Thursday 28 November 2013

WHAT MAKES A BANK EXTRAORDINARY?

Here is a challenge for you:
 
 



Put yourself into the shoes of the events - and promotions coordinator of one of the oldest, biggest banks in Canada to create an extraordinary Thank You and Promo stunt for the Holiday Season.

Object:   AVION VISA card
Mission:  To come up with a scheme to reward current customers and raise awareness among non card holders! They too can have the card.

What would you do to create the ultimate Feel Good, Thank You, We Appreciate You - offer
 to your current (and hopefully ) future customers?
What would you do to make them feel special and appreciated?

For one, you could run We Love You ads on TV and on the radio (kinda' cheesy- but it has been done before)
Or you could offer free coffee and snacks at all local branches (which is OK-ish, but not Wow).

This would suffice for any other bank- not so for the Royal Bank of Canada.


 The folks at RBC went to extraordinary length to create a chique,
 unique, laid back, well stocked AVION Holiday Boutique in the Coquitlam Mall in Coquitlam,  B.C.
(Actually, Coquitlam is the only location here in BC to host this event)

 
 
 


Finding a safe, cosy heaven with free snacks, fruits,




 flavoured water,



 coffee and tea   







among the upcoming Christmas frenzy is one thing and in itself wonderful; throw in a free parcel - and jacket check-in, free gift wrapping and -wait for it- valet parking(!) for their card holders and RBC is on the way up to reach the pinnacle of extraordinary services!




The clever brain behind this organised pre-Christmas extravaganza is a clever one indeed, he or she hired a bunch of good looking, well dressed, enthusiastic hostesses to make the stay for their card holders even more memorable.




What can I say, I am one of them.






 Let me come back to my question at the beginning:
 Would you have thought of that? Honestly?
Would you agree when I say "This is a fabulous idea".

From the reactions we are getting I can testify, their customers are blown away- and the other ones are surely thinking about switching over....

 
Every so often it's the big stuff that makes a big bank extraordinary!





Thursday 21 November 2013

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Here in Canada it is hard to find a true blue, 'undiluted' Canadian.
Unsurprisingly, many of our new friends are a mixture of something or from a different country altogether.

Dimitri is one of them. If you guessed he is Russian you guessed right!
He is a Russian unlike any Russian you have ever met.
He doesn't like shoes!
The first time he came to our house he showed up barefooted- which is ok-ish considering it was summer and Canada is a free country, you can wear what you want (it is socially acceptable to leave your house in your pyjamas and house slippers to go and visit the mall. However, when Christmas time comes around you are not allowed to call it "Merry Christmas", you need to call it "Happy Holidays").

 When he visited us the other day he was still barefoot - which, in my opinion is not ok-ish  'cause it is 2 degrees outside . But then, who am I?  Only a mother who wants to keep her floor clean...

Like all good Russian men he attended ballet academy and knows how to make even a piano with stuck keys sound like "The piano Man'.  Unlike Russian men, he doesn't drink Vodka;  he doesn't drink at all come to think of it.

When he talks in his native tongue I am torn between classifying him as a  porn star or mobster - (as I have no real-life experience with either one, I chose the porn category!)

Ladies, if he sounds too good to be true I have to disappoint you:
No, I won't give you his number, he is a happily married man to beautiful Estonian Beauty Katja and father of two cheeky boys.
Now, the reason I am telling you all this is, Dimitri is a very well read, smart man, he carries his iPad with him like other man would carry their man-bag, mobile phone or wallet.

Whatever you want to know, whenever there is an argument to settle, Dimitri will clear it up with one quick search on Google!

An afternoon with Dimitri can make you feel like the biggest looser ('cause there is so much shit going on in the world you are oblivious about) or you are stimulated  just listening to him.

Whatever he is telling you he is proving with  data from his iPad.
If you always wanted to know what a Russian, A German, An American and Estonian have in common and talk about?
The answers are nothing and lots.

After our latest  afternoon spent together I got interesting insights:

 The German army killed more than 20 million Russians during WW II
(check this link)

If  I am a witty, sophisticated money trader or investor I should invest in Bitcoin (if you never heard of it, check this out)

If we have any common sense in our body left and care for the future of our children we should pack our bags and get out of Vancouver as fast as possible. The nuclear radioactive waste from Japan is making its way to the West Coast of Canada and the USA.

