Pineapples Anyone?

Every year when Tom and I drive home from Utah, one of the main topics we always discuss is our staff retreat.  What do we need to focus more on this year?  What can we improve on?  What can our theme be that will hit home and be a remembrance all through the year?  Tom really felt like our staff needed to focus more on improved customer service.

So, I came up with a great idea.  

Tamara:  " I know what our theme can center on . . . PINEAPPLES!"     . . . .

Tom:  "huh???"

 I remembered that Tom's mom told us how pineapples were used a lot in the south as decor in furniture, entrances to peoples homes, and in dining serving pieces.  It is a symbol of hospitality, welcome, and graciousness to the guests who enter your home.  I also knew that we were wanting to surprise our staff with an orthodontic conference in HAWAII, so what better theme to use than pineapples!  

I did some research on the pineapple and found out some really interesting things.  I also found a folk tale about how the pineapple came to be and shared that with our staff.  I typed up a small paragraph about how the pineapple can be a symbol of warmth and welcome to those who enter our orthodontic office.

Tom was super prepared with production numbers and goals to set for the office.  He sure takes his work seriously and honestly cares about the welfare of those who work in our practice and their livelihood.  

I always like to do some sort of "give-away" - so this year I found some white pineapple wallflower scent plug-ins from Bath and Body Works (my favorite store!)  The scent oil is called, "Seaside Escape."  (fitting for an upcoming trip to Hawaii, isn't it??)  Then, I found this amazing candy store!  Sweeties  It's right in Chandler and it has every candy you can imagine!  I found pineapple gummy bears that are so amazingly yummy and pineapple jelly bellies.  I even found yellow gumballs that have a smiley face on them--to remind the girls to be friendly and provide excellent customer service to our patients.  Oh, they also got to take home a pineapple.  

I had pineapple candles burning and halfway through the meeting, I served my mom's famous pineapple/banana slush.  It was a hit!  Then, for lunch, we had Rumbi Island Grill cater some luau pork and teriyaki chicken for us.  It tasted so delicious and everyone loved it.  Actually, this retreat was probably one of the best we have ever done.  We were so happy to give our staff the trip to Hawaii.  Tom and I won't be going, though.  We are saving our money for another trip later in the summer.  But that's ok--our staff need this bonding experience and they have worked very hard this past year.    I hope they walked away feeling very loved and appreciated by both Tom and me.  :)