Purple Wren tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-372003 2012-11-03T03:11:19Z Sandy Renshaw is an Iowa-based communications consultant. She helps small businesses build meaningful relationships with their customers using social media and personalized greeting cards (independent distributor for SendOutCards). TypePad purple_wrenhttp://feedburner.google.com Bathroom Blogfest 2012: Still Climbing Out - Public Facilities tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341d298353ef017ee4b023a9970d 2012-11-02T22:11:19-05:00 2012-11-03T03:14:52Z This week has zoomed by. My sister has been in ICU and my mother is now in nursing care and visited ER one night, so my bathroom observations have been largely in medical facilities. It's interesting to observe the differences... Sandy Renshaw aka Purple Wren

Blogfest-2012-tiles-sm-01This week has zoomed by. My sister has been in ICU and my mother is now in nursing care and visited ER one night, so my bathroom observations have been largely in medical facilities. It's interesting to observe the differences between facilities in California and South Dakota. I see a lot more bathrooms marked for unisex use out west. That makes sense to me. Why have people standing around waiting (usually women) when there are not enough stalls, and have the men's stall empty? Problem solved. It's all about pleasing the customer. What's your experience been?

Unisexbathroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to check out the great posts written by the other bloggers!

NameTwitter UsernameBlog NameBlog URL
Susan Abbott susanabbott theIdeaStudio www.theideastudio.ca
Laurence Borel blogtillyoudrop blog till you drop www.laurenceborel.com
Bill Buyok AventeTile Avente Tile Talk http://www.aventetiletalk.com/
Jeanne Byington jmbyington The Importance of Earnest Service blog.jmbyington.com
Nora DePalma steamtherapy The Mr. Steam SteamTherapy Blog http://blog.mrsteam.com/
Mr. Steam noradepalma OR-DP POV www.oreilly-depalma.com/blog
Stacy Garcia kbtribechat kbtribe http://kbtribe.wordpress.com
Diane Kazan dkazan Public Bathroom Blog http://thekazan.blogspot.com
Arpi Nalbandian Arpi_Nalb Avente Tile Talk http://www.aventetiletalk.com/
Victoria & Shelley Redshaw & Pond scarletopus Scarlet Opus Trends Blog www.scarletopus.com
Sandy Renshaw sandyrenshaw Purple Wren purplewren.com
Bruce D. Sanders rimtailing RIMtailing http://rimtailing.blogspot.com/
Paige Smith none Tile tips from installation professionals http://neusetile.wordpress.com/
Todd Vendituoli TALV58 Thebuildingblox http://www.thebuildingblox.com/
Shannon Vogel cyswebsites From the Floors Up http://fromthefloorsup.com
CB Whittemore cbwhittemore Content Talks Business Blog http://simplemarketingnow.com/content-talks-business-blog/
Irene Williams crossvilleinc Elevate Your Space http://elevateyourspace.wordpress.com/
Linda Wright skiptotheloo Skip to the Loo! http://lindaloo.com/
http://www.purplewren.com/2012/11/bathroomblogfest2012.html One of my favorite apps: Skitch tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341d298353ef0176170e7d37970c 2012-08-06T13:17:02-05:00 2012-08-06T18:17:02Z Skitch is my favorite clipping tool. I'm running it on my MacBook as well as my phone. There is nothing out there (that I have found) that is as convenient as this app to grab a screenshot. Use the annotation... Sandy Renshaw aka Purple Wren

Skitch Skitchlogo is my favorite clipping tool. I'm running it on my MacBook as well as my phone. There is nothing out there (that I have found) that is as convenient as this app to grab a screenshot. Use the annotation feature to share ideas or quickly explain an edit. As you know, a picture's worth a thousand words. Use this app when only a picture will do.

If you are looking for something free and easy-to-use, try it.  

Do you have other clipping tools that you rave about? Please share with us...

 http://www.purplewren.com/2012/08/one-of-my-favorite-apps-skitch.html Bathroom Blogfest 2011: Climbing Out and Sculpture tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341d298353ef015436736e17970c 2011-10-29T14:57:00-05:00 2011-10-29T17:52:16Z 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... Sandy Renshaw aka Purple Wren

IMAG1156Last 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/ 

 http://www.purplewren.com/2011/10/bathroom-blogfest-2011-climbing-out-and-sculpture.html Bathroom Blogfest 2011: Cleanliness tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341d298353ef015392aba3ce970b 2011-10-29T12:31:44-05:00 2011-10-29T17:34:00Z 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... Sandy Renshaw aka Purple Wren

IMAG0272The 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/ 

 http://www.purplewren.com/2011/10/bathroom-blogfest-2011-cleanliness.html Bathroom Blogfest 2011: Climbing Out tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341d298353ef015392963a4b970b 2011-10-25T21:08:38-05:00 2011-10-26T02:05:27Z 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... Sandy Renshaw aka Purple Wren

BathroomBlogfest_2011It'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. 

NameBlog NameBlog 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/

 

 http://www.purplewren.com/2011/10/bathroom-blogfest-2011-climbing-out.html Need a Friendly Reminder? tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341d298353ef0147e17a0e93970b 2011-10-15T13:10:00-05:00 2011-10-16T03:02:03Z 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.... Sandy Renshaw aka Purple Wren

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.

HabitforgeIt'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?

 http://www.purplewren.com/2011/10/need-a-friendly-reminder.html 140 characters conference in Des Moines May 9 tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341d298353ef0154322a45d7970c 2011-05-07T08:07:57-05:00 2011-05-07T13:07:57Z 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... Sandy Renshaw aka Purple Wren

Small-badge 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.

 http://www.purplewren.com/2011/05/140-characters-conference-in-des-moines-may-9.html Who do you know that likes to save time and money? tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341d298353ef0147e2733a21970b 2011-02-09T09:12:05-06:00 2011-02-09T15:27:51Z 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... Sandy Renshaw aka Purple Wren

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.