Office Mystery . . .

Like AT&T, Isle Concierge is raising the bar.

Generally, usually, mostly . . . we like to keep our office in good standing order. Sitting in the office late last week Friday though, I finally noticed that all our staplers in the office had been sitting on our counter all nicely together for pretty much the entire week… a week that was anything but orderly. Now there are several things that are pre-determined or planned in our office, but then there are moments like these… completely random moments of order amongst the insanity. It’s a mystery.

We learned a lot this week… not fun learnings… it was the growing kind. It was pandemonium, a madhouse, re-donk-ulous or that’s how I felt it was. When I revisit this week, I think of explosions and headaches… but amongst that, our three little staplers ended up in complete order? What does it mean? Perhaps it is a reminder that though we may think everything is in disarray, it’s not so…. there were no explosions, no riots, and certainly no wounds. Or are these three little staplers a reference to AT&T’s ever so famous slogan “Raising the bar” and in that sense, this week we have raised the bar through the different experiences and craziness? This could be a possibility too because all this learning has led to upgrades in our system… hmmmmm…

Blame it on one of our OCD staff members (which one? we don’t know… we’re all a little OCD) or on coincidence or on the fact that I am truly exhausted, but these little staplers have led me to realize something about us this week.  Our team has somehow established control and focus amongst our chaos… maybe it was always there and we never paid attention to it, but now it has my full attention. We are also raising the bar everyday through the many random things we help people do. Today it was tying bows on boxes (which is not as easy as you think) that were much too small. Next week it could be folding 1,000 origami cranes for a wedding. Whatever it may be, we will learn to do it and perfect it… that’s how we’re raising the bar.

You marinade on that… and if it doesn’t make any sense don’t worry, you’re not alone.

. . . burning the midnight oil, after hours.

Custom Chocolate Creations

About two months ago I heard about Chocomize, an online company that allows you custom create your own chocolate bars. Being a concierge company, I thought a little research into these custom creations was in order. You know, so that we can offer our clients something different (what can I say, I’m a dedicated guy).

Just log on to their website and you’ll be guided through the step by step process of creating your bar. You start off by picking what chocolate you want to have for your bar (dark, milk, white) then choose up to five ingredients (or toppings) to go on your bar from about 100 different options. They have almost anything you can think of to put on a candy bar; nuts & seeds, fruit, herbs & spices, candy, decorations, and more! One bar can run you anywhere from  $5-$15, depending on your selections (and not including shipping). While this may seem like a lot to pay for a candy bar, you have to remember that what you’re paying for is the customization. And at less than $20, I definitely think you’re getting a deal.

So what did I end up with when I finally got my delicious goodies, er, I mean research? Take a look:

The bars are packaged beautifully and securely in their shipping boxes. Check out the sticker indicating that the contents of the box should be protected from heat.

Opening up the box yields a tightly packed insulated bubble wrap bag.

Inside the padded bag the bars are packed between two ice packs.

Once everything is unwrapped you finally get the the nicely packaged bars of your order and ice packs.

Flipping the packing over gives you information on just how much care went into creating your order.

For the health conscious there is nutritional information on the back also listing possible allergies.

To really get a good feel for what Chocomize could do, I decided to order two bars.

The first was a white chocolate bar (pictured above). What goes good with white chocolate? What else other than Oreo cookies. As for the rest of the ingredients, I decided to add some color to the bar so I threw on M&Ms and rainbow sprinkles. I have to say, when you take it out of the box for the first time, you are blown away by the visual presentation of what you just got.

For my second bar (pictured below), I went with the traditional milk chocolate. The milk chocolate bar had more of my favorites: toffee, graham crackers, and hazelnuts. As you can see from the pictures the milk chocolate bar wasn’t as flashy as the white chocolate, but I definitely liked it better.

