Laurence Luxury

The Tale of 2 Pauls

Old line, New York retailer, Paul Stuart, has an outstanding website at www.paulstuart.com. It conveys the luxury of the store and the quality of the merchandise they sell. Value priced catalog retailer, Paul Frederick also has a website, www.paulfrederick.com. I found the site to be busy, but I really enjoy the expansive variety of products they show, particularly their creative shirtings. I also like that their sales reps strongly believe in the quality of the Paul Frederick product.

The Tale of 2 Godivas

To me, Godiva Chocolate has always been a symbol of excess, particularly among the Yuppie set. Personally, I enjoy the taste of the chocolate and its presentation. When I kept offices in Philadelphia, I would often have the downtown Godiva store send gifts to customers I was courting.

Each year, at holiday time, we send Godiva chocolate to dear relatives and friends across the country. My wife anxiously awaits the catalog that beautifully presents our choices and makes us want to buy more! This year, placing our Miami order was a challenge. The Godiva 800 phone line ran out of the selections we wanted. Godiva, like all retailers in this strained economy, is probably trying to limit risk and made sure not to overstock. But if you’re selling EXCESS, LUXURY, and GLAMOUR, can you afford to have too little inventory? And, should your telephone operators sound like they work for a call center that sells chocolates on line 1, balloons on line 2, and discount close-outs on line 3? So Judy called the local Godiva store. The fellow didn’t know the charge to deliver our gift, but did call back with the information as promised. He was gentle in tone and the store did have adequate choices available. And, most importantly, it was so clear that the store clerk wanted to help and make our experience pleasant and comfortable, the way a luxury goods purveyor should.

Hope you have had a lovely summer and that you traveled to romantic climes for a refreshing break.  I took my family away on 2 separate trips, one to the Catskill Mountains, and one to our California home.

The Catskills are lovely but have been in the same state of woeful decline since I was a boy and we always feel like we’ve entered a time capsule when we go.  The only decent hotel is the Lodge at Rock Hill, and it’s more like an upscale motel then a hotel, but the pool was fine and we like the granite and bead board wainscoat in the bathrooms.  We visited Liberty, Monticello (home to a great sulky race track) and trekked up to the town of Catskill which has a charming main street revival going on, fueled by a renaissance group of gay merchants.   Woodridge offers a number of new home opportunities and it’s a year-round town, so we’re thinking about that. Almost all of the old borscht belt resorts are gone, the Nevele seems to be the last, but people stay there all the time.

California was hot, which I really enjoyed, but the people there seemed to not. They aren’t use to temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s.  We visited Dana Point, midway between LA and San Diego.  The water there is azure and almost clear when you look down into it.  Didn’t see any sealions, but we’ll go back again I’m sure.  We spent lazy afternoons on Venice beach and fished off the Santa Monica pier.  Visit the 3^rd Street promenade, if you have a chance.  I promised myself that our next trip will include a jaunt to Catalina Island.

Shocker of shockers: If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it:  a highway patrol officer pulled a BMW off the freeway for a recently expired registration, and had the car towed! They just took this guy’s car away from him.  And then the officer wished him a “good rest of your day”!

A trend that needs to be examined: the commoditization of services.  While in a pizza place in LA and then in a bakery, I noticed that while the product creators put a lot of energy into quality and presentation of product, the servers don’t care to explain the foods and their highlights.  Maybe the servers are underpaid, or just under excited, but it doesn’t matter, I’m not interested in waiting in a long line for a cranky server to throw some overpriced, unloved food thing at me.  Of course, if the time were taken to educate me about the specialness of what I’m buying, perhaps I wouldn’t feel disgruntled.

A Realtor, whom I respect, here in Baltimore, says that his industry is moving toward commoditization and that relationships are less important to young consumers.  I might be inclined to agree that customers want their shopping options presented to them as an open menu, usually online, so that they can explore without pressure, but c’mon guys, who’s going to hold a person’s hand when she commits to a new home, car, or piece of jewelry or art.  That’s all about relationship.  We still need each other and relationships so enrich life.

Of course, like Laurence Communities, some businesses remain committed to quality of experience and presentation.  In LA, 3 of them are the Apple Pan, Johnnies’ French Dip, and Lawry’s steak house. Our schedule was so tight that we didn’t have time to stop in anywhere, but oh, the smells, the scents, …tantalizing and beefy, with fruity overtones of pie on Pico in front of Applepan, pickles on the tables, juke box music, and pastrami aromas at Johnnies’ pouring into our car windows, and since childhood, I’ve never understood how Lawry’s gets the smell out into the street as they don’t have any windows!  But, WOW!  It’s much less fattening to smell than eat, but just smelling brings back so many memories.

The streets are full of LED billboards that flash beautiful colors that makes everything feel like Vegas in the sultry summer night. But I’ve always thought that Hollywood creates most shows for themselves and Los Angeles and the rest of us are somehow expected to understand the secret language Hollywood insiders share.

Healthcare facilities should be conscious of their hospitality obligations. I know this is a broad statement, and I am sure that many think about how to make their patients and their families more comfortable, but I’d still like to address this issue.

Whether a nursing home, a hospital, or rehab facility, people could have family members stay longer if there were an outlet conveniently placed to operate a laptop or charge a cell phone. It isn’t necessary to make WIFI available, in my opinion, as those who need to be mobile should have their own air card or blackberry by now. Also, for stressful times when travel arrangements or other services are needed, an old fashion Yellow Pages should be available at the nurse’s desk.

I am continually surprised by how many people are left to sit, sick or dying, in dark, cluttered rooms with no air or light. A family member or friend should remember to open the curtains and, if possible, the window. Fast food containers and other trash should be removed continuously. Don’t let unused linens, gowns, and towels pile up on the patient’s bed or the chairs. Attention to small things like this will help the ill person tremendously.

Most Importantly: Please, thank the nurses and other care providers and find other ways to express your sincere, genuine appreciation to them. You may be surprised by how much better you and your loved one are treated!

Our Director of Sales, Zach Hosford, is pioneering a new level of follow-up for our home buyers. Shortly after an appointment, Zach prepared the video below to be shared with our guest’s friends and family. We’ll go the extra mile for you, too.