The view from Cili Restaurant

My friend, wedding photographer, Brandon Mulnix, is in Las Vegas for a conference at the Red Rock Hotel & Casino.

He had an early flight out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, changed planes in Detroit, and arrived at 10:30am in Las Vegas. My math said it would be lunch time. Tonight, we’re planning a night on-the-town, so I wanted to give him a different sense of Las Vegas lunch.

I took him to Cili Restaurant (just a couple of hundred yards from the famous Las Vegas welcome sign), just South of the Mandalay Bay Resort, on Las Vegas strip. The restaurant makes you feel like you’re on the edge of golf course in Hawaii. The service was great and the menu, outstanding. The day was quiet, and one of the dangers of a slow business day, is sometimes service drops off. Not at Cili. They are consistently excellent.

When you’re showing a friend and wedding industry professional your town or taking a local contact to a business lunch, it’s important to have a couple of ‘go to’ places that will always get it right. That is one aspect of: The Art of the Business Lunch.

What are your  favorites, and why.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Technorati Tags: art of the business lunch, cili restaurant, las vegas welcome sign, mandalay bay

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May 2009 be filled with good health and prosperity for you and those who surround you.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Technorati Tags: Andy Ebon, Christmas, seasons greetings, wedding marketing blog

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The Power of the Platform

NOW ON SALE: The Power of the Platform - Speakers on Success. The Power of the Platform is now shipping to all corners of the United States and Canada. Other select countries will be added shortly.

Published by the Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau, The Power of the Platform features Andy Ebon (Blogging Your Way To Success) and 20 other A-list Authors-Speakers.

Speaking luminaries such as, Les Brown, Jack Canfield, Amanda Gore, Dr. Tony Alessandra, and many more, share their success and motivational secrets.

Book release - Holiday Special: The retail price for one book is $19.95 (USD). Through the end of 2008, Priority Shipping and Handling (2-3 business days) is included at no extra charge.

Canadian Pricing is $24.95 (Canadian Dollars); also free shipping. In plain English, SHIPPING IS FREE, until further notice.

No minimum or maximum copies of the book need to be purchased to qualify for FREE SHIPPING. ==========

United States Customers - $19.95 United States Dollars per copy - Free Priority Shipping

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Canadian Customers - $24.95 Canadian Dollars per copy - Free First Class International Shipping

Technorati Tags: Amanda Gore, Andy Ebon, blogging your way to success, Dr. Tony Alessandra, Jack Canfield, Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau, Les Brown, Speakers On Success, the power of the platform

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Shoulder injury

‘Injured reserve’ is a sports terminology for ‘out with an injury.’

This morning I’m having shoulder surgery, as I described in a post, three weeks ago. It’s a 3-pronged repair.

1. Rotator Cuff tear
2. SLAP tear of the Labrum
3. Bone spur

This afternoon, I will be in a lot of pain, which will be mitigated by some painkillers (hopefully). I’m told, by people who have gone through this, that the first two weeks are the toughest, from a pain standpoint.

The severity of the injury/repair will determine the rehab and healing period. The standard projection is 6-8 weeks.

The hassle is not so much the pain, as it is that my right arm will be in a sling 24/7. Since I’m right handed, it’s going to be no picnic. Hopefully, I will have remembered to buy some new loafers by the time you read this.

So, if my posts are not quite as frequent or there are a few typos, you’ll know why.

On the positive side, I have my Easy Button close at hand.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blogger

Technorati Tags: Andy Ebon, rotator cuff, Wedding Marketing Blogger

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One of those businesses appears to be Apple; makers of computers and personal electronics.

On Black Friday, I had an appointment at the Genius Bar of the Apple Store at Town Square, Las Vegas. I had been having an odd problem with my iPhone. When I picked up the phone on an incoming call, I could hear the caller, but they could not hear me. To make it worse, the problem was intermittent.

A couple of days prior to the appointment, I had an extended discussion with iPhone technical support. We tried a number of things, but were not sure if it was an iPhone problem or an AT & T issue. So, on my follow up call, it was decided that I would go to the store, and probably exchange for a new phone.

