakfast to attend in a first floor conference room at 8 AM.

This isn't the first time this happened to me, so the first thing I did was to question myself about why I didn't check the hair dryer when I arrived the night before. I've told myself in the past that I need to make this part of my own travel process, but too late for that fix today.

So I called the front desk and told a friendly lady that my hair dryer didn't work.

"Oh, dear," she said, "our head of housekeeping isn't in yet."

Oh great, is what I was thinking. They don't have a process to help a lady with long hair who discovers a dead hair dryer twenty-five minutes before her meeting.

"I'll see what I can do," she promises.

About five minutes later, a black man wearing a name tag identifying himself from Haiti, knocks on my door.

"You have something broke?" he asks.

Oh great, is what I thought again. She sent help, but he doesn't even know why he came to see me.

"My hair dryer doesn't work," I told him, "can you get me another one quickly?"

"Hair dryer?" he asks?

"Yes, hair dryer," I say.

"Broken?" he asks?

"Yes, my hair dryer is broken."

"OK," he says, "I find you another one."

I close the door, somewhat happy that I have some hope of getting a hair dryer soon, but doubtful that it will be here soon enough. I go to the bathroom and start using hand towels to dry my hair as much as possible, preparing myself to show up at the breakfast with damp and flat hair.

At about 7:50 AM, my phone rings and it's the nice lady from the front desk asking me if I got my iron yet. I was very impressed that she followed up, despite the fact that she wasn't clear about what I needed.

"I need a hair dryer very quickly," I say, "I have a meeting in ten minutes!"

"Oh, dear," she says, "please hold and I'll see what I can do."

She puts me on hold so fast, that I don't have time to tell her that I don't want to hold. While I'm on hold, someone knocks on my door, so I leave the phone. It's the man from Haiti and he has a hair dryer in his hands. I ask him to wait so I can check to make sure it works. Fortunately for me, it does. I ask him to wait again. I pull a tip out of my wallet and thank him. Then I run back to the phone to see if the oh dear front desk lady is still on the phone. I hear music. She still has me on hold. Should I hang up and go dry my hair, or should I wait to tell her that she doesn't have to send extra forces? She picks up.

"Did you get your iron, I mean hair dryer, dear?"

"Yes, I did, thank you very much."

By now it's about 7:55 and I make it down to my breakfast around 8:05.

The same day on our morning break, I call the front desk and request some extra coffee for my room. When I get back to my room in the afternoon, sure enough they brought more coffee. In addition, I had a voicemail asking me if I received the coffee and if everything else in the room met my expectations.

I'm so impressed with their follow-up system. I did get the coffee, but when I made my next cup, I poured one of the little half & half containers into the coffee and it curdled right there in my fresh cup of coffee. Down the drain it all went and I started all over again, hoping that the next little serving of half & half wouldn't curdle. I sure appreciate their effort in stocking all their rooms with half & half, but the problem with these little containers is that it's hard to know if it's bad until after it ruins a good cup of coffee.

I studied the little Wholesome Farms container to see if it had an expiration date. All I found was a series of numbers that would probably allow you to track it back to the manufacturer in the event it was poisoned or something, but this isn't much help to the end user who gets cranky without a good cup of coffee with cream.

I can continue to complain about the Lago Mar and Wholesome Farms, but it's really my problem. I'm the one who chooses to pamper this coffee habit. I'm the one who will drive miles out of my way for a good cup of coffee and I'm the one who will feel irritated without it. I should challenge myself with my caffeine addiction or at least minimize its impact by switching over to tea. It's much easier to find a hot cup of water for a tea bag than it is to find a good hot coffee and cream. Enough whining over the coffee.

So let me tell you about the toilet paper in my Lago Mar room. The first time I tried to get some toilet paper, I found out that it didn't roll properly on the toilet paper holder. It's one of those upscale holders that has two independent decorative posts with a spring roll in the middle. Whoever installed it placed the two posts too close so when you try to put on a roll of toilet paper between them, the paper roll gets jammed in the decorative posts and doesn't roll.

This is an education and process issue that traces back to the person who hired the installer. The person who did the installation either didn't have instructions or if he did, he didn't follow them. And he may not have needed the instructions anyway if he had a lot of prior experience or training on proper installation of bathroom hardware. Even if the installer didn't have instructions, training or experience, the contractors final quality check, or punchlist should have picked up on the mistake.

