Customer Service

I received a cute story in my inbox this morning that made me giggle and at the same time reminded me of why I have always believed that customer service is the number one reason for customer satisfaction. 

Truly - A good story!

In 1970, when I first developed M.S. symptoms, I  lived in Shillington, near  Reading, Pennsylvania . My employer's fear of chronic  illness ended my career, but I still drove my  car and did my own shopping when I could.

There was a little market near home. The  first time I went there, my balance and dexterity  were affected and I dropped a can, which rolled across the floor. I had considerable trouble retrieving it, dropping it several times  in my struggle. Once I had the can firmly in  hand, I couldn't get up from my knees! One of the  "bagboys" helped me.

I continued shopping but  when it came time to "check out", the lines were pretty  long. Well, wouldn't you know it, I lost my balance and those racks of candy and gum always placed near  the check out lines were knocked off on the floor  -- candy and gum scattering and rolling  everywhere! I tried to pick it up, but kept  losing my balance and dropping or spilling them again
and again.

Seeing my distress, the  owner/manager helped me up, got me through the checkout  line and bagged my groceries. He took my car keys and  drove my car right up to the door and loaded  everything into the trunk for me!

I was so  pleased that I returned again and again to that  store.  Always, someone was there  to help me. As I pushed the cart, and looked at  an item, things appeared in it as if by  magic. My helper checked me through the line immediately  and always helped me to the car - often  bringing the car up to the door for  me.

Some years later I moved 10 miles away but I  continued to come back to the same store  despite the long drive. I always felt special  there because of their help and courtesy I told  lots of friends about the little market but no  one reported the special treatment and made  me feel almost as if I was making up a story. But  over at least 12 - 15 years I'd enjoyed  shopping
there.

About that time my  teenaged daughter began to date a young man from town. I heard them laughing in the other room and she called me,  saying "Mom! You've got to hear this!" 
The young  man (I've forgotten his name after all these years) was  beet red with mbarrassment, spluttering: "No, don't tell your  mother! Please, don't!"

She told me anyway, and  much to his relief I fell to the floor laughing till the  tears ran down my cheeks!  It seems that he'd just  gotten a job at the little market where I liked to shop.  Recently I'd been in and he was stocking shelves when the  manager came over and said to  him: "See that lady over there? No matter what you are  doing, leave it. Help her. Open a new  cash register. Take her groceries out of the  cart. Help her to the car or bring the car to  the
door."

"Why all the special care?" he  asked his manager.

"Son, she's the town drunk and  we want her in and out of here as fast as possible!"

Did I go back there to shop? You bet!  Would you give up that kind of service?

I don't know if this story is true or not but I don't believe that is the point anyways. Getting to know your customers and their needs is key to repeat business.

Your Perfect Gift

Your Perfect Gift

Tugwell Creek Honey

I am so excited to now have available for my baskets these cute and o-so-tasty honey.
Tugwell Creek honey comes from Tugwell Creek Farm home of the most tremendous honey mead as well.

This honey will go perfectly in a tea or coffee basket as well as any new home or hostess gift basket.

How Sweet . . . .

Father's Day

I remember one particular Father’s day when I was so proud of the gift I had bought for my dad, I found this great deck of magic cards and an ashtray and I wrapped them up and gave them to my dad.  I was very disappointed when he pointed out that the cards I probably bought more for myself then for him and that we already had a houseful of ashtrays.

As a youngster was I crushed, you bet!  At least briefly, I did love those magic cards!  More importantly it taught me that when I give a gift that I should have the recipient in mind and that they may not want what I want.

Now it is my job to get the gifting right ~ not just the gifts I send personally but the gift baskets that I make for my customers.  It helps if I know a little bit about the person receiving the basket and add to this a little intuition and creativity.

There is a sweet satisfaction and personal joy when someone opens one of my gift baskets and their eyes light up and they truly love what they see.

I Love you Dad, have a happy Father's Day.

Trends & Tips Magazine

 Lorna Danylchuk                            

Tell us about You

I love to learn and I need to be challenged.  I left high school before graduating, only to later go back to school and complete the necessary courses for college.  I started with business courses and since then I have studied in the social work program majoring in child development.  I hold a diploma as a life skills instructor and job coach.  I updated my computer skills, took biology and a twelve week intensive program for women entrepreneurs just for the fun of it!  Recently, I got my diploma as a bridal consultant.  As well as learning, I like to teach and have facilitated courses in life skills and peer counseling for local organizations in our community.  I have also taught cooking classes; a hobby I enjoy with knitting, soap making, paper making and gardening.

I have experienced a variety of jobs and found that my favourite is retail.  I love to interact with customers.  With a few questions, I can discover exactly what they are looking for and sometimes what they didn’t even know they wanted.  I enjoy the appreciation and praise that both my customers and the recipients give when my baskets are created especially for them.  I live in Sooke, a small community on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.  Presently I subsidize my business with a part time job; I belong to the Lions Organization, The Gift Basket Association and our local Chamber of Commerce.  I am the mother of one grown son, 8 foster children and have a beautiful granddaughter that is almost 3.

