FUN-travel Ireland: Galway Day 1 & 2
September 30, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel Ireland: Galway Day 1 & 2
Day 10 – Thursday, September 22 – Arrive Galway 3:00 – windy, cloudy, cool, sprinkles
Spanish Arch
FF (FUN-fact) – Today is Arthur Guinness Day and you get a free pint if you are in the pub by 17:59 (the year it was founded) Great gimmick, huh?
- Arrive Lonergon’s Pub 17:50 – no free Guinness as promised by ads – but they did last year!
- Chris asks the bartender about the Oyster Festival & which day is the best – she points to a man and says, “He’s the one to ask.” – we meet Michael, Ann & Michelle who tell us Saturday & phone for tickets & they buy us a pint! Turns out we get 10% discount because of him & we do get a free Guinness!
WRTC2BSL – What are the chances to be so lucky!
- FUN-food – De Roberta’s Italian – caprese salad, pasta w/eggplant, porcinis & cream sauce, the works pizza – YUMMY!
Day 11 – Friday, September 23 – Galway – windy, cloudy, sprinkles (feels warmer or just getting used to it)
N. Ireland Friendship Band
- 1st stop – go to body shop to drop car – realize side mirror casing got broken yesterday when got to close to left side of road (imagine that!)
- 2nd stop – after short walk arrive city center
- 3rd stop – shoe shopping (my 12 yr old Ecco’s have died) find a FUN pair to replace them
- 4th stop – car looks great – only 20 euro! side mirror part not fixed as it takes 3 days to order
- 5th stop – find free parking (requires 5 minute walk back to city center)
- 6th stop – pub – after more walking around town
- FUN-food – Nimmo’s at Spanish Arch (suggested by Dan @ Hugo’s in Dublin) – mussels w/ cilantro & chorizo – salad of soft red wine pears, toasty walnuts, crispy smoked lardon (bacon fat chunks) & Crozier Blue Cheese – hake on roasted Irish beets, wilted greens & herby creme fraiche – “Sticks” a shiraz/viognier blend VG! – even have fruit tart dessert in honor of my dad’s 93rd birthday today
FUN-travel: Ireland – Dingle to Galway
September 29, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Ireland – Dingle to Galway
Day 9 – Wednesday, September 21 – Dingle to Kilkee – cold, windy, thick low ominous clouds & fog w/occasional rain bursts turning sunny
Dunguaire Castle
- Depart 12:15 – Take 30 mile one hour drive of Dingle peninsula
- 1st stop – Beehive Huts – mysterious stone igloos clustered together w/in circular wall
- 2nd stop – view of Blasket Islands
- Head out northeast route – arrive Tarbert 3:25 for 3:30 ferry
- Stop in town of Kilrush for coffee @ Buttermarket Cafe – Ann suggests Murphy Blacks for dinner
- Arrive Kilkee 5 pm and find 40 euro parking ticket on car from Kilrush – had no idea you would have to pay to park in such a dinky, little town (that’ll never happen again)
- Stella Maris Hotel – 90 euro (also suggested by Ann & conveniently across the street from Murphy Blacks)
- FUN-food – Murphy Blacks – St. Tola goat cheese salad drizzled w/honey, steamed Garrigaholt mussels w/butter & wine, pan fried halibut in lemon butter w/au gratin potatoes & carrots, Dandelion wine 95% shiraz & 5% reisling – VG! (very good)
FF (FUN-facts) – we like it when the only high rise you see is a castle!
Not so FF – realized we lost a hubcap and have deep scratches on car from bushes & cut trees hugging the sides of narrow roads
Cliffs of Moher
Day 10 – Thursday, September 22 – Kilkee to Galway – windy, cloudy, cool, sprinkles – depart 9:45
Galway
- 1st stop – Cliffs of Moher – 10:45 – dramatic cliffs soar 650′ above Atlantic for 5 miles
- 2nd stop – Doolin – 12:00 boat ride of cliffs cancelled – next one @3:00 won’t work – have latte instead
- 3rd stop – Dunguaire Castle – 1520 4-story tower house sits in the bay surrounded by swimming swans
- 4th stop – car repair shop to replace hub caps – sent to Car Parts Warehouse who replaces hubcaps (40 Euro includes tip to put them on with ties) – sends us up street to body shop to fix scratches
- Arrive Sea Breeze Lodge B & B in Salthill 4:30 – 2 miles from city center – Freddie the owner upgrades us to king bed and gives us each a Guinness – What are the chances for such good luck!
FF – Today is Arthur Guinness Day and you get a free pint if you are in the pub by 17:59 (the year it was founded) Great gimmick, huh?
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #373: Commitment
September 29, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #373: Commitment
Commitment – a decisive moral choice that involves a person in a definite course of action.
