March's DOCE Madness - Sweeten your Experience

Goal: The Ultimate Experience

Without customers, DOCE bakery is nothing. So I took some time to really think about the ultimate customer experience. In a service related industry, it is best to put yourself in their shoes. In today's busy, fast paced lives, how could I create a smooth, convenient way to provide a beautiful, great tasting cake on the table as easy as possible.

The Cost of a Dollar

One big obstacle I find we hit all the time is pricing. In an industry with over 500 competitors, people are smarter (finally!). They are shopping around getting the best bang for their buck. Our prices are carefully calculated with parts and labor however, I will need to investigate and research our market value further so that our prices are better suited for the frugalistic mom or dad celebrating little Timmy's big day. At the same time I must ensure that we are being fairly compensated for all the hard work and passion we put into our cakes and into our business.

Social media

We have such fantastic opportunities right under our noses with all the social media out there. They are basically outlets of more creativeness to reach the new and older generations! Currently we connect with fans via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even Pinterest @docebakery. There is no higher compliment then having a fan re-pin one of your cakes to their creative vision boards. Here, I will need to fully review what we have posted and carefully select those that best represent our company. With the little time people have in their busy lives, I wouldn't want them getting a finger cramp scrolling through all of 2010 until now! I'd also like to categorize our albums so that you can click and see inspirations of exactly what you would be interested in. 

Haute Cake

I will need to consistently follow up on the trends to keep our designs modern chic and up to date in the latest trends. With Buddy Valastro's lead in today's cake innovation, our industry has turned into the haute couture of tasty delights. In fact the famous Cake Boss has already created a collection of cake resembling one of Issac Mizrahi's collection down the runway!

Where DOCE Shines

Sure there is some tough competition out there. What I do take most pride in is our taste. With hearing comments like "heavenly" or "to die for", I know that for that single moment, that person put their troubles on the back burner and tasted "heaven". As fully invested owners of DOCE we have always embodied the idea of celebration. It's always been the little celebrations that help push through the tough times. If we don't reward ourselves for the little victories in life, then what's the point of it all? What better way to celebrate than decadent chocolate or a dance with strawberries and cream to soothe our troubles.  

6 Steps to Create a Memorable Customer Experience:

ATTENTIVENESS – Discover and make note of the tiniest details about your customer. Whether or not it pertains to your business with them.

RECOGNITION – Greet them by name with a warm smile. Nothing flatters me more than when someone looks genuinely happy to see me.

PERSONALIZATION – Tailor your service to the needs and wants of your customer. She likes pink! Give her PINK!

CONSIDERATION – Do you walk your customer to the car? I always serve cake tastings in a bride’s home. It seems to unwind them since it requires ZERO preparation.

APPRECIATION – A thank you card or a short and sweet email goes a long way. Remember they chose you! Gratitude is in order!

FEEL GOOD TIME – This could be a joke, a gift or anything that makes someone “feel good”. Isn’t the last person that made you smile in your good books? Try to get in theirs! 

Are you looking to step up your client experience in your business? Looking to evolve in the business you work in? Think of what you can do to make your experience enjoyable to the public.

You’d be surprised at what some creative imaging and some appreciative smiles can do for you and the common goal.

March's DOCE Madness - Love Where You Work

At the age of 16, working at Amy's Bakery was suppose to be my after school part time job. The first time I had laid my eyes on Ricardo, he was asking me for a fresh Mil Folha pastry. Not knowing a lick of Portuguese, I stared. He then pointed at it totally embarrassing me. I boxed the flaky goodness and muttered a broken "obrigado" one of the few words I knew. Our memories at the bakery were some of the happiest times in our lives together. Ricardo had shown me the ups and downs of the industry. He made me appreciate the loaf of bread on the table and it is very much a part of our past together. So it's only natural that I dedicate this month to the one goal closest to our heart. To open a DOCE bakery location.

Mil Folha - A vanilla slice, custard slice, also known as the Napoleon, is a French pastry of which the exact origin is unknown. Its modern form was influenced by improvements of Marie-Antoine Carême. 

Goal: To love where we work

My memory goes back to my hair styling days where I would put in a good 8 hour day at the salon and come home to see my monthly blonde client sitting in my chair waiting to retouch those dark brown roots. I remember uncomfortably squeezing myself between the chair and my mom's basement fridge. Trying to hurry as quick as I can for the chance to take a long hot shower and still be in bed before midnight!! You want to love where you work. You want the space, the luxury of storage, and of course decent hours to coincide with your 007 life.

I then think about my most inspirational places:

-ScotiaPlaza's gold branding and bright red details thinking "I am unstoppable". 

