A few years back, I was looking for a .NET developer. We had been given approval to use recruitment agencies and I had a recruiter (“Adam”) from “ABC Recruitment” send me a CV of candidate (“Joe”). Joe was great on paper – he ticked all the boxes in what we were looking for with the right amount of experience and skillset.

Salary package for this role was budgeted at $80k + recruitment fees. Adam mentioned in his email that Joe is looking for a $70k package – which surprised me given his talent and skills, but we went with it. I emailed Adam back to schedule an interview with Joe.

Joe interviewed really well – he was smart, talented, sociable and hungry to progress in his career. He said he was bored in his current role and wanted a challenge in the corporate world.

At the end of his interview Joe said “Adam will be in a client meeting till 5pm this evening. He said he will call you then.”

Odd I thought – why would Joe know about Adam’s whereabouts? Ignoring this, we concluded the interview.

Adam called bang on at 5pm. This was the first time I had spoken to Adam, and oddly he voice sounded remarkably familiar. That is when I asked “Joe, is this you?” – to which there was silence… followed by a hang up.

It turns out, that Joe was in fact playing the role of a fictitious recruiter “Adam”. It made sense why Joe was going to accept a $70k package as he, posing as Adam, would have received a 20% recruitment fee ($14k) upfront.

Since then, we never heard from “Adam” or Joe – and the website of the so called “ABC recruitment” was no longer up. I give him credit for trying a stunt like that.

What I learnt from this? Research if the recruitment company is creditable and reputable. Call the recruiter first (or meet them in person) to get an idea of their capabilities and the candidate’s background. And if the candidates are selling themselves short of what they are worth – something isn’t right. Silly me.

*Name and companies made up to conceal the true identity of Adam, I mean Joe – whatever!

On the flip side, you may have unknowingly used a purchase method called Research Online Buy Offline (ROBO) – which I have personally used when buying items that I want now (and not have to wait a few days for delivery) – or fashion items that I want to try out before purchase.

I’m going to start with the obvious online presence that retailers need and share my thoughts on other services that online stores simply don’t offer.

Create an online presence yourself

If you can’t beat em, join em.

I would assume that over 50% of what we shop online can be purchased through your traditional brick and mortar stores. We spend a lot of time researching online, reading product reviews by people who already own that product and finally comparing prices across a variety of online stores. Needless to say, retailers without an online store have started to lose out to companies selling the same products online. If you are an owner and only distributor of a boutique brand then without an online shop you leave your customers no option but to purchase from your physical store (lack of convenience).

Setting up an eCommerce website is no longer as expensive as they once used to be. There are a variety of platforms to choose from including free open source platforms (e.g. Magento) for your smaller stores and then ranging to more expensive custom solutions that communicate seamlessly to your distribution warehouse.

Social Media

Gaining invaluable feedback on your Facebook and Twitter pages from your customers pre or post purchase is the best way to ensure satisfaction and repeat business. Furthermore, having a social media support coordinator who can help answer questions for potential customers – for example, asking questions about product specifications, stock and store availability, price matching etc. can encourage them to visit your stores in person.

Offline Customer Experience

The big retailers need to focus on customer experience from the minute they walk in. A friendly hello or gaining an insight on their purchase decisions by understanding what they are looking for and even suggesting options on other products (cross-sell and up-sell) can enhance the customer experience. I recently went to JB-HiFi to purchase an HDMI cable – I simply assumed these were about $60-$80, picked one up and made my way to the checkout counter. To my surprise, the guy behind the desk asked me what I was going to use it for and suggested a cheaper alternative specifically for what I needed. He actually left his counter, took me to the section and ran me through all the options. After an experience like this, I now prefer JB HiFi in comparison to the others.

Stop having a sales person per brand

Walking into David Jones or Myer, I have noticed that sales staff seem to sell a specific brand. If a girl wanted a specific colour nail polish, the rep only offers what their brand sells. There isn’t the option of “how about I show you a different brand that sells what you’re looking for?”. Customers aren’t expected to know every product in the store. Educate your reps across a variety of brands, and cross-sell products between these brands.

Stock your products by style, gender and age

Again walking into David Jones and Myer, you see individual brands in each section. This means if I am looking for a full outfit, I need to find the brand that sells the jeans I like, then find the brand for the shirts I like, etc. By arranging products within specific styles and age groups, I can easily pick up an outfit and also access a variety of brands without walking all over the shop. Start bundling products irrespective of brands… you can actually see manikins in Myer showcasing an outfit by different brands but you’re going to have to trek a bit to find it all together.

