A Hospital’s Hand-y Hygiene Hint

We have had a lot of fun this past week celebrating Bathroom Blogfest. Bloggers from around the globe have written about the importance of bathrooms in the customer experience and shared many different points of view. I can imagine also that our customers appreciate when we offer an easy solution to their need to go… when all they need to go do is wash their hands!

Just when are the common sense times to clean our hands? Examples according to the Soap and Detergent Association: after using the bathroom, after coughing or sneezing into our hands, before food preparation and when we eat, after changing diapers, after petting your dog or cat, and after taking out the trash.

So your customers may not be taking out the trash but I wonder if they might see you, the proprietor, do that or maybe even pet the cat? And just sometimes, it is not completely convenient for our customers to have to go, all the way to the restroom, to take care of a little hand cleanup. Now of course, you can imagine that.

A perfect example of how to help everyone have clean hands is often set by hospital staff. In particular, how about these rapping nurses in Boston hospitals where creative hand-washing campaigns have recently launched?

Make your customer’s experience simple and safe. Of course you need a glorious bathroom facility. But your patrons will thank you profoundly when the hand sanitizer is readily available and easily found.

Thank you Kaboom, for your inaugural sponsorship and a very special thanks to C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer and Simple Marketing Blog for your outstanding leadership of a most successful event!

You’ve Got a Mystery on Your Hands

You've got a mystery on your hands

H1N1 may be a Novel Virus but separate the Fiction from the Non-Fiction and get the facts. Hand washing prevents the spread of germs.  Encourage your customers and staff with these helpful hand washing posters available from Yale University Emergency Management.

Improve your customer experience by following the 2009 Bathroom Blogfest posts on their Facebook Fan Page and via Twitter @BathroomBlogfes to “Flush The Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces”.

Flush The Recession & Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces

From Behind Closed Doors, Writers Direct Their Expertise to the Topic as
BATHROOM BLOGFEST 2009 Welcomes Its First Sponsor

Kinnelon, NJ – The 2009 Bathroom Blogfest, now in its fourth year, brings together 20 bloggers from the U.S., Canada, the UK and India posting on some aspect of the theme: “Flush the Recession and Plunge Into Forgotten Spaces.” A blogfest gathers writers who direct their posts around a single subject while making the subject relevant to their readers. Between October 26 and 28, these experts in marketing, customer experience and service, public relations, library sciences, life, retail—toilets and bathrooms—will call attention to improving the overall bathroom experience.

“Kaboom, the Blogfest’s first sponsor, will play a part in some of the blogs,” said Christine Whittemore, who manages the Blogfest. “The brand is adventuresome and innovative, volunteering to take its chances with this social networking experience,” said the chief simplifier of Simple Marketing Now, Kinnelon, N.J. “Kaboom has sent its cleaning products to nine writers whom we expect to report on their findings. Some may also add Kaboom giveaways/contests to their coverage.”

Along with a sponsor, Whittemore added to this year’s initiative a Facebook Fan Page and way to keep up via Twitter @BathroomBlogfes. In addition, to monitor the conversation, photos and posts, look for the tag #ladiesrooms09 on flickr, del.icio.us, Technorati, Twitter and Google.

The Bathroom Blogfest began in 2006 as the brainchild of Stephanie Weaver, Experienceology author and consultant, and Susan Abbott, a business consultant and consumer researcher in Toronto. “They wanted to generate awareness for bloggers passionate about the customer experience at a time when blogging was more experimental. The Bathroom Blogfest created a forum for focusing on spaces that are not a subject of conversation, which they should be,” added Whittemore.

Whittemore believes that today’s bloggers do it because it’s fun and they feel strongly about sharing their ideas for better bathroom experiences. She observes that retailers ignore the bathroom as a possible selling space and that most ignore it altogether. One of the bloggers added that it’s a way for her to potentially create more impact than she might with a single post while it introduces her readers to both a new subject and community of bloggers.

For more information about the blogfest visit http://www.BathroomBlogfest.com or contact Whittemore at cbwhittemore AT SimpleMarketingNow DOT com. For information about Kaboom, visit http://KaboomKaboom.com.

Participating bloggers for the Bathroom Blogfest ’09 include:

• Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads
• Reshma Anand at Qualitative Research Blog
• Shannon Bilby at From the Floors Up
• Shannon Bilby and Brad Millner at My Big Bob’s Blog
• Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop
• Jeanne Byington at The Importance of Earnest Service
• Becky Carroll at Customers Rock!
• Leslie Clagett at KB Culture
• Katie Clark at Practical Katie
• Iris Shreve Garrott at Checking In and Checking Out
• Julie at Julie’s Cleaning Secrets Blog
• Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution
• Maria Palma at People To People Service
• Professor Toilet at Professor Toilet’s Blog
• David Reich at My 2 Cents
• Bethany Richmond at The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog
• Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose
• Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology
• C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer and Simple Marketing Blog
• Linda Wright at Lindaloo.com: Build Better Business with Better Bathrooms

Kentucky Polls Open 6:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.