So how did the bars taste? They’re pretty good. The quality of chocolate they use is pretty good on it’s own. And while I can’t speak for the tons of different ingredients on the site, the ones that I did get on my bars were on par with how they would taste if you had bought them separately in the store. Though, it all depends of what combination you go for.

Half the fun though is simply trying to figure out what kind of bar you’re going to make and then seeing it for the first time when you open up your package. If you want party favors or giveaways that are a bit more different and unique, then Chocomize might be the answer.

We’re Official

A new sign under our long standing logo declares that our office is the "Concierge & Information Center" for Waterfront Plaza.

“What do you do here?” That’s a question we frequently get at our office at Waterfront Plaza (the complex formerly known as Restaurant Row). With our office being on the ground floor and relatively high foot traffic that passes us by on a daily basis, each of us that works in the office usually has a stock response prepared for just such questions.

While answering this question comes with the territory of being a concierge, there are times when I just wish people understood that what we do is similar to services provided by the concierge at any hotel or resort you would stay at while on vacation . . . we provide help, information, and special expertise to the tenants, employees, and visitors to the property.

Well, to give passers by a better idea of what we do, we decided to have a new sign installed in our window. Though not as big as originally conceived, we hope that our new “Waterfront Plaza Concierge & Information Center” sign helps convey the message to everyone that we’re here to provide help and service.

And let me tell you something, it seems to be working. During the installation of the sign (the sign wasn’t even fully up yet), people started looking at it and came in to ask for directions for a tenant on property. YAHTZEE! The sign started paying for itself immediately! They saw the sign, understood it, and came in to ask for directions. Once the sign was finally up we did see a higher amount of walk in traffic the rest of the day.

Here’s hoping that in the coming days and weeks we have to answer less “What do you do here” questions.

Our sign guy Tim from TLT Designs installing our new window sign.

My Life . . . In Little Itty Bitty Cups

You’ve seen them. You know, those people at the store. Hell, you may even look forward to seeing them . . . people giving out samples.

In January we took on a special marketing job for two mainland clients sampling their products in Kmart and Sam’s Club. In broad terms we were going to be the face of our clients in the marketplace since they could not be here themselves. Believe it or not, this is a fairly common practice since I hear that stores that do provide this type of service to vendors tend to charge a lot of money for the store to do it. Enter Isle Concierge.

Before I get any further let me tell you a little about the products we were sampling:

The first was mix1 (@mix1), a protein and anti-oxidant drink that comes in five different flavors and is packaged in brightly colored bottles. For those that may not know, it’s protein based so it has it’s own distinct taste if you haven’t had protein based products. This is something you would drink as a meal on the go or would be good to drink after work outs. The second product was Bora Bora (@BoraBoraFoods) bars which are nutritional bars made up of all organic ingredients such as dried fruits, nuts, and grains. While they come in seven different varieties, we were only going to be sampling two types: Exotic Coconut Almond and Wild Pomegranate Pecan.

Believe it or not putting on a sampling, or ‘roadshow’ as it is sometimes called, takes more work than you would think.

Prep Work Involved:

1. Knowledge :: Since this wasn’t our product we had to learn about it and even try the product before we could go into stores and sample it. There’s no worse situation to be in than being out on the floor when someone comes up to you and asks you a question that you don’t know the answer to. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to have the company that we’re sampling for provide us with information, brochures, handouts, or talking points for us to go over. Sometimes we don’t have this luxury and have to do research about a product on the company’s website. Whatever the case may be, knowing about the product being sampled is probably the most essential component of the whole operation.
2. Logistics :: This involves knowing how much product you are going to have on hand to sample, knowing who store contacts are, knowing what kind of manpower you have, knowing what the timeline and dates for sampling are, supplies you are going to need on hand, and everything that goes with planning an event is all taken into account to make sure things run smoothly. Ideally you would like to just show up when required, pass out samples, and call it a day when done–no muss, no fuss.
3. Presentation/Decor :: Perhaps you didn’t notice it at the time, but everything has a look. Any brand or product worth a grain of salt has a way that they want their product to be portrayed. Whether it’s a big tent or banners with the product’s name on it or, just the way the table is dressed, how the product is presented can sometimes be just as important as the product itself. Having whatever you need to present your product can be key to sampling.

