Thank You

Do you like to have someone thank you, or tell you you did a good job? Most people do, but some people forget how important it is to say it to others.

My father was national sales manager for the largest aluminum screen manufacturer in the United States. He used to tell me that the most important person in the company wasn't the president or chairman, it was the guy on the shipping dock. The shipping guys were the ones who made sure orders got out as quickly as possible, on the right truck, headed for the right customer.

Dad would go out and visit with the shipping personnel, buy them a cup of coffee every now and then, and was always thanking them for doing a good job. And it paid off. Whenever he needed a job rushed or loaded at the last minute, they would gladly do it for him. And sometimes they would call him and ask if the shipping information was correct when it just didn't seem right to them. This saved the company, and my father, embarrassment and money.

Who are your loading dock personnel? Your employees, of course. And do you go out of your way to say thank you? You should. Yes, things can get overwhelming at times, and shipments come in wrong or damaged, someone called in sick, and so on, so your day is all about problems instead of sweetness and light.

And being grumpy on occasion is allowed as long as it doesn't carry over to customer interaction.

If you aren't a warm-and-fuzzy kind of person (and you're in retailing?), someone who has trouble unhesitatingly saying "Thank you," then think about formalizing your plaudits. Host a thank you breakfast or dinner a couple of times a year, have a bowling party—do something where you formally thank your workers for all they do for you. And if you must, acknowledge that you just don't say it often enough, and you want this party (or whatever) to be a demonstration of your gratitude.

This holds true even if you have only one part-time person. If they are past the trial period of employment and you haven't thought of firing them, they deserve thanks, too.

Thank you's can make employees feel happy and appreciated, and happy and appreciated employees will often go the extra mile (or hour) for you, and (you'll have to trust me on this) they make better sales people when they are on the floor of your shop.

And if you have behind-the-scenes or outside people like a bookkeeper or window washer, even though you pay them for their services, they deserve thank you's, too.

One last thought, thank you for reading this.

John Saxtan, Editor-in-Chief

Giftware News eWeekly August 28, 2008

Urban Expositions' Fulghum To Retire
Founding partner of Urban Expositions, the Atlanta-based trade show management company, Tom Fulghum will be retiring from the company on January 1, but plans to stay on in a consultancy role after that date.

Fulghum, who is currently the executive vice president, says this is a decision he has been wanting to do for some time. Fulghum and company President Doug Miller founded Urban Expositions in 1995. Tim von Gal, founding member of the Urban Expositions team and executive vice president of marketing, development and information systems, became a company partner in 2000. "Tom has been an integral part of building this company and has made tremendous contributions from the very beginning," said Miller. "He makes this move with our company in great shape and deserves a lot of credit for that success."

Alexa's Angels Partners with Canadian Gift Concepts
Alexa's Angels, known for inspirational jewelry and gifts, has signed a distribution agreement with Canadian Gift Concepts Corporation for sales of its products throughout Canada. Canadian Gift Concepts Corporation is a jewelry and gift distributor with a retail base that includes gift shops, hospital gift shops, pharmacies, florists and hardware stores.

The new partnership between Alexa's Angels and Canadian Gift Concepts began with the Canadian debut of Alexa's Angels' products in the Canadian Gift Concepts booth at the Fall 2008 Canadian Gift and Tableware Association's Gift Show in Toronto in early August. Retailers interested in ordering Alexa's Angels product in Canada may contact Canadian Gift Concepts directly at 866-411-1043 or sales@cgconline.ca.

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