Customer Care and Beyond

May 16, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

It is imperative that, as a local business, we find a way to give back to our community.  This is a concept that has been handed down through my family by my own grandfather who grew up in a poor Kentucky farming community.  Grandpa worked hard for everything he's ever had and has always gone the extra mile to help others in need.

In my county newspaper there was a recent article profiling a humanitarian organization that helps provide families with food.  The article stated that the non-profit group only had enough canned goods to last half way through the summer.  This time of year, they typically have enough food to last them through the holidays.  The article offered information for contribution of canned goods to this local food bank.

Mom showed me the article to get me to gather people to collect cans.  Kr...Read More

May 15, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Rarely do I use this forum for plugging a product on the market but this is definitely noteworthy.

I spent some time today with the inventor of Your Breast Friends, an fellow Atlanta resident.  She showed me and my staff how the Your Breast Friends hot and cold therapy packs work.  I was blown away by both the simplicity of design and the "duh!" factor.  As a mom, I couldn't believe that I didn't think of this when I was nursing.

The packs are basic fabric-covered hot/cold gel packs but they are shaped to fit around the entire breast where the milk ducts are found.  Warm packs open the ducts and produce faster flow and thus allow for more efficient production.  When chilled, the same packs slow milk flow and can be used to wean a baby or dissuade milk production....Read More

May 12, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

I've been researching the plastics that contain Bisphenol-A for a couple of weeks now.  It seems as though the more answers I find, the more questions and concerns that I have.  I started to lay out a plastics matrix, a categorization of different types of plastics and their attributes.  The further I dig into the chemical make-up and potential side-effects of exposure, the more concerned I become.

We've known for a while that PVC (Polyvinyl Carbonate) was not so great.  Many of us have heard of phthalates even if we don't know exactly what they are.  Well, I still don't know what they are but I do know that they're in pretty much anything that is vinyl and that exposure to phthalates is bad.  Guess what, vinyl is used to waterproof just about everything for babies.  Scared yet?

Let me pause a moment to assure you...Read More

May 7, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

A video baby monitor is a product that parents purchase to increase their sense of security, right?  Well, buyer beware.  Many baby video monitors can be intercepted by the wireless cameras that are used in SUV's (for reversing).  Check out this story on Good Morning America.  No joke, Atlanta reporters captured video from private nurseries, houses of worship, gas stations, and even a "gentlemen's club".  

When you watch the video clip, pay very close attention.  The expert in the orange shirt who is standing in front of a room full of baby monitors is the one and only... Lindsay Nelson.  That's right, my very own baby sister.  Mine truly is a family dedicated to owning what we do.  Don't be surprised if you hear more from us now that m...Read More

May 5, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

It only makes sense for me as a retailer to run sales and promotions geared toward gifts for mom this week before mother's day.  We are running specials on maternity clothing and revamping displays with maternal skin care products, nursing shawls, and other mom-specific items.  The "I Love Mommy" and "Mommy Loves Me" items have been carefully corralled into a mother's day display.  It's as if this holiday were designed with the juvenille products industry in mind.

With such said, I have to wonder why more manufacturers in this industry don't do special mother's day promotions.  I have one vendor who is giving us a kick-back on a certain stroller if sold between certain dates as a special "mother's day promotion."  Other companies could offer discounts, package deals, or freight breaks.  This seems to be su...Read More