Author: Shawn Parola

It’s that time of year again, where we honor those people in the office that make everything run smoothly and efficiently. They often know how everything works and what each person needs. They are heroes, doing their important work, often in the background. They are your administrative professionals! And, they are so crucial that they have a whole week dedicated to honoring
them, April 24th-28th this year. There are so many things that you can do, a special lunch and/or gift of any kind is sure to be appreciated. All The Buzz has lots of ideas.If you need our help, take a look at our website and pick one of our featured gifts or give us a call to customize a gift. We make it easy for you to be thoughtful!

Many businesses have fun programs in place to attract clients, recognize special achievements, encourage social media check-ins or interaction and so much more. We are happy to help with unique prizes or gifts to mark the special events. Can we help you with a smaller novel gift to thank everyone that checks in on Facebook? Or, would you like to start a program like Plaza Dental has been doing for the last 10+ years. We bring a seasonal gift that meets their dietary guidelines at the beginning of the month. Patients enter their name at each visit, culminating in one lucky winner winning that gift basket on the last day of the month. They say the patients love it, and it has become a fun that everyone looks forward to. If you have an idea in mind or want to collaborate with us to get started, give us a call. We have lots of ideas and we’re happy to share!

If it’s important to your clients, associates or employees, it should be important to you. Nothing feels better than having someone care about your milestones or achievements, whether personal or professionally. You know what I’m talking about, events like:
*New Baby
*Birthday
*Sympathy
*Anniversary
*New Hire Welcome
*Special Recognition Days, like Administrative Professional’s Day,etc.
Creating good feelings makes for better relationships. And, relationships are what it’s all about!
You care, so let it show!

Mistakes happen! As good of people and businesses as we all are, occasionally things don’t go as planned. That usually leaves someone disappointed. If that someone happens to be one that you care about; family member, friend, customer, you would best make amends. The best way to handle mistakes in our opinion takes three steps. 1.Take responsibility. 2.Apologize & 3.Make a peace offering. In my experience, if you handle an issue well, you will be forgiven. We’re all human, people understand that. Just make sure to leave them impressed with how well you took care of them!

Thank you gifts are such an important part of doing business. It’s so crucial to show appreciation for occasions like close of business, referrals, receiving help, and so much more. Tokens of gratitude create a positive environment,build relationship,and encourage business loyalty. Plus,it really encourages more of the same, which has got to be GREAT!
Thank You gifts can be anything from a handwritten card to a grand upscale gift! We usually recommend that the gift value translate to the value of the recipient’s effort/sale/referral to you & your business. If you need help getting started with a Thank you gift or program for you, we’ll make it easy & painless! And, if you refer us to someone that needs assistance, you will receive a Thank You gift, because we will be most appreciative! Thank you for reading!

There are so many reasons businesses need gifts. While I was contemplating a topic for a recent presentation, I realized just how many occasions there are for business gifting. It shocked even me!I thought I’d start a little blog series to talk about them a little more.By far,the most popular business gifts are holiday gifts. Christmas & the Winter holidays are the biggest holidays for us, followed by Halloween & Thanksgiving. Everyone wants to recognize those important to them during the warmth of the winter holiday season. It is a tradition that
goes back forever, and one can never go wrong with a winter holiday gift. But, over the last few years, Halloween has become another huge business gifting season. It is a fun, unexpected time to gift that always gets a huge response. And, Thanksgiving, is a natural time to thank important clients, employees, & associates! There are a number of other smaller holidays throughout the year that businesses use to base appreciation gifts on. Big or small, business holiday gifts, we love them all!

Can you believe that next Sunday, February 7th is the big game in the Bay Area? It’s exciting, that’s for sure! There are events all week from San Francisco to San Jose.

The hotels are booked, the banners are hung, and the craziness is about to begin! We have Super Bowl gifts available ready for the week’s festivities. Whether you want to welcome an out-of-town visitor, have a fun contest at work, give your clients a unique,timely appreciation gift, or surprise a football lover, we have the perfect thing. Take a look,and let us help you get in the game!

I was reminded this morning by a San Jose Mercury News story about a frequent discussion we’ve had around our home! Why no roman numerals for Super Bowl this year? I guess there are several reasons. First, being that 50 in roman numerals is “L”, it is not visually appealing. Also,looking like a single letter, may not even have been stand out enough to be noticed much.
The newspaper added that a single “L” also is a letter with too much dead space, another reason why it isn’t a bold or impressive number/letter! But, maybe the most important part has to do with the connotation “L” has in sports. L is for loss or loser, right? Eek, that is not good for the Super Bowl!Will the L make a comeback for Super Bowl LI/51? Guess we’ll just have to wait & see!