Table presentation for Bora Bora was pretty extensive with having to convey a tropical feel at the table, hence the skirt, tropical table cloth, and faux lei.

Then we have the actual sampling itself. Now in my humble opinion, the goal of a sampling isn’t so much to sell the product to people (although that is a very important secondary goal) as it is to educate people about the product. Let’s face it, aside from those impulse buys near the checkout stand, how many of us actually buy food that we’ve never tried before? That is why samplings are so important–if you can have someone try out the product before buying it, and they like it, it’s not going to be a stretch for a customer to pick it up and throw it in their cart.

Prime location near the front of Sam's Club Ke‘eaumoku.

Of course the thing that will make or break any sampling is same as in real estate: location, location, location. A good location will give you two things: 1) high traffic and 2) high visibility. Near the store entrance, high traffic aisles, and near the registers are the preferred sampling spots. The further away you get from these kinds of areas, the longer your day is going to be.

Not so great table location in Kmart--far away from the front of the store.

Now just because you put food out in little cups for people take, doesn’t mean your job is over. It’s anything but. Here’s a list of people you need to be aware of when you’re behind that sampling table:

1. The Average Customer :: The average customer is willing to stop at your table, try out the sample, possibly ask a question or two, and continue on their merry way. Let it be known I like average customers. Why? They’re bold enough to come up to the table and be open minded enough to at least try the product. Boldness + Open Mind = GOOD.
2. The Strong Silent Type :: These customers are the ones that pass you by without looking at you or acknowledging you. It’s not that they’re mean, in fact they might be perfectly hospitable under other circumstances, but on the battlefield in store aisles–it’s war. The key is acknowledging them and inviting them over. Just offer up the courtesy ‘Hello, good morning/afternoon. Would you like to try some _____,’ is sometimes all you need. You might get them to open up, you might not, but anything stronger than this and you’ll lose every time.
3. The Inquisitive Customer :: You’ll know these customers when you start to get a barrage of questions about the product. These customers could just be really curious or have legitimate health concerns about the product. Whatever the case may be, this is when knowing the product as well as being able to think quickly on your feet is essential. What happens when there’s a question that we can’t answer? That’s impossible because we have an answer for every question. Seriously though, when we are posed a question that we do not know the specific answer to, the follow up answer is generally ‘I’m not sure about that, but you can probably get the answer (here). ‘Here,’ in this case meaning a company website about the product, consulting with a doctor or nutritionist, or some other avenue where a customer can find out that answer. You never want to end with a simple ‘I don’t know.’
4. Children :: Kids provide their own unique challenges during sampling. Most of the time they tend not to care what they’re trying, they’ll go through multiple samples, and the worst part–they don’t have purchasing power. I always suggest erring on the side of caution when children want to try samples by asking them if it’s ok with their parents (or whoever they’re with) if they can try the samples.
5. Sample Pirates :: I’m not talking Captain Jack Sparrow here. These customers are the ones that raid your table, but it’s not gold or treasure their after, it’s booty of a different kind . . . in those little cups! It may come in the form of showing up and eating/taking more than two or three samples and continuing on, stopping and pretending to talk with you while they eat multiple cups, or trying to disguise their raid by coming around several times to make it seem like they haven’t taken that many (or even a combination of these tactics). Whatever the case may be, rest assured that they will relieve you of samples. The most you can do is remain vigilant and be aware of them. A good tactic to slow things down is to just to let the samples run out and wait till they move on before restocking.

In any case, giving out samples in little itty bitty cups isn’t something for the faint of heart. It takes time, careful planning, and some comfortable insoles. Remember that next time you go to the store.

