February WDW Trip Report Part 1, Friday 2/1/08

I just returned from a 4 night stay at Disney’s Yacht Club and thought I’d blog about my trip.

I flew into Orlando late on Thursday evening. Friday was meeting day with two All Ears® advertisers. This is as good a time as any to talk about one of the questions I am often asked: “How do you choose your advertisers?”

Those of you, who have been with me since the good ole days, know that I didn’t have any ads for the first 3 years. It was only when my ISP came to me and said… your traffic is slowing down the server you’re on. You need your own server. Oh and by the way, what you are paying per year, you now will be paying per month. OUCH!

Since the beginning it has been VERY important to me to provide quality products and services to my readers. In fact, probably 90% of the folks that approach us to advertise never make it to the pages of the website or the newsletter.

For some advertisers, it’s a long arduous process to be “approved”. I want to make sure the businesses who advertise to my readers have the same standards of quality and customer service that I have. There are certain things I look for on their website and in their customer policies.

Depending on the service/product and whether it is an established company or not, determines how involved the approval process is. In fact, John of Owner’s Locker wrote a blog about becoming an All Ears advertiser.

And after the deal is done, so to speak, our review of advertisers doesn’t end. We “shop” our advertisers periodically. By “shop” I mean that someone I know will utilize the product or service and report back to me on the experience.

We all know that things can go wrong, that’s part of life. But the important part is Customer Service. How is the problem or issue resolved?

It is very important to hear from All Ears readers about the advertisers on the website and in the All Ears newsletter. I want to hear the positive and the negative. Sometimes a company manager has no idea there are issues unless it is brought to their attention. They also, like to praise and possibly reward employees who do an outstanding job. Please use our contact form to let me know about any advertiser you have used!

Ok, back to the trip. On Friday, I met with 2 relatively new All Ears advertisers: Owners Locker and Buena Vista Scooters.

Owner’s Locker – I have met owners Brian and John several times. What I like about these men is that they are always looking for new and creative ways to partner. And, most importantly, they offer a very unique product with superb customer service.

Deb and Owner's Locker

I began using my Owners Locker last fall and I now wonder how I managed with it out all this time!!! It is SO nice to not have to schlep items back and forth to Florida. In fact, I loved my first locker so much, I ordered a 2nd one.

So what’s in my locker? One locker is filled with all types of All Ears items, from hats to buttons to lanyards to copies of PassPorter’s Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line book I co-authored with Debra Martin Koma. I call this my “business” locker.

My other locker, the personal one, has all the things I use to pack each and every trip in either my carryon or suitcase…that now I don’t have to! Some of the items include: ponchos, umbrella, sweatshirt, electric toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, multi-plug extension cord, phone charger, camera batteries and charger, coffee, Brita Water Filter and a lot of my non-perishable diabetic supplies. And that’s just some of the items that fill my locker!

This was a follow-up meeting with John and Brian to see how things were going…provide feedback, them to me and me to them, and explore options for the future.

After my breakfast with John and Brian, I returned to my room at the Yacht Club to check email and get ready for my next meeting.

Next up was lunch with Bob and Chris from Buena Vista Scooters. If you’ve ever strolled down the Boardwalk (or stayed there) you have probably seen some of Buena Vista Scooters’ products. They not only rent Surrey Bikes at the Boardwalk but also electric scooters and strollers as well.

I enjoyed talking with Bob and Chris and our discussions just solidified the positive feedback I have received about Buena Vista Scooters. It was great to meet them both in person.

Deb, Chris and Bob

After our meeting I went back to the room and caught up on email and voice mail messages.

Soon it was time to head over to Animal Kingdom Lodge and dinner at Jiko with friends. It was a wonderful dinner with great conversation, wine and food. Nassar, our server, was outstanding as always and made excellent wine suggestions.

Chef Brian spent time talking with us. He has begun to make small changes to the menu at Jiko. Right now the changes are with similar foods but with a different twist. For instance, his new tuna appetizer was quite delicious. Tuna has been an appetizer since the restaurant opened but now, it is seared tuna. One of the flatbreads has changed as well.

Chef Brian also told us he is involved with the new restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Villas Kidani VIllage, which will be Indian cuisine.

As we neared the end of our evening, Jiko manager Jeremy came by and poured us a sample of MR; a superb red wine from South Africa. It is a blend of several wines and 2 wineries. It was outstanding! All too soon, our evening at Jiko came to an end.

Once back in my Yacht Club room, I went out on the balcony and took a photo of the view as I looked to the left.

View of the Boardwalk from my Yacht Club Room

Tomorrow, a special day with a special family.

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