Banner

Training Trivia

It is wise and acceptable to use a criminal background check to eliminate any candidates with a criminal record prior to getting to final interviews when hiring.
Powered by Grace Hill
 
 
Total votes: 33
Home Insider Blogs Heather Blume's Blog Does Your Cone Have a Curl on Top?
Enter your email address for weekly access to top multifamily blogs!

Apartment Blogs


Jun 24
2009

Does Your Cone Have a Curl on Top?

 Print

Posted by: Heather Blume on Jun 24, 2009 01:00

Tagged in: Untagged 
I learned a lesson at lunch the other day from my food.  You would think that you'd be more likely to learn from a burger or even your fries, but no, this very poignant moment was brought to me by my ice cream cone. 

Dairy Queen over in Redmond is one of my favorite places for frozen goodness because they have butterscotch dipped ice cream cones.  Usually most places will have either chocolate or cherry, but not carry the wonderful taste of butterscotch.  As I indulged in the melting deliciousness in my hand, I noticed the wrapper that they sugar glue to each cone.


Reading that little phrase made me think of all the times as a kid I had gone to Dairy Queen and it connected me with a part of myself that I hadn't heard from for a while.  I thought about eating with my grandfather, who would always get a strawberry sundae, being bribed by my father to tell him what my mom had bought in secret and hidden in the back of the closet (sorry mom, it was ice cream!), and I thought about how eating the ice cream out of the freezer even to this very day, "Just wasn't the same."  I remembered how when I was little and we would go to the Sizzler, I'd always try to make the little curl on the top of the self serve soft frozen yogurt there, inevitably ending in an unholy mess for the poor Sizzler staff to clean up (totally sorry about that guys!).  Dairy Queen's curl is what makes it really a DQ cone.  It's part of the magic of the brand.

What about you?  What's your property's "Curl"?  Do you have something that's unique only to your property?  Something special that you do only for your residents that you haven't seen done 1000 other places?  Brand Building is defining yourself for sure, but to really brand build, you also need a hook, a curl.  Find your curl and you'll find a following!

 

_____________________________________________________

Heather is a speaker, consultant, staffing facilitator, recruiter and trainer in the Seattle area with Career Strategies Inc.  Check out more of her property management ideas at www.behindtheleasingdesk.com .


Comments (3)Add Comment
211
written by Jen Piccotti, June 25, 2009
I love this post! The 'curl' concept is so very true. As a former DQ employee back in the high school years, I can tell you training for the curl is serious biz. It's both a science and an art. You aren't allowed to hit the floor until you can master the curl. Which brings up an important point - once your property's 'curl' has been identified, it's important to get the whole team on board. Invest in the time to make your team the 'curl' experts. Heather is so right - Find your curl, and you will indeed find a following. Love it!
73
written by a guest, June 25, 2009
Thanks for the comment Jen! I can't wait to meet your enthusiasm in person at NAA on Friday smilies/smiley.gif

3712
written by Chrissy Surprenant, June 28, 2010
Awww.. the curl... I love it! Just hearing it made me think of my childhood. Thanks!
feedSubscribe to this comment's feed
What Do You Think?


security code
Write the displayed characters


busy

Insider Blogs

Brandon Hollembeak The mobile payment revolution is beginning written by Brandon Hollembeak
  Jim Davoren of Apartments.com buying lunch from a food truck by swiping his credit card on an iPad. Chances are you've either heard of or seen mobile payments happening, as opposed to this time a year ago, when the conversations were just sta ...   (Read More)

Tashina Wortham 21 Ways to Show You’re Social [in pics] written by Tashina Wortham
Social Media is powerful—that’s pretty much recognized across the board. But a massive social following doesn’t just happen overnight (unless you're like Jeremy Lin or Madonna). Which is why it can be beneficial to promote your comm ...   (Read More)

Jeffrey Spanke "Rest in Peace, George Carlin." written by Jeffrey Spanke
Think of the resident that you hate. But I don’t hate anybody! I love what I do, and everyone is my favorite person in the world. I work in Moonbeam Twinkle Apartments, just under the mystical rainbow of Avalon, down the street from the chocola ...   (Read More)

Judy Bellack What does the Satisfacts Research survey on “All That Apply: ... written by Judy Bellack
NAA’s UNITS magazine published a Satisfacts Research survey in their April issue titled “All That Apply:  Residents’ Leading Marketing Sources.”  The web-based survey queried 34,000 apartment residents who had m ...   (Read More)

Brent Williams Fair Housing Does Have “Costs” And Should Be Part Of The Dis ... written by Brent Williams
I have a one year old daughter, so when I think about where I want to live, one of the major elements is simply whether there are other families with young children in the area.  So imagine me touring an apartment community and asking if there a ...   (Read More)

Read More Blog Posts