And Then There’s the Sun Coast – They Have Our Vote!
By · CommentsSo this is the last of these posts about local’s casinos in Las Vegas:
On recommendation of a friend, we went to the Sun Coast for a Sunday brunch. We’d been to the Sun Coast before for a movie but never for anything more.
Sun Coast has our vote for places to go for locals - good food, friendly people, and easy to get to! Need I say more?
We joined their BConnected Club because it gave us a discount on the buffet. To get there we asked a housekeeper who was on the casino floor. She pointed us in the right direction (easy to find) but went above and beyond – she followed us, chatting the whole way, to be sure we made it. I wish we’d gotten her name. She certainly started our experience at the Sun Coast on a positive note.
The women at the club counter were great – friendly and helpful. They pointed us in the right direction for the buffet – again, easy to find. Add that positive experience to the one we’d had immediately before.
The line for the buffet was short but the cashiers and hostesses moved all customers quickly without making us feel rushed. In fact, we felt cared for because it felt like they wanted to minimize wait time to get us in, seated, and enjoying the food.
We were seated and (again, I wish we’d thought to get a name) were well cared for by our server. She made sure our drinks were always full without being obtrusive. She smiled. She even engaged in conversation with us.
We asked how business was since the Red Rock Casino had opened. She shared that they were concerned about losing business at first and, in fact, they did see a drop in their traffic. Ultimately their customers returned, disappointed by Red Rock.
Why would we go someplace for a meal, any meal, and be abused, or at the very least taken for granted, when there are so many choices? Even beyond the customer service – the food at the Sun Coast is much better – far fewer deep-fried selections. Much easier to eat healthy.
For us it’s a no-brainer. If we’re going to vote with our dollars for a business we have no problem supporting, we’re voting for the Sun Coast. Their staff managed every single moment of truth with ease.
On the plus side for the Sun Coast, as a result of our experience at their buffet, we’re going to go to their Mexican restaurant one evening for the all-you-can-eat tacos, enchilada, and marguerita special.
They’ve set the bar high and I don’t expect to be disappointed.
Now This One I Believe – South Point Does It!
By · CommentsWe loved this add from South Point Casino:
This one I believe - they walk their talk and locals love them back.
Funny because it’s easily believable – even if we knew nothing about Station Casinos.
We’ve been to the South Point a couple of times but don’t go often just because it’s farther away from us than we want to go on any regular basis.
The times that we’ve been there, however, we’ve be pleasantly surprised and impressed by the treatment we got from everybody there. Staff actually acts like they care whether we’re there or not.
More than that, in all my conversations with others, I’ve never met anyone who had a negative comment about the South Point.
This advertising I believe!
Good job, South Point!
When Does Size Matter – You Decide …
By · CommentsDo dogs know something we don’t?
Saw this on the Ellen Degeneres web site this morning:
When does size really matter?
Dogs teach us so much – besides giving us so many reasons to smile and laugh, they just show us what it means to live in the present.
I’m still working on that piece of the canine connection.
Station Casinos Loves Locals? I Don’t Think So.
By · Comments
- Don’t believe everything you read!
When Station Casinos launched their “We Love Locals” campaign they ran full page ads in the local papers for a couple of months. Since then they’ve also launched a website.
My question is, “Why should we believe you?”
It’s interesting that in speaking to friends and colleagues, I have yet to run into someone who doesn’t roll their eyes and utter a, “Sure they do!” comment when I bring it up. And it doesn’t seem to matter if they have an experience of one of the properties as a gambler or when visiting a restaurant or other entertainment on site.
Our own experience was enough to launch us on a quest for a new place to go for our Sunday brunches:
We were in habit of visiting the buffet a couple of times a month. On the receipt was an request for us to complete their customer survey. In return they would give us a ‘buy one, get one free’ code for our next buffet visit.
We would complete the survey, get our code, and use it the next time we wen for our Sunday brunch.
On our final visit, the cashier gave us back our receipt and said management had stopped that offer and it was no longer valid.
Mind you, there was nothing on the receipt about an expiration date, not a note about management reserving the right to change it’s mind without notice.
The Buffet manager responded to us with shrugged shoulders and an, “Oh, well.”
Any complaints we made went unheeded. We stopped going AND we shared our experience with anyone who would listen. Plus we found another place to go for our brunches (More on that later).
That was a couple of years ago. More recently, a business colleague wanted to go to the buffet at Red Rock for lunch. I thought, “Okay. It’s been a while. Station Casinos has gone through some rough times. Maybe they’ve changed.” WRONG!
We arrived for lunch and went to the back of a short line. The dining area, clearly visible from where we stood, was fairly empty. We stood 30 minutes waiting to pay for our meal. This is how you show locals you love them.
Even the wait staff, all doing their best, had trouble with service and smiles. Likely a trickle down. (I saw what looked like the same manager walking the floor while we were there. )
There’s a massive disconnect here. If, in fact, loving locals was a truth for Station Casinos, we’d hear more raving fans actually raving, vs customers like us who will only be dragged back in under protest.
There are too many choices for people here in Las Vegas for businesses not to be paying attention the the messages they send and the experiences of their customers. I choose to vote with my dollars – someplace other than a Station Casino property.
