Plenty of companies pledge that customer satisfaction is their number-one concern. Plenty of those same companies surely do a good job of prioritizing clients. But is “good” really good enough? After a recent experience where I saw guests at a corporate event treated in quite an unusual way, I firmly believe there are easy ways[…]
Saturday, May 7, 2016, 8 a.m.: Day 1 of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series New York. Super exciting that America’s Cup racing has returned to New York waters, my backyard, after 96 years. Super exciting that I’m getting up-close access thanks to having a media badge. The action! The photos! 9 a.m.: As[…]
I was recently approached to contribute to a book about luxury travel being created by a boutique publishing company. The publisher sent me a pretty enticing email, even if it was a bit cursory, so I called the same day I received it. My curiosity quickly turned to confusion, however. The publisher rambled wildly for[…]
Don’t get me wrong. I like lemonade. In fact, I love it. But when life hands me a bunch of lemons, sometimes that cool refreshing drink just isn’t enough. Recently, despite even thinking for a moment or two that lemonade would be impossible to make, I pulled off a soufflé instead. A few weeks ago,[…]
Some of my fondest memories are from my kindergarten days. My teacher, Miss Blackman, was not only a fair disciplinarian, but also an outstanding storyteller. In fact, she ended every day reading from a different book. Miss Blackman had a way of making the words on the pages practically leap to life. She used funny[…]
If you’re like me, you often find yourself shaking your head over the way things work (and don’t work) in Washington, D.C. The instances of political payback make Capitol Hill seem more like a child’s sandbox than a place where grownups are supposed to tackle real issues. Thankfully, though, there are still people there intent[…]
Ever since the first salespeople walked the earth, companies have been trying to one-up their competition. Plenty of ancillary businesses exist to help marketers in that respect, too. For example, a magazine publisher makes its subscriber list available for sale, with list marketers acquiring and in turn selling the names to a variety of other[…]
The sarcasm of the illustration here aside, nobody ever wants to hear bad news, especially when it concerns the company supplying your paycheck. There’s tremendous temptation to stick our heads in the proverbial sand and pretend everything will go away. Trouble is, not only doesn’t it go away, but in today’s instantaneous-information world, word spreads,[…]
We all have pet peeves. Lately, one of mine has been rearing its ugly head as I read articles online and watch the news. It’s the use of “expert.” Reporters are seemingly in love with the term, to the point of eschewing any meaningful reference to a person’s background. Last night, for example, I watched[…]
I spent the early part of my career writing about children’s health, for a now-defunct series of parenting magazines. Much of the freelance writing work I do today is centered on boating and yachting. So it was a lot of fun when Southern Boating magazine asked me to write a feature article about raising your[…]