Lis Calandrino

The month of December has been a very interesting one for me. This year I’ve been fortunate enough to celebrate Chanukah, Christmas coming tomorrow and next week is Kwanzaa. Tradition is interesting, even if it’s not your own. Several of us celebrated the 6th night of Chanukah with our neighbor Dan and we got to learn some Israeli folk dances and eat traditional food. Tradition and the holidays give us an excuse to give gifts, give thanks and get together with people who are important in our lives.

I had the good fortune to meet a smart consumer while out on a carpet inspection recently. For this story she will remain “smart consumer.”
By the way, this is a consumer with a problem.

I wouldn’t have believed this if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Stores will sometimes spend thousands on new racking systems or to repave their parking lots — but not a dime to train their employees.
Joanne’s Fabrics is a national chain with great products for anyone who sews or does crafts. My friend Mary does both but sewing is more than her hobby; it’s her home-based business. Her store of choice for fabric and sewing machine? You got it, Joanne’s Fabrics. How long has she been shopping at their store? Probably 15 years. How much has she spent? Probably thousands.

According to a study conducted by two professors from Vanderbilt University, up to 40% of satisfied customers do not return to those businesses who gave them the satisfactory service.
This means that almost half their customers wind up missing in action.
How would they know if they’re missing?
They probably wouldn’t, because most businesses don’t track lost customers or try to find out where these customers went.

I wonder if people know what comes out of their mouths or if mouths have their own strategies. Then I think maybe I listen or hear too much.
I found myself in the position of having to rent a car in the Pittsburg, PA airport. Unfortunately there were no cars to rent except at the Hertz [...]

The rain held off and Baystate Rug held its first “Bounce House” event. President Joe Montemagni and General Manager Jorge Morgado purchased an inflatable “bounce house” — an Excalibur’s Castle model, which is one of the many different types of bounce houses.

“We thought it would be fun for our families to use and then [...]

This isn’t about peas and pasta. It’s about beet greens.
For the past two days I have been in St. Charles, IL with an upscale flooring retailer, and a product knowledge question comes up. “How much product knowledge do I need,” asks a new salesperson? My usual response is “Whatever the customer needs to make [...]