And that's not the end of it. If this happened in one hotel room, there's a good chance that it happened in ten, twenty, fifty, or maybe even in hundreds of rooms! People are fairly predictible. If the installer used his good sense to do the install in my room, he probably used the same line of reasoning, right or wrong, to do others.

So enough about the jammed toilet paper. I'm sure you'd much rather hear about Lago Mar "Good Earthkeeping" policy. They advertise their policy with a little sign posted on the sink top in the bathroom. It states the following:

The Lago Mar is committed to the State of Florida's request to conserve our water and reduce the amount of pollutants from detergents and chemicals released into our environment.

They go on to say that their soaps and shampoos are environmentally friendly and that they only change the sheets and towels every three days, unless you request it more frequently or leave your towels on the floor. At least that's what they say on paper. What I found is that my towels were changed out every day, even though they were all hanging. And my soap bars at the sink and in the shower disappeared every day. I'm sad when I see this kind of waste built into a process. I'd much rather use the same bar of soap from one day to the next than contribute to unnecessary extravagance.

Leaders and managers in the hotel industry should be required to spend at least 10% of their nights in a variety of hotel rooms so they can participate in the comparative customer experience. If you have a guest room in your home, you may have no idea what it's like to spend the night there unless you really do it. If you manage a hotel, but don't sleep in your own rooms from time to time, you really don't know what you're offering your own customers.

People in the service industry have to manage a lot of exceptions. It's important to have a process and guidelines set up to manage the exceptions, but not important to have a process for every exception. The Lago Mar managed a few of my exceptions very well.

What seems to be missing, however, is a feedback form. I didn't find a customer feedback form anywhere in the room. They may give me one if I go to the front desk to check out, but that's not a good time to stall customers with extra paperwork.

Every service company should be asking their customers at least two questions:

1. What do you like most about our service or facilities?

2. What is the number one thing that we need to improve?

It's surprising what you can find out, just by asking.

Gap Blames Subcontractor for Child Labor

2007-11-01T18:57:00.005-04:00

The Gap pushes child labor accusations on its subcontractor who "illegally subcontracted the goods in clear violation of Gap policy," says Marka Hansen, Gap North America President.

Check out this raid in New Delhi, India, on a day when 14 children were rescued from a factory producing Gap clothing. But this was only 14 of an estimated 100,000 children working in 3,000 sweatshops in New Delhi.

Thank you CBC News for bringing this important news to consumers!

Caution: Your Measures May Be Terminal

2007-10-19T09:46:00.000-04:00

When I was growing up, I remember seeing signs on McDonald's saying "50 million served" or something like that, and years later seeing "over a billion served." It's logical to assume that if that many people have been served, then they must be providing a something that keeps people coming back. If their success measure is to continue to grow the number served, then they are succeeding by their own definition.

As a child, I remember crying when I had to eat something from McDonald's. The rubbery hamburgers, paper-like buns and greasy fries never sat well with me. To this day, I don't understand why people eat there, especially after the movie Supersize Me came out.

In my world of values and measures, McDonald's is not successful. Although they may be filling a short-term hunger need, they really don't have their customer's long-term health interest written into the vision and heart of their business. It's a major flaw of many major companies such as Pepsi, Coke, Marlboro, and even Starbucks. I say this even though I'm a big Starbucks fan. I go in for the coffee of the day and the great atmosphere. They've created a culture where customers hold the door open for each other and chat in line. People meet up with friends and tap their feet to good tunes. That doesn't happen just anywhere!

How do you know if you're providing good products and service? If you're organization is in growth mode and your profits are stable or increasing, then you're probably providing a fairly good offering relative to your competition. Companies who don't establish the right success measures, aligned with their vision and mission, simply don't grow. They die, sooner or later.

Smart companies seek customer feedback and continuously improve the customer experience. Many customers are very willing to offer feedback, if the company cares enough to ask. It's easy and inexpensive to ask for customer feedback. A few questions on a postcard or sheet of paper that costs a few cents to produce, may bring in priceless ideas. I believe that every company ought to offer to their customers at least one simple way to provide feedback on paper, on-line or both.

