Purple Wren

Bathroom Blogfest 2011: Climbing Out and Sculpture

2011-10-29T14:57:00-05:00

Last week we had dinner with the grandkids. It was fun to discuss recent school trips. This semester I'm taking a class and we had the opportunity to tour the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines. And to my surprise, our almost 10-year-old granddaughter had just taken a similar tour with her school class. We shared some pictures and discussed our favorite sculptures, and our least favorites.

When it came time to sit down and write about the Bathroom Blogfest and I looked at this year's topic, I immediately thought about a piece of sculpture that I really liked - and she didn't. It's called In the Morning by Anthony Caro and it is a woman climbing out of a bath.

What's this have to do with the customer experience? Everything. Bathing is when people get cleaned up and ready to experience whatever the rest of their day offers. It's usually a private and personal experience and we want it to happen in nice surroundings.

Make sure your customers know you care by offering safe, clean facilities - whether you are a hotel or a retail store. It just shows the customer that you care.

Check out the posts from the others participating in Bathroom Blogfest 2011

Susan Abbott - @susanabbott - Customer Experience Crossroads -http://www.customercrossroads.com/customercrossroads/

Paul Anater - @Paul_Anater - Kitchen and Residential Design - http://www.KitchenAndResidentialDesign.com

Shannon Bilby - @shannonbilby – From The Floors Up - http://fromthefloorsup.com/

Toby Bloomberg - @TobyDiva - Diva Marketing - http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/

Laurence Borel - @blogtillyoudrop - Blog Till You Drop - http://www.laurenceborel.com/

Bill Buyok - @AventeTile - Avente Tile Talk Blog - http://tiletalk.blogspot.com/

Jeanne Byington - @ jmbyington - The Importance of Earnest Service - http://blog.jmbyington.com/

Becky Carroll - @ bcarroll7 - Customers Rock! - http://customersrock.net/

Katie Clark - @practicalkatie - Practical Katie - http://practicalkatie.blogspot.com/

Nora DePalma - @noradepalma - O’Reilly DePalma: The Blog - http://www.oreilly-depalma.com/blog/

Paul Friederichsen - @pfriederichsen - The BrandBiz Blog - http://brandbizblog.com/

Tish Grier - @TishGrier - The Constant Observer - http://spap-oop.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Hise - @EHise - Flooring The Consumerhttp://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com/

Emily Hooper - @FCNewsMag – Floor Covering News Blog http://www.fcnews.net/category/blog/

Diane Kazan – @dkazan - Urban Design Renovation - http://blog.urbandesignrenovation.com

Joseph Michelli - @josephmichelli - Dr. Joseph Michelli’s Blog - www.josephmichelli.com/blog

Veronika Miller - @Modenus - Modenus Blog - http://www.modenus.com/blog

Arpi Nalbandian - @TileEditor - TILE Magazine Editor Blog - http://www.tilemagonline.com/Articles/Blog_Nalbandian

David Polinchock - @Polinchock - Polinchock’s Ponderings - http://blog.polinchock.com/

Professor Toilet - @ProfessorToilet - American Standard’s Professor Toilet - http://www.professortoilet.com/

David Reich - @davidreich - My 2 Cents - http://reichcomm.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Victoria Redshaw & Shelley Pond - @scarletopus - Scarlet Opus Trends Blog - http://trendsblog.co.uk/

Sandy Renshaw - @purplewren - Purple Wren - http://www.purplewren.com/

Bethany Richmond - The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog - http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.com/

Bruce Sanders - RIMtailing - http://rimtailing.blogspot.com/

Paige Smith – Neuse Tile Service Blog - http://neusetile.wordpress.com/

Stephanie Weaver - @experienceology - Experienceology - http://experienceology.blogspot.com/

Christine B. Whittemore - @cbwhittemore – Content Talks Business Blog - http://simplemarketingnow.com/content-talks-business-blog/, Simple Marketing Blog http://www.simplemarketingblog.com/, The Carpetology Bloghttp://carpetology.blogspot.com/, Smoke Rise & Kinnelon Blog - http://smokerise-nj.blogspot.com/