Innovate your product line

Big retailers overseas have started to produce their own line of products. For example Harrods in the UK. There is opportunity here for retailers to create a unique line of items that you cannot purchase elsewhere. What David Jones or Myer stocks are easily available at the specific brand stores (incl. online). What is the encouraging factor to buy from David Jones? American Express points? Or try and earn 2000 MyerOne points to get a $20 voucher? Meh!

Digital & Mobile Interactions

About 6 months ago, I went to a presentation by The Creative Shop which showcased a transparent digital touchscreen. You can interact with a 360 view of a product, see various images, read descriptions and pricing information – all while still being able to see through it. Now imagine this, you leave home late and walk past the David Jones store in the city – it’s closed. As you walk past, you see a manikin behind the glass and there is a pair of shoes you absolutely love. With a built in touch screen on the glass in front of the manikin you can interact with the product, read more the description, check the various sizes in stock and then proceed to purchase the product to be delivered to you – all through the same interface.

Mobile is no different, we use it for hours a day. International sites like ASOS and Nordstrom are on my favourite list of researching products and buying through their mobile site & app. Retailers need to capture these audiences too – simply showing your website on a mobile is not the same experience.

And please work a better deal with the delivery logistics and offer customers free shipping and returns. ASOS does it really well allowing customers to send back their purchases (to an address in Australia, not overseas!) if the size isn’t right or if they are unhappy with their purchase.

Integrate Online & Offline

A concept which we discussed with a fashion client recently, was to let users using the mobile website create a wish list of items they want to try. The mobile site would have a barcode at the bottom of their wish list which a sale staff at the store can scan. The sale staff then picks all those items from the wish list and the customer simply tries them on.

These are only a few ideas, however traditional retailers need to start thinking out of the box. Don’t simply give up and complain that online stores are eating your pie. Implement ideas that a lot of overseas retailers have done and trial them for a period of time. In the same way that we do an A/B test online, retailers can be make changes in store and see the difference over one week and compare it to another.

What else do you think traditional retailers should be doing differently?
Stats from & credit to http://engage.acma.gov.au/commsreport/e-commerce/

It’s a sad but true reality of how focused I have been on other things, that the blog simply didn’t get any attention.

I wish I could say that my New Year’s resolution is to blog more, but my excuse of working too hard, enjoying life a bit more is pointless. Writing a blog doesn’t take time – it’s the focus and the will power to avoid distractions which will help me put something together on a weekly basis. Yes, I said weekly. I believe I can take 30 mins to an hour out of my week to writing down my thoughts, find an image and use the power of WordPress to upload a post.

So why has been nearly a year since my last post? Simply put – it comes to distractions of the multiple mediums that we interact with. While I have Word open on my computer I have the TV on too. The news sites refresh every 2 mins and let’s not get started on the catching up (voyeurism) on Facebook.

With so many mediums today, it’s hard to simply put the remote down, turn your phone off, shelf your iPad away and just listen to a CD. Perhaps I should use a pen and paper to write my blog.

All this being said – I’m will commit to the blog. It is my identity online and for the last post to say May 2011 is simple embarrassing.

So to show the love and care that the blog deserves here is a new design – and my first post for 2012. More to come (*fingers crossed*)

http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2011/04/29/99designs-raises-35-million-crowdsourced-graphic-design
The 26 staff crowdsource graphic design website, 99designs, has raised $35 million in it’s first round of funding. This has been backed by angel investors who also back eBay, Survey Monkey, Flickr and Squarespace.

http://www.getelastic.com/shopping-cart-urgency/
Ways to improve and reduce the abandonment rate on ecommerce websites during the checkout phase. A good post by Get Elastic to show what tricks certain websites have used to improve conversions

http://www.adnews.com.au/news/groupon-gobbles-first-australian-rival
Groupon buys it’s first Australian rival – crowdmass. The Melbourne based company was attractive to Groupon simply because of their talent. Looks like Groupon wants to start with the small players first to tackle the bigger later. The crowdmass website now links to stardeals.com.au

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20058652-48.html
Rolls Royce released an App on the iPhone and iPad to customize various features of their flagship model – the Phantom. It’s colour palate allows you to select from 44,000 colours, however it says that you can take a picture of any surface and make you own unique colour. The point of this? I’m not sure.

I must admit that I’ve had dinner at Pyrama quite a few times, but never had the opportunity to write a review. Previously my review for Pyrama was based on their breakfast/brunch/lunch service on the weekend – which was amazing! And dinner is no disappointment either.

