The PURPLE GOLDFISH PROJECT: 1001 Examples of Lagniappe

#446. From Joe Bob Hester of the University of North Carolina (taken from an article by the News Observer:

Peter Millar

“They remember the mints. When boxes of golf shirts and shorts and other high-end menswear are shipped from the Peter Millar office and warehouse, the packing list includes mints.

When customers unpack their orders, they are struck by three things: The quality of what they’ve ordered; each item comes out of the box in the order it’s listed on the packing sheet; and, mints are included for the pleasure of it.

It’s a little thing, but this year when a few boxes arrived short of mints (they ran out briefly), phone calls started coming.

At Peter Millar, located in a low-profile office park on the southwest edge of Raleigh, the attention to detail, commitment to quality and a North Carolina-grown appreciation of classic menswear has helped catapult the company into one of the hottest brands on the market, particularly for golfers.

Classic styles. Vibrant colors. High quality.

The only thing missing is Eastern North Carolina barbecue.

It’s through golf that the brand has become almost instantly recognizable. It’s what many of the Titleist touring pros wear at tournaments. It’s what the NBC Sports golf team wears. And, it’s what’s the U.S. Ryder Cup team will wear in Wales this fall.

Along with Scott Mahoney, who joined the company as president and CEO in 2005, Knott has nurtured Peter Millar into a dynamic player in the industry without surrendering its small company touches.

A beagle, with the title of vice president for security, wanders the stockroom where shelves are stacked with boxes of everything in the collection. On Friday, the 55 employees eat hot dogs together at lunch.

The clothes are made around the world, but they wind up at the office park in Cary where each order is hand packed. There’s an embroidery shop on site where club logos are stitched.

“You can identify their merchandise from a million miles away,” says Marty Hackel, fashion editor for Golf Digest magazine. “When you can identify clothes without looking at the label, you know they’ve done something significant.”

Peter Millar, Knott and Mahoney will tell you, is not a golf brand but a lifestyle brand. Mahoney talks about capturing a “share of the closet,” which means outfitting a man from shoes to a coat.

‘We are our customers’

They have a simple philosophy: If it’s something Knott or Mahoney – two middle-aged men – wouldn’t wear, they won’t make it.

“We are our customers,” Knott says.

Peter’s on the ball

And, you might ask, just who is Peter Millar?

Knott’s mother was an antiques dealer and years ago bought a collection that included an antique lawnball. The ball had its owner’s name – Peter Millar – printed on it.

When it came time to name his company, Knott settled on Peter Millar.

The ball is on display at the company office in Cary.

A dish of mints is nearby.

For the full article: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/06/515626/menswear-styled-signed-delivered.html#ixzz0q4g66Wre

#453. From Jennifer Phelps

Splash Car Wash in Norwalk, CT

“Splash gives away free balloons for the kids, plus they have two soap guns so your kids can spray the car as it drives by in the automatic car wash.”

#459. Submitted by Jennifer Phelps

Sonic

“Buy one (real) ice cream from Sonic and you get one free. The freebie you can either enjoy right then or use a coupon for it on your next visit.”

#461. PeterMillar.com

Free FedEx ground shipping with your order. Nice.

#469. Taken from a tweet by @McTwittahPants

Louisiana Lagniappe

“is in love w/ Louisiana Lagniappe. The place is delightful. They offer complimentary rolls & napkins in shape of seashells! #littletouches”

#471. Submitted by Kelly Ketelboeter

Pixar

Check out this response from a director at Pixar. It sure looks like a purple goldfish to me!!

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/06/pixar-films-dont-get-finished-they-just.html

#473. From Aimee Lucas

FIg

“So my friend and I met at the mall this evening – a girl’s night out of wine, dinner, shopping that we try to do every 6 to 8 weeks. You may know that Todd English has teamed up with Macy’s and placed restaurants – named “Fig” – in some of their stores. The one near us in Palm Beach Gardens, FL is one of those stores. Our first visit there was on a similar girl’s night about 6 weeks ago – and the waitress picked up on that it was our first visit which generated a visit to our table from the manager, a card for a free appetizer on our next visit AND free dessert that night – a decadent white chocolate bread pudding. We were sold.

So we headed back tonight – raved about the bread pudding causing our return, ordered our wine, free app and entree (to shared) and our bread pudding (to share) for dessert. Our poor waiter, Adam, comes back later in the meal after confirming we were ready for our dessert – sincerely apologetic and genuinely concerned that he was about to ruin our night with his news: they were out of bread pudding. But – he also showed up with another card for a free dessert on our next visit with a note on the back of the card from the manager. It wouldn’t have ruined our night – we still had a lovely meal – and it certainly wasn’t anyone’s fault they had a run on their bread pudding. But they stepped up on both visits, gave us little extras we hadn’t expected and I’m pretty sure that there are going to be a string of girls nights back at Fig – despite a limited menu that if it weren’t for their lagniappe service would probably have us dining at different locations each time.

