Archive for January, 2012

What an interesting week. The week of New Year’s Resolutions … which I did not make. The beginning of a new year, a new opportunity for panic or rejoicing or humility. Or maybe a little of all three, at any given moment.

We’ve had some glorious weather (for a change) in Southern California which has finally made the tourists happier that they came here than the 50-60 degrees of the previous week. It also makes the natives happier.

But along with that, and my time this week at both of our retail boutiques, came some interesting comments that have made me truly grateful.

One came when I heard about the client at one of our shops who was so appreciative of our stellar customer service that she insisted on giving our personnel a gift. This was so sweet and, although our sales team insisted that the client should spend the money on herself, the client prevailed. Wow!

The Passionate Collector’s philosophy has always been about great customer service and treating customers like guests at home, like friends. It really made me realize how profound an experience that can be for clients, and certainly, how rare it is in today’s retail world.

On top of that, was the employee who told me how grateful she was for her job and how much she loved working for us.

It’s almost hard to express how that made me feel. I felt so fortunate that we have made such a positive impact on someone’s life and given them an opportunity to be invested in the business. How lucky we are to have employees like that!  How truly, truly lucky.   When you think about it, a culture of gratitude would really make the world a better place. Kinder, gentler, better. And understanding the effect that one person can have on another–in the simplest way–is remarkable.

That is enough of an inspiration to get me out of vacation mode and into high gear.

We look forward to great adventures with you over the year.