Chef Jim Larcan cleverly designs his menu based on the season and selects his produced when they are the ripe time to savour. Their service is very friendly and they have an attentive eye for detail to ensure that you have a faultless evening. Staff at Pyrama haven’t changed in the various times that we dined there which shows the quality of management in keeping their staff happy.

Pyrama have a special that has been going on for some time and it hits the sweet spot for those looking for fine dining without busting the budget. $29 for 1 course, $40 for 2 courses and $52 for 3 courses (wine is extra). There are a dish or two that can attract an extra $10 on the bill, but my god the value for money is outstanding. With a decent wine list to compliment your dinner, you don’t feel disappointed that it is not BYO.

We called at 8:45pm to check if they had availability within 15 to 20 mins and Karen was more than helpful to accommodate our late dinner by letting Jim know of our late arrival. To start I had the carpaccio with mushrooms and grana padano (Italian cheese) which was simply prepared and served to perfection. A very nice and light way to start off dinner. Other options on their entrée menu are Tempura Zuchinni flowers with ricotta and herbs or chorizo with caramlised onion, apple and yoghurt  – who would have thought =)

My mains was the sirloin (which attracts and extra $10 on the bill) and was absolutely divine. It comes with fries, herbed butter (café de Paris) and red wine jus. Cooked as requested, medium rare, the meat was very tender and the jus works balanced the flavours really well. And those fries are to die for! They look similar to McDonald fries (sorry Jim), but they taste a 100 times better. Other options for mains are confit duck with lentils, shallots and orange sauce or try the pan roasted spatchcock with roasted beets and parsley salad.

Desserts are irresistible (like in any restaurant). However, our mains were quite filling and we instead opted for some homemade chocolate truffles. These melt in your mouth with a cup of latte alongside. If you want something more filling try their vanilla pannacotta with mango and mint salsa or the French white chocolate crème brulee with passionfruit.

Pyrama is a welcome restaurant for a nice low key dinner and you can chose to enjoy your meal in their courtyard or indoors if the weather doesn’t suit. The staff are very friendly and Karen and Linda do an awesome job of making sure you enjoy yourself- and Jim at the same time ensures that your plate comes with quality and tasty food.

You will not be disappointed!

Website – http://www.pyrama.com.au/
Menu – http://www.pyrama.com.au/menu.html

Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 8.5/10
Wine (cocktails) – 8/10
Staff – 9/10
Value for money – 9.5/10

The DCM nightclub on Oxford Street has recently been replaced by a Mediterranean restaurant called The Mediterranean. Opened by the owner of Tandoori Palace from across the road, this restaurant boasts a decent menu of some Greek classics. Arriving at The Mediterranean requires climbing a flight of stairs which could in itself work up a thirst for a glass of wine.

The atmosphere is different to your traditional fine dining restaurant whereby this setting has Greek resembling statues, and the decorator seems to have a fetish for long hanging lights. There is a feature wall when you arrive with brick tiles and a relief. Towards the end of the bar there is a beautiful painting (or wallpaper) of the Greek island coast, which unfortunately is dimmed out due to the lighting. Previously a dance floor and now capable of holding close to seating over a 150 people, the restaurant has been opened for just over 8 weeks.

The menu list your Greek specials of dips, souvlaki, moussaka and also a great variety for seafood dishes. We had ordered the mixed platter ($10), which unfortunately only turned up with 2 dips – Tzatziki and Taramosalata (fish roe) but however they missed the eggplant dip (Melitzanosalata). Being a non-seafood diner, the tzatziki was actually pretty good. Nice warm pita bread topped with dried herbs works really well with it. I did however crave for other dips but we moved on to the entree of meatballs (Souzoukakia – $15.90) where the serving is actually quite generous with 4 large pieces – enough for one per person to try. We had also ordered some Ouzo Prawns ($17.90) which look well cooked in the a rich tomato, garlic and chilli based sauce.

Our mains had one let down, the Lamb Fourno ($26) which did have quite a few rib bones in the dish, and while some of the meat was tender it left little to desire with slightly over salted potatoes. However, the meat Moussaka ($20) was value for money. I haven’t had very many Moussaka’s in my life, but this tasted great. Nice layer of mashed potatoes on top, with a layer of tomato paste and mince sitting on a bed of eggplant baked with crispy sides that held its shape well when presented. A piece of this was sufficient to fill me up without much of the Lamb Fourno.