-A fresh cut wooden table at the Culinary Kitchen at George Brown College thinking "What I can create is endless"

-Smelling the books at the George Brown College Library thinking "I can never stop learning"

- Walking the Portugal cobblestone steps by the local bakery with the smell of fresh bread in the air thinking "I can give this delicious scent to strangers on the street"

This is what I want to incorporate into DOCE Bakery. To establish a timeless brand to the public and to consistently offer classic baked goods to the public. To never stop creating and keep up with all new tricks of the trade. To provide the most cutting edge cakes to my clients and for them to walk into our bakery and have that smell just consume them. Giving them that "ahh" feeling that puts away all troubles and worries to indulge in that fresh eclair with a great smile on their face.

I will have to focus on bringing this inspo to our workspace at home. Somewhere where I can look forward to working and making the best cakes we could ever create. 

-Make it neat and tidy with a DOCE bakery logo on the wall

-A cork board of inspirational cake photos. 

-Stock up our cleaning products for washing dishes to make life easier. 

-Organize Ricardo's recipes all into one little accessible bible.

-Organize our office to utilize it most efficiently in my administrative tasks.

For some phenomenal tips and tricks on organizing your home/workspace into a dream, please check out Alejandra Costello's YouTube channel!

www.youtube.com/user/HomeOrganizing

Do you have a specific place that gives the jolts to do more in this short life of yours? Maybe it's even a person who shares their wisdom! Go there or find that person. Visit, call, Skype or even Google them! These are the sources that will bring out the maximum potential in you. AKA the happier you! Bring your muse into your workspace and watch what you create!!

February's Love Tune-Up - Results are in...

BE PRESENT 4 out of 5 Stars

Once I had identified the one thing I can do to make Ricardo feel noticed and appreciated, I found myself tuning out the distractions of electronics and it was just easier to listen. For those few times I just couldn't drop what I was doing, I found there was a little voice inside me telling me that it was important to listen. I also found that in being in the moment, I learned a lot about him and he really did surprise me with some of the things he had to say. It was super gratifying to hear that he appreciated me lending an ear once in a while.

Never stop courting 4 out of 5 Stars

Although I could have done more to be the perfect Gentlewoman, I actually LIKED doing the little things for Ricardo. When you are with someone for so long, you know when they are truly happy, and I noticed the little smirks here and there. I did like surprising him with getting his coffee instead of the usual "get it yourself" lecture. It was truly relieving to let go of all the expectations of having a perfect rom-com movie man and to like him just as he is.The obstacle will be to continue this without my ego convincing me that he is taking advantage. This is when appreciation becomes imperative.

BE SILLY 5 out of 5 Stars

With this goal, I definitely shined. Once I started bringing out the humour in our day to day life, it was easy to let go of the stress and laugh! I actually discovered that me and Ricardo basically have a very similar sense of humour. We just weren't enjoying it as much as we should. This also made phone calls much more interesting than the typical "What's for dinner?" conversation.

 ALWAYS SEE THE BEST  3 out of 5 Stars

Since we just started this I can't give myself a 5. I can't even begin to explain how effective this goal is for our relationship. I found that once I got creative with showing my appreciation for the little things he does, suddenly he was reciprocating all his appreciation back to me. Positive energy feeding more positive energy. Then BAM! Friday's date night felt like we were two kids crazy in love again.

Marriage is not easy, and don’t interpret this as Marriage sucks. All that is truly amazing in this world is hard work. A young 20’s something with a six pack isn’t exactly that hard, but you take a 60 year old woman with an incredible body, #trulyamazing !! This person is going to be your life team mate, your personal life coach and your business partner. Wouldn’t it make sense to put a little time and effort into the relationship? I refer to our home as the DeOliveira business. Our business plan includes both persons hopes and dreams (bucket list), financial plan, strategies and goals and a whole lotta communication.

I do feel like in this day and age marriage is looked at totally different than it did 20 or 30 years ago. Freedom was very limited for our parent and grandparents. They simply got married to free themselves from their parent’s authority to live on their own. This day and age we have so much choice with the freedom as to whom or when we get married or if we want to marry at all. I admit I have succumbed myself to the tradition this society has programmed into us. I also admit that I was in the position to do everything in my power to make sure that Ricardo and I were to spend our lives together (if he would have me of course).

Now that I taken all my + Energy from January and combined it with my jumpstart  connection with Ricardo, I do feel a change in the energy field at home. I won't say I have a permanent smile on my face, but it is definitely much easier to identify when I am feeling negative and positive. One key ingredient is to realize that angry is just a feeling and we need to deal with it without letting it hurt what we have been working towards. I feel quick to let go of the bad and very open to the good. What surprised me the most was how all of this is projecting onto Ricardo. I won't say he is making any major changes in his life, however his comments have changed tremendously. Nothing inspires me more than him looking straight in my eye telling me to enjoy my life. Onto my next chapter I go...

Happy Vid of The Month

http://youtu.be/d-diB65scQU

"Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a song by musician Bobby McFerrin. Released in September 1988, it became the first a cappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. The song's title is taken from a famous quote by Meher Baba.