#475. Taken from blogpost by Stephanie Green

“I received an unusual lagniappe in a brown paper envelope the other day — a lip gloss that is being touted as “politically correct.”
HMMMM… Politics and lipstick. An incongruous pairing in the extreme, but far be it for me to throw out a free beauty product due to my preconceived notions about how politics (and politicians) need a lot more than lipstick to get prettied up in the eyes of the public these days. So what is this stuff, anyway?
“The Politically Correct Pout” is the latest baby born to Le Métier de Beauté, the cosmetic line of Neiman Marcus, and it’s being billed as “a perfect nude shade that will work its magic from coffee to cocktails — perfect for the Washingtonian woman running from meetings on the Hill to the gala on the Mall!”

#477 From Keith Green @keithstweets of Synergy Events

Bar Breton

“First, congrats on the winning the trip, well deserved! Looking
forward to hearing stories and who you meet at the conference.

I had a nice lunch in NYC earlier this week and thought of your
project. At the end of my lunch at Bar Breton on 5th Avenue, I
received two chocolate cookies. Granted, they were tiny-probably between the size of a quarter and a half dollar-but just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth when clearly, dessert wasn’t needed off the menu. The cookies were served in a tiny bowl, not much larger than the cookies, making for a cool presentation.”

#480. From William Mericle of EURO RSCG in Chicago

Pot Belly Sandwiches

“Pot Belly gives you a small cookie on a straw”

I’ve just returned from Cannes where I participated in the Burning Question seminar. The Burning Question (www.burningquestion.com) was sponsored by Bridge Worldwide, a leading digital and relationship agency based in Cincinnati. Leading the seminar with Jim Stengel was Bob Gilbreath who happens to be the Chief Marketing Strategist at Bridge. Bob has pioneered a concept called ‘Marketing with Meaning’ which was featured in the 2009 release of the book, ‘The Next Evolution of Marketing’. His book has a treasure trove of examples for the Purple Goldfish Project:
#484. Baskin-Robbins turns hump day (Wednesday) to bump day by offering pregnant women a free cup or cone.
#485. Philadelphia Cream Cheese surprises and delight Jet Blue flyers with ‘Breakfast in Heaven’. The brand offered free bagels and cream cheese on morning flights with 500,000 passengers.
#486. UPS offers customers a desktop widget the helps track packages conveniently and quickly, a nice added value
#487. Sam Adams created a special edition of glasses to help enhance the craft beer experience. They cost $30 for the set, but the engagement is priceless.
#488. Mount Gay gives away signature red hats as part of its involvement in sailing races. They’ve become prized possessions within the seafaring community.
#488. Home Depot offers ‘how to’ classes in store for customers. Fantastic tie in to their slogan, “You can do it, we can help”.
#489. Palomino (a restaurant chain) asks customers for one piece of information in addition to e-mail. It’s their birthday. Then they send an e-mail two week before your birthday with an invite and a $20 discount voucher.
#490. Avis introduced a bunch of little extras in Newark to improve customer experience. Video monitors that gave flight update, business centers that allowed for calls and recharging of laptops were part of the solution. it was so successful it became known as the Newark model.

#492. From Dan Merchant and his blog ‘The Resourceful Traveler’

Joie de Vivre Hotels

“While making my reservation, the representative asked if I was a member of the “Joy of Life Club.” I wasn’t, so I naturally I asked for more information. When the email confirmation arrived, it included a link to sign-up for the club. So I began filling it out. When I got to the following fill-in-the blank, I was blown away: “Very Important Date. We want to help you celebrate with an exclusive offer. Choose your special day: a birthday, an anniversary, or the date you plan to retire…it’s up to you!”

#494. Taken from a tweet by @stjamescheese in New Orleans

Le Foret

“Excellent dinner at Le Foret. Great execution and lots of lagniappe. Three amuses, amazing macarons following dessert and a lovely madeleine in a baggy to take home for breakfast.”

[Editors Note: Amuse bouche is French for 'entertain the mouth'. They are little unannounced morsels served before the meal]

#496. Submitted by Lindsey Cohen

Cafe Luxemborg

Cafe Lux hands out a small piece of square chocolate at the end of the meal.

