THE VALUE OF A WAVE

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THE VALUE OF A WAVE

One day last month, I was doing some errands with my little girls, Lauren and Veronica.  And during our trip, we passed “Mr. Waver’s Fruit Stand.” Now, “Mr. Waver’s” was not actually the name of the fruit stand.  It’s just the name we gave it. For you see, each time a car would pass, “Mr. Waver” would raise his right hand and with an open palm facing the car, he would move his hand side to side doing his best to make eye contact with the driver.      

Well, we were approaching “Mr. Waver’s Fruit Stand” fully expecting the traditional wave.  As we drew closer, we looked, made eye contact and to our astonishment ... no wave. No wave at all.

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PHRASES

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PHRASES

As consumers, there are many things we like to hear.  Those catch lines or phrases that draw our attention; with our wallets and pocketbooks not too far behind:                                                 

  • On Sale         
  • Limited Time Offer   
  • Special          
  • New and Improved     
  • No Payments until next year       
  • Low, Low Prices      
  • Free* (…always accompanied by an asterisk)     
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ENGAGED CUSTOMERS

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ENGAGED CUSTOMERS

This past week, two articles in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye.  One article highlighted the NBA’s new emphasis on enhancing the season ticket holder’s customer experience with special promotions and public recognition. The other article analyzed Wal-Mart’s recent decision to sweeten their bonus program for hourly and long-term employees.  It appears that employee morale has been slipping lately at Wal-Mart, and the hourly bonus program is going to motivate more smiles and better customer service.      

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MAKE IT EASY

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MAKE IT EASY

Earlier this week, I brought my Infiniti I30 in for service at the Infiniti dealer. My car, purchased on my birthday in October 1999, now has over 145,000 miles on it.  It has performed very well over the years.  Outside of normal maintenance issues, I have had little concern that when I turned the ignition key, the engine would start.  When I pressed on the gas pedal, the car moved; and when I pressed on the brake, the car stopped – pretty simple and straightforward.

Everything was okay … until just a few weeks ago.       

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MUSICIANS IN THE MOUNTAINS

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MUSICIANS IN THE MOUNTAINS

“There are a trumpet player and a trombone player just checking in,” he said, placing an internal phone call to a colleague in the second-floor hotel executive offices during what is called “the shoulder season.”

The periods between ski seasons and summer seasons are called the “mud” or “shoulder seasons.”  Usually, local vendors close their enterprises and use these periods to rest, recuperate and renew for the following busy seasons leaving little to do for tourists who aren’t interested in golf, hiking or fly-fishing.

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