Awesome service

         

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 270 Monday February 23rd 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,there are those guys who are natural DIY warriors (and amazing at it),then there are the ones who don’t have a clue and have the money to pay others to do it.So what about the dudes (like me) who don’t have a clue nor the money to pay others?Well the answer is they like me decide despite the obvious lack of natural talent they will have a crack anyway. If nothing else it is highly amusing for those around at the time and quite profitable for the DIY merchants!!

I had a crack at repairing an antique ‘old school’ chair leg last week. I had all the gear, no idea and some vague instructions from one of those expert types who couldn’t believe I was so useless. Well it started well, detriorated quickly and ended with me needing to replace rather than repair the leg!!!

I took some heart from having a crack however this experience combined with a second straight Blues ruggers loss didn’t thrill or excite me.

Fletcher says; making the transition from nappies to ‘big boys undies’ is an exciting time, note to self, remember to tell Mum and Dad when you have the urge so appropriate measures can be taken!

He is glad he has obviously inherited his Mothers height genes having rocketed up another 25mm in the last three months!What an amazing roller coaster ride, even more so for us second time around!!

Fletchers big brother Mark is home from overseas and turns 32 on Tuesday!!! So FJJ is excited because he figures Mark will need plenty of  help to blow that many candles out!

We are loving the Black Caps and their World Cup cricket campaign, cant wait for this weekends clash with Aussie at the garden of Eden. Crikey even if you are not a cricket fan you need to get excited about the prospect of a huge and entertaining battle…..bring it on!!!!

I hope you had another successful week capped with a relaxing weekend with the important people in your life. Have a great week ahead…….go the Black Caps……………….Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons cant believe they have to endure another season with the Blues!

 

“I like my customer to be fierce.”Christian Louboutin

 

The radio station I listen to most mornings sponsors an ‘Awesome Service’ awards in partnership with the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on a monthly basis.

I have often thought is was a great idea and made a mental note to submit a nomination when I get exceptional service from someone.

Well I was so excited last week to nominate someone who I always get awesome service from at the local pool/gym complex.

Moana Whittaker supervises the front desk for the YMCA at the Onehunga Memorial Pool and she makes sure that everybody receives an enthusiastic, warm and friendly welcome daily.

Moana welcomes me personally and always asks me how I am and what sort of day I am having. She also enquires after people we both know and makes me feel good about being there and exercising!

What I also notice about Moana is her obvious ability to motivate and inspire the staff around her to provide greetings with the same enthusiasm and passion.This makes it a great place to work for staff, members,and the public to visit.

Above all else Moana has an awesome personality, smile J, a cheeky laugh that is infectious and she makes all who come into contact with her happy and ‘UPBEAT’.

How could I not love that and all the qualities that contribute to making Moana the great employee and advocate she is for YMCA and Onehunga Memorial Pool!!! I was thrilled to be able to nominate her and hope that she is lucky enough to be officially recognised for her great service.

We should always make the effort to mention good service when we get it so that the customer service champions like Moana are recognised for their efforts…..A great example to us all!

 

“Every great business is built on friendship.” JC Penney

Romance is alive and well!!

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 269 Monday February 16th 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,it is a good time of year for the ‘romantic me’ with Valentines day(V Day),my parents wedding anniversary and our own upcoming first wedding anniversary.Whilst the commercialisation of V Day has the potential to detract it is still cool to take time out to woo the love of your life.We both made the effort to select a card and some special words to express what being together means to us.We spent the afternoon with some friends celebrating their fourth V Day wedding anniversary and finished off together at home in romantic style with a candlelit dinner watching the firey red sun slink slowly into the deep blue Tasman Sea.It felt good to focus on the importance of ‘us’.

Leading by example my Mum and Dad celebrated their 56^th wedding anniversary the day before on Friday February 13^th. Dad always joked when we were growing up that he and Mum were married on a Friday however I know that deep down no matter what day it was he has always known it was the best day of his life.Congratulations to all the romantics out there, our mission is to do it more often!