Ted Whittemore - @TedWhittemore – Working Computers - http://www.kinneloncomputers.com/

Chris Woelfel - @tileexperts – Artcraft Granite, Marble & Tile Co. -www.artcraftgmt.com

Patty Woodland - @BrokenTeepee - Broken Teepee - http://www.brokenteepee.com/

Denise Lee Yohn - @deniseleeyohn – brand as business bites - http://deniseleeyohn.com/bites/

Bathroom Blogfest 2011: Cleanliness

2011-10-29T12:31:44-05:00

The bathroom experience really can make it a better visit for your customer... or not. According to the current poll on the Bathroom Blogfest site, "cleanliness" is winning as what matters most. You can cast your vote now!

Subway is a company that takes cleanliness seriously. I was impressed with how immaculate the bathroom was at this location in West Des Moines and snapped a photo of the sign. They are proud of their facilities and that's a refreshing change. When they take care of the bathrooms, you know they are likely taking care of everything else.

What does the cleanliness of your bathroom tell your customers about you and your business or service?

Check out the posts from the others participating in Bathroom Blogfest 2011

Susan Abbott - @susanabbott - Customer Experience Crossroads -http://www.customercrossroads.com/customercrossroads/

Paul Anater - @Paul_Anater - Kitchen and Residential Design - http://www.KitchenAndResidentialDesign.com

Shannon Bilby - @shannonbilby – From The Floors Up - http://fromthefloorsup.com/

Toby Bloomberg - @TobyDiva - Diva Marketing - http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/

Laurence Borel - @blogtillyoudrop - Blog Till You Drop - http://www.laurenceborel.com/

Bill Buyok - @AventeTile - Avente Tile Talk Blog - http://tiletalk.blogspot.com/

Jeanne Byington - @ jmbyington - The Importance of Earnest Service - http://blog.jmbyington.com/

Becky Carroll - @ bcarroll7 - Customers Rock! - http://customersrock.net/

Katie Clark - @practicalkatie - Practical Katie - http://practicalkatie.blogspot.com/

Nora DePalma - @noradepalma - O’Reilly DePalma: The Blog - http://www.oreilly-depalma.com/blog/

Paul Friederichsen - @pfriederichsen - The BrandBiz Blog - http://brandbizblog.com/

Tish Grier - @TishGrier - The Constant Observer - http://spap-oop.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Hise - @EHise - Flooring The Consumer http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com/

Emily Hooper - @FCNewsMag – Floor Covering News Blog http://www.fcnews.net/category/blog/

Diane Kazan – @dkazan - Urban Design Renovation - http://blog.urbandesignrenovation.com

Joseph Michelli - @josephmichelli - Dr. Joseph Michelli’s Blog - www.josephmichelli.com/blog

Veronika Miller - @Modenus - Modenus Blog - http://www.modenus.com/blog

Arpi Nalbandian - @TileEditor - TILE Magazine Editor Blog - http://www.tilemagonline.com/Articles/Blog_Nalbandian

David Polinchock - @Polinchock - Polinchock’s Ponderings - http://blog.polinchock.com/

Professor Toilet - @ProfessorToilet - American Standard’s Professor Toilet - http://www.professortoilet.com/

David Reich - @davidreich - My 2 Cents - http://reichcomm.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Victoria Redshaw & Shelley Pond - @scarletopus - Scarlet Opus Trends Blog - http://trendsblog.co.uk/

Sandy Renshaw - @purplewren - Purple Wren - http://www.purplewren.com/

Bethany Richmond - The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog - http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.com/

Bruce Sanders - RIMtailing - http://rimtailing.blogspot.com/

Paige Smith – Neuse Tile Service Blog - http://neusetile.wordpress.com/

Stephanie Weaver - @experienceology - Experienceology - http://experienceology.blogspot.com/

Christine B. Whittemore - @cbwhittemore – Content Talks Business Blog - http://simplemarketingnow.com/content-talks-business-blog/, Simple Marketing Blog http://www.simplemarketingblog.com/, The Carpetology Bloghttp://carpetology.blogspot.com/, Smoke Rise & Kinnelon Blog - http://smokerise-nj.blogspot.com/

