By Jayshri Amin »  The week after my last blog post, I went to the same mall and walked into a shoe store looking for shoes for a wedding.  As I perused through the shoes a bubbly energetic sales girl came up to me and started to have a conversation.  Based on our conversation she you knew the shoe was for me and that I need it to match my outfit.

There were only two sales people in the store and about 5-6 customers.  She managed to get me my size while assisting another customer.  As I tried my shoe not realizing that she is watching me while ringing up a customer, came up to me and said, “how do they feel, do you need another size?  I said they fit fine I just wished there was extra hole in the buckle to help secure it around the ankle.

She said hold on I may have a solution for you, she went back and finished ringing up the customer.  She then proceeded to make an extra hole for me, I tried the shoe on and it felt perfect.  She proceeded to do the other shoe and up sold me on no slip pads for the bottom of the shoe; she even tried to sell me a matching clutch.  I almost gave in, but did not like anything.

By Jayshri Amin » I recently stopped at a shoe place where they carried clutch purses, as I was in the market for one. I found one that I liked and asked the sales lady how much it was. She took it down, opened the purse and said, “It’s $34.00,” then went on to add: “We had a 25% off sale last week that you just missed.”

When she first gave me the price, my immediate thought was, that’s a good price for a nice clutch from a well-known designer. Guess what, the saleslady lost the sale. She downgraded the product that she was selling, making me feel the full price was not worth it and I should not buy it.

Now if she were a really good salesperson, she would have convinced me to buy the clutch purse and shown me shoes to match it.

By Jayshri Amin » So I decide to try something new and did acupuncture for the first time. I was surprised to find it not bad at all; the only thing I found hard was to stay still for 25 minutes.

The process was amazing; the acupuncturist made me feel extremely comfortable knowing that I had never done this before and was scared to death of having needles jammed into me.  Needless to say, I came out feeling good.

However what came afterwards really sealed the deal for me.  Three days later, I received a handwritten addressed envelope in the mail.  I was so excited that someone took the time to write to me.  There is something to be said about receiving handwritten cards, letters, invitations in the mail, especially when you are used to receiving e-cards, e-coupons, emails and texts.

I threw the other mail down and immediately opened up this handwritten envelope. Inside was a card that said “Thank you”.  Inside the card was a birthday gift, $15.00 off for my next acupuncture visit.  I thought, wow, she remembered my birthday and she gave me a gift. I was sold.

On a recent trip to Philadelphia we went to Enterprise at the airport to pick up our car. As soon as we entered, we were offered water and helped immediately with our rental.

I decided to wait outside as the weather was too nice to be inside. As I waited, I watched the well–oiled operation; the manager stood outside watching and communicating with every staff member, from cars being returned to cars being picked up by new customers. It almost seemed like a production line.

Just then, an Enterprise car representative came out and greeted a waiting couple:  “Your car is ready, may I help you with your luggage?” The representative placed their bags in the trunk, inspected the car with the couple and ensured that everything was in working order, and off they went.

Technology is a part of all our lives today—whether it is the cellphone or tablet or flash drives that help make our desktop computer files more portable than they have ever been.

So it comes as no surprise that tech gadgets are among the most popular promotional gifts with recipients, guaranteeing excellent exposure for the companies who give these away.

This fortnight, we feature five new tech products that are amazingly useful, while being relatively inexpensive.

It's always handy to have a whiteboard... to sketch out ideas, to jot down points at a meeting, to illustrate plays at a school soccer game. However, it's not every setting that has a whiteboard available, and they aren't exactly portable even if you had one. 

Cling-rite Rolls changes all that. It turns almost any flat surface into a handy, dry-erase whiteboard instantly!

The electrically charged film clings to most clean indoor surfaces without the use of tape or adhesives.

Nothing quite spells success like a high-end hand-rolled cigar, sporting your corporate brand or customized for your special occasion.

London Cut cigars offer just that. These cigars are smoked at some of the finest resorts and events around the world.

The high quality, luxury cigars can be customized and branded for corporate gifts, wedding parties or unique occasions. They come in a select number of flavours: