Archive
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday February 18th, 2011
Hello shoppers…
"Is that static...or The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show?"
Greetings, kind listener, or listeners if you brought a friend.
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday February 19th, 2011
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Today’s show includes interviews with Dan Wolf, CEO of Cape Air, and Jim White, VP of Guest Satisfaction for the Isle of Capri Casinos.
Both companies provide excellent customer service. Both men will tell you how they do it, and why.
I also give away a two nights stay at Casino Hotel in Waterloo, dinner for two at Otis and Henry’s Bar and Grill and $100 cash.
(Congratulations to my winner, Leila Draper of West Des Moines – she was caller #9. Nice job, Leila! Enjoy your stay – just don’t come back wearing a barrel. 
)
Today’s radio show (and this blog post) is my last for a while; my main focus for the next six months will be to work on customer service with the 1,200+ employees of the 12 Des Moines area Dahl’s Foods stores. The quality of their smiles and greetings and engagement and thanks yous is already good. We want to make it transcendent, which is a whole different ball game.
If you don’t think you’ve ever had “transcendent” customer service, especially in a grocery store, then stop in to a Dahl’s store over the next few months, and see if we’re transcending – then let me know, okay?
Most radio show hosts don’t voluntarily leave their shows; it’s usually the Program Director saying, “Hey, uh, Jonnie? Grab your coat and come into my office, will ya?”
Been there. Done that. Had food stamps (sold separately).
This time, I’m grabbing my coat because I want to, and stepping away from the mic because I need to. For a while.
Thank you so much for listening. See you back here this Fall.
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
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Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday February 5th, 2011
Hello shoppers…
As you prepare for takeoff (off the couch) and fly to your friendly neighborhood (Dahl’s) grocery store to stock up on chips, dips, meats, treats (and Tums) of all sizes, shapes and flavas in preparation for Sunday’s Steelers/Packers Superbowl tilt, please enjoy this pre-flight audio:
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show for Saturday February 5th, 2011
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In today’s show, I give a 10,000 foot (over)view of Thursday’s secret shopper review of The Des Moines Airport, United Airlines, the TSA and flying in general.
I talk with Roy Criss, Air Service PR Manager for Des Moines International Airport, about the facility’s recent renovation, plus who to complain to if your flight is late, your car got ticketed or a TSA agent made you cry (hint: it ain’t the airport).
I also chat with Tony Garcia, VP of local markets for Regionalhelpwanted.com, about those great Des Moines Help Wanted ads, and why the site works so well, for employers and potential employees alike.
I’ll close out the show with Jeff Graham, mayor of Watertown, New York. Jeff talks about why everybody in Watertown seems so happy, even though they’re 30 miles from Canada and 1500 miles from Florida.
I hope you are happy wherever you may be, and regardless of the outcome of tomorrow’s game.
As a Dallas Cowboy fan, I will not be.
My prediction: Steelers 27, Pack, 21.
"How 'bout dem Cowboys!"
Shadup.
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday January 29th, 2011
Hello shoppers…
Today’s show is, in part, a tribute to Brenda Carpenter, who lost her battle with lung cancer two weeks ago.
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday January 29th, 2011
The story of Brenda’s courage was chronicled in these pages last Monday. This morning you’ll hear more about Brenda from her cousin, Dawn Mills, who attends to Brenda’s four grieving children while dealing with the loss of her best friend.
I also talk with Todd Cerveris, a talented Broadway actor who not only has graced theater stages around the country (including Des Moines) but also finds time to train dogs for pet therapy. Todd has written and directed a series of TV public service announcements for Paws And Effect, a Des Moines based organization that trains service dogs.
Plus I dig into the Unsecret Shopper mail bag (Do we actually still get mail?) and read some reader responses to secret shopper reviews, and other stories.
As Brenda Carpenter’s life is celebrated tomorrow at 1pm at The Eagles Lodge, 6567 Bloomfield Road, may we all celebrate our own, and the lives of those who we love. Hold them a little closer this weekend. Love them a little bit more.
For Brenda.
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday January 22nd, 2011
Hello shoppers…
Order in the court – or, to quote the famous Mad Magazine parody of Planet of the Apes, odor in the court.