Do you set goals for yourself? Have you ever written them down? Do you know that written goals are more powerful than verbal ones? Do you know that people who are truly committed to their goals make more money and are more successful in their life than those who don’t?
The Ultimate Commitment
This is the second of six WOW’s from the book “INFLUENCE: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert B. Cialdina, Ph.D. These WOW’s will hopefully help you influence your customers, guests, clients or members to increase sales and repeat business, as well as, how to not be swayed by someone trying to sell you something you may not want.
“The enormously successful Amway Corporation has hit upon a way to spur their sales personnel to greater and greater accomplishments. Members of the staff are asked to set individual sales goals by personally recording them on paper. There is something magical about writing things down.”
“Companies using hard-sell tactics have faced ‘cooling off’ laws that allow customers to cancel within a few days. Since many customers felt they were duped or intimidated into the sale they began canceling in droves. One beautiful simple trick that reversed that trend was to have the customer, rather than the salesperson, fill out the sales agreement.”
“Yet another reason that written commitments are so effective is that they require more work than verbal ones. And the evidence is clear that the more effort that goes into a commitment, the greater is its ability to influence the attitudes of the person who made it. Once even a small commitment has been made people tend to add justifications to support the commitment and then are willing to commit themselves further. ”
This week’s focus is on commitment. Both how you are affected and swayed by others, as well as, how you sway your customers, guests, clients or members. Would you agree that once you have made a commitment you stick to it? Have you ever had your customer or client fill out a sales form? Would you be committed to writing down your goals if you knew that you would be more successful just by doing so?
Reader Responses
“One of the biggest problems we have in life today is that people, especially many younger people, do not want to make a commitment – to anything or anyone. First, many want to make sure they are getting something in return. If not, they will not commit. I don’t know if it is a fear of commitment, especially in relationships, but many young people have to see something up front before they will make a commitment. When pressed, most will provide excuse after excuse as to why they did not make a commitment. Frankly, they did not want to make a commitment in the first place. I have seen it firsthand. A family friend and his girlfriend had made a commitment to being the godparents of our older daughter when she was baptized. The godfather has been very good about remembering our daughter on a regular basis. His girlfriend, the Godmother, never stayed in touch. Not long after, they broke up, and we never heard from the Godmother again. My friend then was married, and he and his wife have been very good to my daughter. The wife has basically become the “surrogate” Godmother to my daughter. I have seen many times in my life where people – friends and family members – who have initially committed to something. And then backed out. In some cases, there was no phone call ahead of time. We live in a transient age, where people commit if it is in their own best interests. If it is not, then they don’t make the effort. That could be one of the reasons why divorce is so prevalent today. If things go sour, it is easier just to get out. We will see what the future holds, but until people make and follow through on their commitments, they will find out the hard way that they are left out in the cold. Thanks, Susan. Excellent word.” – “Warrior” Joe
FUN-travel: Ireland – Kinsale to Beara, Ring of Kerry & Dingle Peninsulas
September 25, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Ireland – Kinsale to Beara, Ring of Kerry & Dingle Peninsulas
Day 7 – Monday, September 19 – Kinsale to Ring of Kerry – cool, windy, rainy, 50’s
Parknasilla Resort
- Depart 10:15 – drive back roads to Beara Peninsula
- Arrive 12:30 – drive takes 2 1/2 hours on windy, narrow roads w/hair pin turns – landscape consists of barren & rocky to thick forests & edged w/rocky cliffs – thick low lying rain clouds & fog shroud the hills & mountains
- Stop in Kenmare for latte & snack – another very cute town w/vividly colored shop fronts!
- Arrive Parknasilla Resort 4 pm (majestic Victorian hotel built in 1895 in 300 plush acres of a subtropical park overlooking the wild Atlantic Ocean) no reservations & get huge room w/breakfast for 99 euro – such a deal! luck of the Irish is with us!
- Dinner @hotel – salad, scallops w/bacon & black pudding, halibut (good but not as good as Crackpots)
FF (FUN-facts) – Ireland Tourist Information offices have been invaluable for maps, getting directions and finding lodging
Staig Ring Fort
Day 8 – Tuesday, September 20 – Ring of Kerry to Dingle – cool, windy, partly sunny w/occasional rain bursts
- Awake to spotty sunshine – Depart 10:30 – drive 120 mile loop Ring of Kerry
- 1st stop Staig Ring Fort – circular stone walls built sometime between 500 B.C. and A.D. 300 w/o mortar – about 80′ across, walls 12′ think, 20′ high
- 2nd stop Portmagee – see “Best View in Kerry County” for 8 euro – take 10 minute walk up to dramatic coastal cliffs
- Arrive Dingle 4:30 – find Bambury’s B&B for 80 euro – town feels traditionally Irish
- 1st stop Foxy John’s Pub for Guinness and Carlsberg (for me) – full of locals
- FUN-food – Blue Zone Jazz & Pizza Bar – Greek Salad (loaded w/lots of veggies & lettuces) & spicy chorizo, red pepper pizza – YUMMY!