When I arrived at the store, about 4:30pm, it was slammed. Your basic buzzing beehive. I was greeted at the door, and signed in for my 4:40pm appointment. The flat screens, mounted on the wall, behind the Genius Bar, alternately showed the appointment cue for IPod/IPhone and Macs. As well, there were quick technical tips being shown, in rotation with the cues.

I was called up by Christie within a couple of minutes of my scheduled time. We walked through the issues to that point, and agreed that they would exchange the phone. Only problem, they didn’t have my model in stock. She called the Apple Store at Fashion Show Mall, and set up an appointment (pick up time) for Saturday morning. I went there, the next morning, and the exchange was handled promptly, efficiently, and with a smile.

Guess what? The iPhone was not the problem. Still had the same symptoms. I contacted AT&T tech support via online chat. They tried to slough me off on Apple. I wouldn’t allow it. I spent an hour, online with them. To no avail…. Back to Apple phone support.

I ran it down again. The customer service representative elevated my call to an Apple Product Manager who conferred with a counterpart at AT&T. It was decided that if I could stop by an AT&T store, they would exchange the SIM card. That was the likely culprit.

I agreed, and dashed over to the AT&T store and was served by Mitch. He listened to my recap, smiled and said, “Oh, I’ll take care of swapping out the SIM card, but that’s not the problem.”

“How do you know that’s not the problem? How can you be so sure?” I asked.

“I’ve experienced the same thing,” he responded. Mitch went on to explain that this was a local, 3G network problem. AT&T was upgrading the 3G network (which is its high-speed service), and there were ‘intermittent problem.’ All I needed to do was open up my phone ’settings’ and turn off 3G, reverting to standard speed. He figured in a week or so that the upgrades would be done, and the problem would disappear.

Mitch told me I wouldn’t notice any significant difference in phone service. We made the adjustments and, magically, the symptom went away.

Focusing on the result, ultimately, the problem was resolved. I did burn up about five hours of needed time, in the process.

Here is what I learned along the way.

• Both Apple Stores were staffed to the max, with trained, competent, people.
• Apple’s challenge is that they are in partnership with AT&T; however, they were willing to do ‘whatever it took’ to solve my problem, even if it meant exchanging the phone.
• AT&T online service was too willing to blame the issue on the iPhone and not knowledgeable or aware enough to consider their network as a potential problem.
• The quick diagnosis and solution at the local AT&T store, by Mitch, demonstrated the the right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing. It struck me that if the local stores know of an issue, and its solution, then there should be a mechanism to inform tech support. Clearly my problem was not unique.

What should this mean to you, as a business marketer?

1. “You are as strong as your weakest link” applies here. The fact that Mitch could solve the problem did not make up for the time wasted with lack of intelligent AT&T support, online. On the other hand, everyone I dealt with at Apple was ‘on the ball’ in every way I asked of them. They didn’t even balk at exchanging the phone, even though it wasn’t absolutely clear, at the point, that the iPhone was the source of the problem.
2. The crew at Apple reminded me of Southwest Airlines. Some people enjoy their jobs. Others don’t. It’s easy to tell the difference. They have a passion and knowledge of what they do, and it shows. Despite the fact the stores were slammed, they were ready, willing and able to meet the challenge.
3. Sometimes, as a customer, one has to be relentless. Not having proper use of the phone was about to become a huge problem (read my upcoming post of December 1st), so I wasn’t about take no for an answer, or back off until the problem was solve. The customer service approach was decidedly different in the two arenas.

The big message: People in your company (even if it’s a 1-person) must be clear on your outlook about serving the customer/client and providing the appropriate result. I’ve been an Apple customer since 1984. AT&T is my cell phone provider, simply because they have an exclusive relationship with Apple. If that relationship changes, my experiences with them, between now and then, will determine if it continues.

Ask yourself how your company goes about address and resolving problems. Even better, how do you prevent problems from occurring in the first place.

Your examples and comments are not just welcome, but encouraged.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, Andy Ebon, Apple Store, AT&T, customer loyalty, customer service, Fashion Show Mall, Genius Bar, iPhone, ipod, quality problem, Sim Card, Town Square, wedding marketing blog

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Don't Drive Drunk

It’s official! We’re already into the holiday season.

That means networking, parties, celebrations, lavish hors d’oeurves, and booze.

When you’ve had too many cocktails or glasses of wine, you’re a boozer, a drunk, a lush…. take your pick.

