Restoring civility and balance

Sleepovers spawn opportunity

Jewelry shoppers' fingerprints unlock the store door

Borrowed eyes for dim restaurant menus

Pucker up: pickle juice sport

Luxe cars with luxe garages


Restoring civility and balance

Common courtesy isn't so common anymore? Wrong. Frantic lifestyles and tech-groggy eyes may blind many to kind acts, but courtesy and kindness are alive and kicking in communities nationwide, part of a nationwide grassroots campaign to help citizens realize it isn't cruel to be kind. Kindness never died. But Good Samaritan deeds and the Golden Rule were tarnished by time-starved schedules, technology, bad customer service and various crimes and misdemeanors. Now common courtesy and random acts of kindness are being burnished, a trend that parallels rising interest in simplicity, compassion and unplugging to connect with real people. Today's good deeds are often anonymous, fleeting encounters that leave recipients momentarily stunned by generosity and, afterward, with renewed faith in humanity. The infectious nature of kindness is integral to its survival. Each good deed inspires the recipient to perform a kind act, spawning ever-growing kind encounters. Infection is also relied upon by grassroots organizers like the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, which offers schools and communities ideas and resources to inspire kindness. The 2000 publication of Pay It Forward bore not only a movie, but also a movement. And Random Acts of Kindness Week and World Kindness Week are celebrated annually in February and November, respectively. At Family and Faith Christian Church in Aurora, Illinois, members surprise local shoppers by paying their store tabs. Each month, US Bank and the Herald Times Reporter award a $50 savings bond for a feel-good story entered in their Random Acts of Kindness Contest. The Portland Beavers' Community Ticketing program bestows free minor league baseball game tickets on those caught performing kind acts. And in Canada, the "Whistler… Pay It Forward" program involves participants completing a list of kind acts to enter a weekly prize drawing. Consumers reading between the news headlines see an uncivil society. Performing a selfless, random act of kindness is empowering, helping restore a sense of civility and balance to a part of the world consumers do control.
Sleepovers spawn opportunity

Sleeping bags on the floor? That's no way to treat a guest. Teen pajama parties go posh at popular hotels and resorts. First there was the Sleepover Suite at U.K. resort Alton Towers. On tap: a soundproof room, home entertainment system, karaoke and dance area, stocked dressing tables and classic chick flicks. Chill-out beds connect so everyone can get in on the gossip. At Hyatt Resorts' HyaTTeen Suite 16, guests of honor get a Birthday Concierge to help plan the perfect party. Limo rides, chocolate manicures, surfing lessons and jet skiing entertain those lucky enough to score an invite. Room service brings dinner, cake, popcorn and candy. Rites of passage are being outsourced and upgraded for maximum impact. My Super Sweet Sixteen showed us more is more. Teens want a taste of star treatment, even if parents can't afford Kanye West. Making memories for teen queens is smart marketing-according to WomenTravelTips.com, 70% of all travel decisions are made by women.
Jewelry shoppers' fingerprints unlock the store door

Increased security is becoming a regular part of life. But to gain store access? Canada's Howard Fine Jewellers fingerprints its customers so they can enter the shop when needed during business hours. Instead of being buzzed through locked double doors by a receptionist (put on your best innocent-looking face), shoppers let their fingers do the opening. Customers can decline getting fingerprinted. But those who do say it makes them feel safer (OttawaBusinessJournal.com 9.13.06). Howard believes it's one of only a few merchants worldwide using such a system. Privacy concerns mean fingerprint entry isn't likely to appear retail-wide. But when shopping for high-end jewels or creating the lure of private access, some are willing to get fingered to increase safety and join the exclusive cohort with a key to the joint.
Borrowed eyes for dim restaurant menus

Caught in a dim-lit moment? Borrowed Eyes brings loaner reading glasses to retail spaces like restaurants, bookstores, newsstands and libraries. The company drops off a clear case of glasses. Each individual pack displays the power rating of the lenses and includes sanitary swabs for the safe changing of hands. P.F. Chang's as well as independent restaurants are already clients, offering Borrowed Eyes to patrons who seem to have forgotten their own specs. Convenience matters to Boomers and Matures as more restaurants are dimming the lights beyond reason. First, pocket lights came onto the scene; now, eyeglasses are the latest way to delight with spectacular, detail-oriented customer service.
Pucker up: pickle juice sport

For anyone who's ever sneaked a sip from the pickle jar, a legit beverage is here to (maybe) help save face. Pickle Juice Sport tastes like, yep, dill pickles, and its salty qualities-as well as added vitamins C and E, zinc and potassium-help boost electrolytes. The Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Georgia Bulldogs have been drinking straight-up pickle juice for years, and Pickle Juice Sport is officially endorsed by NFL All-Pro Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten. Now "salt loading" isn't just for the pros and the preggers anymore. Apparently there's a market for sports drinks that taste like something other than water but different from fruit and sugar. Consumers often crave their Synesthesia in mysterious ways. If it's sought after by the pros, it'll start tasting good to the amateurs.
Luxe cars with luxe garages

European automaker, Citroën, cares so much about the future health and wellbeing of its executive model, the C6, they commissioned architectural firm Neutral to design a luxury garage that C6 drivers can purchase for their four-wheeled babies. It's constructed out of light-transmitting concrete. The garage walls are sliding doors-to allow entry from front or back-and made from transparent polycarbonate sheets with colored LCD layers that go opaque with the flip of a switch to privacy mode. There's also a rooftop terrace. For the super-affluent, a work of art is nothing without a gallery. And a fine-tuned performance vehicle is nothing without the proper storage and display space. At home and away, affluent drivers are eager to park in attention-getting settings that combine high performance, high style and high visibility.

© 2006 ISM and Iconoculture, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published monthly by ISM in partnership with Iconoculture.