Why did you get started in the Gift Basket Industry?

Honestly why did I choose a gift basket business? – I thought it would be easy!!  I got laid off from my job and decided I would slow down and take it easy for a bit.  While searching for something that would appeal to me I came across a gift basket book I had purchased years before.  I got on the computer and spent weeks doing the research and in November 2009 Your Perfect Gift was born.  Receiving the official government documents was like giving birth, it was exciting and scary at the same time.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Realizing that the gift basket business is not easy.  Among my challenges have been keeping up with the styles, sourcing new products, creatively displaying the products, increasing the number of clients and finding new marketing strategies on a budget!

The competition is fierce!  Unlike most other business’s, the gift basket competition isn’t quick to lend encouragement or guidance to other gift basket companies, although I was incredibly fortunate enough to meet two fantastic women that had just closed their businesses and they were instrumental in helping me both improve my style and increase my productivity.

What Advice do you have for other gift basket professionals?

Be innovative, the creativity you have for your gift baskets needs to transcend to the rest of your business.  Wear your business wherever you go!  Use the internet; it is an infinite resource tool.

What am I thankful for?

The support from family and friends has been unconditional and unwavering.  The internet has allowed me to connect with other like minded people and has been far reaching and rewarding.  Mostly I must be grateful to my mastermind Group, they are my team, my administration, my sounding board, my support and I admire the strength we have as one.

Is Your Closing Gift Sending the Right Message about You?

Realtor Pat Sleep always gives the same bottle of wine or flowers to his clients as closing gifts, it is easy for him and Pat likes easy!  There is no thought to the kind of wine his client might like or even if they drink? Once the wine is gone or the flowers have wilted Realtor Pat is just a faded memory in the back of his clients mind.  “Honey what was that realtors name rhymed with ‘cheap’?”

Having generic closing gift baskets at the ready for the next sale is easy, but as you well know no two sales are the same as no two clients are the same!  These gifts will have little or no lasting effect that keeps you in the minds of your clients. 

An example of a Realtor that has taken the time and reaped the rewards is Sandra Lomas, she works for Sutton Group in Victoria.  A fantastic realtor that is very particular about her closing gifts.  I love to create baskets for her because she puts a lot of thought into what she wants in her gift baskets.  She will tell me the colors of the clients home, what the client likes or can't have.  She chooses a bottle of wine or spirits that she already knows her client likes if it is appropriate.  On one occasion we enclosed a gift card from Home Depot because the clients were building a music studio in their garage.

  
This is what one of Sandra’s clients had to say about her.

“Working with Sandra was a pleasure.  Sandra went out of her way to get to know us, as well as our wants and needs when we bought our house and when we sold.  Her attention to detail ensured that when we sold our home we didn’t need to worry about a thing.”

Giving a personal and memorable gift says a lot about how much you appreciate your client and their business.  Of course carefully selecting the personal gift for your clients takes more time and effort on your part, time better spent on what you do best.  This can be remedied with the right partnership.  We have enclosed a tool that can make this an easy process. Takes a couple minutes to answer a few questions, then send us an email or give us a quick call and together we can provide you with Your Perfect Gift. 


http://yourperfectgift.shawwebspace.ca/pages/view/_______what_do_you_know_about_yo/

Your Perfect Gift is known for creating gift baskets of the highest quality with unique and trendy items, gifts that will want your clients to remember you and send referrals.  Give a realty gift that is a genuine thank you.

High Employee Retention on a Low Budget

What was the nicest thing an employer has ever done for you?  I’m willing to bet that whatever it was they did, you felt valued!  I’m also willing to bet that it wasn’t a raise that made you feel valued; but a token, a gesture, a small kindness ~ something that recognized your contribution and worthiness to the company.  You are not alone in that feeling of magic.  Employee surveys have shown that although wages are important, recognition of service is more important.  Studies have also shown that there is a direct link between satisfied employees and happy customers.

Gift baskets and employee appreciation go hand in hand, especially if you customize the basket with the employee in mind.  Appreciation goes a long way in job satisfaction.  An employee that feels recognized for their efforts is more likely to give more to the job and stay on longer.  This actually saves a company thousands of dollars by not having to advertise for new employees, training and time taken away from quality customer service and the day to day operations.

Employees who feel valued as people make the extra effort to go beyond what’s expected.  They want to invest as much in their jobs as their jobs have invested in them.  It’s a measure of respect and self-worth to know that if the employees weren’t there they would be missed.  This positive attitude spills over into everything the employees do and everyone they come in contact with from the start of their day no matter what may happen.

This $70.00 basket gives you an employee relationship that is priceless!

Gift Baskets = happier employee + loyalty + increased productivity = customer satisfaction