Ted Whittemore - @TedWhittemore – Working Computers - http://www.kinneloncomputers.com/

Chris Woelfel - @tileexperts – Artcraft Granite, Marble & Tile Co. -www.artcraftgmt.com

Patty Woodland - @BrokenTeepee - Broken Teepee - http://www.brokenteepee.com/

Denise Lee Yohn - @deniseleeyohn – brand as business bites - http://deniseleeyohn.com/bites/

Bathroom Blogfest 2011: Climbing Out

2011-10-25T21:08:38-05:00

It's a tradition of fall... to participate in Bathroom Blogfest the last week of October. The theme this year is "Climbing Out." Check out the cool logo over to the right, compliments of Susan Abbott. The participants are listed below and don't forget to look for us on Twitter, on Facebook and on the Bathroom Blogfest 2011 blog.

During this annual event, you will find bloggers from around the world writing about bathrooms and their importance in the customer experience.

Name	Blog Name	Blog URL
Susan Abbott	Customer Experience Crossroads	Customer Experience Crossroads
Paul Anater	Kitchen and Residential Design	http://www.kitchenandresidentialdesign.com
Shannon Bilby	From the Floors Up	http://fromthefloorsup.com/
Toby Bloomberg	Diva Marketing	Diva Marketing Blog
Laurence Borel	Blog Till You Drop	http://www.laurenceborel.com/
Bill Buyok	Avente Tile Talk	http://tiletalk.blogspot.com
Jeanne Byington	The Importance of Earnest Service	http://blog.jmbyington.com/
Becky Carroll	Customers Rock!	http://customersrock.net
Katie Clark	Practical Katie	http://practicalkatie.blogspot.com/
Nora DePalma	O'Reilly DePalma: The Blog	http://www.oreilly-depalma.com/blog/
Paul Friederichsen	The BrandBiz Blog	http://brandbizblog.com/
Tish Grier	The Constant Observer	http://spap-oop.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Hise	Flooring The Consumer	http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com
Emily Hooper	Floor Covering News Blog	http://www.fcnews.net/category/blog/
Diane Kazan	Urban Design Renovation	http://blog.urbandesignrenovation.com
Joseph Michelli	Dr. Joseph Michelli’s Blog	http://www.josephmichelli.com/blog
Veronika Miller	Modenus Blog	http://www.modenus.com/blog
Arpi Nalbandian	Tile Magazine Editors' Blog	Tile Editor Magazine Blog
David Polinchock	Polinchock's Ponderings	http://blog.polinchock.com/
Professor Toilet	American Standard's Professor Toilet	http://www.professortoilet.com
David Reich	my 2 cents	http://reichcomm.typepad.com
Victoria Redshaw & Shelley Pond	Scarlet Opus Trends Blog	http://www.trendsblog.co.uk
Sandy Renshaw	Purple Wren	http://www.PurpleWren.com
Bethany Richmond	Carpet and Rug Institute Blog	Carpet and Rug Institute Blog
Bruce D. Sanders	RIMtailing	http://www.rimtailing.blogspot.com
Paige Smith	Neuse Tile Service blog	http://neusetile.wordpress.com/
Stephanie Weaver	Experienceology	http://experienceology.blogspot.com/
Christine B. Whittemore	Content Talks Business Blog	Content Talks Business Blog
Christine B. Whittemore	Smoke Rise & Kinnelon Blog	http://smokerise-nj.blogspot.com/
Christine B. Whittemore	Simple Marketing Blog	http://www.simplemarketingblog.com/
Ted Whittemore	Working Computers	http://www.kinneloncomputers.com/
Chris Woelfel	Artcraft Granite, Marble & Tile Co.	http://www.artcraftgmt.com
Patty Woodland	Broken Teepee	http://www.brokenteepee.com/
Denise Lee Yohn	brand as business bites	http://deniseleeyohn.com/bites/

Need a Friendly Reminder?

2011-10-15T13:10:00-05:00

How many times have you started something new and before it became a habit, you stopped doing it? Well, here's a great tool to help you stay on track with new habits. And it's free, my favorite.

