When my son was five years old, we checked into a Best Western in South Dakota. He went into the room with his dad . A few minutes later, I walked in to see Noah hanging up the phone. He turned to me and said, " Mom, take a note: We’re never staying in a Best Western again. They don’t have room service."

I thought of Noah last night when I discovered that The Ayers Hotel doesn’t have room service. It’s been awhile since I’ve stayed at a hotel without  even a  limited menu. I do like room service.

If I weren’t so tired last night, the fact that the hotel didn’t offer room service would not have been a big deal. I would have just driven to a restaurant.

(Read the full post about ‘Notes From The Road: All Hotels Should Have A Vending Machine or Room Service’…)

This Is How I Know My Readers Are Brilliant

“What would you ask your customer about your store?”

Yes, word for word, that was a term that helped a dear reader arrive at the Maximum Customer Experience Blog last week. Thanks, I love that question, and those that follow. I think they’re worthy of direct answers.

If I could ask my customer about my store, I’d ask:

1. How did you find us?

2. What was the first thing you noticed today?

3. What would you add? (This is the positive phrasing of “What are we missing.” Try not to ask questions that spin your own story in a negative way.)

The Big Take-Away Point:

You can!

Go ahead, walk with a few customers as they shop today.

(Read the full post about ‘Mail Bag: Or, the Long Tail of Search at MCE’…)

The number of people who practice scrapbooking is soaring. The roots of modern scrapbooking took place in Greece. Back in ancient times the practice of scrapbooking was called Hyponemata. The Greeks would place their thoughts feelings and ideas in a notebook. This is the first recorded instance of the practice and it appears that the Greeks were the only people in the world at that time to practice it. Fast forward to the 1400’s when Gutenberg invented the printing press and printing became realistic for the average person. This gave practically anyone who wanted to, the material to make scrapbooks. The practice of entering information to the page is also done with commonplace notebooks which are a recent concept that is very similar to scrapbooking. (Read the full post about ‘Scrapbooking Storage’…)

Goa has lately been in news for all the wrong reasons, but surprisingly its real estate industry managed to survive most of the impediments except for the crime.

Notably, the international tourist destination still promises to be a profitable endeavor for real estate developers and investors alike, despite the local resistance and ban on SEZs. According to industry sources, the real estate values in Goa have registered an appreciation of almost 100% in the recent times.

Buying a property in Goa is not an easy task, especially, for the foreigners after the ban imposed on them by the government. But, the cost of purchasing property in Goa is the lowest in the country. (Read the full post about ‘Goa Real Estate Fighting All Odds, But The Crime’…)