We do a bit of lawyerly monkeying around this morning on The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show:
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show for Saturday January 22nd, 2011
(Left click to listen, right click to download, don’t click to not hear.)
It’s an attorney-licious show that includes an overview of my Secret Shopper review of Des Moines area divorce attorneys.
You’ll also hear conversations with some of DM’s most respected and well-known counsel: Kimberly Stametelos, of Stametelos and Associates; Rick Schmidt, of Berg, Rouse, Spaulding and Schmidt; and Tom Graves, of Graves Law Firm.
Spending time with a dozen divorce attorneys is like going to jail for 10 days (I’ve done both); it motivates you to never want to come back.
For those who are lucky enough to have found “the one” (or who have avoided doing time in the “big house”), you are the blessed angels among us.
It seems like a perfect time to go tell the love of your life, that they are. Go ahead. I’ll be right here, when you get back, on Monday…
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday January 15th, 2011
Hello shoppers…
Yes, we had some ice yesterday. There’s more on the way, possibly by Monday. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! (No polar bears were harmed in the making of this pic.)
I hope your ears remain equally damage-free as you listen to today’s show.
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday January 15th, 2011
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Today’s show includes four, count ‘em, four, interviews with four incredibly dynamic people who are making a difference in people’s lives, every day.
I start the hour off with a conversation with Greg Grove, a wonderful friend and mentor, and my former Ballard High School choir teacher. Mr. Grove was mentioned in my post last week about the power of handwritten notes.
I also chat with Kirby Stolen, a very happy and hard-working Kum and Go employee in Des Moines and winner #10 in The Smile Project.
Lori Stiles, a customer service representative for Bank of The West, joins me to share her advice for creating customer loyalty.
I wind things up with John Ronca, principal at Ballard High School in Huxley, who talks about my favorite people in the world, teachers.
A wonderful quote from William Arthur Ward:
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
May you both inspire, and be inspired this weekend.
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Radio Show For Saturday January 8th, 2011
Hello shoppers…
To paraphrase The Beatles, here comes the snow and, depending on your point of view, it may or may not be alright.
That’s why I’m a radio show host and not a lyricist. Speaking of which…
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show for Saturday January 8th, 2011
(Left click to listen, right click to download, don’t click to not hear.)
Today’s show includes a blizzard of feedback from the Secret Shopper review of Des Moines auto repair shop scheduling portals, Part 1 and Part 2.
I also talk with Troy Dolph, a customer service stud muffin at Cottman Auto Care on Hickman, and one of the (un)sung heroes of the review.
We switch gears (gently, because that’s what our tranny would want) and talk about the difference between trailers, manufactured homes and modular homes with Bob Jones, owner of R and J Home Center on Army Post Road.
My last stop is with Bruce Anderson, general counsel for the Iowa Auto Dealers Association, who talks about how local auto dealers maintain good customer service in their service departments.
They (meaning John Mclaughlin) say the approaching snow may pile up to eight inches in Central Iowa by Tuesday. We’ll deal with it then.
For now, all we know is that the snow shovel is resting comfortably in the garage, the sun is out and the weekend is smiling at us.
I’m smiling back. Hope you are, too.
See you back here on Monday.
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday January 1st, 2011
Hello shoppers…
Welcome to 2011.
But first, a look back, at the best interviews and moments from The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, circa 2010:
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday January 1st, 2011
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They’re all here - from a savvy TV news host to a problem-solving realtor to a concerned social worker to a smiling auto repair tech, these are my favorite interviews from 2010.
As for 2011? Here’s something that I wrote last week, in a Facebook post: Here comes a New Year, and another chance to get it right. We never do – but that’s probably not the point. Maybe it’s that we can get it all wrong and still love ourselves. May we laugh and play and enjoy the journey of 2011, as children, and worry less as adults about where we’re heading, or when we’ll get there, or even if we will.
I like where he’s going with that.
I’ll see you back here on Monday. Bring your party hat…
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday December 18th, 2010
Hello shoppers…
Either Santa is resting before a VERY big day next Saturday, or he couldn’t quite make it through The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show without nodding off.
