Mair Hill’s Post

Through the month of March, I’ll be running a contest. One lucky winner will receive a gift card from one of the following…. Tim Hortons, Starbuck, @rhubarbcafecocktails @ch.cafeteria (the winner chooses). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ How do you enter? 1. Write a google review and/or Facebook review. Do a review on both platforms and receive an entry for both reviews! I ask when doing a google review, please include my name. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. Share my posts to your page on Instagram or Facebook. Receive an entry for each post shared. You can find me on both platforms at @TravelwithTaraS ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3. Refer your family and friends! For every referral that books a trip with me, you’ll receive an entry. Please note that referrals must advise who referred them so I know to put you in the draw. 4. New followers on both Facebook and Instagram will also receive an entry to to the draw.

After a year of taking my kids to Home Depot's free craft workshops, their "long con" finally revealed itself. The craft for June, the month that happens to contain Father's Day? A BBQ-shaped gift card box holder. That's how they get ya... I'm kidding, of course. Home Depot's workshops are terrific and my kids love them. And yes, they get us into the store and, about half the time, we end up buying something - on top of many other purchases outside of those first Saturdays of every month. So I can live with being "long-conned" as long as Home Depot keeps delivering value to my family. Have you checked out Home Depot's craft workshop or a similar "get-em-in-the-door" program? (Not pictured: My throbbing finger from getting whacked with a 🔨.)

I live about 2 hours drive away from my Mum which means when we do spend time together it is regularly in Borough Market dining at Elliot's or sipping wine in one of the many wonderful arches. 🍷 These experiences last a lifetime, unlike those flowers that will wilt, or the chocolate that will last all of 2 minutes! And this year Toggle is predicting a whopping 177% surge in gift card sales for #mothersday. Operators offering gift cards with added-value promotions like ‘£10 off when you spend £30’ are seeing a 533% increase in total spend from the original redemption value. A win-win i'm sure every business wants! 🎉 So whether it's an Afternoon Tea, a Spa Day, a perfect 'Sunday Lunch for Two', or simply a gift card promotion this Mother's Day, Toggle's advice is to make sure your customers, your passers-by, and your future customers know about it! 💌 #giftcards #marketing #hospitality

Day 4 of #SmallBusinessWeek is here, and it's all about shopping locally! Today, we encourage everyone in Plano to step out and support our local businesses. Whether it’s grabbing a coffee, shopping for groceries, enjoying a meal, or updating your wardrobe, choose local! 📍 How to Participate: 1. Visit a local coffee shop for your morning brew. 2. Pick up ingredients for dinner at a local grocery store. 3. Enjoy lunch or dinner out at a neighborhood restaurant. 4. Treat yourself or a loved one with something from a local clothing store or purchase a gift card. Every dollar you spend locally is an investment in our community. Let’s make it a day to remember and show just how powerful our support can be! 👉 Share your local shopping experiences and tag the businesses to give them a shoutout. Use #ShopLocalShopPlano to join the community conversation! #SupportLocal #PlanoProud #ShopSmall

Tip #4 of #SmallBusinessWeek is here, and it's all about shopping locally! Today, we encourage everyone in Plano to step out and support our local businesses. Whether it’s grabbing a coffee, shopping for groceries, enjoying a meal, or updating your wardrobe, choose local! 📍 How to Participate: 1. Visit a local coffee shop for your morning brew. 2. Pick up ingredients for dinner at a local grocery store. 3. Enjoy lunch or dinner out at a neighborhood restaurant. 4. Treat yourself or a loved one with something from a local clothing store or purchase a gift card. Every dollar you spend locally is an investment in our community. Let’s make it a day to remember and show just how powerful our support can be! 👉 Share your local shopping experiences and tag the businesses to give them a shoutout. Use #ShopLocalShopPlano to join the community conversation! #SupportLocal #PlanoProud #ShopSmall

Date Update: It was a huge success! But a bunch of stuff went wrong, and I had to drive all over the city. Here’s how it went down: 1. Gift fail. The store told me wifey’s gift was out of stock 1 hour before the date, even after I ordered in advance. They said they had it at another location. I drove there. They didn’t. 2. Movie fail. The movie my wife wanted to see didn’t release where I thought it would. 3. Food fail. The app kept giving me errors and wouldn’t allow me to make my order. I was supposed to get discounted on account of my birthday. 4. Treat fail. I grabbed my gift card to get my wife some chocolates. What do you know, expired. So far, nothing had gone how it looked in my head. But I was determined: 1. Gift flip. The employees at the second gift store felt bad for me. They formed a team to help me find a different gift that was also sold out. But it wasn’t! They found one in the back. It put a huge smile on wifey’s face. 2. Movie flip. Instead of trying to guess at another new movie, I picked a few highly-rated classics and gave her a choice. She liked the movie so much she was telling my mom about it the next day. 3. Food flip. I told the restaurant that I was having issues with the app and I was rushing for a date; I took full responsibility and didn’t say anything negative about them; they gave me the food for free. 4. Candy flip. The man at See’s Candies gave me some limited edition chocolates at a cheaper price than I would’ve gotten even with the gift card. Here’s the moral of the story. Great things can happen if you don’t quit. Be determined this year. Be gritty. Learn to make lemonade. P.S. If you’ve already fallen off your goals, there’s a lot of year left. Get back up.

In case you've missed it in past years, it's time again to share my 3 steps for stress free Holiday shopping. Enjoy! 1. Buy a random easy to wrap item and a gift card. Kleenex, Wheat Thins, and Cheerios are my go to picks. 2. Tape gift card to random item or hide inside for added fun. 3. Wrap random item and place under the tree. They... get all the excitement and mystery of having something to unwrap under the tree and something they actually want inside. You... get your shopping done in about 8 minutes at the local CVS. Added bonus is the clueless look when Dad unwraps a box of Wheat Thins.

It was my mom’s birthday last week. And if I were there… …I would take her out for coffee. Especially since this is her first birthday since Dad passed. They were together for 40 years. But that’s not what this post is about. I wanted to surprise her with a gift card to her favorite coffee joint. They have a website and a clickable link to purchase (and refill) gift cards. Unfortunately, the link was down so I reached out via message. No response. Of course, my next step would be to call…but I stopped and thought about that potential interaction. What if I call and they’re busy? What if the barista is unaware of the online gift card process? Instead of chasing the business, I decided to send cash instead. I shared my experience with her, and I’m sure she’ll share it as well. Maybe it’s my customer service background, or maybe it’s the love we gave local businesses during the pandemic… But I’m always blown away by the lack of good customer service. Sure we all make mistakes. But to make the customer journey cumbersome is a mistake no business should make. Maybe the customer will call you when other contact methods fail… …maybe they won’t. Maybe Mom will use the funds I sent to buy your coffee… …maybe she won’t. #customerservice #coffee #copywriting #customerjourney

I try to text 💬 all clients to wish them a Happy Birthday 🥳🎂🎈 It's a small gesture, but it is something. Maybe other advisors don't do this❓ If I hear back from the client, I will wish them an awesome day and ask about special plans. This past weekend, a client shared where they were going out to dinner 🍽️ Five Minutes later they had a digital gift card 🎁 to the restaurant directly delivered to their phone📱,with a note that dessert and drinks 🍰🍷 were on me This is the type of personal touch I enjoy and you aren't going to get from a 1-800 number 🌟 If this resonates with you🤗, maybe it's time to break up with your 800# and have a personal advisor. #personaldevelopment #creativity #investing #customerrelations #storytelling

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