Busy Week Ahead

A few weeks ago I received a particularly nice comment on our recent “Secret Shopper” article that ran in the July USGlass. A reader down in Fort Worth commented that the details in the article proved helpful to him (the biggest compliment I could hope to get), and he extended an invitation to come visit his new 12,000-square-foot retail showroom. I was glad to know that the article proved inspiring to a few other showroom owners out there, especially since the kind folks at ABC Glass & Mirror were such good sports about letting me come in and share their showroom with the glass world at large. If there’s anyone else out there who would like to share what makes their showroom great, and get tips for improving the rest, drop me a line and I’ll add you to my list.

I’m also making plans to do a little unofficial secret shopping pretty soon here. You see, this very afternoon I’m moving into a new house. While I’m eagerly looking to leave my personality on it by swapping out paint colors and carpet, I was surprised to learn that my significant other’s first project involves replacing the ancient, heavy and largely fogged sliding glass door in the den with a fresh, new, easily opened patio door (you’d think I’d be looking at the doors and windows first, right?). So if your glass shop gets a call for an estimate on the cost of a patio door, make sure your customer service is top-notch as it could be for our Industry Outlook department; Virginia-area glass retailers, keep your aisles clean as you may be subject to some secret shopping soon!

On another note, aside from the excitement of this move, this week will also be a busy one because our company, Key Communications, is holding its annual sales meeting. It’s a chance for us editors to share with our terrific team of sales reps all of the changes and improvements we’re making to our various publications in 2010, in addition to reinvigorating our entire team for the year ahead. I’m sure your company holds similar events, and I’d love to hear what you do for your sales team and staff to get them prepared and amped up for new products or company changes. And if you’re interested in getting a copy of USGlass magazine’s 2010 media kit, drop me a line and I’ll add you to that list.