Tis the Season–Right Now

Life comes at you pretty fast, especially this time of year when there’s parties and celebrations of all types to go to, family gatherings, and don’t forget the Christmas shopping while you’re at it. December has to be the busiest time of year for us here at Isle. This week alone we have three rather large parties that we’re coordinating. Add to that a few meetings, a bump in deliveries, two markets and you have a perfect storm. Don’t believe me? Here’s what we have on our palate for the rest of our week:

If I hadn’t erased Monday and Tuesday already (I was so excited we survived I wanted to ERASE the memory<–see what I did there) there'd be a lot more dry erase ink on our boards. Suffice it to say, I think we might rival Jolly Old St. Nick.

So how do we do it? That is truly where the magic happens. It really comes down to two things: scheduling and manpower. Our scheduling is crucial in making sure everything in our day is possible. Things like a simple delivery to making baskets–everything gets logged somewhere on our calendar. From there, tasks are assigned but most of the time our staff pretty much knows who is responsible for what. Then there's the manpower. Luckily with UH in finals week, most of our part time staff is available to work extra hours.

Here's a few glimpses from the past week and what's been keeping us busy:

Set up from yesterday's tenant appreciation celebration at the Bank of Hawaii Waikiki Center

Our 50 basket pick up from Kapuakea today.

And here are all the Angel Tree donations we've been collecting at Waterfront Plaza as well as gift basket orders.

Of course I could go on . . . but I hear the prancing and pawing of little hoofs.

Happy holidays everyone!

November Nom Noms

Oh November… I’m so excited you’re here. Though Hawaii locals don’t feel the seasons, I always know when the Holidays are nearing. It’s not the overcast skies or the sun setting sooner, it’s food. For some reason, once Halloween is over I feel like I start to consume more food… Maybe it’s just me?

I think it’s because we know the biggest food fare of all is upon us this month… yes, Thanksgiving.

*happy dance*

In honor of November and the feasts to come, let me get your appetites going with my 2 favorite foodie sites…. WARNING: proceeding past this point will make you hungry. If you are on a diet, please close your window. Thank you.

Tastespotting.com & Foodgawker.com

I discovered Tastespotting.com in the Fall of 2007 while I was hungry The site was stunning. Beautifully composed pictures of culinary treats that made me wish I could 1) cook something so delicious and 2) take such beautiful photos. This is one of those great accomplishments of the social media! It has brought together people from all over the world who love food and photography and given them a platform to display their works of art. The even better part is Tastespotting.com’s tagline… “A Community Driven Visual Potluck”. Snaps to you Tastespotting…. that was a good one.

Tastespotting is addicting… Thus, in June of 2008 when a note was put up on their site saying it would be shut down, the online foodie community died a little inside. People were shocked, others were extremely sad… I personally was going through withdrawals. Where were we going to get our fix?

A day later Foodgawker.com was born. Foodgawker is an almost exact replica of Tastespotting… delicious looking food photographed like supermodels (or as other bloggers have put it “Food Porn”). Our foodie lives were saved and the community returned to its contributions of foodie pics, and people like me visually feasted. Everything started to feel normal again, but then another surprise!! Tastespotting was resurrected a few weeks later! *sigh* Long story short, we now have two equally fabulous foodie sites allowing everyday people to share their beautiful food with fans of all culinary creations. Do I have a favorite? Not really. I don’t discriminate when it comes to food

So if you feel yourself having a case of the Mondays, don’t fret… stroll on over to Tastespotting or Foodgawker and take a visual bite. You’re bound to stumble across something that will lift your spirits and get you through the work week. Something like this…

Have a great week!

Baby Cake Boom

I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about Cupcakes that make people crazy happy. They’re such happy looking baked goods that are in the perfect portion for indulging without going overboard. What’s not to love?

