Week 3 EOC - Great Customer Experience

When it comes to one of my least favorite activities – banking, I chose my preferred branch location over another one closer to where I live, because of the excellent customer service. When I went to the branch closer to me, I always left with a feeling that the experience was negative. From the moment I walked in the door, there were security scanners, locked doors that buzzed you in, and armed security guards. Once inside, there were long lines and tellers with poor customer skills. I felt they could care less about me. Some words that I associate with that branch include; busy, impersonal, routine, boring, disinterested, frustrating, and inconvenient. I would dread going there.

I had heard through word of mouth that the other branch, about 4 miles further away, however, at least had sugary sweet tellers that always smiled at you and treated you like royalty. I thought to myself, “This I gotta see!”. When I first visited the branch, the main thing I was expecting was the bright and cheery tellers I was told I would get. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that, indeed, every teller spoke to every customer with a smile and an attitude of going out of their way to be polite and helpful. They called each customer by name and seemed to genuinely care about each one. What a difference in the environment! And I couldn’t believe there was no line. The best kept secret in town, I thought. Each time I visit this branch I feel as if I’m the most important person in the world. I’m greeted with a smile, addressed politely by name at the teller window, and asked if there is anything else that they can help me with. If I’m seated waiting for someone else, I’m approached by an employee and asked if I’ve been helped.

With all the different banks for customers to choose from, and the money pressures banking customers are faced with, I’m sure that good customer service is a competitive advantage in the business, and that training in this area can go a long way in creating a positive customer experience, resulting in customer loyalty. It’s an example of relationship marketing. What makes me remember my bank, enough to write about it in this blog post, is, that being there is actually a pleasant experience. And that’s saying a lot when it comes to one my least favorite activities – banking.

Week 2 EOC - My Demographic, The Baby Boomer

Growing up in the 60’s and 70's was interesting. I was born at the tail end of the Baby Boomer Generation, so my demographic is between Baby Boomer and Generation X. Sometimes I feel more like a Generation X’er, than a Baby Boomer, but then one of the characteristics of a Baby Boomer is maintaining youth and a flair for life. My mother was born at the tail end of her generation, but, she is more like a Baby Boomer, because she thought and acted younger than her age, and hung out with people much younger than herself, artists, musicians, bohemians, beatniks, and hippies, who all  wandered in and out of my mother's house, because she rented rooms to college students going to UH. Couples actually lived together without being married, and at the time, it was frowned upon, everywhere else. Terms like 'cool, man', groovy, 'shacking up', the 'older generation', and the 'Generation Gap' came into being. I’d come home from school and walk into the living room, stepping carefully over cords and wires connected to musical instruments and musicians and their girlfriends crowded into every space. The place was a hippie pad with cool artwork, lighting, and always music...records playing on the record player. My mother was the lead singer in her rock, blues, and r&b band. I remember it being my job to write down the lyrics to all her songs and put them into her songbook. I was exposed to many different musical flavors of the time; the Beatles, Motown, Southern Blues, Folk, Gospel, Jazz, Classic and Rock. One of my favorite memories was pouring over the album covers of various bands and artists, reading every lyric, acknowledgement and musical credit, listening to the records with headphones on, the place lit up with black light posters...wow! Music back then was not just about listening, it was about experiencing. These influences would later form my own musical tastes and songwriting experiences. I was also exposed to the drug culture of the 60’s and 70's; pot, LSD, uppers, downers. Someone was always high on something in my house. I never had to sneak to do anything, but I was required to be honest and never lie. I grew up learning to be very self-reliant, never expecting from or depending on my mother for my needs to be met. I was also taught to be creative and unique, even rebellious against mainstream society, another characteristic of my demographic, the Baby Boomer Generation.

Week 2 EOC - Favorite Fast Food

Growing up in Hawaii, there weren’t fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King or Jack in the Box, until I was about 10 or 11 years old. Meals were shared around the table at home as a family, and going out to eat was a special occasion, experienced maybe twice a year. If we went to the beaches or parks, we packed our own picnic lunch so we wouldn’t have to buy anything from beach vendors. We did, however have walk up restaurants, considered to be convenient for ‘take out’ or dining in. A local favorite was, and still is; Zippy’s, which specializes in island style meals, known as ‘plate lunches’. A typical plate lunch consists of 2 scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a choice of teriyaki steak, chicken or pork, or hamburger steak with gravy, beef stew or curry, chili, or chicken katsu. The price for a hearty meal like that back then, was about $2.99. Now, they are about $8.99. The equivalent to Zippy’s here in Las Vegas, is

L & L’s Hawaiian BarBQue, found at a variety of locations, serving the many Hawaiians who have relocated to Las Vegas, the ‘9th Island'. L & L is okay...but it's not Zippy's!

Week 1 EOC - My Voice

A Creative Vision is a multi media design and marketing company which recognizes the importance of effective communication. Years of experience in the fields of entertainment, design, travel, tourism, marketing, sales and advertising have cultivated communication and design skills that create a powerful impact and client identity. As an assistant in the Mirage Resorts Art Department, I learned graphic design, and then worked as an assistant in the Advertising Department at the Venetian, where many of my ideas and concepts were used in successful ad campaigns and special events created by the marketing department. Later, I worked in the travel business, developing advertising and marketing strategies as Advertising Manager. I wrote a monthly column in a travel publication featuring exotic travel and retreat destinations, and created Soul Journeys for Body, Mind and Spirit, my own company which featured retreat getaways.


It is the mission of A Creative Vision to offer new media marketing services, including graphic and web design, video and audio production, content management, viral marketing, and internet based communications which will enhance the client’s ideas and vision.