Last Saturday I saw my friend Jay Nichols, and he mentioned that there’s a French restaurant he dines at that allows customers to pre-order a soufflé for dessert. Mark and I were taking jewelry designer Penny Preville and her husband, also named Jay, to dinner that night, so I called to make a reservation and order a chocolate soufflé with crème anglaise for four. It was last minute, and I was happy to snare a reservation. Dinner was fine, until it came time for dessert. Our server brought our four individual desserts that were “frozen” soufflés with no sauce. When I asked the server about these (a bit perturbed), she said that perhaps I hadn’t specified that I wanted hot soufflés, the chef had taken it upon himself to make his favorite dessert – these chilled things. Not happy. I asked for the manager. He said he was sorry, and that they normally don’t do soufflés, but that was about all he said. Come on. Really? If I had been the manager, here’s what I would have said: “I’m terribly sorry this happened – there’s no excuse for our mistake. You were clear what you wanted when you ordered your dessert in advance. Of course, we are removing the desserts from your bill, and I hope you’ll try us again soon.” It always amazes me when customer service falls so short. It would have been easy to minimize my disappointment with how the server and manager handled this. So, the next night after work – and while still craving a soufflé – I went home and made a small soufflé for Mark and myself – complete with crème anglaise, of course.
Soufflé- Are you kidding me?
Tech Time
When my daughter Brooke taught me how to e-mail, I thought I was pretty hot stuff. Now, I wonder how long 20+ year olds (and younger) will continue to e-mail –- texting seems to be the No. 1 way of communicating. Pick up the phone? Not so much. So many of these kids sit in front of their smart phones and text back and forth instead of preferring a live voice.
A year and a half ago Brooke showed me how to text on my iPhone. NOW I could run with the big boys. Right. There is so much more that I need to learn, not just on my iPhone, but on my iPad, too. I keep saying that I will call Apple and set up an appointment for some personal facetime to become more hip when it comes to all the benefits these devices have to offer. But so far, I just haven’t made it enough of a priority to do this. My goal is to make an 8 a.m. appointment to do so after the holidays.
My Favorite Time of Year
Fall is officially here — although it doesn’t feel that way in Kansas City with mid-80s temps. Soon, however, typical crisp fall days will be the norm, along with gorgeous red and orange trees, sweaters and boots making their annual comeback. The most important signifier that fall is here is the reappearance of Honeycrisp apples. If you haven’t tried these incredibly flavored sweet hunks of deliciousness, you just must. As much as I love my new boots from Hall’s, Honeycrisp apples top my list of fall favorites.
A New Face at Tivol
Bell & Ross
Introducing Bell & Ross at our Tivol Plaza store! I have to say, this is a cool watch. It is most known for its unique look of a round dial incorporated into a square case in the Aviation watches. When they were first created in 1992, a team of watch designers and aeronautical control experts met to produce new timepieces ideally suited for professional use. Today, astronauts, pilots, divers and bomb disposal experts use Bell & Ross in their missions. Come see our new collection, and you will be reminded of a plane’s instrument panel with this great utilitarian watch.
My little one at work
Lucy Tivol Maslan
Lucy, my 2-½-year-old King Charles Cavalier, has been accompanying me to work most days. I let her run free around Tivol until 10 a.m., when the store opens, and then she gets to go into my office — or someone else’s that has a door — and hangs out. Not only is it a treat for me to have her at work to give me kisses and nuzzles throughout the day, but I think that the staff loves having her around, too. For the first week that Bosco was gone, she sniffed around the house and the yard looking for some sign of her buddy. I hated leaving her in the house by herself, so it has become a win-win. Lucy loves the attention at work, and I love having her around. You’ll find her most days at the Plaza store. Come by and give her a snuggle.
Another Customer Service Story
Mark and I recently traveled to Columbus to visit our son, Derek, and grand-daughter, Lydia, who is 3. Both nights we went to dinner at restaurants owned by a group called Cameron Mitchell, and both nights the service was stellar. As soon as we were seated, Lydia was given crayons and a coloring play/activity book to keep her occupied. A very small colorful plastic cup of water and a bendable straw with a lid arrived for her a few minutes later, along with a small cut-up plate of fruit. Lydia was happy and occupied until her spaghetti came 20 minutes later. (Talk about kid friendly.) The second night was the same scenario except for a small twist. Derek ordered salmon, which came very well done. The server noticed that he didn’t eat much of his meal, and asked if he was happy with his salmon. Derek said it was fine, just a little over-cooked. She offered to bring him something else, but he declined. When the server brought the check, she explained that she was concerned that Derek didn’t enjoy his meal and she had taken the salmon off from the bill. She didn’t even offer to take it off – she just did it on her own volition. Talk about creating a loyal following…it takes so little to upset a customer and so little to turn that experience into something positive. The owners and managers of Cameron Mitchell have this fine art down to a science.
My time at our Tivol campaign shoot
On Wednesday, August 24, we met at the loft of photographer Ron Berg for the next shoot in our continuing campaign of “Tivol and T” words. This shot incorporated a young husband and wife with their two young blond children and their yellow Lab named Jazz. I arrived at 9:30, met the cast and crew, and watched how the scene was set up. Adam Gebhardt—our new marketing director—and I were not thrilled with some of the furniture that was being used for the shoot, so we went to Black Bamboo and borrowed some great pieces from Tim Butt. Once the crew had everything placed correctly, the filming began. The scene takes place in the couple’s livng room, and they are posing for a family portrait. How fun to see the ins and outs of how a print ad and a television commercial are shot. Ron Berg, the photographer, is much more than a guy who takes pictures. He is a master at relating to whomever he is shooting, and a master at engaging everyone on the set. And wait till you see Jazz, my new best friend. He will steal your heart like he stole mine.
Outtakes
We’ve all had our pictures taken for work, fun, family events where we were less than ecstatic with the results. I wanted to share with you some “outtakes” from a recent photo shoot with my Dad and son Hunter. I had to laugh when I saw these…
Say Cheese!
A New Age
The importance of social media and networking is becoming the norm with savvy retailers, although the luxury retailer has been a little behind in catching up. At Tivol, we understand that to foster brand loyalty we need to think outside the box and reach our consumer in new ways. Last week we offered a free watch battery to anyone who saw this offer on our Facebook or Twitter site and came into one of our stores and asked for it. Watch for more offers and contests on these sites as we take Tivol into the next generation.
Dog Days Of Summer
Hot, hotter, hottest. I don’t remember a string of hot days like this ever. I seldom use our oven right now – I’m more prone to grill boneless skinless marinated chicken breasts or salmon and slap it over a salad for dinner. Any thoughts of exercising outside after work or taking our dogs for a walk disintegrate along with my desire to accomplish anything outside. Think about people not fortunate enough to have air conditioning, or those who work outside in this heat. I’m going to quit complaining and remember these points the next time I open my car door and climb into my heated car – and in January.