Lots of questions are coming in about McCracken County election ballots, precinct maps, and polling locations.  Looks to be a great turnout if search queries are any indication.

All Kentucky Polls will be open 6:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. and if you are in line at closing time you will be allowed to vote.  Remember that, in Kentucky, state law forbids the use of recording equipment at the polls.

For a list of FAQS, Frequently Asked Question, visit Kentucky Election Protection to download a Kentucky Frequently Asked Questions document.

I Voted badge by Hilyin on flickr Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike

You can track the McCracken County Races Unofficial 2008 General Election Results on Tuesday, November 4, after the polls close from this Kentucky State Board of Elections page and watch statewide results as they are reported as well.

Vote!

When You Care Enough to Clean the Very Best

Does your business hire a housekeeper?  Maybe you employ a maintenance crew.  Does anyone still have janitors?

No matter what you call your clean-up crew, they have to truly care about what they do.

Clean-up crew by Xanboozled / xan latta Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike

Hands-down, the very best housekeeper we ever had at work was a retired school janitor.  She took everything personal.  It mattered to her that the windows were finger-print free and that the bathrooms smelled of citrus cleaner no matter what time of day you visited.

Outside trash receptacles were not just emptied but cleaned daily.  Ashcans were swiped to a shine and no butts were left to linger at curbside either.

Oh! the joy of dispensers always fully stocked with soap and toilet paper.  You know what I mean?  Surely you do if you have ever visited a ladies room to find only a shred remaining on the roll of TP.

It is wonderful to have lovely designed facilities but more heavenly to find them immaculately clean.  Thanks to those housekeepers, maintenance crews, and janitors who care enough to make a sparkling difference that can be seen!

Follow this year’s official, Bathroom Blogfest Community as we celebrate Bathroom Blogfest ‘08 – Cleaning Up Forgotten Spaces Around Us!  Consider the customer experience and all of those forgotten spaces that need cleaning up, including the bathrooms.

Bathroom Blogfest

Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads
Katia Adams at Transcultural Marketing
Shannon Bilby at Floor Talk!
Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop
Jo Brown and the blogging team at Kohler Talk
Lisbeth Calandrino at Lisbeth Calandrino
Sara Cantor at The Curious Shopper
Becky Carroll at Customers Rock!
Katie Clark at Practical Katie
Iris Shreve Garrott at Circulating
Ann Handley at Annarchy
Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution
Elizabeth Hise and C.B. Whittemore at The Carpetology Blog
Maria Palma at Customers Are Always
Sandra Renshaw at Purple Wren
Kate Rutter at Adaptive Path
Claudia Schiepers at Life and its little pleasures
Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose
Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology
C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer

Review – Baby Love

Photography, quotes, poems and babies…!!  What a lovely coffee-table book this turned out to be.

Baby Love: An Affectionate Miscellany

Filled with precious cherubs captured in cute settings and with gorgeous light, Baby love : an affectionate miscellany by Rachael Hale is full of inspiration for new parents and grandparents alike.

Sure does make you want to get your own camera out and try your luck making photos like these of your special little one.  ABC’s Good Morning America recently featured Rachael Hale and Baby Love where Hale offered tips for doing just that!

Well-known for her bestselling animal portraits, Hale’s previous books — which include 101 Salivations, 101 Cataclysms, It’s a Zoo Out There, Smitten, Snog, and Dogs: 101 Adorable Breeds, have sold millions of copies in 11 languages. She has been designated as a Master of Photography at the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography Awards

Baby love : an affectionate miscellany by Rachael Hale is published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Hidden Behind Forgotten Customer Spaces

Photo by canonsnapper / Michael Summers - Creative Commons Attribution * Noncommercial * No Derivative Works * Some rights reserved - Artwork by British graffiti artist Banksy

We have all done it in response to a quick phone call alert saying, “thought we would just drop by for a moment,” or at the unexpected sound of a car pulling into the driveway.  Stash the dirty dishes in the oven!  Shut the door on today’s unmade beds and tomorrow’s dry-cleaning drop-offs.  Thank the heavens, as you make quick sashaying spritzes, for fabreze©.

Just by sweeping your not-ready-for-prime-time messes under the carpet, you may not always rest assured that what is hidden remains concealed.  Somehow we always get caught when company surprisingly stops by with our hair down.  The trick is to not be caught with your pants down too.

Good company comes to see us because they want to.  Great customers come to see us because, not only do we offer what they want and need, they enjoy visiting us as well.

