Brands I Love Series - Nisqually Cleaners

OK, let's not kid ourselves - if you are going to run into me out in the real world chances are "business casual" is not going to be part of my equation, a suit and tie - even less likely. So I guess that all adds up to one thing, I am not a "regular" at the dry cleaners. I don't wear a ton of clothes that need a lot of TLC...BUT! and I mean BUT! I do have a place...

This place is not far from my house, and even though I only go there 3 times a year or so, they know me and they take care of me like I visit them every week.

Here's an example.

I show up after like 4 months of not being around and drop off 6 shirts and 4 pairs of dress slacks and the first thing the lady says to me is "Hello Mr. Forth, do you want your shirts lightly starched?" I am so stunned all I can do is manage to nod...I fumble to myself as I exit...

Even better - my wife drops off a similar batch, she gives our last name and the lady says to her, "Mr. Forth likes lightly starched shirts?"

My wife - God bless her - answers, "I guess so..."

What's to learn?

Simple. Pay attention to what your customers want...even those that don't visit all that often. They will appreciate the recognition and attention to detail.

I am now looking for opportunities to get more clothes cleaned at Nisqually Cleaners, a brand I love. Learn more

Brands I Love Series - El Gaucho

Bring a couple of hundred bucks with you if you are going, but don't worry you won't regret it. It's not the kind of place I go often, twice a year (my wife and my birthday) is about it. That's not to say we don't love it, we do. My guess is every night and every occasion is made more special for all those customers dining at El Gaucho.

The big wooden door on Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma serves as a passage back to another time where service and excellence are the standard. They focus is on providing a quality dining experience for the customer. They serve the finest food, best wines, and top it off with table-side preparation of salads and deserts that enhance the dining experience.

There are a lot of reasons I love this restaurant (brand), but here are a few points:

1. They are consistent - from the quality of ingredients to the level of service from each staff member they are spot on - no let downs
2. They take care of the little things - from picking you up at your hotel to holding leftovers in their fridge until your show is over for later pick up, they make it happen
3. Dining at El Gaucho is an experience you want to share. Our conversation always ends up focusing on who we know we'd love to take to El Gaucho

We don't get there often, but when we do we savor every moment. When our dinner and dessert are done we depart and begin the process of looking forward to the next time we can visit.

Going to El Gaucho is probably one of the lowest stress dining experiences you can have. While it is definitely not the least expensive option, the time and overall experience of service and quality bring more than their fair share of value.

Note: I will be focusing in the coming few weeks on different experiences with brands that I truly admire. It will be interesting to see what common characteristics will exist across all of them. I welcome your feedback and insight as the conversation develops.

In Tomorrow's Paper?

I'm pretty sure I will never NEED to read a newspaper again. I might WANT to read one, but I definitely don't need to.

Here's why.

This morning I had coffee (you read this already) with a friend and while there I ran into another friend. This second friend is the Executive Director of an organization with some big news coming out. This friend said to me - hey there's news coming out about us (which I already knew about) in the paper tomorrow.

This afternoon I read online (twitter, facebook, etc) all about this news. Will I or anyone else be surprised tomorrow when we read it in the paper?

Did you just find out this morning the Lady Zags lost in the Sweet 16 in the paper?

I rest my case.

How will you know and what will you do?

I had coffee this morning with a good friend and like anyone who has experienced 2008 and 2009 there have been struggles. I've heard tons of talking heads discussing the economy and how bad economies weed out those who have been falsely propped up by good economies. This Darwinian approach may be the reality, but it is never easy to hear about, or discuss another's struggles.

Bottom line: all industries are struggling to a point, some have been more fortunate than others and there is no easy money unless you are a league leading left handed hitting catcher in the Big Leagues.

We have been very fortunate, we are growing, hiring, expanding, but that may not always be the case.

I kept asking myself in my mind as we were talking - how will I know that my plan is no longer working and more importantly will I recognize it without delusion, and what will I do?

I just hope I approach it differently than the horse and buggy guys, the record labels, the newspaper guys, the travel agents, etc. etc.

