"Be Inspired, Inspirable and Inspiring"

I recently attended a two day business seminar that had several excellent keynote speakers as well as many break-out workshops ranging from how to get with this thing called "Social Media" to "Collecting your Accounts Receivable". After listening to the kickoff breakfast speaker (John DiJulius) I decided to attend his workshop on "World Class Customer Service". I could not be happier that I made that decision. John knows his stuff and he presents it in an easily understandable way. I am going to list some of the "must do's" that I took away from the workshop and that I want to implement at our company

"Stop Making Excuses": Customers and employees want results that benefit them, not excuses.

"Lose the Losers": Pretty self explanatory but in a nut, you are who you hang with whether at work or play. Make sure you are hanging with people who inspire you and have what you want.

"Lead an Extraordinary Life, so others will as well": The more you improve yourself and your surroundings, the more you raise up those around you.

"Never point"...Always show": When a customer asks you if you have something or where to find it, take them there, don't point!

"Never say NO"...Always say what you can do.

"Never say NO PROBLEM"...Always say "MY PLEASURE or "ABSOLUTELY".

"Never Gossip"

"Never carry on a personal conversation in front of a customer": They really don't want to know nor do they have the time to wait for you to finish the conversation.

ALWAYS "Beat the Greet": Be the first to say hello to everyone.

"Your SMILE is part of your uniform". It is not optional. It is as important as your clothing.

"It is not our fault"...but it is our problem": It may not be your fault at all but if it effects your customer, it is your problem. Maybe you shipped exactly what the customer wanted on time and per their instructions but the delivery company messed up and lost it. Don't tell them that now it is the delivery companies problem...fix it!

I am sure all of you can relate to times when you were treated well like the advice above or perhaps not so well. We are going to work hard to make sure you get "World Class Service" every time you deal with CPF. If you experience anything different than that, I beg you to call me directly at 216-898-3510 x 1125 and tell me. I would not mind hearing the good stuff too!

Signs of Recovery?

September sales are in the book and without allowing myself to get too optimistic, we see some "bottoming out" of sales declines and we achieved sales increases in a few branches. What welcome news! While attending the recent SAF convention I had to opportunity to compare notes with many people from all across the country from all floral industry segments. Many told me that they too were seeing an uptick in business. Granted not a big uptick but an uptick none the less. I am glad we can say we are seeing the same. I hope you are too.

Today I heard on the radio that unemployment is still pushing 10%. Is it wrong to think that also means 90% of people are employed? I am tired of feeling beaten down by the recession and I have gotten to the point where I think it is time to take action in my life and my company. So...me and CPF are going to take a new approach. I think we got away from setting goals and working a strategy to achieve them and we just rode the downturn and excused our year of less than stellar performance because of "the economy". Done with that. Our goal for the last 3 months of 2009 is to return to sales growth. We are again setting goals and working strategies to get there! Yea!

I hope that you too are deciding to take this situation by the horns and change what you are doing if it needs changing. I wish you much luck and good energy for your efforts.

Optimal Delivery Time

We struggle with what is the "best" time for our delivery trucks to depart for their deliveries...Of course part of the decision is based on the length of the route (longer routes must leave earlier) but what do you think? Is it better to get your delivery earlier in the day or is it better to be able to call in to the wholesale house a little later in the morning and still get what you need on the truck that day knowing that the delivery will get to you later than if it left early? Would really love to get some feedback. Thanks!

NEVER FORGET!

May we all never forget the tragic events of September 11, 2001. May God bless the United States of America and all those who lost their lives and lost loved ones.

National Teacher Day

Isn't it time all the great teachers that positively influenced us, our children or some other special person in our life were recognized? I don't know about you but I think that most teachers are under paid and under appreciated. They deserve a "holiday" that celebrates the important job they do. Nothing says "Thank you" or "You Are Special" like flowers. Did you know that a special day is already established for just such a celebration? In the USA it is the Tuesday of the first full week of May. Our industry must find a way to educate the public about this day and to promote flowers as the perfect gift to express their gratitude.

GROWER SHOWS ARE BACK!

We are getting ready for 2 events that are always a big hit with customers and suppliers. GROWER SHOWS are planned for August 18th in Parma, Ohio and August 19th in Columbus, Ohio. Many of the world's premier flower producers will be displaying new varieties and industry favorites for you to see, touch, smell and ask those questions you have been afraid to ask directly to our growers and sales staff. There will be great show special pricing and show deals available ONLY at the show so don't miss out on a fun and profitable day.We will also offer discounts and deals on floral supplies! for more information contact CPF Parma at 216-898-3500 or CPF Columbus at 614-478-9905.

Summer Hours

As we continue to look for ways to cut expenses while not sacrificing customer service, we have decided to try "Summer Hours" at a few of our locations. We are finding that afternoon's and specifically Tuesday afternoon's are a very quiet time. Our 2ND round of deliveries departs at 11:00 AM, customer calls have been made and with almost no customers or customer calls coming in we need to manage wages. 

Our plan is to close one hour earlier (2:00 PM) everyday except Tuesday when we will close at 12:00 PM. Of course all customers will be informed of this change and we make sure customers have  our mobile phone numbers in case of an emergency or to place a last minute order for the next days early delivery. We plan to do this from June 15 - September 30. Will let you know how it turns out. If you have ideas or comments please share them with me.