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And Finally - World's first floating ice cream van |
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Posted At: 16 June 2011 13:14 PM
Related Categories: And Finally, General, Media |
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Fancy an ice-cream while swimming or sailing or boating or surfing or, umm, jet skiing? The world's first amphibious ice cream van is touring Britain's waterways.
As per Daily Mail, HMS Flake 99, chimes Rod Stewart's We Are Sailing, was created to mark National Ice Cream Week, and highlight how vans are being driven off the roads by soaring fuel costs and council red tape which bans vans from housing estates, parks and outside schools because of concerns about noise pollution and childhood obesity.
It started off in Blackpool, made its way along the Thames and, after a tour of Britain's beaches, is due to sail across the Channel and on to the canals of Venice next year.
Want to see it? Click Here
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The Big Fish Fight |
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Posted At: 18 January 2011 12:22 PM
Related Categories: General, Media, Social Commentary |
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Over the past week Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and friends have launched ‘The Big Fish Fight’.
Sainsbury’s and Tesco were both highlighted as having questionable statements on Tuna.
The programme urged consumers to venture away from the popular but extremely over fished choices of Tuna, Salmon, Cod and Prawns and opt for alternative but just as tasty options.
As a result of the program sales of alternative fish have seen a significant rise. Waitrose saw sales of Coley up 36%, Dabs up 35% & Dover Sole up 163%.
Tesco has now announced plans to switch to 100% pole and line caught fish for its own brand canned tuna.
The UK is the second largest consumer of tuna in the world and Tesco being top of the big 3 supermarkets, this is significant.
This is not Hugh’s first battle with the big supermarkets. He first took them on several years ago with his ‘Chicken Out!’ campaign, where he wanted better conditions for battery farmed chickens and Tesco to be more clear and honest with its labeling.
For more information visit http://www.fishfight.net/
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Secret Shopper |
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Posted At: 13 January 2011 14:00 PM
Related Categories: E-tailing, General, Media, Social Commentary |
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Next Wednesday the new series from Mary Portas sees her turn her attentions to poor service in the `fast fashion' sector. Along the same topic Michel Roux’s series Service started this week. The programme sees Michel set out on a personal mission to train eight young people as front-of-house superstars.
Michel describes UK customer service as “Surly, slapdash and dreadful”. He says, "Even buying a newspaper you can find that you're not even acknowledged. There's no eye contact, no greeting or anything. Bad service is unforgivable and it's everywhere in the UK."
Michel describes UK customer service as “Surly, slapdash and dreadful”. He says, "Even buying a newspaper you can find that you're not even acknowledged. There's no eye contact, no greeting or anything. Bad service is unforgivable and it's everywhere in the UK."
As shown in the last SnapShop blog entry - Animal – a customer service success story, customer service can be brilliant.
So is UK service really that bad and if so, why?
With the upcoming Royal wedding and 2012 Olympics international visitors are going to expect a warm welcome.
Competition to get the increasingly frugal customer to part with their money is strong, making customer service and customer relationships more important than ever.
If I receive bad service I will avoid that shop or website, and tell all my peers of my bad experience. With reports of decreasing sales retailers cannot afford to lose customers or the subsequent bad publicity.
Maybe retailers should take a leaf out of Waitrose and John Lewis where the customer is key and service often going above and beyond.
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There Might Be A Village Missing An Idiot Somewhere |
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Posted At: 05 June 2009 00:00 AM
Related Categories: Media |
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There are a lot of television programs focussing on the retail and hospitality industries at the moment, and being a little bit cynical, I can’t help but feel it’s not a coincidence.
BBC 2’s Keep It In The Family featured Austin’s department store last night; we have Mary ‘Queen Of Shops’ Portas banging on about all sorts; staff let loose running Sainsbury’s; Gok focussing his Fashion Fix on the high street and last but not least final The Apprentice candidate Yasmina Siadatan as the proud owner and Director of her very own restaurant.
I do have to call into question the decision of a restaurant Director to enter The Apprentice just one year into her company’s history, and moreover the decision of Sir Alan to put her through to the final round. A sceptic (not me, never) might suggest she went on there to get some publicity for her venture…or even, maybe, that she intends to secure the job to aid the financial survival of the fledgling business. After all, she was quite economical with the truth of her restaurants success; I took a quick look at the accounts of Mya Lacarte earlier, and although a profit in your first year is commendable, it was not 4.5% of the turnover as she quoted in Wednesday nights show or even in double (k) figures! And she’s probably feeling some pressure, what with her ma having remortgaged her house to finance the venture and all…
Cynical? Never ever!
Ok yeah I am. I think that all TV scheduling is contrived by the government in a bid to manipulate us into doing what they want! Let me explain…
I know that TV – especially reality TV – has always been a little bit kitchen-heavy, but the phenomenon of focusing on shops and retail, is quite new. There was probably some show that did it many moons ago, but my [still quite] youthful mind can think of nothing before Mary Queen Of Shops, which started in 2007…back when times were more lucrative for salesmen (and women). In the present, though, it’s no secret that we are in a full blown economic (and political, and environmental and whatever else) meltdown, and the hospitality and retail sectors are the two that are particularly suffering…so, a little bit of TV exposure cannot be a bad thing, right?
Maybe its brainwashing, of the subconscious kind (is there a conscious version of brainwashing?); maybe it’s the government's way of pulling us out of the spending rut – show us a shop and we will shop! And maybe that Yasmina caught onto this way before me. Whatever, if that is the case, it’s very clever; I’m sure her restaurant's website hits have gone up, just as I’m sure Mary Portas’ charity shop, Living & Giving, in Westfield will do stonking trade of the back of its TV show. I wonder which industry will get the over exposure treatment next..?
Remember, a SnapShop Performance Membership gives you access to the official financial accounts (from Companies House) for the top UK retailers and restaurants, and all are downloadable (most are also analysed). Performance Membership is just £395 +VAT, and can be purchased here. Alternatively, email me for more information.
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