I have heard it said it is better to fail quickly than to die by a thousand paper cuts - I agree!

The answer I believe is in the way I hope I see the world. I see the world as a place of changing attention and priorities. Within that change I approach my response to that change focusing on unchanging principals (justing, integrity, love, shared benefit, etc) I accept that my way is not always going to win and if I want to win I need to pay attention and move to embrace the change, and not fight it.

How Much is Enough?

Seth Godin's Fear of Philanthropy blog post highlights a struggle I feel on a day to day basis related to non-profit organization in my personal and professional life. We have made a commitment to be involved in ways with ANY non-profit we are affiliated with. Thus, it is hard when you work for several or sit on boards or volunteer time to determine "the line" of what is enough for each. The well is not unlimited, even though the desire to help is.

While I cannot to everything that does not excuse me from doing nothing.

Oftentimes, just as Seth states it boils down to attention (who gets it) and proximity (who happens to be around when I am receptive). This is true for foundations with millions of dollars and families asked to donate clothes, food or money to local causes.

So, how can non-profits "help" those of us who are approached to part with time, talent or treasure?

• If we have a process of giving to non-profits (SiteCrafting does) please respect that process.
• Tell us your story. We want to know how we can help and what you need, even if we are unable to fully meet those expectations
• Don't guilt it out of us. There is no joy in extortion - giving and receiving should be joyful
• If it's a volunteer opportunity make it easy for US to invite friends - if we believe in it we will be inclined to invite our friends to participate
• Understand that we are pulled in a variety of directions and our intentions are good but our attention and treasure are not limitless
• Let us know what you need and let us know what enough is (see Seth's post as a reference)
• Respect the "Sorry, we can't help at this time." If you get this ask if you can approach us later. Likely the answer will be yes.

I know I am personally in awe of the dedication of the staffs of all the non-profits I deal with. They are the MacGyvers of society. They are dedicated to making the world a better place using sweat, spit, and duct tape. I want to make it easier for them, but can only do so much for each.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

OK, so I like to make and drink beer. Not as much since I've been doing all this running and trying to lose weight, but I still partake from time to time. Depending upon the day, I will make it a choice to indulge. My choice is definitely one of the best lunch places in Tacoma, The Harmon. It's not just about the $8.88 specials (very good and fast) or the $1 10 oz. beer (cheaper than iced tea and much better) it's also about the best server around, Vanessa.

If you ever had lunch there you know who I'm talking about. She is pleasant to all her fellow teammates and greets everyone with a cheerful hello and great attitude.

I'm sure every day is not great, but you wouldn't know it by the way she personifies service.

She knows what I order and usually an IPA is delivered just a second after I find my seat. Quick Sidebar: If I'm with someone she doesn't recognize, she plays dumb and asks if we'd like anything to drink - something I appreciate. She remembers that I like to substitute salad for fries (the weight watching thing again) and even gets the dressing just right.

It would be easy for her to just take the orders and deliver the food, but she does more than that and for that she's worth so much more to The Harmon. Making customers feel valued, listening and learning preferences, and all the little things make the lunchtime rush feel more like a welcome retreat.

Excellence at the Edge of a Continent

Moclips is a sleepy town 15 miles north on Scenic 109 from the quiet seaside town of Ocean Shores. It is approximately 3 1/2 hours from Seattle and Portland on Washington's Hidden Coast - the North Beach area. Until recently (creation of Seabrook in 2005) the big cities in the area were Pacific Beach, Moclips and Tahola (the seat of the Quinault Nation). The area boasts gorgeous beaches and tidal pools, is minutes from the grandeur of Olympic National Park and has a small unassuming (from the outside) restaurant that features in the words of my recent guest "The best WA wine list I have EVER seen, ANYWHERE". As a side note, this guy is no slouch when it comes to drinking/enjoying fine wine. Have a look at the wine list.

Where do you find it? Ocean Crest Resort. The wine list has been awarded a level of Excellence every year starting with 2004.