Aside from all the platitudes, such as “Drink Responsibly” or “Don’t Drive Drunk,” how about “Don’t act like a fool, in public.”

It’s not even Thanksgiving, and I’ve seen more than one fool who couldn’t conjugate a sentence at a public networking business event. It’s annoying, bad manners, and IT’S BAD FOR BUSINESS.

Do you want to know what I really think?

Don’t be a buckethead?

By the way, if you don’t need this reminder, please pass it on to someone who does. And if they don’t get the memo, take away their keys and drive them home. And don’t take know for an answer.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

Technorati Tags: booze, don't drive drunk, drink responsibly, drunk, holiday celebrations, lush, networking

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Hello Andy, You may remember me from the Wedding MBA in AZ, I just wanted to send you a note letting you know that the first thing we did when we got home was change our website name thanks to your advice !! Then a few weeks later I started our blog, visit it when you have a minute. www.theguestlistinvitations.blogspot.com

Also I am always reading your blog now and so many others. I wanted to let you know that we have done some many new things because of the Wedding MBA Show and are already better and more profitable for it !!!

Nichole Winter

Thanks Nicole! Very exciting… and, as I’ve promised other Wedding MBA attendees, when you tell me you’ve launched your plug, I’ll make an announcement about it… like this one. Hopefully, some of our readers will stop by and check it ou.

The Guest List blog

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

Technorati Tags: wedding blog, wedding marketing, wedding mba, wedding website

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Oh you have that… great!

Perhaps you have a field asking: How did you hear about us?

If you do, that’s pretty good, but not good enough.

With all the communication options, these days, chance are that someone has heard about you from two or more sources. If you just give them a fill-in-the-blank field, they’ll usually give you the source of the last place they heard about your company, and no more.

That kind of incomplete information will give you misleading data on how your advertising is working. Your print advertising, for example, may drive people to your website, but you may not hear about.

In Part 2 of this topic, I’ll share the ideal way to structure customer response to give you better information about how they found you.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

Technorati Tags: advertising ROI, Andy Ebon, database, lead sourcing, website, wedding marketing

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If I know you, click the logo to get Linked-In?

How much wedding marketing and other quick tasks can you do in 10 minutes? Quite a bit, it turns out.

• Take a break from driving fatigue.
• Enter the names of 11 people you met at WIPA, last evening, inviting them to get LinkedIn.
• Write two ‘thank you emails.’
• Have a cup of decaf at Starbucks in Primm.
• Write one blog post.

You can either kill 10 minutes or use them. It’s your choice.

Gotta go… it’s Las Vegas NACE, tonight.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

Technorati Tags: Andy Ebon, Las Vegas NACE, LinkedIn, Starbucks, tip, wedding marketing, wedding marketing blog, WIPA

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Wedding Industry Professionals Association (WIPA)

Thirty hours of time, for two hours of networking probably seems out of proportion to the untrained eye. Not to my eyes.

Tuesday, I’m driving to the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica, CA to attend the second of two launch parties in Southern California, hosted by WIPA (Wedding Industry Professionals Association). Monday’s event was at the Sheraton, San Diego.

If you haven’t heard about WIPA, you should read my post from last week.

Here’s the thing. The main focus of my business is weddings. Wedding marketing, precisely. The notion of a true nationwide association is important to the industry, and important to my business.

For me, joining is a no-brainer. Sending in a check is easy. I want to kick the tires. Meet the leaders. Feel the tone of the organization. Hear where it’s headed.

In the world of Amazon.com and YouTube, there is nothing quite like shaking hands, looking people in the eye, and listening to what they say. I feel strongly about that, so I’ll be driving to Santa Monica, attending the gathering, and hanging out, afterward.

Driving back to Las Vegas, Wednesday, is important, too. Because Wednesday night will be the Awards and Board Installation for the Las Vegas Chapter of NACE. If one were to attend only one NACE meeting, the entire year, this would be the one.

Online social networking has its place. Being face-to-face is even more important. And I’m in this industry for the long haul. What about you?

I’ll report to you about WIPA, in the next couple of days.

Stay tuned!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

Technorati Tags: being there, in person, Las Vegas NACE, networking, online, social networking, WIPA

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