Hospitality is a hard industry to work in. The customer is always right and customers are pickiest about what they eat, where they stay, and how they are treated in the process. I've worked in hospitality, many years ago, and I can still remember being summoned to a...
Yesterday a Christchurch man was sentenced to 21 months in jail for disseminating the video posted to Facebook by the perpetrator of the March Mosque attacks. His conviction has raised issues and questions about hate speech and free speech and the rights of...
A story in recent weeks got me thinking about the nature of our human species and the ways our evolution appears to be falling behind the fearsome speed of technological innovation. Be warned - this piece contains no spoilers but will further the odd generalisation....
For years our neighbours across the ditch have laid claim to Kiwi successes and achievements - think the mighty Pavlova, Crowded House, Russell Crowe, Phar Lap, Lamingtons, and lolly cake. This year, again, they have voted our national airline their most trusted...
I was reading an article recently that discussed the exchange between raters and businesses and cited a paper by a marketing academic, who referred to it as 'the reputation economy,' and while that term has been around for a few years now, it got me thinking about the...
When I was a kid I used to love poring over the advertisements for toys, magic tricks, and gimmicks in the back pages of comics. There were two items that myself, and my friends coveted the most - sea monkeys and the 1000 piece US Revolutionary War set. One thing...
Sport tends to mirror the best, and the worst of real life and that is possibly its greatest attraction. Sure there's the drama, the comebacks, the domination, the fierce contests between rivals - but I think sports is at its greatest and most dire, when it reflects...
For a business to survive and thrive it needs to be seen – that may sound overly simplistic but it’s true. Being seen is the key to attracting customers, accruing revenue and sustaining growth. To be seen, a business has to market its brand, goods, and services and it...
In 1981, New Zealand sports teams were involved in two events that have significantly shaped our sporting and cultural legacy. The first was the Springbok Tour - where the South African rugby team’s visit to our shores deeply divided the nation - resulting in...
Every year at about this time, newspapers and magazines compile lists of all the things we should have seen or read about, or known about in the past 12 months. At the "dead time" between Christmas and New Year, the media revels in presenting swathes of articles on...