The snow is finally falling again here in the Mad River Valley, much to the delight of our local ski areas and die-hard snowmobilers. We haven’t had much snow this season, so hopefully this will be a shot in the arm for our area businesses that rely on good snowfalls to be profitable.
Driving through the Valley this time of year you’ll see livestock and wild turkeys on snow covered cornfields, scrounging for leftovers from the summer. Another familiar sight is folks enjoying a true Vermont favorite: sugar on snow. You fill a paper cup, mug or bowl with snow and drizzle hot maple syrup over the top. Often times, a sour pickle accompanies this special treat to help enhance the maple flavor. My first winter in Vermont, I was quickly acquainted with sugar on snow. I couldn’t believe it when I was handed a cup of snow with a pickle in it, but once I tried it, it made perfect sense!
Don is out of town this week, traveling to Apple headquarters in Cupertino, CA, Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show and then to New York for the National Retail Federation’s BIG Show. Small Dog was one of only five top Apple Specialists from across the country asked to present to top executives at Apple. A key portion of our presentation focused on our multiple bottom line: people, planet and profit. The effect we have on our environment, community, customers and employees is just as important as maintaining our profitability. This multiple bottom line has been at the core of our success year over year, and we strive daily to build on our success—especially, providing the best customer experience possible.
At Small Dog, a huge component of a positive customer experience is having knowledgeable staff that knows our products and can offer solutions based on a customer’s individual needs. With that in mind, did you know that every single employee at Small Dog is required to attain Apple Product Professional certification? This certification, attainable only through Apple, requires hours and hours of training and a thorough knowledge of every Apple product. This ensures that when you call or come into any of our stores, any Small Dog employee can provide the help or guidance you may need with your purchase. In addition, many of us have achieved the next level of certification, Apple Sales Professional. 85% of our employees are ASPs, giving further credence to the importance we place on product knowledge throughout the company.