Fletcher says; we don’t live in a zoo but at times it seems like it with Harry and the Hendersons for brothers and sisters,pet doves (see attached) that he and his Mother have befriended,pet minor birds nesting annually in our letter box,pet lizards and skinks in the garden and spiders in every nook and cranny, pet praying Mantis and a multitude of pet others we must rescue, resuscitate and rehome daily!!The upside is a potential Vetinarian in the family if the animal food bill doesn’t bankrupt his Father first!!

I hope you had a cool V Day weekend and managed to spend time with the important people in your life….because nothing is more important! Have a good week ahead………..Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon Fletcher the Vet could be the answer to eternal life!!

 

"He who hesitates is last." Mae West

There comes a time when enough is enough!

I have had old diaries,note pads and plenty of bits of paper with ‘things to do’ lists on them rolling around in the back of my car for too long.

Every time I brake they shoot out of their folders and on to the floor with some lodging themselves under the seats.I have cursed and sworn at this mess so many times and threatened to sort it out once and for all but never done it !!......I bet you know the feeling ! most people do…….so then……..

One day last week I had enough and headed for a café I know has a large boardroom table available. I lugged all this crap I have been carting around forever into the café(two fully laden trips) and set about ruthlessly dealing to the screeds of paper I have been procrastinating about getting to!

The result was 75% of what I have been stressing about was indeed of no use to me at all. A lot of the info was out of date,won,lost or had already been dealt with!!!

I was able to get myself and my paperwork physically and mentally sorted and re focused.

What an amazing feeling and a huge weight I felt lifted from my shoulders,I couldn’t believe I had been holding myself back with all this baggage,mess and unnecessary clutter.

The purge meant I could delegate some of the small stuff to other members of our team to assist me with.This has managed to create a hit list that we have already started knocking off one at a time!

The secret is to now stay on top of the daily task list and paper flow so that this situation does not recreate itself.Easy to say but well worth the effort to be in control for a pleasant change.

“Never put off till tomorrow what you can put off till the day after tomorrow” Mark Twain

Opportunity endorphins!!

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 268 Monday February 9th 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,the good news is my calf muscle strain is fully mended, the bad news is that means jack given my opposite knee has now given up the ghost!Crikey being an ageing elite athlete is no bed of roses as I can still no longer run and am now tasked with trying to get the knee sorted…talk about grumpy!!!

I have had to get creative by devising exercise that doesn’t involve  impacting my knee.At this point I have swum and cycled half way to Aussie as I desperately crave the endorphin rush exercising provides.This type of injury mercilessly exposes the real reason I am a runner….so I can pretty much eat what I want….no running =no carb/calorie credits= fat grumpy old man!!!

Fletcher says; at least you have still got your leg dad, hmm out of the mouths of babes…the truth!

Since I have been driving a marked car I have had to modify my driving habits which frankly has been a good thing for me and all who travel with me.I have progressed to the point where I actually receive waves from other motorists thanking me for my courtesy!!YES you did read correctlyJ!!!

Talk about feel the fear….I am in a lotto syndicate at work that started off with six members and is now down to three after someone left and a couple pulled out. I am petrified that if I ever pull out the syndicate will go on to win big!Now I am not normally supestitious but there is no way I am bailing!

We had a cool long weekend catching up with stuff around the house with a long overdue makeover for the garage/mancave/gym/dog bedroom!We even managed to play tourists for a day on the harbour, stopping at Devonport for a delightful pub lunch and a relaxing afternoon on the waterfront.

I hope you had a cool Waitangi weekend with Whanau and friends,………..Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon they deserved more say in the garage makeover plan!

 

 

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Albert Einstein

 

Wow if you reckon there isnt many opportunities floating around, check these out;

