Focus Group Fun!

On Thursday February 19th and Friday February 20, we had 160 women as guests to participate in a "focus group". We wanted their opinions and ideas to help us perfect the tea room. They tasted a variety of teas, sampled lunch items, and toured our creation. Afterwards they filled out an opinion form. We asked them to be brutally honest. Thursdays critiques were different than Fridays, because we fixed everything they didn't like after Tursdays group. Fridays group were 99.9% positive. They found little to critique. We enjoyed our guests. They were so helpful. Women have wonderful opinions and great ideas. Having these 160 lovely women help us put us way ahead of the game.

Bookings for spring and summer are beginning to roll in. I'm surprised at the number of people that have gone to a great deal of trouble to find my number to book in advance.

When we ordered the china and teapots for the tea room. It all came in three huge boxes and arrived on Christmas eve. I didn't open it, because wedidn't need it yet, and it seemed safer to leave it packed. On Tuesday before the Focus group, I opened the china to take it all to the tea room. To my complete horror, we were 24 cups short, and 20 tea pots short. I called the company and reported the problem. They said no problem....we'll ship it today. You'll have it Thursday at 8:30. Then they called back and said..."by the way, the cost of shipping 92 pounds overnight is $893.00. I said not no, but H... No!" .....so needless to say, I shopped locally and found what I needed here in Birmingham.

The fresh flowers for the tables is being designed and provided by "Shirley's Florist" in centerpoint. Wonderful talent and great pricing! I highly recommend everyone check her out. You'll get twice the value for your money.