I had an interesting experience today. I’m putting up new closet doors in my home and I accidentally bought the wrong door handle. All I wanted to do was exchange the handle I had – and didn’t need – for the correct one. Sounds pretty simple, right? I decided to call the store first to make sure they had the item I was looking for – instead of wating time going to the home-building store, where I made the purchase originally( I hate wasting time… ). Rather than help me, by going to the shelf and looking for the product I was inquiring about, the sales associate, who picked up the phone, did his best to tell me that they didn’t have any, insisted I call another location of their store, and rushed me off the phone. What type of impression do you think I had after this call? …. A very poor one, not only of the individual but, more importantly, the company! I would describe the interaction with the sales associate as: Unprofessional Rash Mediocre Thoughtless I decided to call the store back because I was confident they had the item I was looking for… I was there a few days earlier and saw several of the door handles I was looking for in stock. As I made the call, I was gearing up to have a very assertive, yet professional phone call with whoever answered the phone (nobody tosses this lady around). I was pleasantly surprised when an overly helpful young man (I make it sound as if I’m ancient) did his best to help me find what I was looking for. He spent quite a few minutes looking for the item but kept me posted every so often so that I didn’t feel that he had abandoned me on the phone. He finally found the item I was looking for and said he’d keep it on him (like in his pocket!!!) until I came to the store to do an exchange. What type of impression do you think I had after this call? … A very positive one of the individual and a VERY confusing one of the company! During and after this call, I thought that THIS person was: Professional Adding value to my customer experience Internally-motivated Extremely helpful I could go on and on about this minor event in the day but what I truly took away from both of these interactions is how two people, working in the same department, for the same company, treated a customer completely different. Then I thought of you…. What these two gentlemen showed me is what THEY (nothing to do with the company here) are known for; they showed me just a sliver of their personal brand and from that, I formed a very strong impression of who I’d rather do business with. We do that all the time. Sometimes we only eat at certain restaurants because of the great food and great experience, or go see a particular banker
Who doesn’t need the foundations?
Fun summer skirts that double for work and play
Check out these lovely summer skirts that’ll do double duty for both work and play… honestly, who wants to buy more than they have to? You know my thoughts: Buy the best quality items you can afford so that they’ll last for years to come Refresh and add life to your wardrobe by adding a fun skirt or two every summer You can save $$ by finding pieces that can work for more than one area of your life Here are my picks for early summer: Ohne Titel Banded Slit Skirt A quick style tip: This skirt can handle being paired with a patterned blouse or a solid colour. I’d do something a bit bolder than a white or beige blouse….especially for a summer evening look. Heidi Merrick Driving Skirt A quick style tip: For work, I’d add a bit more of a structured look to the top half of this outfit (think blazer) but for a more casual weekend look, I’d go with something feminine and flowy. The Rodnik Band Fish Scale Print Skirt A quick style tip: I’d go with a bright bold blouse for this one… both for work and play. To dress this up for a night out, I’d pair chunky bright accessories. Club Monaco Penny Printed Pencil Skirt A quick style tip: For a work look, I’d keep this look soft and ultra-feminine by pairing it with a pale or pastel colour silk blouse. I’d suggest keeping the accessories to 1-2 minimal items. For an evening look, I’d rock a stack of chunky bracelets with chandelier earrings and perhaps a bold-coloured silk tank. MARNI Brick Ruffle Skirt A quick style tip: I love this skirt. For work, I’d keep it simple with a white silk blouse and nude pumps. For an evening look, I’d probably keep the blouse simple and rock chunky, strappy heels and big, over-the-top earrings.