Though cupcakes have been found at bakeries all over, there is one company that truly put baby cakes on the map. It began in Beverly Hills when Candace Nelson and her husband set out to make a shop specifically for cupcakes and cupcakes alone. Partner the cuteness of these little cups of joy with the high profile location of Beverly Hills, a slew of celebrities, and Oprah… Boom! goes the dynamite. Cupcake nation was born.

While Sprinkles took over the cupcake scene in the mainland, a similar husband and wife team was bringing the cupcake craze to Honolulu. Ana & Tushar Dubey opened Hokulani Bakeshop in 2005 and have been cranking out decadent morsels ever since. I’m sure you’ve heard about their infamous red velvet that has brought many island locals to their knees… or you’ve been one of those lucky people that have been taken a back by their amazing cream cheese frosting.

Well cupcake fans that work in Downtown Honolulu, indulgence is coming to your neighborhood. This week opens a new chapter for Hokulani Bakeshop as they open their second location at Pioneer Plaza (in the former San Francisco Salad Company space). I can hear all you downtown workers doing a little dance and getting all giddy. Don’t freak out… that’s natural…. it’s one of those cupcake side effects.

Be sure to see what their Grand Opening week at Pioneer Plaza has in store. I’m sure you’ll walk away with a smile on your face

Hokulani Bakeshop at Pioneer Plaza
808-537-CAKE
www.hokulanibakeshop.com

p.s.- This isn’t the end of cupcake news in the downtown area… another cupcake shop is coming to your neck of the woods, but that post is for another day.

Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee

We’re all busy people. Getting up early, sitting in traffic, spending all day in the office… who really has time to get in a good work out? Or more importantly, why would you want to go running after a long day? I’ve tried to go to the gym regularly, but that got boring really fast. I had these spurts where I’d be really good about getting to the gym, but after two weeks I’d fall off the wagon for the rest of the month then have to start all over again. I finally realized that I needed to find something I loved to do. Something that made me want to be there like when I played sports.

Photo by Bruce Asato | Honolulu Advertiser

My brother Matt and I discovered The Studio by Egan Inoue in the Fall of 2008. I was nervous and I am not a fan of trying new things, but Matt was excited and jumped right in. For two months I listened to him rave about the classes and how much fun they were.  It peaked my interest… Being a former athlete and someone who often feels the need to hit something, I figured it could be fun… so I shrugged my shoulders and said, sure… why not. I’ll give it a go.

My first class at The Studio was on a Saturday at 10:30am. I was terrified because my older brother bailed on me and I would be going through my first class on my own (so supportive… thanks Matt!). To be honest, I was afraid it was going to be way too intense for me and that MMA fighters were the only people that attended. To my surprise, I walked into a room of everyday people smiling and welcoming me as the n00bie. I guess they could see my anxiety because everyone kept telling me “Don’t worry… we’ve all been there. Just do your best.” I stretched until class was ready to start and then I was met with another surprise… Egan Inoue himself would be teaching the class. Yes… Egan Inoue… you know, the five-time Icon world champion and two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion? Yeah that guy… He would be teaching the first class I ever attended at The Studio. I was surely going to die. As I quickly started scripting my obituary in my head,  Egan walked straight up to me with a smile on his face and introduced himself. This man is seriously, the nicest guy you will ever meet. So I scrapped my mental rendering of my obituary and finally said, let’s do this! So with an extremely supportive class and an amazing teacher, I set off on what would become my newest addiction.

Kickboxing | Photo from The Studio Hawaii Website

Kickboxing Class combines standard Muay Thai Kickboxing techniques (i.e. punches and kicks) with strength and conditioning exercises (i.e. Ab work, squats, push ups, etc.). The best part about these classes? They’re never the same. One day we’ll do plyometric drills outside. Another day we’ll do a circuit with different stations. You just never know what they’ll have in store for you, and that’s what keeps me coming back. It doesn’t feel like you’re working out, it feels like a hobby. You want to be there no matter how hard the coaches push you and it does become addicting. Not to mention you can’t help feeling like a badass while you’re on the heavy bag. I don’t know what it is… but the Rocky Theme Song always plays in my head when I’m there. I’ve been dying to have that on the work out playlist… but I digress.