It's called habitforge. Working on the premise that it takes 21 days to create a new habit, you enter your goal and receive a daily email from habitforge asking if you were successful. All that is required is a "yes" or "no" response.

If you miss a day, you're back to day one. Once you complete 21 successful days you are on a monitoring mode. But by then you have probably successfully incorporated this new habit into your routine. How will you use this tool? Have you made resolutions that you are trying to keep on track with?

140 characters conference in Des Moines May 9

2011-05-07T08:07:57-05:00

Do you have your ticket yet? The 140 character conference will be here Monday! It starts at 8:30 a.m. at the Stoner Studio Theatre. The day is packed full of speakers talking about how they have been changed by technology and how you can use it.

Originally designed by Jeff Pulver, the conference was designed to bring together about 140 characters to discuss twitter and topics like Celebrity, Media and Advertising. It's been held in cities like New York, London and Tel Aviv. Last year Hutchinson, Kansas held the first Small Town Conference with more than 200 attendees.

Now is your chance. Jeff Pulver, Deb Brown, and Nathan Wright are co-hosting the first Iowa 140 Character Conference. "The key focus of the conference is on how real time technology (twitter, facebook are two examples) is changing business, agriculture, media, education, sports, celebrity - everything."

Will you be there? Right now there are still tickets available! It's networking in Iowa with attendees representing lots of different industries and businesses large and small.

Who do you know that likes to save time and money?

2011-02-09T09:12:05-06:00

This app will help you save time and money. And if you are a distributor you can earn income in two ways including affiliate income and business building income.

Check out the new corporate video and then go out to my personal My Shopping Genie site and download and install your f.r.e.e. Genie. Here's how it works or you can contact me and I'll help you get it installed.

Help second-grader raise funds for clean water

2011-02-04T10:36:28-06:00

I'm always surprised and inspired by young people who are making a difference. Here is a second-grader in our own Iowa community who is raising money to help provide clean drinking water. He is giving up his 8th birthday party and presents and asks you and me to donate to his charity: water campaign. It is a well-thought out plan and will also benefit people at the local retirement home because he is going to play the piano for them for every $100 donated. And depending on your contribution you could get a drawing. Yea Nathan! I appreciate your passion.

Take a look at his video! And check out his site to see all the details. Will you help Nathan Hidajat reach his goal? How will you make a difference today?

Flickr makes it easier to blog photos

2011-01-21T16:17:53-06:00

Have you seen how easy it is to post a photo from Flickr? You can easily get the code for the attribution line. Gone is the old copy and paste method. And mine is set up so I can "blog this photo."

Guess it's been awhile since I went out to get a photo, so I'm not sure when they made this improvement. Are you using it?

icy beauty, originally uploaded by josef.stuefer.

Passion: What does it mean to you?

2010-11-17T23:14:00-06:00

I've been assisting Angela Maiers post guest posts on her blog this month while she has been traveling. The topic is PASSION-Driven Conversations. She has invited "a diverse group of genius minds to the table." Included are "award winning educators, bloggers, college professors, children’s book writers, scientists, small business owners, leaders from the education and corporate world, social media gurus and consultants, three New York Times best selling authors, parents, and of course, students!"

It's been a pleasant and thought-provoking read as I prepare these blog posts to be published. Take a look and let me know what you think.

What are you passionate about? How do you express that passion in your work or life in general?

I've been thinking about passion a lot during the past year and especially the last month and I will start sharing those thoughts in posts here.

Have You Checked Out Bathroom Blogfest 2010?

2010-10-31T12:05:09-05:00

One of my favorite times of year is October. It seems like interesting events occur then... fall colors, fall break, birthdays, the Bathroom Blogfest, and Halloween. Even though the 2010 Bathroom Blogfest is over, it's not too late to visit the website and read all the great posts that have been written during the last week. Weekends are a great time to catch up on reading.

The topic was "Still Stuck in the 60s?" inspired by Mad Men, one of the most popular TV shows this season.

