Last week, I went on a quest for interesting paper clips - hey, everybody has to have a strange little obsession. After striking out at Office Depot, I finally went to Office , a store which carries cool office items for modern design aficionados in Northeast Portland's Alberta Arts District. Over the past few years, I've admired how Office has landed great media buzz in local and national publications. Yet, whenever I've driven past the store, I've always wondered why a small place off-the-beaten track has received so much press attention.
As soon as I entered Office, Tony Secolo, one of the store's two friendly co-owners, greeted me with a friendly smile. When I told him that I was just searching for eye-catching paper clips, I thought he might lose interest since I wasn't shopping for a pricey item like a Jack Spade messenger bag. Quite the contrary! We ended up having a wide-ranging conversation about modern design and the perfect designer paper clip. I was thrilled to find the Italian-made circular Clipiola paper clips which only cost $8 for 125. Now I'm convinced that Tony's friendly, knowledgeable demeanor played a huge part in getting journalists to report on his store. And, while Office's good press convinced me to visit, it's excellent customer service and unique merchandise will get me to go back.
Just a few blocks from Office on Northeast Alberta Street, another business, Alberta Street Oyster Bar & Grill, had landed outstanding press over the past few years. Excited, my wife and I made reservations to eat there with friends. Although we arrived on time, we ended up waiting nearly an hour and we were never seated so we went elsewhere. After that, we talked to friends who had negative experiences at the same restaurant. Not surprisingly, it closed a couple of months ago. Perhaps it was the case of an owner who believed so much in his good press that he thought he could get away with sub par service. Recently, a new owner reopened the Alberta Street Oyster Bar & Grill and I wish him well. He should walk down the street a few blocks and visit the folks at Office to see how great service combined with excellent press generates lasting success.
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