Feedback and measures influence behavior and build culture in businesses, families, churches and in societies. A parent who loved sports as a child may keep mental score on their own children, by bragging about how active their kids are. Another parent may pressure their kids to get a good highschool GPA. A church with a mission of winning souls may track their number of baptisms, a measure of people entering eternal life. China's one-child policy launched in the 1970s resulted in abortions, female infanticide and imbalances in the boy-girl sex ratio. Measures can be deadly!

Healthy companies have smart measures that encourage cooperation, good flow and growth. Unhealthy companies have measures that stifle their people and the body of employees feels the pain and stress. Unhealthy companies also lack measures where they need them. Any company that doesn't have an effective customer feedback system in place is doing business in the dark and puts itself at risk of finding its name on these types of sites:

Attorneys track their caseload and their billable hours. Authors measure their success by the number of books or articles they've published. Magazines boast about their circulation. Churches track the number of members and their weekly tithe collection. Couples talk about the square footage of their home or their combined household income. Accountants talk about net worth. Individuals are often judged by their age. In January, the number one New Year's Resolution of Americans is a personal weight goal.

Measures and related activities need to change over time. What gets an individual or organization to one level may not get it to the next level or the next.

Toastmasters International has measures that define their distinguished clubs: number of members, number of new certifications and so on. The measures help to ensure that the members meet their speaking goals. This keeps the clubs alive and the organization increasing in number. Members become equipped to make a difference in their communities. This is a hard thing to measure, but Toastmasters just recently upgraded their website to feature member success stories and to automate their shopping cart. This is a great organization and I believe that it has been so successful because of the measures that they've put in place and adjusted over time.

How do you measure your success?

What measures are most important to you?

What feedback measures do you have in place?

Hair's a Good Story About Eyes

2007-10-11T09:19:00.001-04:00

This evening, I had a hair appointment. Everything started out fairly normal, except that they were out of clean smocks, so I had to keep my shirt on. It was an off-white shirt that I like, but I wasn't too worried about it. I was enjoying my typical entertaining conversation with my stylist, Shelly, while she added color and foiled my hair. My long hair, held up with purple foil, was sticking up everywhere.

Shelly then looked me in the eyes and asked me if I wanted to have my eyebrows done. Right about then, the whole salon went black. No kidding! This was a first for me. All the ladies in the salon began gabbing loudly:

"Where are the candles?"

"Who has a lighter?"

"How am I going to go to work tomorrow with half a haircut?"

"The whole street is blacked out!"

"Let's get outta here before the ghosts start acting up."

"Ghosts?"

"Yeah, strange things happen in this place."

"Huh?"

"Who has a key to lock up?"

"Turn off the water. Don't shampoo! Our water pump doesn't work without electricity."

"These candles are great!"

"Can you come to my house to finish my color & cut?"

"Where's a candle? I need to find my scissors."

"I can't find my purse."

While all of this commotion was going on, I found my blinking cell phone in my purse and confirmed with my husband that we had power at home. My husband joked, "tell them to pay their electric bill." No one else thought it was funny. I asked Shelly if she would follow me to my house to finish my color and cut. She agreed.

"Where are my keys?" someone said.

"Don't worry about paying."

"Let me put a cap on your hair. Don't let your head touch your car seat."

"Blow out all the candles."

"I can't find my cell phone."

"Can I borrow your phone?"

And so it went until we all finally huddled around the door and walked out together into the darkness. As I walked out the door, I was glad that I had my shirt on and not one of those loose doctor's-office-like polyester smocks. Headlights from passing cars provided moments of light as we all found our way to our cars. The clock was ticking for me or who knows what color my hair might turn. She followed me home, even though her gas tank was on empty. She wanted to get gas first, but the gas stations were down too. No power, no gas.

Shelly said that she hoped that this was the end of time, because she'd rather be in heaven anyway. At times like this, I'm reminded of the story that Stephen King tells in his book, The Stand. It's an eerie time when people are dying of of plagues and every modern convenience is shut down. No electricity, no running water, no phones, no roads. People are so ill that they're dying along the roads, so the roads become impassable. It's miserable for the people left behind.

And that reminds me of the Left Behind series telling the story of Revelations to come:

...on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.

On this night, Shelly and I both made it to my house. She disassembled the foil in the laundry room. I shampooed my own hair in the tub. Then she did my cut on our back porch, while I coaxed my husband into trying a new, more spiked style. So then he got a great cut.

