Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter
(March 27, 2016 - April 2, 2016)
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As I See It...
Customers
What is happening to the level of customer service is business today?

I feel like screaming "Does any store want my business?"

Why do we shop certain stores over another?

Have we really thought of why we shop where we shop?

Great Service, Low Price, Clean, Know the manager, Convenient, Neighbors kid works at store and there are probably hundreds of other reasons.

I was shopping this last weekend at a large box store.

It seems like you go in one time and you have the best experience and the next time you walk out stating "I'll never go there again"

The experience last weekend reminded me of an article on customer service.

I would like to share it with you.

Last year we invited Jim Langemo to our store for training and we created a Customer Service Standard and it reminds us how precious each and every customer that walks through our door is to our store.

Hawley Liquors - Customer Service Standard

At Hawley Liquors, customer service is our top priority.

We greet each customer in a friendly, upbeat way and in a timely manner.

If we can, we use their name, because our focus is on building relationships with our customers.

We are attentive to our customer's needs, asking questions to discover what they need and making confident recommendations.

We take pride in maintaining a clean and neat facility that is easy and fun to shop.

During check out, we thank our customers for shopping with us and tell them we want to see them again.

They always walk away feeling satisfied, knowing they purchased what they wanted, and were appreciated by our staff.

They share their experience with their friends and family, telling them that they have to shop at Hawley Liquors.
 
Looking forward to seeing everyone at Arrowwood for conference April 16th - 19th.

Michael Friesen
Hawley Liquors
Northbound Liquor Contributes to Cambridge City Budget
Money

Cambridge Mayor Marlys Palmer recently highlighted 2015 successes of the city during the annual State of the City address.
 
It was noted, Northbound Liquor, the city's municipal liquor store, contributes to the budget.

Palmer said the store provides $400,000 in tax relief annually to its residents.

And in 2016, Northbound contributed an additional $78,000 to park improvement projects.
What Makes Your Facility Unique??

Restroom doors make two facilities, recently visited by your editor, unique.

The Ladies Room is a Diet Coke Door.

Here is the Men's Room:



 
Here are the two doors in a different facility:


Need Credit Card Paper?

A liquor store has  2 1/2 cases of credit card paper for the stand alone machine--will to sell cheap or give away.

Click Here to Contact Jennifer
 
Top Workplaces Begin at the Top
Thumbs Up

By Suzanne Dowd Zeller

People often ask me what it takes to become the kind of company that makes the Top Workplaces lists that appear in the Star Tribune and other publications.

Many factors come into play, but in my experience, strong leadership and management's commitment to building great leaders and an employee engagement culture matter most.

According to a 2015 Gallup poll, one in two employees left their job to get away from their manager.

While top talent may be leaving a person, not the company, such departures may reflect a deficiency in tone and culture set by leaders at the top.

To avoid this, companies should invest in finding and developing great leaders, which not only supports a top workplace but also saves money.

Job turnover costs the average company 30 to 50 percent of the annual salary of entry-level employees; this number jumps to 150 percent of middle-level employees, according to Gallup.

What does it take to be a great leader?

 Like a winning recipe, the best leaders have the right mix of ingredients, including the ability to create a compelling vision, build trust, and communicate openly and often.

Perhaps most important is that the best leaders ­recognize employees' achievements, large and small.

Employees who can't relate to or see a future in their work will be less successful.

To build a compelling vision, leaders need to collaborate with employees so the team has a clear purpose that they can get excited about.

I recently took on a new team and worked with these employees to ­create a team vision.

Because they were involved, I got more ­buy-in and excitement about where we were headed.

Click Here for the Rest of the Story
New Bar in Town
Church

In a small mid western conservative town, a new bar/tavern started a building to open up their business.

The local church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers.

Work progressed, however right up till the week before opening, when a lightning strike hit the bar and it burned to the ground.

The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, till the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means.

The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the buildings demise in its reply to the court.

As the case made it's way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork at the hearing and commented, "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork, we have a bar owner that believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that doesn't.
Future Dates to Remember


2016 MMBA Annual Conference

April 16 - 19, 2016
Arrowwood Resort

Legislative Session
End

May 23, 2106
Ask A Director

Gary Buysse
Rogers
763-428-0163

Cathy Pletta
Kasson
507-634-7618
  
Bill Ludwig
Paynesville
320-250-3325
  
Candice Woods
Hutchinson 
320-587-2762
  
John Jacobi
Isanti
763-444-5063

Michael Friesen
Hawley
218-483-4747

Steve Grausam
Edina
952-903-5732

Tom Agnes
Brooklyn Center
763-549-3710
Brenda Visnovec
Lakeville 
952-985-4901
 
Bridgitte Konrad
North Branch
651-674-8113

 Karissa Kurth
Buffalo Lake
320-833-2321
 
Paul Kaspszak
MMBA
763-572-0222
1-866-938-3925
Click Here For Newsletter Archives 
Minnesota SMART

The SMART campaign: Supporting Minnesota's Alcohol Regulations and Traditions, is a renewed public education and grassroots advocacy effort in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations and three-tier system.

 

We believe Minnesota's current alcohol regulations are smart, balanced, and supported by many citizens and our local small businesses.    

    

They work well for Minnesota!

 

The SMART campaign functions to help you engage in advocacy efforts with state legislators and others in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations, and to oppose issues-such as Sunday alcohol sales.

We want to make it easy and effective for you to engage.

 

Take action and send an email to your state legislators today through the new SMART campaign website.   

 

We have sample letters and legislator contact information put together that is ready to go.   

 

  Click Here for the Website
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Beverage Alcohol Training

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 Contact Bob Leslie at:
 
320-766-3871
 


Contact Gary Buysse at:

763-428-0164

Two Reasons Companies Fail and How to Avoid Them
Is it possible to run a company and reinvent it at the same time?

For business strategist Knut Haanaes, the ability to innovate after becoming successful is the mark of a great organization.

He shares insights on how to strike a balance between perfecting what we already know and exploring totally new ideas - and lays out how to avoid two major strategy traps.



Real friends are those who, when you feel you've made a fool of yourself, don't feel you've done a permanent job

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