Ode to a Discontinued Friend - The Beloved Tiki Drummer

Last week I called my supplier to reorder this Tiki collector must have. Much to my dismay, I found the Tiki Drummer had been discontinued. Currently, at the time of this post, we have one left. I could not let our dear Tiki friend disappear without a final concert. Without further ado, I give you Tiki Live, the Farewell Concert.

Wine Emergency Uncovers a Great Find - Sterling Vintner's Collection Meritage

At Baskets by Bonnie, we like to under promise and over deliver. Many times we go beyond the call of duty. We are sometimes questioned "Why?" I believe in Karma, and that there are paybacks for exceptional service. Last week was a good example of this.

We had a client who needed a quick turnaround and had a tight, moderate budget. We needed to find a wine to go in baskets for executives with high-end taste buds. Our mission was to find a red wine that retailed for under $15.

Thankfully we have exceptional partners. I was able to reach my Glazer's wine representative, Jackie who came up with this brilliant recommendation: Sterling Vintner's Collection Meritage.

Within the hour, we were able to pick up a case from Glazer's warehouse. The baskets were quickly made and delivered on time. I had to buy a bottle to try later that night.

The verdict: Both Jackie and Sterling Vineyards totally rock! Had we not gone the extra mile, we might not have discovered this great find.


This is by far the one of the best wine values I have come across in a long time. Everyone who sampled this delightful blend was impressed. I rate this wine 2 Stems Up!

For a more technical review, see below:

Sterling Vineyards Wine Makers Notes:

Meritage (rhymes with “heritage”) describes a unique blend of classic Bordeaux varietals. Handcrafted by our winemakers, Sterling Vintner’s Collection® Meritage is a distinct blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Each grape varietal contributes layers of flavors and aromas that live together in perfect harmony. This richly textured wine has hints of cherry, chocolate, black raspberry, and vanilla, which leads to a full, lingering finish. Enjoy!

The Meritage Association: http://www.meritagewine.org//

In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify handcrafted wines blended from the traditional "noble" Bordeaux varietals. Meritage was coined to identify wines that represent the highest form of the winemaker's art, blending, and distinguishing these wines from the more generic moniker "red table wine."

Sterling Vintner’s Collection® Meritage is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 3% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot.

Gahanna's Girls Night Out

Mill Street in Olde Gahanna on Thursday, May 7th was the location of the 2nd Annual Girls Night Out presented by Portraits by Knight.

While the weatherman had predicted rain, partly-sunny skies prevailed and Mother Nature provided a lovely backdrop for this pre-Mother's Day event.

Among the food donated by area restaurants was a platter of fruits, cheeses & meats from Mezzo Italian Kitchen and desserts from Ganache Dessert Kitchen. Participating vendors such as Tastefully Simple - Angie Hendershot also provided munchies.

Two massage therapists contributed chair massages to invigorate the busy shoppers; Nick from Sound Touch was stationed at Portraits by Knight and Holly from Center for Therapeutic Massage worked her magic in the window at Honey Grove Botanicals.

I also had a chance to pop over to Zodiac to pick up a Cosmic Cake Cupcake but didn't have enough time to take in a reading. Afterwards a group of us took over a pit-group on the patio at Mezzo's and grabbed a bite to eat. A good time was had by all!

I can't wait for the next Girls Night Out! ( or should I say Knight Out). Kudos to Sara for organizing such a neat event!

Portraits by Knight is where the conga line of participants started at 3:30 p.m.; 30 minutes before opening time. Sara Knight had put together 50 cool canvas totes jam-packed with goodies from over 20 participating businesses.

Within half an hour, the goodie bags were all snatched up!

Sara Knight and her trusty assistant, Adrienne making everyone feel welcome!

A few of the many participating vendors.

Unusual Window Display in Honey Grove Botanicals: A relaxing chair massage being given by Holly amongst the intoxicating aromatherapy fragrances.

Customer Retention - When Things Go Terribly Wrong

Even the best of companies can have a service failure. How these issues are resolved are key to customer retention. To paraphrase a line from Lilo & Stitch, "we are the ones you call when things go terribly wrong".

We are all human and therefore it is safe to assume we all make mistakes. What the recipient of a service failure needs most is validation of their concerns and correction of the error. Upon resolution of the issue, our Service Recovery Clients will call us to send a gift to their customer that includes a nice note. This reinforces the value of their relationship. The best part of our program, it doesn't cost a dime if you don't have any service gaps.

There is an excellent article from GreatBook that discusses Service Recovery Practices. Spot-on advice!

By the way, we are also the ones to call when things go exceedingly well!

"Make New Friends But Keep The Old"

"One is silver and the other is gold......" is the start of an old Girl Scout song whose author is unknown.

This principle holds true with your customers. Statistics vary by industry and method of calculation. The general rule of thumb is that it costs 5x as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an old one. In a recent business luncheon we were told that our current customers have the capacity to provide 30% MORE business than they currently are.

I just received this email from a repeat customer the other day:
"...Thanks a lot for again coming up with a fabulous basket. .... I look forward to more wonderful baskets in the future." Carol K. from Barrie, Ontario.

This is Pure Gold in our world!

New Customers Wanted - Current Ones Do Not Apply

Just the other day, I received a coupon in the mail for a discount at a business I have not been to in over a year. I have also seen similar coupons in mass mailers from this company and one of its competitors.

You must be a new customer or have not been a client for over a year to be able to redeem this 20% off discount.

Funny thing is that once you become a customer, there are no deals. What do you think this trains the consumer to do?

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