Here is one scary article for you.
And here is one more.

From next year onwards we can't eat fish anymore (more and more fish are dying or become contaminated from the nuclear waste).

Mushrooms can save the world!
C'mon, you heard me right, mushrooms is the word. If you have some time, this Ted Talk will give you an insight into the unknown, magic components of these little buggers!

Here is the TED TALK by Paul Stamets

Dimitri gives me something to ponder about, every time!
  I will greatly miss him when he is gone.
As a good Russian he lives by his own gospel; the rain and the imminent nuclear threat has gotten to him- he is moving his family back to Russia- where he will spread love and information..
One extraordinary man!



Sunday 10 November 2013

HOW STUBBORN IS YOUR HUSBAND?

Just because you have immigrated to Canada doesn't mean your husband is going to change!

What you are about to discover might be the secret to success- in all aspects of your life:




 
 
 
If you want to know what I am talking about you should click on the following button.
HAPPY WATCHING!
 
 
 
YES! As always, it is the SMALL STUFF that makes our day extraordinary!
 
And the secret to success? Being stubborn (hang in there) and give it time!
 

 
The cowboys and cowgirls ready for their Two Step Country Swing!

 
Is YOUR husband stubborn?
 
What is the one thing YOU really want HIM to DO with YOU? (oh,la,la, keep it child friendly...)
And, have you succeeded? How did you do it?
What is your secret? PLEASE share it with us, I would LOVE to know!
 
 
                                                     

Monday 4 November 2013

About Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's and the Homeless

Never will I shy away from a good personal challenge:
 I am on straight course to hit my target of  living through 52 New Experiences for 2013!

The biggy I am really nervous about is singing karaoke in a Gay Bar-By all means send me your personal- vocal-, life-, motivation- or drag coach along; every little bit will help to get this done and over with.
 (Just read the announcement at the old folks home for this Thursday's sing-a-long- but that wouldn't be the same, would it?)
Never mind my upcoming launch for The MOTHERPRENEUR website and MotherpreneurTV on youtube...

Let's get back on track';  part of new experiences includes attending networking events I have never been to- like the recent small business expo in downtown Vancouver.  Plenty of IT nerds, accountants, mortgage advisers, coaches, multilevel marketers, toner refill specialists and SEO experts fought for our attention, pitched, explained and pitched some more.
 Let me be polite here,  it wasn't exactly what I had in mind for an inspirational morning. So I made a deal with the best husband of them all;  he stayed and I left!


Where did I go to? My brain didn't think, my feet took over and walked me straight into the Louis Vuitton Boutique adjacent to the hotel?! Why in Heavens name? What would I possibly find on their shelves I couldn't buy in Turkey (that's where the wannabe brand addicts purchase their fake stuff).

A while back I read a very intriguing article about Louis in TIMES magazine- about real craftsmanship, hand stitched shoes, 5 year long waiting lists for one of their hand bags and loyal followers around the world.
Here I found myself, in the midst of hand stitched everything, outnumbered 5:1 by sales assistants.

One of the pretty ladies and I started quite an interesting dialogue where I asked all the questions I always wanted to know about the brand, and pretty lady, all knowledgeable, explaining everything to me! Forty five minutes later we were still on it and I started to feel very comfortable among exquisite, hand made purses, bags, shoes and dresses!
I felt so comfortable with myself that I waived my pretty sales assistant goodbye and swaggered straight across the street to ...Tiffany & Co.. Might as well make a luxury morning out of it.
Big disappointment, Tiffany's was nothing I expected- the assistant was nice, attentive and helpful though.
She let me try on a few platinum rings and I really hoped I would feel like Audrey Hepburn felt; but I didn't get all fuzzy and wobbly in my knees.  The rings were nice, not WOW!




Back on rural home turf we stopped at the bank; there she was again, the neat, polite female beggar asking for some money. After listening to Louis's story, trying on rings at Tiffany's I wanted to hear about her; there I was, sitting on the street corner with the beggar, asking questions, listening to her story; a story of sheer hardship, higher circumstance, goodwill, hope and determination to see better days one day!

  Experiences are stories. Our personal world is full of them!  And best of all, we all have a story to tell.  If we only have the courage or take the time to ask and listen to them more often, these stories will stay with us forever, regardless of price tag or not!