After having tasted the above it left very little room for dessert, but I was given an explanation of a deep fried donut topped with honey and cinnamon that sounded great, but I had to prepared myself for a walk down the stairs – and dessert would have made that harder.

The Mediterranean’s kitchen is run by a Greek chef and so the quality of food isn’t bad for a restaurant down Oxford St which unfortunately does have a lot of competition to keep them going. The restaurant has an abundant amount of room to host group dinners and functions which they advertise on their website. $50 per person allows you to try a mixed variety of what The Mediterranean has to offer. Their wine list is pretty decent for a restaurant of this price range too. We had a great Sauvignon Blanc that worked well with our food, but if I wasn’t driving I would have selected a second glass of red for my mains.

Being only opened for 2 months, the service will need time to improve itself. The waitress did have a hard time understanding our order, as well as the names of the dishes. Her knowledge of the wine list required us to repeat it a few times, but again that just needs encouragement and education. On a Tuesday night (which is when I went) don’t expect a full house, but on a Friday or Saturday I’ve been told that live entertainment is on offer with belly dancing and singing to bring in a crowd.

Dine at The Mediterranean and then head down to the nightlife of Oxford Street, you won’t regret filling up your stomach before those tequila shots.

Hence, I’ve decided that at the end of every month I will post a list of what I’ve liked and what I’ve added to my collection.

So here goes:

Last weekend I made a trip to Canberra, and dropped in on Mount Majura. They had some awesome grapes and they include:

The award winning Chardonnay ($21) has a really nice melon and buttery toast taste and one that I wouldn’t recommend drinking when it’s chilled. Stick it in the fridge for 20 to 30 mins, and you have a wonderful glass with a white meat dish. Keeps well till 2019.

The Tempranillo ($35) was perhaps my favourite amongst their selection of reds. Beautiful rich red flavour of dark berries and cherry with some very fresh and fruity tastes to it. I think this will sell quickly, so stock up and keep for a few years (until 2014).

The Riesling ($21) was my favourites from the whites. Rated 94 by James Halliday, this wine has beautiful flavours of citrus and would work well with seafood and white meat. I highly recommend keeping a few bottles in the cellar for just under a decade (2018).

Above are some recent favourites from the Wine Society. Having been a member with them for over 2 years now, they have had some excellent bottles on their shelves.

First off, 2008 Shanahan Barking Dog GSM ($22.99)- this is an awesome cork bottle of fun sold exclusively by Wine Society. Deep red plums, berries and spices make up the palate and I’d recommend cellaring for a little while longer – I think 2012 could be it’s prime – but will stay well till 2016.

The 2008 Zilzie Cabernet Sauvignon ($12.99) is a brilliant quaffing wine that works really well with red meat. Drink some now and over the course till 2012.

The multi-awarding winning 2008 Taylors Estate Clare Valley Shiraz ($12.99) is another ripper that is great for drinking now, but over time (up to 2016) would open up to be an even better bottle. With sweet notes and fine tanins this is a must buy. Don’t let the price tag fool you.

Lastly, the 2005 Grant Burge Holy Trinity GSM ($35)- what a great wine this is. Had it for dinner over at Blue Eye Dragon (BYO) and thought it was absolutely fantastic with the food we ordered. Fruit intensive with deep colours, this wine will mature over the next 12 years. I couldn’t resist getting a dozen – a bottle for each year!

A couple of years ago, I attended the Taste of Sydney festival – and I remember trying some of the dishes from Longrain, which I thought was fantastic. Especially their tapioca dessert.

So recently, we decided to give them a go. Longrain is a restaurant where you can’t book a table, and when you do get table… you’re pretty lucky (or so you think!)

First impressions of the place was friendly atmosphere with a decent sized cocktail lounge on one end and the restaurant and the other – in between you have a long hallway (Tony Hawk would love to convert it to a skating ramp).

The place looked busy, and I think know why. Since you can’t book a table, people rush in early to get their names on a list by the restaurant’s… let’s call him the bouncer, this guy meant business. So once you’re names is on the list, you wait – in their cocktail bar.

We asked for a “table for 2”, and he said “Sure, that’ll be 2 hours”. I had to clarify if he misheard me mentioning the number of people and not the number of hours. Clearly, I was put in place to say that it will take 2 hours. Great, so where to? Of course we were ushered to cocktail lounge and asked to “enjoy ourselves” while we wait – nice touch.

