Today’s Pacific Business News Headline Read:
“Honolulu Jobless Rate 3% in April.”
The article attributed this (in part) to the shutdown of Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines, as well as Molokai Ranch.
If you were to continue reading, (as many won’t) the article went on to say, “The national unemployment rate in April was 4.8 percent.” If you ask me, a better headline would be:
“Honolulu Has 97% Employment” and then go on to say, “That is almost 2% better than the national Average in spite of shutdowns by Aloha Airlines, ATA Airlines, and Molokai Ranch.”

And in the Honolulu Advertiser the headline was:
“Visitor Arrivals Slump 7.6 Percent.”
Then the smaller print at the end of a long 2nd paragraph, read, “Despite the decline in arrivals, visitor spending remained buoyant, rising 0.4 percent to $881.5 million compared with April 2007.”
I’d like to see that headline say:
“Visitor Spending is UP in Hawaii”, and then more about that!

Negative HeadLines Get Attention
Today’s on-line Pacific Business News featured a story starting with the above headline. Many people just read the headlines, and reading this one might cause one to buy into the negative projections and stories so popular in the press these days. Those reading beyond the headlines saw this first paragraph.

“The optimism level among owners of small businesses continues on a five-quarter decline, according to latest results of a quarterly Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index reported Tuesday.”

Are you depressed yet? If not, the next five paragraphs consisted of “doom and gloom” opinions and comments in this Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index.

The Good News Gets Lost
And as is so often the case, the good news came at the very end. Those who read to the end saw this closing sentance, “Additionally, 94 percent of respondents said they feel successful being a small business owner, virtually unchanged from all prior quarters.”

I just cannot understand how such facts deserve a headline like the one above. I’d love to see that last sentance be the headline, but then again, maybe nobody would read it.
Bad news always has been the best seller.

It’s The New Rage
Stand Up Paddle surfing started right here in Hawaii. As far back as the 1940’s when Hawaiian Beach Boys used to paddle out to the breaks standing up to avoid getting their camera gear wet when taking photos of tourists.

Learn How
Surf-n-Sea is always right there when something new takes off, but this one is the most natural of all. They are giving Stand Up Surf and Paddling lessons and claim that anyone can do it.

It’s Easy
Store manager Eddie Crawdord says, “If you can walk down a three foot wide sidewalk you can learn to stand up paddle.” With a semi-private beach right behind the store adjacent to the scenic Wailua River, Stand Up Paddling at Surf-n-Sea is the best place to learn. They will even be having a Stand Up Paddling Clinic during Memorial Day weekend.

You Can Help
Charles Zhang is the son of Michael Zhang, our long client at Blue Hawaii Surf and now Blue Hawaii Life Style; both in Ala Moana Shopping Center.

Charles decided to raise money for the victims in the China earthquake. He worked with his family to make 4 donation boxes. He started collecting in his own neighborhood, then at school and with his Cub Scouts. His father will place boxes at his 4 retail stores.

Dad adds;
“If you cannot visit one of our stores, please write a check to China Red Cross Foundation and mail to me at 437 Maono loop, Hon Hi 96821. I will include your donation to help Charles raise $1,000.”

I think it’s good in times like this for everyone to play some part in helping our fellow world neighbors. Many people making small contributions can make a huge difference to the unfortunate ones.

Making a Difference
I came across three different verions of the same story today. Some were longer and more elaborate than others, but all gave me the same feeling.
One was a poem by the famous writer Lauren Eisely.
The shortest one was tale told to children in Maine. It told of a small boy walking on the beach with his grandfather when they came across a live starfish that had been washed ashore by a storm the night before.
The boy picked it up and started to throw it back into the sea. His grandfather stopped him and asked him why he would do that. The boy said, “I throw starfish back into the sea so that they don’t die. They can’t move on the sand and if the sun comes out, they will dry out and die. So I am throwing them back so that they will live.”
His grandfather laughed at this statement and proceeded to put things in ‘perspective’ for the boy… “On this beach alone there are literally thousands of starfish? And then of course there are hundreds of beaches in the world, on which are thrown up millions of starfish in every storm. You are one kid; throwing one starfish into the sea will not make a difference”
The boy looked at the starfish in his hand, turned and threw it far into the waves and said, “It made a difference to that one!” Get it?

“Where’s The Beef?”

That’s the question that Chef Gordon Ramsay was asking his chefs this week on Hell’s Kitchen. As a 44 year vegetarian I found it quite interesting to see these professional chefs all stumped by Chef Ramsay’s use of soy product rather than dead flesh; Chicken, Beef and Sausage. If you missed it, click HERE.
 
Over the years I have witnessed an enormous change in the reactions I get when saying that I don’t eat meat. They have gone from, “Oh my God, what do you eat?” to “I wish that I could do that.” I cannot begin to tell you how many times I hear, “I tried that once.” When I hear that I say, “Just do it; trying doesn’t cut it.”
 
The benefits of a meat free diet are many. Besides never getting sick and having clog free arteries, I wake up every day with a boundless degee of energy that lasts well into the night.

And, adopting a vegetarian diet is the single most important thing you can do to reduce your personal impact on the environment. It is the fastest path to reducing global warming with no negative impacts. Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. Most of these gases come from animal manure! Now that Stinks!

