Rolls Royce Umbrellas, Patterned Feed Sacks From The Great Depression, And A Hotel Popsicle Hotline: Why Providing Unexpected Joy Is Always A Win - No Matter The Cost
The 3-Word Quote: ‘Extras Are Essential’
1.
Rolls Royce.
A name synonymous with craftsmanship and luxury.
And if you're fortunate enough to be in the market for one of their automobiles, you can:
Customize, create, and mix your custom exterior color
Emboss your family crest into the leather interior (which, by the way, 'comes from the young bulls that are kept on farms with no barbed-wire fences, high altitudes, and barns for night time rest')
Select wood 'taken from your family woods to make your interior truly legendary'
The cars take six months to build.
Every detail is analyzed. Every aspect of production strives for perfection.
True luxury.
And every Rolls Royce comes with an unexpected feature:
An umbrella.
But this umbrella is not your average drugstore umbrella.
Like everything related to the car, this umbrella has been crafted, designed, and tested to ensure a supreme experience.
The umbrella's length is designed to function as a walking cane when there is no rain.
The umbrella is crafted to open quickly and with minimal effort.
And it is created to withstand high winds - to ensure it never turns inside out.
The umbrella is constructed of carbon fiber and comes in an array of color choices like the cars.
A polished handle with a small RR carved into the handle tops it off.
The umbrella costs $800 - if you want to purchase one.
Best of all, the Rolls Royce car has a specially designed umbrella slot to store it when not in use.
The slot is in the driver's door for easy access.
Wet umbrellas are not placed in the backseat of a Rolls Royce, as a damp umbrella could ruin the leather interior.
And designers realized that if placed in the trunk, drivers would be soaked when the umbrella is retrieved.
So like everything Rolls Royce does, this umbrella slot was meticulously designed - the storage slot has drainage to allow water to run off the umbrella without getting the interior wet.
It even has warm air pumps to dry the umbrella to ensure it is ready for subsequent use.
Truly amazing.
2.
During the Great Depression, no one was thinking of luxury cars or expensive umbrellas.
Most simply thought of survival.
Once food and shelter were obtained, there was little money for anything else.
Everything people had was used and repurposed. A common motto of the Depression was "making do."
People did whatever they needed to do to survive.
The necessities - items like animal feed and flour- often came in large sacks made of either burlap or cotton.
Most often, these sacks were discarded with other trash.
However, during the difficult times of the 1930s, people began keeping and reusing these feed sacks.
As clothes.
The sacks were often combined and stitched together to make dresses and shirts.
With that resourcefulness, the sacks were turned into free clothing for a struggling family - but the sacks were primarily used for dresses.
These 'feed sack dresses' became popular and were a staple of the time.
Instructional pamphlets and newsletters were written to show people how to sew these dresses from the flour and feed sacks.
And in 1925, the George P. Plant Milling Company of St Louis reacted to the trend and started purposefully packaging their flour in 'dress quality red and white' bags.
Other companies followed.
The bags were purposefully colorful and had multiple designs because the company knew people were using them to make clothes.
These patterned feed sacks were a hit.
And people bought George P. Plant Miller Company flour often - partially for the product but predominately for the packaging.
3.
Most consider the hotel ugly.
It's small and would never be confused with a luxury hotel.
The hotel is painted a yellow, which looks like it should be an accent color, used sparingly.
The color is bright and slightly jarring.
But the entire hotel is covered in this yellow - they call it canary yellow.
The oddly colored hotel, one of hundreds in the Los Angeles area, is not in a prime location or particularly fancy.
However, the hotel consistently ranks at the top of all hotels in Los Angeles - usually only behind several luxury hotels.
Called Magic Castle Hotel, the hotel boasts a small pool.
And by the pool, a bright red telephone is mounted on the wall - a special hotline for guests.
It is called 'The Popsicle Hotline.'
The Popsicle Hotline is precisely what the name suggests - a phone that, when guests pick up the receiver, an employee from Magic Castle Hotel will answer with the words, "Hello, Popsicle Hotline."
The guest then requests a preferred popsicle flavor, and a few minutes later, their popsicle arrives - on a silver platter served by someone in white gloves.
The Popsicle Hotline is one of several unique services at the hotel.
A popsicle hotline by the pool seems silly.
Magic Castle Hotel doesn't have to run a popsicle hotline.
But they do.
The Takeaway:
So what do Rolls Royce umbrellas, Depression-era feed sacks, and a popsicle hotline all have in common?
All three organizations knew that giving something for nothing, that providing unexpected moments, is often good for business.
It is memorable.
And it's kind.
Does anyone actually buy a Rolls Royce because of the umbrella? Of course not.
However, the umbrella is symbolic of the company's attention to detail.
And the umbrella is often what people mention about the luxury car - it's one of the things owners share about their vehicle.
What car company designers put that much thought into a simple umbrella?
And if the company takes that much care in creating an umbrella, imagine how much effort is put into the actual car.
***
During the Great Depression, people sought out companies that produced colorful feed sacks so they could create clothes from them.
And while selling animal feed in patterned sacks may have been a business decision for those feed companies, customers buying these feed sacks were incredibly grateful.
These companies began changing how the products were packaged - they were giving customers not just what they needed but what they wanted.
The company adjusted to the customers' wants - not just to make more money but because it made life better and easier for their customers.
It seems like a simple idea, but it is also increasingly rare.
***
And do travelers need a popsicle hotline while sitting around the pool?
No, but sometimes a cool drink or a cold popsicle is what you just need.
The hotline provides unexpected joy and is one of the hotel's most talked about elements at the hotel.
When did you last tell someone about a hotel you stayed in?
It may have been a while.
But Magic Castle Hotel has a built-in story.
Guests leave the hotel wanting to tell others about a hotel that has a popsicle hotline.
It is an automatic conversation starter.
They don't have to have a popsicle hotline, but they do it because it pleases customers.
They understand they are in the service business.
***
It is a simple concept: provide more than expected and be helpful to those you serve.
While many businesses seem to only be concerned with the bottom line, a few others are concerned with those who keep them in business - the people.
Towards the end of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Scrooge brags about what a great businessman he was despite treating people poorly. Scrooge defends his actions by saying the mistreatment of people was good for business.
Marley's ghost responds, 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all my business.'
Many things are good for business, but sometimes treating people fairly and providing small items is a strategy that rarely fails.
The businesses pay for these extra items, but these items provide their customers with unexpected joy.
So, no matter what work you are in or what project you are working on, think about something random, unusual, or unique that you can add beyond what is expected - something that can make people's lives a little better or a little more joyful.
These extras create talking points. It is often these smaller items that people will continue to share and talk about with others.
And when you can do that, you'll have fans for life.
3 things before you leave:
watch: every day at my house is like this ‘holiday’; not sure you could be down if you were in this town on this day
watch/listen: short video on the making of a video of a great song; look at the crowd shot - everyone focused on one thing; classic song
watch/listen: hadn’t heard this in some time; still holds up
Thanks for reading.
-Jeff