Why the big deal?

The big deal is passion. The big deal is making a choice to be the best whether in a bustling downtown or 150 miles from the nearest downtown. You see Ocean Crest made the choice to be excellent when it would've been very easy to just be small or average. Expectations out there tend to not range on the very high side. Despite this, Ocean Crest staff committed to greatness way back when no one was watching.

There is a lesson here for all of us.

No Frontrunners

I came back from a long run this morning to find my Zags being shellacked by The Orange. This will be the end of my bracket. Prior to yesterday's action I was in the top 99% (click on the screen shot to see) at the end of the day I will likely be OUT. (Barring a Zag miracle)

Every year I pick the Zags to win it. Sometimes against my better judgement, but if you're going to pull for a team, then go big and pull for them all the way.

I'm disappointed as a fan because I know they are capable of so much more. It's funny it's the same way I feel about my kids or our company when the A-Game gets left at home replaced by "good enough".

Bottom line: Show Up Ready to Play - in some cases you only get one shot.

A Perfect Day for Fishing - Not so for Catching!

It's rare to summer steelhead fish on the Olympic Peninsula on 65+ degree days. I'm certain I've NEVER winter steelhead fished on a string of days as beautiful as it was Thursday and Friday. The fish of 1000 casts (if using bait), 100,000 casts if swinging a fly - is nearly impossible to catch when conditions are perfect (perfect water flow, good cover, cloudy 0r drizzling skies, freezing temperatures). In fact, it is alway too cold/hot, water is too high/low, fish are too skittish/lethargic - most of these explanations from a guide ends with the statement "You should've been here yesterday."

We had a few things working against us

• Lots of boats (it was the annual Hohdown - more info here)
• A front page article about the Queets (my favorite river) in the Seattle Times
• Did I mention the sun? It's hard to catch a ghost in bright daylight.

We had a fantastic day with our guide - author and friend - Doug Rose. He literally wrote the book on flyfishing for steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula.

I've left my gear out on the coast since I'll be back in a couple of weeks, hopefully it will be drizzly, freezing, cloudy, with perfect water flows. It'll be a crappy day for fishing and a great one for catching - that's winter steelhead for ya.

Spring into Action

It's all about responsiveness.

Bottom line things go wrong, or communication gets missed. When it does there are two ways to go.

1. Call to Action
2. Deny and/or Blame

May you always acknowledge the issue, leap to action, admit when you are wrong and chart a course for correction.

Today's example comes from Smith Brother's Farm. I was under the impression my first delivery was to come this past Monday. I posted a tweet about needing help, instant response. When I got home my milk was already here and they reminded me my day was going to be Wednesday. :)

Oh, and the milk is fantastic! AND I'm blogging about them.

It matters how you respond.

Ghost Hunting - The Search for Wild Steelhead

So, tomorrow evening I will head West. I will ply my trade on the rivers of the Olympic Peninsula, swinging flies waiting for the tug. They call it the fish of 1000 casts and goodness knows if it was that easy I'd have gotten bored and given up already. Others just call it "the ghost".

Unfortunately with each year that passes the quarry becomes more and more elusive as the wild rivers of the peninsula become less and less so. Horrible resource management (dams, logging, hatcheries - read Mountains in the Clouds ) have pushed wild steelhead and salmon populations to the brink of extinction. I've packed my 8wt, DryFly whiskey, warm clothes, and great friends.

So I embark on another quest in search of my own "white whale". Last year the rivers were blown out and my trip ended with an unexpected trip into a ditch after avoiding a deer on my way home. This year all I'm looking for is a tug and a photo of a wild steelhead.

Alter Ego

There's a lot to say inside my head and sometimes I struggle to figure out what is personal (thus for this blog) vs. what is SitecCrafting which is this blog. I put so much of myself and who I am into the personality of SiteCrafting it seems that everything over there is personal to me.

I will continue to try and figure out where it goes, and for the most part all hobby stuff (beer brewing, fishing) will live here, the rest over there.