Sunday, August 31, 2008

Fuddrucker’s genius on display in the bathroom

If you’ve ever been to Fuddrucker’s, you know they are famous for tasty burgers and chicken sandwiches in a kid-friendly environment. The casual environment welcomes all comers. There’s no pretense/ego at a Fuddrucker’s. It is nice to dine at a place that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Being a parent, I notice ‘different’ things now. At a playground, I analyze how safe a slide is for my children. I’ll stare down somewhere who is driving too fast in our neighborhood. At a restaurant, I’ll hope and pray that they have a kid’s menu and coloring book to keep the youngsters occupied.

At a recent trip to Fuddrucker’s, they won me over as a kid-friendly establishment. As I was waiting for my cajun chicken sandwich, I ventured to the bathroom to wash my hands. Upon exiting the bathroom, I glanced down at the door and saw something remarkably brilliant. There, far below the reach of any adult, was a ‘kiddie handle’. My kids weren’t with me on this particular trip, but I would imagine they would have loved the kid-friendly touch. Perhaps I would have never rescued them out of that bathroom!! They would want to keep ‘testing’ the kiddie handle.

Many probably don’t even recognize this slight nuance. I will definitely remember this ‘slight touch’ and keep them in mind next time the family goes out to dine. Any place that makes my kids feel special is a winner in my book.

Does anyone have any memorable restaurant stories? Share with us.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

Sunday, August 10, 2008

How NOT to get your house sold

I was walking through our neighborhood the other day and saw a ‘For Sale’ sign in front of a house a few blocks away. This is nothing out of the ordinary as houses pop up for sale all of the time.

I was shocked, however, by the realtor signage that was ‘supposedly’ designed to draw in interested buyers.

The sign featured three different numbers (one listed twice) on the 2x4 foot sign.

===================
It looked like this:
For Sale:
Call xxx-xxx-xxxx for hot facts on this home.

Sizzling Home Agency
Sally Jones
xxx-xxx-xxxx

Sizzling Homes
xxx-xxx-xxxx

Sally Jones
xxx-xxx-xxxx
===================

If the goal is to get me to remember a phone number as I drive by, or stop and write a phone number down, I think this home has failed on all counts.

Why not just focus on one number and diminish the noise? Not only did the above sign provide ‘way’ too much information for a small sign, but it did nothing to distinguish the ‘most important’ phone number.

The goal is to convert browser to buyers for this property. Make it as easy (and straightforward) as possible to get an interested consumer in touch about this property.
One phone number is preferable.

Until next time,

Dan Naden