Remember that businesses too need to clean up their forgotten customer spaces.  Could that mean forgotten spaces for customers or spaces for forgotten customers…??

Perhaps, they are but one and the same.  One could be as important, if not more, than the other.

Do you truly know who your possible customers are and what they really want, need and expect from you.  Is access to your products and services inviting and welcoming too?  Who have you forgotten and what simple convenience are you not providing?  How dare we let these forgotten customers get swept under the rug.

Join us this week as we celebrate Bathroom Blogfest ‘08 – Cleaning Up Forgotten Spaces Around Us!  Consider the customer experience and all of those forgotten spaces that need cleaning up, including the bathrooms.

This year’s official Bathroom Blogfest Community:

Bathroom Blogfest

Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads
Katia Adams at Transcultural Marketing
Shannon Bilby at Floor Talk!
Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop
Jo Brown and the blogging team at Kohler Talk
Lisbeth Calandrino at Lisbeth Calandrino
Sara Cantor at The Curious Shopper
Becky Carroll at Customers Rock!
Katie Clark at Practical Katie
Iris Shreve Garrott at Circulating
Ann Handley at Annarchy
Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution
Elizabeth Hise and C.B. Whittemore at The Carpetology Blog
Maria Palma at Customers Are Always
Sandra Renshaw at Purple Wren
Kate Rutter at Adaptive Path
Claudia Schiepers at Life and its little pleasures
Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose
Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology
C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer

McNet Librarians Get Physical

McNet Librarians have once again out-performed themselves! This talented and fun-loving team were stars of the show during the Kentucky Library Association annual meeting’s “Out of the Stacks and Onto the Stage IV” KLA Talent Show.

A recent Los Angeles Times story reported on a Duke study that finds reading may be new way for tweens to slim down.  But leave it to these creative librarians to demonstrate working out with an encyclopedia and a computer mouse!

Representing the Paducah and McCracken County consortium of public, school and special libraries, the McNet Librarians getting physical are:

• Terri Kirk, Reidland High School
• Jennifer Wetzel, Hendron – Lone Oak Elementary
• Sheila Swab, Lone Oak Middle School
• Lisa Hughes, Heath High School
• Bobbie Wrinkle, McCracken County Public Library
• Brenda Metzger, Lone Oak High School
• Lynda Hiles, Graves County High School

The talent show was sponsored by the Special Libraries Section, KLA Recruitment, Mentoring and Diversity Committee, the African American Librarian & Library Employees Round Table, and KLDivERS of Kentucky Library Association.

Review – The Comeback Season

Once again the Chicago Cubs have broken hearts and seemingly handed a winning season away to the wind.  Oh, the disappointment; oh, the hurt; oh, the pain.  For what all true fans know is more than just a game.

So very much like the game of life as related by Jennifer E. Smith in her first novel, The Comeback Season.

The Comeback Season author Jennifer E. Smith is interviewed on The First Book.

The story of Ryan and Nick as they struggle to learn about life and loss is forever aligned when they both skip school to catch the Cubbies game.  Not just any game but the magical opening day in April at Wrigley Field.  Their trials, much like those of the historical Cubs baseball story, hold tight to bargains, curses, and hope.

But what if the one you loved wasn’t around to disappoint you any more?  What if Ryan didn’t have the bargains to blame?  What if Nick didn’t believe in some curses?  What if we, what if they, had no hope, no reason to remember, no way to hold on?

As the current Cubs hopeful season ends on a strike three and they’re out, The Comeback Season proves to us that the game of life is all about how you play it.  There is always next year, hopefully.

Ryan and Nick get my most valuable player award for knowing that there may not always be a “next year”.  They would rather cherish the deja vu than to risk never loving the magic that comes from both baseball and life.

They hope; they learn; they love for their Cubs and themselves. For just a game.  The game of life they play most beautifully.

The Comeback Season, published in 2008 by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, has been nominated as a YALSA 2009 Best Book for Young Adults.

Corduroy Jump Starts Read for the Record

Jumpstart’s Read for the Record

Help bring national attention to the importance of early childhood education by making Jumpstart’s Read for the Record the largest shared reading experience ever.  You can make a difference just by reading with one child in your life.

Jumpstart is asking adults and children to support early education opportunities for all children by reading the official campaign book, Corduroy, together on October 2, 2008 to break the record for the largest shared reading experience ever, which was set by 258,000 people on September 20, 2007 during the 2nd year of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign.

Corduroy by Don Freeman

Learn more about the value of quality early education and acquire new tips on how to make the most of reading time with a young child.

Reading Resources – a variety of great early reading tools and links for parents and professionals.

Best Books – Jumpstart’s list of favorite books to spark a conversation with a young reader!

Corduroy Lesson Plan – Courtesy of Pearson and the Pearson Foundation