How is your bathroom still stuck in the 60s? How does that relate to customer service? You can also check out posts from previous years to see how important this piece of the experience is for customers. It might make more of a difference than you are aware of.

So jump in and read a bit. And look for this event next October.

Blogfest 2010 Participants:

Susan Abbott – @susanabbott

Customer Experience Crossroads – http://www.customercrossroads.com/customercrossroads/

Paul Anater – @Paul_Anater

Kitchen and Residential Design – http://www.KitchenAndResidentialDesign.com

Shannon Bilby – @shannonbilby

My Big Bob’s Blog – http://blog.mybigbobs.com/

From The Floors Up – http://fromthefloorsup.com/

Big Bob’s Outlet – http://blog.bigbobsoutlet.com/

Dolphin Carpet Blog – http://blog.dolphincarpet.com/

Carpets N More Blog – http://blog.carpetsnmore.com/

Toby Bloomberg – @TobyDiva

Diva Marketing – http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/

Laurence Borel – @ blogtillyoudrop

Blog Till You Drop – http://www.laurenceborel.com/

Bill Buyok – @AventeTile

Avente Tile Talk Blog – http://tiletalk.blogspot.com/

Jeanne Byington – @ jmbyington

The Importance of Earnest Service – http://blog.jmbyington.com/

Becky Carroll – @ bcarroll7

Customers Rock! – http://customersrock.net/

Marianna Chapman – @ResultsRev

Results Revolution – http://www.resultsrevolution.com

Katie Clark – @practicalkatie

Practical Katie – http://practicalkatie.blogspot.com/

Valerie Fritz – @Awarepoint

The Awarepoint Blog – http://www.awarepointblog.com/

Nora DePalma – @noradepalma

American Standard’s Professor Toilet – http://www.professortoilet.com/

Leigh Durst – @LivePath

LivePath Experience Architect Weblog – http://livepath.blogspot.com/

Iris Garrott

Checking In and Checking Out – http://circulating.wordpress.com/

Tish Grier – @TishGrier

The Constant Observer – http://spap-oop.blogspot.com

Renee LeCroy – @ReneeLeCroy

Your Fifth Wall – http://yourfifthwall.com/

Veronika Miller – @Modenus

Modenus Blog – http://www.modenus.com/blog

Arpi Nalbandian – @TileEditor

TILE Magazine Editor Blog – http://www.tilemagonline.com/Articles/Blog_Nalbandian

Maria Palma – @mariapalma

People 2 People Service – http://www.people2peopleservice.com/

David Polinchock – @Polinchock

Polinchock’s Ponderings – http://blog.polinchock.com/

David Reich – @davidreich

My 2 Cents – http://reichcomm.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Victoria Redshaw – @scarletopus

Scarlet Opus Trends Blog – http://trendsblog.co.uk/

Sandy Renshaw – @purplewren

Purple Wren – http://www.purplewren.com/

Around Des Moines – http://www.arounddesmoines.com/

Bethany Richmond

The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog – http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.com/

Bruce Sanders

RIMtailing – http://rimtailing.blogspot.com/

Steve Tokar

Please Be Seated – http://stevetokar.wordpress.com/

Carolyn Townes – @SpiritWoman26

Becoming a Woman of Purpose – http://spiritwomen.blogspot.com/

Stephanie Weaver – @experienceology

Experienceology – http://experienceology.blogspot.com/

Christine B. Whittemore – @cbwhittemore

Flooring The Consumer http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com/

Simple Marketing Blog http://www.simplemarketingblog.com/

The Carpetology Blog http://carpetology.blogspot.com/

Smoke Rise & Kinnelon Blog http://smokerise-nj.blogspot.com/

Linda Wright

LindaLoo Build Business With Better Bathrooms – http://lindaloo.com/

Blog Action Day 2010: water and AoC3

2010-10-15T15:31:48-05:00

Today is Blog Action Day - when thousands of bloggers from around the world write about the same issue. This year it is water. I don't know about you, but I tend to take water for granted. As I write this the tap is running to fill my sink for washing dishes. I took a shower this morning. When I go to get a drink of water, it's right there. Not everyone in the world is that fortunate.

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