Is it Hawaii, or Have Things Changed at Nordstrom?

The headline in Tuesday’s Honolulu Advertiser said, “Sales Fall, Jobs Cut after big opening”. The article went on to say, “Hawaii’s first full-line Nordstrom department store opened at Ala Moana Center with a bang two months ago. But since then sales have fizzled somewhat and led to job cuts. They laid off 30 employees in the last month or so because of softer sales, following the abrupt shutdowns of major Hawaii carriers Aloha Airlines on March 31 and ATA Airlines on April 2.”

I am getting a bit tired of hearing that Aloha and ATA shutdowns are at the root of retailer problems. I doubt if the typical ATA traveler coming to Hawaii would be shopping at Nordstrom anyway. I think that the downturn in sales is due more to the dissapointing service we are seeing in the store.

“Since the opening, 70 other employees have quit for personal reasons or were fired for not meeting Nordstrom performance standards.” I hope that includes some of the ones that I have encountered in the store.

While I have heard some rave reviews, I have heard many more stories about a lack of expected service. Maybe our expectations were too high. Maybe their rush to hire so many people in a tight job market resulted in some “bad hires”, but whatever the reason I think that Nordstrom needs to point the finger back at themselves, and not at Aloha or ATA Airlines.

Prior to the opening of Nordstrom, I went on record as saying that stores like Macy’s would be in big trouble because of the customer service ways at Nordstrom. Since the opening I have had numerous people tell me about being ignored while shopping there. I recently travelled all floors along with a visiting client from the mainland and we were never spoken to. We left looking at each other amazed. That same day my client spent $8,400 for a Burka bag at Hermes where he got service.

I hesitate to reveal this little secret, but I now park in the covered Nordstom garage whenever going to Ala Moana. This means walking through Nordstrom on my way. In countless trips I have only had two encounters with salespeople and both were terrific. One resulted in the purchase of a $350 pair of sun glasses, and the other was close to $400 for some men’s shorts and t-shirts in the casual department. The problem here is that on both occassions I was the pro-active one engaging the salesperson. Once I started it, the service was terrific and I bought more than I intended to.

Know It Well

While meeting with the sales staff at Avila Retail in Albuquerque last month I described the importance of telling your customers the “W’s” about your store; WHO you are; WHAT you are, WHAT you sell, and WHERE it is in the store. Doing this breaks down barriers, makes the “trust sale” and gives the customer direction.
To be prepared, you must have it memorized and practiced to the point that you can deliver it as if it were the 1st time you ever did.
I was delighted this morning to get a call and follow up e-mail from Bob Shank in Albuquerque wanting “my take” on this memo he is sending to his sales staff. I think he say’s it very well.
Do You Have Your Elevator Speech Ready?
By Bob Shank

Do you remember the last time you rode in an elevator? If there was someone riding with you, nine chances out of ten you had some sort of conversation. You probably told them a little bit about yourself; such as where you’re from, what you do, and why you’re in town. Now think about the length of the ride. It was probably no more than a minute or two, tops. This conversation is called your “Elevator Speech”. Now think about a short, to the point “Elevator Speech” that you can use when you “TELL” (Step 4) your customers about your store. In Retail Selling Made Easy, Ron says “Tell your customers who you are, what you are, what you sell and where it is in a pro-active, no-pressure manner. Pro-Active, No Pressure Selling enables you to make the most of your time with customers while enabling you to effectively use the 9 Steps to Sales City. Good luck to you all and remember . . . keep riding those elevators!

Friday, May 7, 2008

We are proud to announce that two Success Dynamics clients received the “Best 2008 New Commercial Development” award at the 2008 Kukulu Hale Awards Presented by National Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP). This is a very prestigeuos award as it includes competition on a national scale.

The Honolulu Design Center won the best New Commercial Development Project out of seven other projects greater than 40,000 square feet.

The Wedding Ring Shop took best in it’s category for a New Commercial Development less than 40,000 square feet.

Serve It - Deserve It!
“Keep The Change” is a phraze that used to be heard before the advent of the ever present “tip jar”. Dropping your money into a jar crammed with dollar bills is not as rewarding as putting it into the hand of a person giving you great sevice. It can also lead to some stupid behavior.
While in a Starbuck’s the other day, the clerk handed me a cup of coffee and said, “That will be $2.03 “. I paused for a minute considering how much of my 97 cent change I wanted to put in the tip jar. The clerk then reached into the tip jar, saying, “That’’s okay, I have it here” and took out the 3 cents, leaving me with no change to put in the tip jar. That act really devalued the intention of someone before me. I also thought it was a dumb (although nice) enough move to not warrant a full dollar tip, as I now had no change to drop into the tip jar. I had to wonder how often that happens.

“Here you go”
Then there was that coffee place on Maui where I ordered a medium size cup of coffee and was handed an empty cup. I played dumb and said, “No, I wanted it full.” Being even dumber than I was acting, she said, “Oh, you have to get it yourself, over there”, pointing across the room to four large pots of coffee to choose from. I asked, “What’s this tip jar for?” She didn’t quite know how to react.

I’d also like a real cup when sitting in a coffee shop. Sorry about the “Andy Rooney attitude” here, but I am still a big fan of service, and when I get it, I am about as big of tipper as you will see anywhere.