No hard feelings if you doze off while listening.
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday December 18th, 2010
(Left click to listen, right click to download, don’t click to not hear)
Today’s show features an overview of the Secret Shopper review of Des Moines area Mall Santas, who also gave me a few minutes of their time to talk about, among other things, their summer homes, their Hollywood aspirations and how they’ll get the gifts delivered next Saturday, when they absolutely positively have to be there overnight.
You will hear a conversation with “Al,” my best friend, who was let go from Cub Foods in Ames when the store closed its doors for good in November. I also talk with Scott Politte, General Manager at Stivers Ford Lincoln Mercury in Waukee, on how he came to read the story I wrote about Al, and why reaching out to the community is so important to him.
Today’s show is the last “live” Unsecret Shopper Radio Show show for 2010. Next week it’s Christmas, so expect lots of fun Christmas favorites in the hour normally occupied by my rambling. The following Saturday is January 1st: 2011 will begin for most of us with either waking up late, buying groceries early and a “Best Of” show, regardless.
These last two weeks will certainly rush by in a blur, like we were watching them while staring out of the window of a very fast-moving car. May you and I give ourselves permission to stop the car, open the door, get out and look and listen to one or two moments along the way.
The busy road ahead will wait for us.
Wherever your journey takes you over the next few weeks, I’m sending you my warmest holiday wishes while you travel along it, for a very Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday December 11th, 2010
Hello shoppers…
…who think this weekend’s crowded malls will be fun…
…or not so much…
…being happy is all about our perspective.
You can happily enjoy The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show from the comfortably uncrowded, warm and unblizzardey confines of your laptop.
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show for Saturday December 11th, 2010
(Left click to listen, right click to download, don’t click to not hear)
Today’s show includes an overview of my Secret Shopper review of 9 stores - and 9 more - at The Jordan Creek Mall.
There’s also a conversation with Martie Hobmeier, one of the retail heroes (who works at Sleep Number) from my 18 store jaunt.
Want to avoid Mall chaos altogether? How about having Janet Freel do your shopping for you? The professional personal shopper and owner of Legs On Lease talks about fighting the crowds so you don’t have to, and how to find those tough-to-find items – including a branding iron.
Plus, if you’ve ever had deja-vu, you’ll relate to a shared moment of “I feel like I’ve been there” madness – and a musical cure.
In 1775, it was “The British Are Coming!” Right now, it’s “The Snow is coming!” We dug out of the former – we’ll dig out of the latter.
Make a snow angel first.
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show For Saturday December 4th, 2010
Hello shoppers…
The Thanksgiving leftovers may be getting a little green, but you figure there’s ONE more decent, non-emergency room-inducing turkey sandwich left in the picked-over pickens, before the whole mess gets tossed into the trash, and your stomach can start dreaming of a pink Christmas (ham).
Meantime, The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show is fresh out of the studio kitchen.
The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show for Saturday December 4th, 2010
(Left click to listen, right click to download, don’t click to not hear)
On today’s show we cook up a little somepin somepin from Trader Joe’s, with an overview of their secret shopper review. You can nibble on a conversation with Kathy Grannis from The National Retail Federation, about Black Friday’s better than expected sales numbers, and what they mean for the rest of our gift-buying year.
We’ll also touch on the less than appetizing problem of bad breath and body odor in the workplace - how do you tell a co-worker they’re a little on the ripe side? We get some help from Jeff Delvaux, general manager of Des Moines Radio Group, and Dr. Dennis O’Meara, a Des Moines dentist.
As you head out and shop today – with (Crest)minty-fresh breath, and a body that’s Zest-fully clean – I hope you are met inside stores with sweet aromas, sweeter smiles, kind greetings, merry engagement and heart-felt thank-yous.
You so deserve them.
Jonnie Wright is a customer service evaluator and trainer, professional secret shopper, marketing strategist and host of The Unsecret Shopper Radio Show, Saturday mornings 8-9am, on 1350, KRNT.
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Facebook page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s Twitter page
Click to be taken to Jonnie’s blog
Click to email Jonnie (jonnie@theunsecretshopper.com)
Phone: 515-480-4190
