Monthly Archives: January 2012

Casauri is not only in the bag business, we are in the hospitality business, because we cater to our guests, i.e., customers. I am looking at Casauri through the broad prism of hospitality since this semester I am teaching Introduction to Hospitality at my local state college. I love this subject as it deals with all those warm and fuzzy soft skills that we all need to be successful, but are rarely taught in school. So I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do that and to share unique insights with my students on this topic.

Soft skills are also known as interpersonal skills. The ability to interact well with people and to be considerate of their needs and comfort. Hospitality and being hospitable does not only apply to the expected venues of hotels, restaurants, and transportation, but also to any business that interacts with the public. It is incumbent upon the business owner, or the “host” to be hospitable and make their “guests” (customers) feel welcome at all times.

So how do we make our customers feel welcome? There are many ways to do this. One important way is by interacting with them and letting them know that you value their opinion and feedback. By so doing, one pays the respect of listening and internalizing the information received so as to offer a better product or service that will encourage customers to not only come back to you, but refer their family and friends.

It has been said that people are more likely to share negative experiences than positive ones. Hence, the effect of a negative experience can be multiplied and compounded several times over. It is unavoidable that during the course of business things may occasionally go wrong, but the key rests in how well the matter is resolved. That is the basis upon which service is most often judged from the customer’s perspective; how a problem is fixed vs. what went wrong. This creates the wonderful opportunity to turn a potentially negative situation into a positive one.

Hospitality involves basic consideration for others. Exceptional hospitality goes above and beyond to insure a satisfied customer, even if it costs a little extra in the short term. In the end, that customer will thank you by coming back again and again. It is the long term approach which is the bedrock of hospitality; knowing the goal is to have a customer for life, not just for one isolated purchase. This is the type of thinking which has created the Casauri household.

Do you have special tips on how to be hospitable with your customers? Please share them with us here or on Facebook or Twitter.

Charlie is the Casauri cat. By observing his actions, small business owners every where can learn a thing or two, especially about persistence, determination, and sheer will power. 

The first lesson to learn from Charlie is that he knows exactly what he wants and he focuses relentlessly until he gets it. That is the first step in order to achieve a goal, knowing what you want to achieve. It may sound very basic, but the more clearly goals are defined, the more likely to achieve them.

The second lesson is that never giving up is ingrained in his DNA; he may back off for a while, but you can be rest assured, he will be back.  A cat’s tenacity mainly has to do with getting fed and he is pretty confident that will happen if he keeps looking up at you long enough. In business, sometimes it is important to know when to give up, or not waste any more time. This is not quitting, to the contrary, it is re-allocating assets, your time, to a more profitable pursuit.

The third lesson from Charlie is take it easy. He sure knows how to take a good nap and to relax.  He finds a comfortable spot (my desk, shelf, box, Casauri iPad case) and curls up and off to the arms of Morpheus he goes. There is a time to play, to eat, to work, and to sleep. We can all benefit from that advice and make appropriate time for each.

Do you have an office pet? Does this pet have an affinity for Casauri bags? Send us your photos, videos, and stories via Facebook or Twitter or YouTube.

This is a question that we get from time to time. Is it safe to put my Casauri laptop bag in a washing machine? Well, apparently some people do and things work out fine, but we do not officially recommend it. Because washing can possibly distort the shape of the bag but it mainly depends on the bag. For example, if you have a triple-zip pouch, which happens to be really popular among flight attendants, the washing machine works well. But we most definitely do not recommend at all putting the bag in the dryer.

Because Casauri bags are durable and wear well over time, people keep them for years and years, which is great! Therefore, some maintenance is involved. The best maintenance is to rotate the use of your Casauri bags that way no one bag receives excessive wear. However, we understand all too well what it means to have a favorite bag, so this is how you can take care of it. What we officially recommend is spot cleaning with a damp cloth or sponge and mild soap. If you need to do more heavy duty cleaning. Use a brush and gently clean any soiled areas with a little mild soap and some water. Then get a damp non-soapy cloth to dab the area and remove excess soap. If there are any water marks, just go over those areas with a damp cloth until the marks are gone. Use a dry clean cloth to absorb excess water and allow to air dry.

If you have any tips on how you keep your Casauri bag looking its best, we would like to hear about it. Tell us below or via Facebook or Twitter.

One of the benefits of a tough economy is learning how creative we have to become to survive and thrive. Creativity is usually a key to success and longevity; the ability to reinvent or create from scratch. Bartering in and of itself is not a new idea since it has been around for a few thousand years now; however, how it is applied is where the opportunity to be creative arises.

One of the main incentives of bartering is to preserve cash and to exchange items of equivalent value that are in demand. When embarking on how to go about bartering, start with thinking about your network of contacts and what services or products they offer that you need. Here are a few examples of how Casauri has creatively used bartering.

A few months ago we needed some new business cards. Printing nice cards that have rounded edges and other types of customization can get a bit expensive. So I reached out to a friend of mine who is also a small business owner and printer in Miami and asked if we could barter a bag for some cards. She was very happy to do it since she needed a new 13" laptop bag.  There was clear mutual benefit in that we both got exactly what we needed without outlaying cash.

Another example involved a conference that I wanted to attend but the fee was really high and out of my budget. However, I realized that it was an important conference that would be worth attending and started to think of creative ways to overcome the fee obstacle. I decided to take a chance to contact the conference organizers and ask if they could use speaker gifts in exchange for a conference pass. They were eager to have the opportunity as well since they did not have speaker gifts and our products (spacious business card cases) perfectly complemented their theme. In the end, both of us received substantial benefit from the interchange without substantial payment.

By the way, a really great place to barter is at trade shows and with your wholesale customers. We have bartered our bags for soaps, candles, books, and even objets d'art!

The one thing that often holds people back from bartering is the fear of rejection and being told no, which may initially hurt feelings, but that’s about the extent of it. Ask and ye shall receive! The good news is that once you start bartering, it is actually a lot of fun and really helps with cash flow, another important key to small business success.

If you have some creative bartering ideas or examples, we would love to hear about them. Drop us a line below or via Facebook or Twitter.