Best View in Kerry
FF – Ireland is home of the very rare Red Head & Blue Butt Sheep – LOL! (they color them on various parts of their bodies for identification)
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #372: Reciprocation
September 25, 2011 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #372: Reciprocation
Reciprocation – the act of doing something in return.
When someone does a favor or goes out of their way for you do you feel the need to reciprocate? Do you go out of you way to take care of your customers, guests, clients or members? Have you ever been given a free sample and found it difficult to walk away without buying the product?
This is the follow up to last week’s WOW from the book “INFLUENCE: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert B. Cialdina, Ph.D. These next six WOW’s will hopefully help you influence your customers, guests, clients or members to increase sales and repeat business, as well as, how to not be swayed by someone trying to sell you something you may not want.
“The power of reciprocity can be found in merchandising. As a marketing technique, the free sample has a long and effective history. The beauty of the free sample, however, is that it is also a gift. This can cause one to feel the natural indebting force inherent in a gift while innocently appearing to have only the intention to inform. Many people will buy the product even if they didn’t like it that well.”
“The ability of uninvited gifts to produce feelings of obligation is recognized by a variety of organizations. How many times have you received small gifts in the mail – personalized address labels, greeting cards, key rings – from charities asking for donations? They make it clear they are a gift and any money you wish to send should not be regarded as a payment but rather as a return offering. There is a strong cultural pressure to reciprocate a gift, even an unwanted one; but there is no such pressure to purchase an unwanted commercial product.”
“Research shows that there is a genuine distaste for persons who violate the reciprocity rule by accepting without attempting to return the good acts of others. The other end of the spectrum is when you feel almost forced to reciprocate. The reality of internal discomfort and the possibility of external shame can produce a heavy psychological cost. Women frequently comment on the uncomfortable sense of obligation they can feel to return the favors of a man who has given them an expensive gift or paid for a costly evening out. Even something as small as the price of a drink can produce a feeling of debt.”
This week’s focus is on reciprocation. Both how you are affected and swayed by others, as well as, how you sway your customers, guests, clients or members. Would you agree that receiving a gift makes you feel indebted? Do you give out “free samples?” Do you ever give items to make up for a problem? Does receiving something free from a business make you feel compelled to reciprocate and come back and spend more money?
Reader Responses
“Here are a couple of my thoughts to add to Reciprocity: Personal/Social gift giving – the greatest gratitude is to use the gift in front of the giver. Whether it be clothing, house wares, object of art. Your acceptance of the gift and happiness that it brings returns the gift of power, that the giver is able to invoke a positive experience for someone else, gives them a positive experience. Gift giving is selfish in that way, as it should be. When it is hard to be nice to yourself directly, do it by way of a friend! And if you are the friend- be real enough to make the thank you a nice experience for them. (Use the item-at least once!) Commercial gift giving – very good information about the motive behind commercial gift giving. In business, it is easy to combine the two, social and commercial gift giving- when giving someone a gift- let them know if it doesn’t work for them, ask them to give it to a friend that they think it would work for. You get a more targeted audience, and someone feels good for promoting your business! (by giving a friend a gift!) As always, customer service has to be a priority. And in the case of referrals, a double priority because you are effectively serving 2 customers, even though there is only 1 in front of you. Thanks.” – Kim
“One good turn deserves another. I admit there may be a little guilt in accepting something for free and not taking the next step and buying something at the retailer. But as I have grown older my attitude has changed to the point where I believe that no one is forcing this company or that company to give something away. I think most of us are willing to take what is given to us, especially if it is free. We have been conditioned so long to believe that there is no free lunch, that whenever someone wants to give us something we gladly take it. When in the past I have received stickers, stamps and cards from charitable organizations, many times I will simply throw them away because they used a forced guilt incentive to give. I don’t appreciate that. If you want a donation, don’t use guilt. That is not the way to appeal to my better angels. Now, I admit that I am a soft touch for charities because I believe in karma. If someone uses a genuine approach and the organization seems legitimate, then I will give what I can. But don’t use guilt or the hard sell on me, because I will politely walk away. As for business enterprises, I don’t feel the obligation to come back and buy just because I received a free item. Thanks for the word, Susan. Have a great week. Fall is here! And we have had some beautiful weather lately. Take care.” – “Warrior” Joe