Shelly didn't know what to charge. She left it completely up to me. She said that she wasn't sure which one of us should pay the other tonight. She's great! She's customer focused because she looks straight into the eyes of all her customers. That's the nature of her business. I gave her a hug and walked her to the door. Many people are too far removed from their customers and may never look into their eyes.

Who are your customers?

Do you have the advantage of looking into their eyes?

If your lights went out, would you leave them behind?

Who Cares About Customer Service?

2007-10-10T22:03:00.001-04:00

Many companies are seeking feedback from their customers by printing web addresses to surveys on their receipts. They usually offer an incentive to take the survey. Because these companies are the ones that are already focused on providing good customer service, they usually need the survey less than the companies that never seek customer feedback.

Today I received a survey on my Starbucks receipt and I've recently received many others from Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Panera Bread and other big chains who care about their customers' experiences. I've taken a few of the surveys just to see what types of questions they ask. I had the opportunity to tell a nationwide office supply chain that I'd like to go into an office supply store that feels like an upscale business office rather than a warehouse. Who knows? Maybe this seed will grow somewhere in the industry.

My doctor, however, doesn't show many signs of caring about my experience as a customer. In August, I had my annual checkup, which included an annual mammogram. Since that time, I've received two notices by mail from the imaging center letting me know that my mammogram was normal and to repeat in one year. In addition, each of these notices seemed to trigger two more corresponding notices from my doctor letting me know that my mammogram was normal and to repeat in one year. I'm just like you. I like to hear from my doctor that all is well with my health, but receiving the same news four times doesn't really make the news get any better.

In fact, this makes me question thier procedures. Why are they using up their time to do duplicate work? At this same annual exam, my doctor also gave me a referral to a specialist for something that wasn't urgent. A day or two later I scheduled an appointment about 6 weeks out because that was the soonest I could get in. This doctor only has office hours 1-1/2 days a week. As the time got closer, I realized that I was going to have a scheduling conflict with the original appointment and called to reschedule. I found out that it was going to take about another 6 weeks to get another appointment.

Rather than wait that long, I canceled my appointment and called my doctor's number to see if I could get referred to a different specialist where I might be able to get in sooner. So I call my doctor and get routed into a telephone maze. I press the button for "If you are calling for a referral, press..." So I press that number and get a voicemail that says, "due to the high call volume of requests for referrals, it may take 7-9 days for us to get back to you." That was over three weeks ago and I've never gotten a call back! Seven to nine days to call back with the name of another doctor, I thought! What's up with that? And what about my fell0w-patients calling in who don't feel well? This is irritating even when you're in great health.

Last year when I had my physical exam, I remember going through their phone maze trying to schedule an appointment and no one returned my calls. So last year I wrote to the doctor and let her know how difficult it was to get through and she said that they were having trouble with their phone lines and that they were working on it. In addition, I had a long wait in the waiting room before I got in, around 45 minutes or so in the waiting room and another 10-15 minutes after in-processing, if my memory serves me well. It's a lot of trouble to switch doctors, so I just accepted this service level. This year, I'm wondering if I made the right choice to stick with the same doctor? They have the time to send me two duplicate notices, but no time to return a call or do a quality check with their customers.

Here are a few good questions for the physician and her partners to consider:

Is it part of my core business to take appointments from patients?
Is it part of my core business to in-process & meet with patients in a timely manner?
Is it part of my core business to offer referrals to specialists?

If the answer is "yes," then they ought to figure out how to do it well. If they really care about customer service, they might try to figure out how to do it better over time. One of the best ways to know how to do it better is to ask for feedback from people going through the process.

Here's what seems strange to me. Many companies never even attempt to ask customers about thier experience. My husband and I dine at a privately owned restaurant near our home about once a month or so. The restaurant hasn't had much business since it opened over a year ago, even though they have good food and a nice Asian atmosphere.

One night, we talked to the owner for a few minutes and suggested that he put feedback cards at all the tables so that customers could let him know what they liked or didn't like about their dining experience. He proceeded to tell us that it was hard to find good help and he could only afford to hire teens right now. He knew what the customers wanted and that if business would pick up he would hire a manager who could also do some marketing.

Many months later, he still hasn't put feedback cards on the table, the business hasn't picked up much and he still hasn't hired a manager. Another restaurant a few doors down that opened at the same time just went under a few months ago. That restaurant didn't ask for customer feedback either.

