My first blog

I was delivering some used printers to our Duncan service dept and made a comment to fix them, keep them for parts or “throw them out”. I was very quickly corrected: “Recycle them you mean”. And I said yes, that is what I mean. To me, and to many others at Monk Office we simply do not throw almost anything out. We recycle it. I do have to be careful in case my words are misinterpreted, so its better to use the correct terminology.

I am feeling a certain amount of pressure, as I am sure all the staff at Monk Office is. When we win an award such as the Sustainable Business Practices award and the COPA Green award, it raises the bar and the standard for all of us. Not that the bar wasn’t high before, now it is just so much more public. It is truly a good thing that sustainable practices at Monk Office are a part of our culture.

I’m new at Blogging. I think this is a good way to keep in touch with the community. To let you know my thoughts as the new President of Monk Office and to give you another forum for feedback and comments. Our web site has contact information; you can call my office in Victoria, or send me an email. This is just another way we can communicate. If any comments are inappropriate for my Blog, I will remove them. For example, personnel issues will not be posted for the public to see nor should they be addressed in this way. Again, choose the phone or email for some of these issues.

I am hearing a lot about momentum these days as I watch the NHL playoffs. Sometimes I think it is overused by the sportscasters, (something like those Bud Light commercials about recaps). And then there is winning the little “one on one” battles and “you have to want it more”. One of our store managers gets new customers “one customer at a time”, that is all it takes. Even in times of “negative momentum” (i.e. all the talk in the media about the economy) there are still opportunities for businesses, one battle at a time.

The “local” effect is promoted in the media in Victoria these days. If you buy local than it multiplies to 5 times the benefit. If you spend $100 at a local business then on average $45 says in the local. Versus only $15 stays local if you buy from a big box or non local business. Do you know how this works? I buy local. Not everyone does. Some will go out of their way to buy local and even pay more. I don’t know what percentage of the population this is, but I expect it is low (any stats we can find on this?) Many say they want to buy local and yet they don’t. Why is that? Cost? Time? Perception of value?