Monday, May 12, 2008

These Guys Really Get The Art Of A Special Event

Two Tuesdays ago, after having fed Jason and Amanda breakfast, I duly opened the front door of the house to wait for the carpool to shuttle them off to school. Pretty usual stuff so far. I returned into the house to finish my breakfast. Within a minute or two, Amanda, all of seven and cute as a button flew back into the house. “Daddy, daddy,” she crooned in her syrupy and ever-so-cute juvenile voice. “There’s a party outside and all the neighbors are going to come.”

“Huh”, I exclaimed, looking sleepily up from my dry cornflakes.

With little option, but to join the party, I abandoned by breakfast and headed to the front door. Across the street from our house stood a large awning with two industrious people – neither of whom I recognized - seemingly barbecuing with a bunch of neighbourhood kid gathered closely around.

Hmm? Barbeque for breakfast?

On walking closer, they sure were not cooking anything. Rather the two guys were the Barbeque guys – a company that cleans and refurbishes barbecues. The family had hired them to clean their barbeque. Nothing profound here!

So what do these guys get about a special event? They had two options. There’s nothing glamorous about cleaning barbecues at all. Clean my neighbors' barbecue in his back yard quietly and without fanfare or do it on the street, beneath an attractive awning and create some buzz.

The chose the later option!!

Barbeque Guys, I gottta tell you that what you did was surprisingly low tech, but it sure did create buzz on my street – and by the number of people you attracted and business cards you gave out are anything to go by … you held a great special event.

Best wishes for success