Say "Yes" to Opportunities Boys & Girls

2007-10-04T09:21:00.000-04:00

When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that today I would be introduced to the Boys & Girls Club of America (BGCA). It's amazing what wonderful surprises a day can bring. About 4 PM today, my husband and I received an offer to attend the annual Jacksonville Steak & Steak fund-raiser silent auction and dinner where the kids performed and ate with us. Each of the 400 table settings had a placemat that was an original piece of artwork from a child in the BGCA. I don't know of any restaurant, even among the best, where you can get this kind of personalization. We had front row seating and when the kids performed on the drums, it pounded a loud and powerful message into my heart.

Wake up! Feel the heartbeat of the community. Look into the eyes of the children and the adults who somehow came together this evening. Look into the children's eyes filled with hope, wonder, excitement and fear. Look into the adults' eyes filled with hope, burdens, wounds, caution and regrets.

Several years ago I attended a few personal growth workshops and each time participated in an activity that was very powerful. A group of 40-50 people stood in two circles, one inside the other, with the people on the inside circle facing people on the outside circle. We were standing fairly close to each other so that we could look into each others' eyes. We would look into each others' eyes for a few moments and then we would shift one spot to the left or right, looking into the next person's eyes without talking. Most of us didn't know each other, which meant that we were looking into the eyes of "strangers."

Once you look deep into the eyes of another person, by definition you're no longer "strangers." The other person is now a human right there in your face sharing a life moment with you. And that moment can never be taken away from your life experience or theirs. It's an opportunity and a calling.

This evening, Gary Saltsgiver of WJCT/Channel 7, asked the adults to look into the eyes of the kids that were sitting at our tables. And then he asked us to up the bid on Superbowl tickets to $3,750 and then to $4,000, and so on, to help support the kids. This was not run like a standard auction where the bidding was primarily entertainment filled with the pressure to bid in competition with other bidders. Gary asked us in a more normal cadence, instead, to bid to show our concern for the kids. I'm not a big football fan, but he really tempted me to bid, just because I wanted to offer something to the kids in the room.

This weekend my husband, Bob, is the MC for the N'spirations annual fund raiser and I'll also have the opportunity to share a message. I'm not sure of everything I want to say, but after today, I know that I want to ask everyone to look into the eyes of the people around them, not just at this event, but everywhere they go.

It's no coincidence that Bob & I ended up at the BGCA event this evening. It was a natural precursor to this weekend's N'spirations event. Once you make a firm decision to go to a certain place, commit to make it happen, and believe that it will happen, then all the pieces start to fall in place very quickly.

N'spirations has a lot in common with the BGCA. Both organizations have a mission to help kids succeed, regardless of their home life. The BGCA, however, is much more mature and has its programs nailed down. N'Spirations can probably learn a lot from the BGCA and/or link up with them.

Did you look into the eyes of others today?
How did it speak to your heart?
If you keep doing what you're doing now, how many people will reap the benefits?

TV and Radio Go Well With Rainy Days

2007-10-03T11:10:00.000-04:00

Last night it took me more than two hours to get home from work. This is one of the longest commute times I've had in the past year or two. A Nor'easter dropped about 8" of rain on our St. John's County neighborhood and the surrounding area. This caused knee-high flooding on many roads in Jacksonville and St. Augustine. I'm not used to driving through these deep streams on the roads and neither are most other drivers. My evening commute doesn't normally include dodging wakes from pumped up trucks. I left Pennsylvania many years ago because I didn't like the stress of driving in the snow.

Some people honk when they get stressed out. This really helps matters for the honkers, I suppose. In some areas, cars were stalling out in the water, while other people were trying to turn around, back up or go around the deepest parts of the water. This roadway chaos provides great fuel for honkers who want to let non-honkers know that they aren't doing what a honker would do.

Not long ago, I remember watching a comedian talk about horns. He had a great idea for the auto industry--to add more variety to horns:

humble "I'm sorry" horn
neighborly "excuse-me" horn
friendly "the-light-is-green-stupid" horn
frustrated "get-off-your-cell-phone-and-pay-attention-to-the-road" horn
irritated "get-out-of-my-way-now" horn
and so on, like the different dings and beeps we hear as our computer talks to us

Last night, I was glad that my husband and I have a habit of watching comedy. It gave me a funny thing to reflect on as I inadvertently became involved in road stress. I listen to books on CD or to my iPod during my morning and evening commute, so it was very easy for me to unknowingly drive right into the flooded area. I'm just wondering how so many other people ended up in the same situation. I guess they weren't listening to the radio either, or they didn't believe what they heard. I hardly ever listen to the radio, but last night it rained all night long.