From Jeff Hayzlett’s book, ‘The Mirror Test’

#498. The 21 Club

‘We were at the 21 Club and Tami saw the waiter deliver a captivating drink to another table. “What’s that?” she asked . . . No one knew and so we decided to ask the waiter when he came back. Minutes later the waiter appeared again, but before we could ask, he set the same cocktail down in front of Tami with a flourish, “Kir Royal: Champagne and creme de cassis” he said. “Compliments of the house.”

#499. New Horizons Computers

I needed a way to add a little more value to the experience and make a lasting impression on customers. I settled on presenting every person who “graduated” from our training programs with a fun diploma and picture of their group in front of our company sign as a keepsake. Later I added a few other items like free chili dogs on Fridays.

#500. Doubletree Hotels

Do you know how much I love the warm cookies they serve at the Doubletree? (I eat them with a big glass of whole milk – if you are going to do it, you have to go the whole way.) I think about them when I’m at other hotels – how’s that for a lasting impression?

#501 Gans Ink

Gans Ink uses Tootsie Rolls; they put some into cases of ink they send to print shops. I have seen people race each other like a roller derby to open the case of ink for the Tootsie Rolls. Think that helps spread goodwill?

#509. Taken from Connecticut Magazine

Great Wolf Lodge

“At peak check in times the lodge has a face painter, juggler and balloon scupter wandering to entertain guests.”

#511. From Eric Wiberg

HSBC

“The HSBC / Hong Kong Shanghai Bank is just expanding into CT in recent years. One thing they do which makes them stand out in my mind is simple: Every Thursday they keep the entire staff, from senior VPs to tellers, on hand for an extra hour or 2, till at least 6PM for the folks (like me) who could not otherwise visit their local branch after work.

I stormed out of a competing bank at 5PM the other as they locked the door behind me and literally walked across the street on Westport Ave. to HSBC and move all my family’s finances to HSBC. Unlike BoA, for Premier customers (I used to bank w/ them in SE Asia for 3 years), they waive all overdraft fees, ATM fees, and many other niceties. I was deeply impressed and am confident that because of their “Purple Goldfish” extra hours they have and will continue to receive great new business. They told me that most of their new business in fact came from disgruntled / disaffected BoA customers coming across the street when they see the “open” sign in the evening!”

#513 from Eric Wiberg

Canine Fence

Canine Fence of Wilton/Redding CT offers all customers a free sign saying “this dog is restrained by Canine Fence”. Because it is free we place in front of the house so passerby know that our large black lab cannot get to them (over the invisible fence). It puts people at ease, enhances our secuirty, was free, unobtrusive, and of course advertises Canine Fence as well. Not only that, but rather than send a technician for $100s of $$ they let you ‘do it yourself’ and sell all the equipment – plus phone support – to repair and upgrade your own system. They even ‘threw in’ a new junction box because ours was simply old – for free. They saved us hundreds of $$ and lots of aggravation. We were impressed. The signs themselves are simple, light aluminum sticks with small blue notices, probably cheap, and
very easy to pick up from an umbrella-like basket as you leave their store. A low-cost win-win all around.”

#515. Submitted by Eric Wiberg

Dr. Yudell (Dentist) of Stamford, CT

“As a former merchant sailor I’ve had horrific dental experiences in weird places: crushing abscesses and pain in remote places and rush job dental work in Singapore, Bermuda, Eluethera, upcoast Maine, FLA, Sweden, East Africa, etc. S o you can imagine my surprise when I overcame my fears and surfed online to have a Dentist extract an infected tooth.

Despite over a dozen root canals, I’d never lost an entire tooth an I dreaded it. 3 out of 5 of the dentists I called at 2PM on a Weds were closed and left a VM. But one who stood out (and got my business) was Dr. Yudell (despite the difficulty of spelling his name). Here’s why:

1 – the forms you fill out as a new customer in the waiting room? All can be done online, so you just have to walk in and sign. He is the first dentist (or Dr.) who gives out his email and actually replies. I don’t want my colleagues hearing me book medical appointments, and who likes being kept on hold by a receptionist or answering service? Email is the way to go and I with others got that…

2 – punctual and no wait? Yes

3 – time to schedule me an appointment – they booked me on Friday AM based on my Weds PM call.

4 – they submitted the work to insurance

5 – the doctor actually called me back that night from his personal cell/home to wish me well and hope the post-extraction was going well. That was after he gave prescriptions for all eventualities.

Having been fleeced by “society dentists” who took $4,000 a day to do work, and then never called back, I was deeply impressed that for 2/3rds less than what I was told it would cost (I was simply told “it won’t cost more than $500), he was that attentive.

I will keep Dr. Yudell foremost in mind for dentistry going forward. He went the extra mile, had a great sense of humor, and got the job done on time and in budget with minimum fuss. Who enjoys having a tooth pulled? Thanks to Dr. Yudell, I did.”