DeBlauw Purchasing

Renovate in an Economic Downturn?

Amanda DeBlauw — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:39:49 +0000

You may be surprised to find that the best time to renovate is in an economic downturn. This article by Doug Fielder gives many reasons why it is important to keep your hotel fresh and current especially in times of heavy competition!

Renovate in an economic downturn?

Responsibility…Anyone? Anyone?

Amanda DeBlauw — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:26:00 +0000

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!

New Year’s Resolutions?

Amanda DeBlauw — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 20:05:39 +0000

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!

Value Added?

Amanda DeBlauw — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:50:36 +0000

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.”
He asked me to follow up with him at the beginning of the first quarter of 2010. – Written by Matt Pegg, VP of Sales + Marketing

“…neither for the dilettante nor the hotel-unsophisticated developer..”

Amanda DeBlauw — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:46:00 +0000

“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! http://www.hotelsmag.com/blog/630000663/post/1030051303.html?nid=3457&rid=16077555

Email Etiquette – Think Twice Before You Hit Send!

Amanda DeBlauw — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:21:33 +0000

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.

Inspirational Words From a Few Wise Men

Amanda DeBlauw — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:06:24 +0000

Edward de Bono: The winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results.
Jack Welch: Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.
Jay Abraham: You are surrounded by simple, obvious solutions that can dramatically increase your income, power, influence and success. The problem is, you just don’t see them.
Henry Ford: Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently
Peter Drucker: Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.
Tim Blixseth: Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless.
Edward de Bono: Traditional thinking is all about “what is.” Future thinking will also need to be about “what can be.”
Lee Iacocca: In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product and profits. Unless you’ve got a good team, you can’t do much with the other two.
Johann Wolfgang van Goethe: In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm. In the real world all rests on perseverance.
Lee Iacocca: The most successful businessman is the man who holds onto the old just as long as it is good, and grabs the new just as soon as it is better.
Edward de Bono: We may need to solve problems not by removing the cause but by designing the way forward even if the cause remains in place.

And if you still need more words of wisdom: “Top 10 Inspirational Quotes”: http://quotations.about.com/od/inspirationquotes/tp/10_inspiration.htm

EcoGreenHotel Store has officially launched!

Amanda DeBlauw — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:51:38 +0000

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: http://www.ecogreenhotel.com/blog/?p=306

Time to renovate those hotels!

Amanda DeBlauw — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:10:25 +0000

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.

When to Just Say No

Amanda DeBlauw — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:41:06 +0000

Just received this email from a colleague and found it very interesting:

We’ve all had them. A proposal that goes nowhere – sometimes the very one you’ve worked the hardest to win! In this economy especially, we can’t afford to waste time with the wrong prospects. Consider these three signs that its time to decline.
1. You can’t get them to their goal:
A good advisor always starts by helping the client clearly articulate their goal(s). But if you can’t align your delivery with their vision (and reality), its a match doomed to failure. Better to make an effective referral under these circumstances – good for the client AND it builds goodwill for the future.
2. Their focus is on cost vs net results:
Listen carefully when a potential client speaks about costs. Is their focus on fixing a cost issue? No problem if you can help. But if their focus is on your fees independent of results, you haven’t demonstrated your value. They wont hire you unless/until you can show them a clear win.
3. They haven’t tasted success:
When most early conversations are littered with all the reasons why past projects or consultants didn’t work, beware. What about you, your team, your process – is it going to truly produce success in their eyes? Ask yourself and ask them. If you can’t draw a straight line to their success, refer them to someone who can.

The conclusion? Time spent on no-win proposals is better spent developing your sweet spot clients.