This morning, before driving to work, I tuned into several radio stations and my husband turned on the TV. We got some good information that helped me to plan my route to work today. It definitely cut time off my commute this morning since I was able to avoid areas with flooding, accidents and road closures. Instead of taking up to two hours or more, I was able to get to work in about an hour.

TV and radio offer up more rubbish and annoying advertising than anything else, but they can offer some helpful advice on rainy days. Local officials obviously didn't have a quick or effective process in place to help divert drivers, but cell phones and radios help to empower everyone, even a caring teenager driving an old Honda who reports a bad spot on the road.

People generally process information just in time on an as-needed basis, leaving behind a lot of leftovers. People don't have time to care about all the flooded areas or accidents, just the ones that might get in their way.

Our local police force has a process to set up speed traps early in the morning, but they haven't yet worked out their less frequent flooded roads process.

And most businesses haven't yet understood the value of having a comedian on staff.

MAGIC Moments at the Wyndham Resort

2007-10-02T21:07:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, my husband booked some family time for us at the Daytona Wyndham, under our WorldMark ownership. While he was checking in, I had a few minutes to talk to the bell hop, while he was unloading our vehicle. John was friendly, cheerful and very careful with all our bags and other stuff.

My daughter left a pair of loose flip-flops in the back of the Durango, for example, and my husband did something similar. He left a pair of leather shoes outside of his luggage. While I was wondering why my husband and daughter didn't have their packing processes down, John held out one hand and displayed my daughter's flip-flops as if they were expensive glass slippers, and then asked if we wanted them to go in. There were plenty of other customers waiting for help (with dollars in their pockets too), but John was fully focused on us for the moment.

For some people, this type of good service just comes naturally, but for people who aren't wired this way, no amount of training can make this happen. He rolled the cart inside and my daughter ran with her friend to the other side of the lobby to look out to the ocean. Being the curious person I am, I asked John if the Wyndham provided training for their employees. He answered very politely, "yes ma'am, we have magic moments every morning."

"Magic moments?" I asked, "what's that?"

He went on to explain that every morning, they have about 15-20 minutes of training, and every day, it's a different topic. And very often they have different people providing the training. What a great way to start the day, I thought! Imagine if every day, every company or individual did something similar to this. It doesn't take long to become an expert or very good at something, such as customer service, if you keep studying it little by little, every day.

This evening I did a quick web search on "Wyndham" and "magic" and I discovered a book called How to Talk to Customers: Create a Great Impression Every Time with MAGIC, where MAGIC stands for, "Make A Good Impression on the Customer." I never heard of this book, but now I'm interested in getting a copy.

Wyndham, your bell hop made a good impression on me this weekend!

What I learned about your daily training helped me to overlook, yet feel perplexed about, the spilled ashtray and cigarette butts on our ocean-view deck. Coincidentally, we didn't find a "Your Opinion Matters!" feedback form in the condo like we normally do, but I did take the time to ask for a feedback form at the front desk. When I asked for the form at the front desk, the attendant said that I should have one in the room. I had to coax her and convince her that I didn't find one in the room. When she realized that I was the persistent type, she finally did get up and go into the back room to look for a form. She was gone for several minutes, leaving me waiting while she went on the hunt for the standard Worldmark customer feedback form.

Evidently, not everyone can perform MAGIC, at least not every time. In this case, the bell hop did, but the cleaning and reception staff did not.

What will you do the first 15 minutes of your next workday?
Who was your last customer?
What impression did you make?

See The Corporation

2006-11-24T11:49:00.002-05:00

For a behind-the-scenes perspective on executives and how they interface with the legal "persons" they run (i.e., the companies), see the international award winning documentary, The Corporation. Check out the trailer:

Corporate Climb to Mt. Sustainability

2006-10-07T11:30:00.002-04:00

Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface Carpet, discusses the environment and corporate responsibility's climb to Mt. Sustainability. See this excerpt from the documentary, The Corporation.