• A chance meeting on a Muriwai walking track has lead to Christine embarking on a ‘book a bach’ management career. She is looking after a local rental bach and has had enquiries from others wanting her to manage their properties too.As a spin off guess who is the lawn mowing guy….yep and not a bad low impact way to exercise the dodgy knee…..crikey win,win and win!
• The TGS young business entrepreneurs I was mentoring are taking their business idea further with some of the team buying out the others, introducing new lines and planning to grow and develop their business frist year out of school……WOW (wonder if I can get some shares??)
• Our business provides portable toilets through a sub contractor.I first met our subbie by chance and we agreed to work with each other. He has now become a personal friend and our portable toilet division has expanded ten fold into our most profitable division!
• I had to make some hard calls recently with customers over dust and shavings waste.Out of that bad news came some good news in the form of an innovative alternative for the product. Another business I work with is able to process the material into animal bedding and firewood pellets.This is an innovative sustainable alterantive to landfill and also solves our air bound dust issues…None of this possible if I had not proactively sought alterantives to landfill.
• I noticed recently a guy I went to school with is now the head of the National Speakers Association.I rang him to congratulate him on his appointment and to catch up.Turns out he has a lucrative speaking opportunity for me with one of his customers at a conference in Christchurch.Imagine if I couldn’t be bothered calling him….one good turn leads to….another!

 

“A man who misses his opportunity, and monkey who misses his branch, cannot be saved."

The F word !!!

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 267 Monday February 2nd 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,crikey it aint half hot Mum!I was a reluctant de-humidifier convert but pretty happy cool camper  now!.Hey heres another cool idea,keep a couple of glasses in the freezer for drinks.It adds that chilled edge to any beverage and all the more thirst quenching, you heard it here first! While I am on a roll how about a waterproof pad and pen for recording all those ideas in the shower?And Christines favourite a self toothpasting toothbrush?Lets face it everything invented in the world successful or otherwise had to start from a simple basic idea(in the shower perhaps?).How many of us have seen something new on the shelf and thought,’I thought of that once’ or maybe ‘I wish I thought of that’I encourage you all to let your mind run riot regularly who knows what will happen or come of it?

Fletcher reckons;he has come up with a revolutionary new way of staying clean and germ free.He gets Harry and the Hendersons to lick him daily(without any prompting).Their saliva contains a cleansing healing component that he reckons will keep him well…..smarter than the average bear!

I had a panic attack recently when I was half way to work and discovered I had left my cell phone at home!Crikey I felt naked,exposed,and cut off from the world without it.It was a weird feeling and made me realise how much we rely on our phones day to day.It is my watch,my newspaper,my email, my text,my calendar,my diary,as well as being my phone.It was scary to think I needed it so badly and felt I couldn’t do without it. I did an about turn and went home to get it.A one hour false start but sanity and access to the world returned once back in my hot little hand.Sad but true!

I hope you all had a great weekend with family and friends and that you make the most of the upcoming short week and the Waitangi long weekend. Have a good one,………..Cheers Jonesey!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon they should be charging for their secret cleansing brew!

 

“In school they call it Bullying but at work they call it Upper Level Management.”

 

Should it be a sin to have fun at work? I say NO WAY and appeal to all those who believe the answer to this question is YES to reassess and modify your view.

I was exposed to a number of instances recently where I observed people who were attempting to have fun in their work place stopped by those who felt it wasn’t the time or place.

Is fun or open enjoyment at work time wasting and distracting? Again in my view NO WAY in fact it has been proven in a number of work place surveys that happy workers =happy company=happy customers.Surely this also means that the more happy and fulfilled staff are the more successful the company is?What ever happened to the timeless adage “Our people are our most valuable asset?”

Another of my favourites is;”If you love your job you will never have to work a day in your life”.What say you hate your job? then obviously the opposite applies but other things also happen.You tend to try to keep your head down and do enough to stay out of trouble without going to any extra lengths to get things done.You get a mediocre,below standard performance from staff who are too scared to have fun or step out of line. Companies with this work environment have a high staff turnover and don’t move ahead because their people are not encouraged to contribute openly to the growth and development of the business.The management and leadership of these businesses is lacking and tends to focus on looking for things going wrong rather than recognising and rewarding people for their ideas and the things they are doing right and consistently,refreshingly well.

Dare I say it ,having fun is a big part of allowing people to express themselves and a suppression of that natural desire is not condusive to getting the best from that person as an individual or collectively as part of a team.My message to you is to make sure you have fun at work and if you feel you cant then maybe it is time to think seriously about finding somewhere you can!!! Good luck!

 

“As long as you're having fun, that's the key. The moment it becomes a grind, it's over.”