Size Does Matter
By · CommentsMaybe not in all things, but certainly when it comes to public bathroom stalls.
Typically I use the stalls designed for the handicapped – assuming there is no one else in greater need than me. They are usually the only ones that allow a person to move in any kind of normal way and without feeling cramped.
Size Matters ... At Least When it Comes to Public Bathroom Stalls.
This morning I had breakfast with a friend at the Cracked Egg. A nice place to eat – reliable food and friendly staff. But beware the women’s bathroom! (Can’t speak for the men’s. Haven’t had occasion to visit it.)
The stall is sooooo narrow and short that to get in and shut the door you have to straddle the toilet.
Sit down and you’re off center because you are competing for space with the toilet paper dispenser.
Talk about awkward and uncomfortable.
Business done, you then have to straddle the toilet again to open the door and get out.
Who designs these things? Certainly not somebody who uses them.
And it’s not just the Cracked Egg – it is so many of the businesses that have public facilities. The amenity is nice, especially if I’m going to be in the place of business a long time, as with a restaurant.
How many more inches do they need to make a bathroom stall big enough to be easy to use? Course, I’m assuming that any business is interested in providing an experience to customers that will keep them happy and coming back.
A moment of truth for a business. (See ‘Moments of Truth”, by Jan Carlzon)
Maybe I’m wrong……
Diet and Eating – Finally Some Sane Advice!
By · CommentsFrom Dr Mercola:
“Take Control of Your Diet and Your Health With these Crucial Four Steps
Folks, whether you live in the US, the UK, or elsewhere, the current madness appears to be Universal… So, what’s the answer?
Quite simply, you need to start thinking for yourself, and ignore much, if not most, of the health- and dietary advice you get through the conventional channels. Fortunately, “eating healthy” is actually far easier than most people think. Here’s a quick and dirty summary:
* Focus on raw, fresh foods, and avoid as many processed foods as possible (for those who still have trouble understanding what “processed food” is: if it comes in a can, bottle, or package, and has a list of ingredients, it’s processed)
* Avoid foods that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) like the plague, but don’t just limit it to HFCS, you must limit ALL sources of fructose to less than 25 grams per day, and that includes fruit. If you are taking the average amount of fructose you are consuming three times that or 75 grams. At that level any fruit will cause more harm than good for all but those engaging in unhealthy levels of aerobic cardio activity.
* Limit or eliminate grain carbohydrates if you have diabetes, are overweight, or have high cholesterol or high blood pressure
* Replace sodas and other sweetened beverages with clean, pure water
If you’re new to healthful living, those four basic steps can put you on the right path toward vastly improved health, regardless of what your government’s dietary guidelines are. For my Top 10 Healthy Lifestyle recommendations please see this previous article.” (Read the whole article)
Common sense, right?
Goes right along with my soon-to-be-best-selling, 2 page diet book (so far unnamed):
Page 1 – Eat Less
Page 2 – Move More
Enough said.
On-Line Lib: I Can’t Believe…..
By · CommentsThink “Mad Lib games from the ’50′s, 60′s, and ’70′s.” Fill in the blank:
“I can’t believe she just _______________ with all these people around!”
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
By · CommentsI may be dating myself here because I remember theses games – Mad Libs. Did you play them?
Creating around 1953, Mad Libs are fill-in-the-blank party and group games. Great fun and always funny.
One person asks players to give words in categories like noun, verb, adjective, … you know, all those grammatical things kids today aren’t learning (oops! Soap box has just been removed before I could step up onto it!)
Once the ‘leader’ has filled in all the blanks they are used to complete a story filling in each blank of the story with one of the words provided.
The result is a nonsensical narrative that almost always has people rolling on the floor.
In that spirit, I am introducing my version of on-line libs: You/we get to fill in the blank to a statement posted here. It won’t be a surprise story but we’ll all be able to create something that may or may not be funny and we’ll be able to share our thoughts.
Just a test……
Perception is Everything
By · CommentsSo true – perception is everything. How you look at things, what you know, experiences you’ve had, all go to shaping your perception of reality … your reality, anyway.
I saw this video this morning and while on one hand it had me smiling, on the other it was a great example of perceptions and how they change the responses we have to our environment and the people and things in it.
Back to Basics | Laura Hess Returns to Blogging
By · CommentsWell, my intention is set. It’s time to get back in the saddle and start sharing again. Life happens and there are times when things I want to do fall through the cracks. All that changes today.
NO MATTER WHAT, I am going to check in on a regular basis.
What I want to is to be able to connect and share.
My mail bonding campaign will go on. BUT I can’t possibly send personal notes to everybody and still have time for other things in my life. Enter my blog.
I admit to occasionally getting up on a soap box, or off on a rant. In sharing those, I go to my coaching roots and to what I know is possible for people in spite of how it sometimes appears.
I also come across humorous, amazing, inspiring, sobering, and even sad things and events that can just touch your life as one of my readers in some way.
Like so many people, I am hungry for contact. We meet on line and are able to develop an intimacy even without the physical contact. I’ve experience this over and over through coaching by phone – in groups and with individuals.
We connect virtually and are able to have some pretty remarkable relationships.
So, welcome back – to me and to you. I look forward to our sharing and to getting to know you!