If you’ve fallen into a work out rut and you’re like me (hates running and gyms), my advice is to find something you love. It may be something you’ll initially be afraid of but you should go for it! If you would like to join me in my obsession, you can find me at The Studio. Your first class is free and you can even get a free week pass to try out all of the different types of classes (They have yoga, jiu jitsu, and strength and conditioning classes, which are also very popular). If you happen to be cruising at Manoa Marketplace at around 5:30pm on a Mon or Tues and see me jumping rope… please don’t make fun

The Studio by Egan Inoue is located in Manoa Market Place near Bank of Hawaii. Contact them at 808-988-6200. Click here to download their most recent class schedule.

Christmas in October?

Did you know that Christmas is only 9 weeks away?

So get your Santa hat on and head out to that oh so favored store of yours:)

But what to do for that amazing secretary of yours, that helped keep your head on all year?  And what about that business partner of yours?  You can’t just give him a tie, right?  Oh!  And don’t forget about all those lines you’ll have to stand in!

Don’t panic! Isle Concierge will be hosting two Corporate Gift & Trade Shows this October to give you a head start on the Christmas Rush.

What is a Corporate Gift & Trade Show?

A Corporate Gift and Trade Show is an event where vendors that provide corporate products, come directly to your front door and provide you with information about the products and services they offer.  Here, you will be able to see, touch and ask questions about their products and what they offer.  Rather than you going to some random store (and asking bob who stock shelves), we brought the experts right to your front door so that you don’t have to stress about finding the perfect gift for your corporate clients.

Who are the vendors at the Corporate Gift & Trade Show?

As mentioned earlier, we’re bringing in the experts that provide corporate products.  Here are the vendors that will be showcasing their products at the upcoming trade shows:

Ala Moana Center

Bradley & Lily Stationary

Bucca Di Beppo

Dave and Busters

Halekulani Hotel Resorts and Spa/Waikiki Parc Hotel

Hilo Hattie

Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel

Hokulani Bake Shop

Honolulu Club

Honolulu Magazine

Luxury Row

Macaroni Bar and Grill

Mellow’s Antiques

Mortons Steakhouse

Neiman Marcus

Oceans808

Ola-Hawaiian Body Products

Planet Hollywood

Red Pineapple

Romanos Macaroni Bar & Grill

Ruths Chris Steakhouse

Tiffany & Co.

WorkflowOne – allinone

Down Town Island Delights & Simply Grape

I’m Interested, Where’s the trade show?

Please RSVP with Isle Concierge and come to one of the following trade shows.  See you there!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at the Davies Pacific Center Special Events Room

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at Ruths Chris, Restaurant Row at Waterfront Plaza

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Was it worth getting up über early in the morning just to walk the dog? As anyone at Magic Island would have told you on Sunday, the answer was yes. The Hawaiian Humane Society held their annual Pet Walk this past Sunday, October 4 and we were there participating in our first community/charity event.

Our marketing campaign was not extensive, in fact it mainly consisted of bombarding friends and family members with images of our mascots (Buddy) urging everyone to donate and help sponsor our cause. Our goal of $1000 was ambitious, but you know what they say, “it’s better to aim high . . .” In the end we collected a modest amount of $275. We would really like to extend a warm mahalo to all those that generously donated. Hopefully next year we can do even better!

Curtain call was 7am for registration with the walk starting at 8am. There were dogs of every shape, color, and breed.

Our other mascot Aja was a little nervous about meeting other canines.

One of the highlights was probably when they started off the walk with "Who Let the Dogs Out" by the Baha Men.

Aja and Buddy after crossing the finish line.

Team Isle