One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is getting to be out among the people that I work with and their customers. I have recently had such an occasion, and I thought that I would give everyone a little glimpse into the life of a QK Sales Rep on the road! For this particular trip my focus was on the New England area: Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to be exact. And so begins my journey……
It's 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning and as I am leaving my house I am wondering why airlines even offer flights that leave so early. My flights went well, but when I landed I discovered that both the car rental company and the hotel didn’t have reservations for me. Luckily, I was able to work it out and then it was on to Colorful Creations…one of QK’s very first stores in Massachusetts.
I had never been to Cape Cod before and was impressed with the area. I was equally impressed with Colorful Creation’s store. Jayne and Jenn do a great job and I could tell they have a great relationship with their customers. I was able to spend a couple of hours in the store doing demos and make and takes. The new products were very well received and it was a great evening at a great store….it was also the end of a fairly long day ;-)
Thursday morning kept me in Massachusetts where I visited multiple stores, including Right at Home Scrapbooking and The Crop Shop. First, I met with Lisa at Right at Home and we discussed the latest and greatest things happening at QK. Their store was very well laid out, and it really did make me feel “right at home.” Next was The Crop Shop. Dee, the owner, is a long time QK fan and her excitement shows! Dee has a HUGE store (it has 7 bathrooms!!) and I am pretty sure she has every scrapbooking product ever made! We had a great event with her customers that night and discussed all of the new QK releases and tools. We had a raffle and a number of customers walked away with some great products!!
By Friday morning I was hoping to see that Massachusetts’ skies any color other than gray…no such luck and it was yet another day of rain and gloom (at least it wasn’t snowing though!). My first stop of the day was The Scrapbooker’s Dream where I met with Laurie Jacobson in her recently expanded store. When I saw Laurie’s crop room, I immediately wished that I actually knew how to scrapbook as the room itself had at least 20 workstations all adorned with desk lights, mats, and leather chairs. Needless to say, it was very impressive. I was also able to meet some of Laurie’s customers/employees and I saw some of the projects they have done with QK products. I am always amazed at the creativity of the people who use our products.
I ended the night with Christi Lucia at Times to Treasure. Christi’s store was packed with customers all night and we did some in-depth demos on the Silhouette SD, some make and takes, and we even gave away some awards for creative layouts. It was a great event and I had a blast…even if I did have to wear a crown! That night would mark the end of my time in Massachusetts.
Saturday found me in Connecticut. First stop: Wiggles and Giggles!! Darlene Wigglesworth has a GINORMOUS (is that a word?) store and I was excited to see QK product displayed front and center. We met with Darlene’s QK club members, had lunch, discussed QK, and did make and takes. Finally, we did a Silhouette SD demo that allowed everyone to see the benefits of the new machine first hand. Darlene did a great job organizing the event and I was glad to be a part of it!
My second stop for the day was Scrapbook Clubhouse. Sharon and Tracie have a great store. We had a fun event with food, make and takes, and great conversations. It should be noted that I had perhaps the BEST lemon squares that I have ever tasted (courtesy of Tracie) while I was at Scrapbook Clubhouse.
My final stop was Even though Debbie’s store was the last stop of the trip, the fun definitely didn’t stop there….. Sunday morning should have been a peaceful flight home, but things are never that easy on the road! Over the next few hours my flight would get canceled 3 TIMES, with the end result finally being me driving to Boston to fly out of MA. I have never had to go to 3 different states in 1 day just to catch a flight!!!! Monday found me back in the office with a new release pending and thoughts of my next road trip already beginning to form!! Thanks to everyone in MA and CT for a great trip!
