New Year, New Opportunities!
I realized that it had been a long time since I had blogged, and figured it would be a good time to chat about some exciting things that are going on with DeBlauw Purchasing. I think that anyone in the industry can agree that 2010 was a tough year. The good news is that 2010 is history, we made it through, and it is time for things to turn around! Wondering what we’ve been up to? Well, wonder no more!
In 2010, we completed a custom scheme at the Hampton Inn in Ellsworth Maine, as well as a custom scheme at the Ramada in Ellsworth. Both were received very well and got a lot of compliments from guests on the interior design package. 
We also completed an historical renovation of the 24 room Captain Daniel Stone Inn in Brunswick Maine. This was an exciting project and we couldn’t have been happier with the way that it turned out.
There were some small projects here and there; a few projects at Jay Peak in Vermont, including a restaurant, club house and some town homes; amongst various other projects.
We also spent some time applying for and receiving various certifications, including the authority to do business in New York and Women Owned Business Enterprise status in New York, which led us to signing a contract for a 100 room Hyatt Place in Riverhead, which is scheduled to open June of 2011. Going a bit further, we are now nationally certified as a Women Owned Business Enterprise! There are grants and funding available to companies to use minority and women owned businesses, so we are hoping that this will open some doors for us in the future.
We are very excited about some new strategic partnerships and opportunities…more to come on that very soon!
Happy New Year to all, and here’s to a prosperous 2011!
The concept of being responsible for our actions seems to be one that is out of a lot of people’s grasp these days, whether in the business world or in our personal lives. It is amazing how hard it is for anyone to admit that something was their fault and do what they can to fix the problem. Two events have happened recently, on either end of the spectrum, that have really made me think about this. The first issue is on the negative side – we purchased a large quantity of dining chairs and bar stools from a well known manufacturer, who unfortunately doesn’t have a great reputation in the industry, nor does the local representative of the company. In hindsight, the order never should’ve been placed, and we will never do business with this company again… chalk it up to a learning experience. The specification for the product was sent to the local rep for quote, and on this spec was all the information about the fabric and how it should be applied, with a photo and all (it was a reversible fabric); the quote was sent back by this rep, and the purchase order was cut and sent to her approving her quote and allowing her to place the order with the factory. (There were other issues with this company and this order as well, but this is the worst…). Insert a couple months… the order arrives…the client calls to let me know that the fabric was applied incorrectly on 118 dining chairs and 13 barstools! I contact the rep, and her response? “The factory didn’t have the information on how to apply the fabric, so they can’t be responsible for it”. I have SO many problems with this response. First of all, if they didn’t know how to apply a reversible fabric, why didn’t they ask, instead of just flipping a coin? Secondly, when I replied “I sent you all of the information, even a picture of the fabric with the correct side up” (one side was red, one was cream, a huge difference), her response? “Yes, you sent it to me, but the factory never got it.”. Need I say more? The end result: rather than pursuing a legal battle and dragging it out even longer, we took responsibility and paid a local upholsterer to fix the problem (The company that made them incorrectly did pay half, how gracious of them! (insert sarcasm)). On a positive note, we had a company yesterday reach out to help fix a problem with a chair that arrived broken, even though they didn’t handle the freight on the order – they are sending a new frame at no charge just because they appreciate the business that we give them and wanted to save us a lot of hassle with a freight claim. Companies like that gain a great reputation in a small industry, and that is how they thrive and grow. Customer service is so very important, and can really make or break relationships. The company from my first story will never get my business again, nor will they get the business of many others that I’ve shared this experience with (although most others that I talk to have their own nightmares to share about this company). The moral of the story? Take responsibility for your actions. Be honest. Make sure when you look deep down, you know that you have done right by others. Be (wo)man enough to admit when you are wrong, and fix it!
I typically don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I think that people throw some huge commitment out there that most of the time they can’t stick with anyway, but try like heck for a few days, until they fail and say “oh well”. This sounds very pesimistic, however I believe that we should all try to continuously set goals and strive to be better in both business and personal life every day. I decided this morning to set a simple goal of making myself do something every day that I really don’t want to do, or would just simply be easier not to do. I think this seems like a realistic goal, and something that should be done in every day life anyway. My business goals for this year, and every year, are to keep my clients happy, to put everything that I have into the projects that I work on, and to spread the word of my business through satisfied clients. I guess I could call that a New Year’s resolution, but I prefer to call it a New Day’s resolution, and make it my resolution every day!
Often times I find myself telling prospective clients that we provide a value added service and today I had someone ask me what that means. He said that he has often heard it, but really did not know. This question made me take a moment and pause to reflect on what value DeBlauw Purchasing adds to a construction or renovation project besides the cost savings to the bottom line. My answer to him was simple as I said, “ we save you time and frustration and also provide you with confidence.” The man I was speaking to said “I understand saving time and frustration, but how do you provide confidence?” My reply was “the sole purpose of DeBlauw Purchasing is to assist you in renovating your hotel and because of that, we will do everything we can to make sure the project runs well and on time. It is like adding Brett Farve to the Vikings this year, the team was solid without him but now with Farve, they are much more confident that they can win.”
“Developing a resort or a mixed-use hotel development is neither for the dilettante nor the hotel-unsophisticated developer”… and that is why you hire a well seasoned company like DeBlauw Purchasing to help you through every step of your development! 
I was recently in the waiting room at my Sports Medicine Doctor’s office, paging through “Allure” magazine (I had to start with my whereabouts so that no one would think that I actually bought Allure Magazine). I came across a great article, which I would add a link to, however the December 2009 issue is not online yet; so I will attempt to convey the main points. In this day and age, phone calls and face to face interaction many times become secondary to emails. Email can save time, and can be very helpful in getting a point across, and having something to save in writing, however it is not always taken at face value – meaning when you send an email, the tone with which you were trying to convey your message can come across all wrong. A few key points to remember: 1. Consider your karma – The meaner the email, the more likely you are to screw it up… have you ever accidentally received a message about how wonderful you are? 2. Simmer down – If you are tempted to fire off an angry or emotional message, compose it in a word document first so that you don’t accidentally hit send before you’ve really thought things through. 3. Watch your tone – Sarcasm in an email rarely comes across. 4. Turn up the volume – Kick up the tone a notch. Use an exclamation point. Add some enthusiasm. 5. Apologize the right way – If you do send someone an insulting email, get ready to grovel, and not just by email – pick up the phone.
Edward de Bono: The winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results.
EcoGreenHotel, in collaboration with DeBlauw Purchasing, Pineapple Hospitality, and others, has launched it’s new online store, providing green products to the hospitality industry. Read more: 
The U.S. Travel Association says modest increases in leisure, business and international inbound travel in 2010 will create 90,000 new jobs. The group forecasts leisure travel to rise 2 percent next year, business travel to rise 2.5 percent, and international travel to the U.S. to rise 3 percent.
