Customer Service Lessons
Pacific Pump and Power’s motto is: “We say what we are going to do, we do what we said we would do, and we check to make sure that we did it.” Jeremy Leonard, CEO of the Hawaii-based company that…
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Pacific Pump and Power’s motto is: “We say what we are going to do, we do what we said we would do, and we check to make sure that we did it.” Jeremy Leonard, CEO of the Hawaii-based company that…
Q. A lot of customers are long overdue on paying me. I’m reluctant to take them to court, but I’m forced to borrow to pay my employees and bills. What do you suggest? A. Many small businesses face the same problems.…
Bob Dove, president of Hawaii Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company (HEMIC), offers these ways to save on the premiums for workers’ compensation insurance. 1. Run a safe operation This is by far the most important step. “Prevent the accidents before they…
Susanne Friend wants Hawaii to take back its food supply. “Over the last 50 or 60 years, we’ve let our food supply be taken over by agro-businesses with massive transportation lines,” Friend says. In response, she and her husband, Tim…
Making a smart business acquisition “all comes down to how well your team can analyze the business,” says Gabe Lee, executive vice president of commercial marketing at American Savings Bank. Lee recommends hiring an attorney with experience in acquisitions and…
When Rick Hadley became chairman and CEO of Hawaiian Springs in 2006, he didn’t want Hawaiian Springs to be just another water. He says his vision was to take the best water from the most beautiful place on Earth and…
Q. I’ve worked hard to build my business and I don’t want to lose it in a disaster. How do I know if I’ve got the right insurance coverage? A. Smart. The best time to think about that question is before…
It’s late afternoon in Liliha and minutes are ticking by on the new town clock high above Finance Factors at the crossroads of North Kuakini and Liliha streets. Schoolchildren and early diners squeeze onto stools at Liliha Bakery for $4 hamburgers, hot cakes and…
Idea Engineers used to rely on meteorological towers to measure wind speed. But “met towers” only give you data for one location; they don’t tell you anything about wind velocities around a valley or along a ridge. Wind 3D, a…
People tell me that I’m a lucky guy because I got out of the newspaper business a year ago. True, I have a lot more job security now than my friends at the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the two…
President Tim Schools has been in the driver’s seat at American Savings Bank for just over two years. In that time, he says, the bank has bumped up its profile, increased profitability, and improved job performance and job enjoyment. And it made…
Beware of the Awful Office, the opposite of Hawaii’s Best Places to Work. Last year, we illustrated The Perfect Office (you can find it here). This year, we wanted to peek inside a terrible workplace, where morale and productivity are even lower than…
Welcome to the Hawaii Business 2010 Best Places to Work issue, in which we celebrate companies that keep their employees happy and explain how they do it. Our partner, Best Companies Group, surveyed local organizations and named 60 to the…
Worried that you and your staff are wasting time in unproductive meetings? Attorney Elizabeth Kent of the Hawaii Judiciary’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution offers five ways to get the most out of your meetings. 1. Plan Ahead to Be…
Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense to be the biggest bull in town. That’s the theory around the country, at least, as smaller community banks, savings and loans, and credit unions insist that they are different, and better for individuals and…
SDC Hawaii wants to make it easier to organize and manage your social media life with a new Web site called chi.mp. It created the software for its client Saipan DataCom, which manages the .mp domain of the Northern Mariana…
In 2008, James Koshiba helped launch Kanu Hawaii, a nonprofit that promotes and supports Island-style sustainability. He brings us up to date on the commitments and campaigns taken up by its 9,000 members, including one of his own pledges —…
You can thank Bernie Madoff for one thing: His widely publicized crimes demonstrated how important it is to choose your financial adviser carefully. Picking the right person takes research, and lots of questions and legwork, but consider the potential payoffs…
Energetic and intelligent leaders may be our most valuable resource. We count on them to inspire us, to be our problem solvers, and to guide us as we build our future. We need to nurture and support our emerging leaders,…
Hawaii presentation coach Pam Chambers offers five steps to successfully speaking to the media without feeling you’ll have to leave town the next day. 1. Take charge of the interview Don’t give all the control to the reporter, or you…
The Web site Play@SavvyCircle helps local restaurants and other businesses attract new customers in a fresh way. What customers get: The site offers people exclusive deals and discounts from businesses, which have included Hy’s Steak House, Tango Contemporary Café, Heaven on Earth…
More than 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce and Hawaii accounts for about 5,000 of those breakups every year. Of those who remain married, true love is not always the reason. That’s why relationship experts…
Q. How do public relations and advertising fit together? A. A wise king once said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” That is certainly true when it comes to product launches, public relations and advertising. One time-tested formula goes…
Land-use planning, more than any other public policy, shapes the way you live. It’s responsible for your 60-to-90-minute commute from Kapolei or Hawaii Kai. It’s why you live in a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a two-car garage. It’s what influences…