This being our first year as a member of the Old Town Boutique District, this was our first scavenger hunt! One of the first things I did was have Cori develop postcards that would give a discount through October 31 to everyone who participated in the event. The event was slightly different from previous years in that the participants did not receive a gift at each store but were instead incentivized to complete the entire Scavenger Hunt in order to receive a SWAG bag full of gifts from all 35 stores!
I had also asked Cori to provide me with a graphics file of just the Zoe "Z" for my stamp. The folks at Minuteman Printing of Crystal City (a long time tenant from my Charles E. Smith days) took excellent care of me. Even to the point of creating a special "cut"for the stamp so that it would fit perfectly within the squares on the Scavenger Hunt Passport Card. (Yes, I measured the size of the square before placing my order. I wanted it to fit correctly. This probably ranks up there with my sending myself a piece of mail to see if the Post Office was holding my mail properly before I opened. I'm particular about certain things.) And they delivered the stamp to me at no cost. How I love people who make my life easier!
Now, when talking to Minuteman Press, I asked if they could also provide me with a stamp pad with bright pink ink. They could not but suggested that I visit a Michael's store to find one. Anyone who knows my lack of craft skills knows that I do not do well in a Michael's store. In fact, I think some sort of alarm goes on in the back when I enter, indicating an intruder in the store. This trip was no different. I walked in, was immediately overwhelmed by all the stuff and just stood there for a minute or two. I found a young woman who guided me to the stamp pads. Thank goodness - I might still be in there if not for her!
I also decided that I wanted to add something to the discount post card that we would be putting in the SWAG bags. So I ventured off to Costco to purchase bags of the Ghiardelli chocolates that I offer to customers in the store. Costco ranks up there with Michaels as another place that I do not like to go. But off I went on my quest. My hand got quite the workout stapling those chocolates to the postcards! But well worth it.
I did some practice stamping on Friday morning before customers were set to arrive. I had been in NY the day before (see previous blog post) to buy for Spring but felt it was very important to be back at the store for this event. I had been told that people really enjoy meeting the owners and, for me, it felt very important to be there to welcome people who had never been to Zoe before to the store.
We had our first Scavenger Hunt customers arrive at around 10:30 on Friday morning. Of all of the people who came through the store, only one person was a previous customer from my mailing list. So it was fantastic to get to introduce so many people to Zoe! We printed out Passports for several customers and I also gave away the Passports that had been mailed to my home (we had received two since Jim is also on my mailing list, good husband that he is).
It was fun to see people's approaches to the Hunt. Some were all about the stamp - in one case, a group had set a goal of completing ALL the stores in 2 hours! Others looked around to see what we had to offer and some purchased items in the store. Everyone we met seemed in a good mood and had lots of fun with the event.
On Sunday, our lovely neighbor Mystique Jewelers was closed. The owner, Liz, had called me the previous night to ask if we would stamp their symbol on people's Passports. On Sunday before I opened, I put a note on their door directing people to Zoe for their stamps. We noted that we stamped our final passport at 3:46 that afternoon! (The participant was done and ready to drive her passport to Periwinkle for the final stamp and SWAG bag!)
We eagerly awaiting the drawing of the winners so that we could notify Zoe's winner right away! I was so pleased that she remembered the store and was happy to win our gift card. We are looking forward to having her shop with us soon!
It was a very fun event for me and the store. Already looking forward to next year!
Next Up: Customers Make My Day
I love the scavenger hunt idea! Glad Zoe was able to participate this year.
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