6 x cocktails (at $16 – $18 each), sparkling water, some oysters and a dish of mince pork lettuce cup kind of thing. I’ll be honest, I can’t remember much of it, partly because I wait for 2 f@*king hours! By then my taste buds had given up and it probably preferred a chicken kebab as opposed to a curry. Just as we were contemplating our decision, bouncer man comes and offers us a table.

As I sat down, I noticed that our ‘table’ was in between a birthday celebration to my left, a couple trying to have an intimate moment to my right, and a couple who were previously getting drunk at the cocktail bar now sitting opposite me – lovely!

Dinner time, and we ordered 2 main dishes, a salad, brown rice – all to share, followed by dessert (yes, I had their tapioca pudding) – but let me say that the food didn’t compensate for the lack of table service, mannerism of the restaurant staff and not even the table setting. Honestly the restaurant could do with more space dedicated to the dining area.

All in all, cocktail, nibles, mains, dessert came to $110 per person – so value for money wise, it’s okish. I’d rather spend an extra $80 and go Universal for a 5 course world cuisine with matching wine.

And to top it off, the staff decided to charge my credit card twice within a space of 1 minute. I got a call from my bank on Monday morning (thanks St George) to call back the restaurant if it was a mistake.

Admittedly, their accountant was much better to deal with and I would rather have her serve my table.

Longrain –I wish they called it Longwait!

Atmosphere – 7.5/10
Food – 6.5/10
Wine (cocktails) – 7.5/10
Staff – 5.5/10
Value for money – 6/10

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

I had been taken here for my birthday – and the experience was second to none. This had to be in the top 3 for me in 2009!

Run by Justin North, Chef of the Year 2009 (by SMH Good Food Guide), Becasse is quietly located on Clarence Street, Sydney. The first thing I noticed, was the calm welcoming feeling of a fine dinning restaurant with staff who you knew would make you have a comfortable evening.

You didn’t feel that you needed to be your best to enjoy Justin North’s impressively looking and tasting Modern French menu. We were shown to our table, located near a corner with views of the restaurant’s mezzanine level. The interior is comfortably lit with just the right amount of lighting to have a nice intimate dinning experience. With two tones of brown curtains draped along one side of the wall, and the opposite side matched with similar tone paints, all then tied in together with brown matching wooden chairs, gave the entire room a nice warm and expensive feeling. You can’t miss the round chandeliers hovering around the centre of the restaurant.

Our host for the evening I believe was the Sommelier himself and his casual and humorous professionalism made our night even more enjoyable. We ran our eyes fairly quickly over the menu for a bit, given that our intentions were to have the degustation menu ($130 pp). However, after spending a little too much time over the extensive wine list, we decided to go for the degustation with matching wine ($190 pp).

Given my lack of palate for seafood, our host was able to speak with the chef to alter just my courses – which was a treat. I think more and more restaurants are getting better at this, as opposed to ‘Sorry sir, the tasting menu is fixed – here’s our A La Carte menu’ (knob!)

Now do forgive me, as I dined at Becasse back in December – so I maybe short on the details of all ten courses – but more importantly having 9 or 10 glasses of wine didn’t make things easier.

I remember starting off with an Amuse Bouche of some sort after which we received 3 different varieties of bread – rosemary, pumpkin and poppy seed (I think). Then I recall a basil with tomato and olive oil sorbet. And I remember this clearly because of the olive oil sorbet  – rich, but cold and yet perfectly matched the tomato and basil concoction. I then recall a course of sliced pork with a little salad and another of a steak fillet of some sort (told you I was hazy with the details). However, one of the dishes that I knew didn’t settle well with me was pork liver – I just couldn’t handle that stuff. A bit too gamey, with a texture that didn’t quite suit.

Also failing to please the palate was dessert, but I think I blame this on the 8 courses of wine before dessert arrived, as well as the bottle of champagne that was knocked off before dinner. I’m not having a go at you Mr. North, I just don’t think my stomach appreciated the consumption of the last 2 hours before dessert was placed in front of me.

Complimentary coffee helped, as well as a short conversation with the host and some of the staff towards the very end. Friendly yet attentive staff, minimalist décor, creative cooking and nicely matched wine made things simply enjoyable.

I definitely intend to head back to Becasse – the next time I’m hoping to remember all the dishes.

Just a wonderful way to celebrate my 26th.

Atmosphere – 8.5/10
Food – 8.5/10
Wine – 8/10
Staff – 8.5/10
Value for money – 8.5/10

http://www.becasse.com.au/