Get Some Perspective

This weekend my husband took some photos of me while I was practicing my yoga. When I looked at the photos later I realized that some of my asanas were much more aligned than I'd thought. And others were further off than I was aware of. This awareness started me thinking - how many other aspects of my life were (ahem) out of balance?

Do I need a new perspective on how happy my team is? What about client satisfaction? P&Ls and other accounting reports provide insights, but maybe some outside perspective there would be helpful too?

I don't want to question everything, and get lost in "analysis paralysis." But at the same time, a new vantage point on some critical aspects of MBM will likely be as enlightening as my yoga photos. Now, if only that were as easy as handing Richard a camera...

No Reservations?

I'm a big fan of Anthony Bourdain and his approach to food and travel (within the context of being a pescatrian). That being said, why do so many restaurants in Richmond not take reservations? I know there are issues of people not showing up on time (solution: make it clear "all your party must arrive within 5 minutes of reservation or you lose your table"). In Boston they take your credit card when you make your reservation and will charge you a fee if you don't show up.

Neither of these options screams "customer service" but on the other hand, many of us have turned into selfish, thoughtless consumers who have no respect for the hard working retailers and restaurateurs out there trying to make a living in a "the customer is always right" world.

At MBM we're lucky - our clients respect us and enjoy working with us. And for that, we bend over backwards for them. But it's more than luck. It's a calculated strategy of understanding and defining who is a good client for us and making sure we're all in agreement of the expectations of our relationship. And part of that agreement is that they can fire us if we don't live up to our end. And if they no longer respect and appreciate the work and the effort we put into the relationship? "Bye bye" we say. With no reservations....

New Website Coming!

Kelly mentioned in her last blog that she's been working on a couple of sites for clients. In the meantime, Courtney has been hard at work on the MBM website, along with Jason who is a former MBMer turned freelance. He did a great job and we're all really excited about how the site reflects our fine-tuned brand messaging and really reflects our diffentiation.

Look for the site to launch in mid-August. And if you see Court, thank her for her hard work and ask her if I would make the worst client ever. Don't tell me how she answers that question, though.

Tuesday = Done

Donna Carvana who used to work here always warned us to watch our electronic and digital equipment when "Mercury is in retrograde." Somehow she pegged it and our phones would fail, computers would crash or cable get knocked out.

I wonder how she'd explain today? We were all riding high with new clients and some strong proposals in the hands of potential clients. Today we heard "no" and "no" from potentials and lots of "how do you explain this" from the currents.

Ugh. It's cold, raining (planning on turning to snow), and we're an unhappy lot. We just spent a few minutes talking about what we're going to do when we leave the office. Highlights include a birthday party for an 11 year old, yoga, the gym, the last 50 pages of The Angel's Game, test driving a Mazda and ANOTHER EPISODE OF LOST!

Here's to vodka shots and wishes for a better day for all tomorrow!