Lessons from the Road – AASLH Presentation
This weekend, we had the privilege to present some of our exhibit design philosophy at the American Association for State and Local History conference in Oklahoma City. The session, titled “Lessons from the Road,” was a small panel discussion very skillfully facilitated by Leslie Przybylek of the Mid-America Arts Alliance / Exhibits USA. Clay Lewis, NEH on the Road Program Administrator, Chuck Regier, Curator of Exhibits at Kauffman Museum, and Anne Morand, (ex) Curator at the C.M. Russell Museum made up the rest of the panel.
It was fascinating to hear perspectives from all levels of the exhibit development process, highlighting challenges faced along the way and innovative solutions to those challenges. It was also great to talk with people from the institutions who host the exhibits, and to brainstorm with them about possibilities for supplemental programming and promotion.
Thanks to those who attended. And for those who missed it, give us a call–we’d be glad to fill you in!
Update:
A few days ago we received feedback from our AASLH presentation. Everyone who rated our presentation gave us an overall rating of 10/10, and one person even said it was the best session they attended while they were there. Once again, thank you to everyone who came and visited us at the AASLH conference!
Curiosity and Innovation
I’m clumsily typing this post on our new iPad (we’ve been getting requests to develop apps for the iPad, so I thought it was a good enough excuse to buy one to see what they’re all about!). But this post isn’t specifically about the iPad–it’s about Apple…
I bought my iPad from an Apple store. I didn’t order it online, and I didn’t just run down to the nearest big box electronics store. Both of these options would have been easier and more convenient. I specifically held out until I could make a trip to an Apple store because every time I’m in one I have a great experience and I learn something new.
This time was no different. I learned about their in-store ordering and delivery system, which allows the “genius” who you get assigned the minute you walk through the door, to complete the order on any of the available devices in the store and get it hand delivered to you in a matter of minutes by a runner from the back warehouse. And while you wait the minute or so to get your new equipment, it leaves a perfect opportunity to ask any last minute questions or shop for the must-have accessories.
Once the equipment arrives, and you have your accessories picked out, they scan your loot with tricked-out iPhones that process the order and credit card payment. And then you’re on your way, with the sales person who guided you throughout the entire process and never left your side for one second, walking you out the door.
Talk about seamless. And reassuring. Exciting. Addicting. Profitable!
Peaches and Powerful Customer Service
It’s Friday evening, and my wife decided that it was time to let grandma take care of our teething baby so that we could go pick peaches and get away for a few hours. Given that most of my Fridays are spent right here, in front of a computer, trying to figure out how we’re going to get through the next week, I cheerfully went along to spend the lovely summer evening with her.
Picking peaches was great–we talked to the owner of the small orchard for awhile about what to look for in a good peach, and I of course asked about proper picking technique (which annoyed my more experienced wife). Anyway, we picked our peaches, drove to their house to pay, and had a short conversation about finding something to eat in the nearby small town. The daughter who weighed our baskets was pretty sure we could go to the cafe on Main Street, so we paid, thanked her, and went on our way to find the restaurant she had described.
As we were driving, I got a phone call from a strange number. It was the owner of the orchard calling to tell us that she had heard we were looking for something to eat and her daughter had been unsure if the cafe she had recommended really was open. So the owner took it upon herself to call all of the restaurants in the tiny town to check their hours. Sure enough, the recommended cafe was closed, but the next door pizza place would be happy to stay open for us if we were already on our way.
Wow. Talk about amazing customer service. Both businesses went out of their way to work together to accommodate us out of town strangers for no good reason. We weren’t asking for anything special and we weren’t spending much money at either place, but both made an incredibly strong impression by making a small and inexpensive but valuable (to the us, the customer) extra effort. It made me want to give them even more of my business and promote them to everyone I see for the rest of the picking season.
Pretty powerful stuff. I sure hope our company is doing one-tenth as well in serving our customers.
Oh, and if you’re anywhere near Whitewater Kansas, be sure to stop at Entz orchard off of Hwy 196 and Webb road, and then head down to Whitewater Pizza for dinner….
