Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter

(July 14, 2013 - July 20, 2013)

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As I See It...

Bees

BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ, is what we hear in the stores now that summer is finally here.

Busy, Busy, Busy, is what we are, now that the weather is Great, and people want to enjoy the outdoors.

It is Party Time for graduation, weddings, birthdays, and reunions not to mention just sitting around a campfire or a BBQ !

We offer specials for these occasions, usually a 10% off.

Remember price is not always what the customer is most looking for.

Great customer relations and service along with selection, convenience, and being very helpful are just as important.

I talk with the customer to find out their needs, and can usually help them find other things they need for their party that I do not carry. They really like this, especially if they are from out of town. This is a customer that will always come back because you put forth that extra effort!

Remember to get involved, at least a little, in your community, so they know Municipals are for the people of our cities. The local parade is a easy one, just drive down the street and throw candy!

Golf Tournaments are great place to hold a wine tasting. It usually works best after they are done golfing.

Update and refresh those displays, Try something fun!! We did a beach display with sand, seashells and our million pouches that sell for $1.99. This is a great add on sale at the register.

Enjoy the rest of your Summer!

Vicki Segerstrom

Milaca Liquor

Foursqare Replaces the Telephone

Your humble editor could never understand the purpose of the mobile phone application Foursquare.

That is until the recent MMBA Annual Conference.

In short, Foursquare allows registered users to post their location at a venue ("check-in").

During a conference session, a member indicated that Foursquare has replaced the telephone in bringing people together at her facility.

In the past, individuals would call each other to see if they were going out that night.

With Foursquare, all a person has to do is push a button and communicate / connect with all of their friends.

This application has definitely helped business, especially on slow nights.

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American Express Traveler Checks

Received the following note this week from Steve Grausam at Edina Liquor:

Hi Paul,

I wanted to send this to you as this happened to us today.

A customer had an American Express (Amex) traveler check that they wanted to use at our store and we said they couldn't but they insisted and said it was illegal to not take Amex traveler checks.

We took it to keep this person happy for the time being but after doing some research it is not illegal for us to deny traveler checks.

Amex states that they cannot guarantee that merchants will take traveler checks.

Just thought I would pass this on to maybe add to our weekly newsletter.

It probably only applies to us merchants that no longer take checks but who knows.

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Fruit Fly Control

This week a member asked:

Who had the information at the conference for fruit fly control?

Laura from Spring Lake Park responded:

Here is what they did at our city hall when they had an infestation.

They took old wine from our breakage, put it in a shallow dish with plastic wrap with some holes in it over it.

Also make sure any of your breakage is covered if there isn't a cork

in it.

Sipping for Safety - Wine, That Is

By Erin Adler, Star Tribune

When Savage Liquor Manager Stacy Schmidt went to visit Fire Chief Joel McColl about partnering on a promotion to benefit the Savage Fire Department, the answer to her question was sitting right in front of her.

"When I went to talk to Chief McColl, right on his desk he had the new fire helmet," said Schmidt, liquor facilities manager at Savage City Liquor. "He said they really wanted to order this new style because it was safer for the firefighters, and it wasn't in their budget."

After some discussion, both Schmidt and McColl were sold on the idea of offering a promotion with Hook and Ladder wine that would benefit the department, with proceeds going specifically toward new helmets.

"It makes it more tangible for the customer to know where that money is going," said Schmidt. "Part of my mission is to seek out opportunities like this."

As a result of the three parties' collaboration, during the month of July, Hook and Ladder winery will donate $2 from each bottle of their wine sold at Savage City Liquor toward the helmets.

There's also a free Hook and Ladder winetasting event Saturday, July 20, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Marketplace location, with donations accepted. That day from noon to 7 p.m., firefighters will help carry purchases out to cars.

The idea originally was suggested by Schmidt's vendor, a Hook and Ladder wine distributor. The California-based winery likes to collaborate with fire departments on fundraising because its founder was a firefighter, Schmidt said.

Savage City Liquor, as a municipal liquor store, directs its profits back into the community, to places like the library and the McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center, McColl said.

McColl said Savage's liquor stores have been "very good to the entire community," and that the promotion was a natural fit.

Schmidt said the "the timing was perfect," because McColl was in the process of ordering the new, brimless European-style helmets. A few months earlier, the helmets had been offered to the department's 40 firefighters to try as a safer alternative to their traditional helmets with brims.

"We've got a lot of firefighters that are interested in migrating to the newer-style helmet, only because of the comfort and the safety factors," said McColl.

The new design is streamlined and distributes weight more evenly, reducing shoulder and neck strain. With no brims, it also lessens a firefighters' chances of being entangled in wiring or having their necks jarred by falling debris during a fire. Over the past three years, other departments, including Eagan and Apple Valley, have moved toward the new model, which fits like a motorcycle helmet, he said.

Also, "On auto crashes ... it's easier for them to gain entry into an automobile to provide patient care," McColl said. The current helmets often must be removed to crawl through a car window.

McColl emphasized that "there's pros and cons to both" styles, and that the traditional helmets aren't unsafe. But because of firefighters' preference, the department would like to transition a majority of them into wearing the new style over the next few years, he said.

The new helmets are $370 each, about $110 more than the current model.

The Savage Fire Department is a paid, on-call department of 40 firefighters, plus two full-time staff, who respond to 400 calls annually, McColl said. Firefighters today "need to start placing a higher priority on safety," he said, and the helmets will help them do that.

The firefighters "obviously aren't doing it for the money," he said. "I've probably got 40 of the best residents in the city that I can call firefighters."

Future Dates to Remember!!