I’m from Philly so when I say any sandwich from a small deli in Estes Park, Colorado is better then anything I’ve had back East (Pat’s Steak Sandwich excluded) then you know I have to be serious. I’m talking about DeLeo’s Deli, recognized as one of the very best sandwich shops by The Food Network. Earlier this summer I had “The Big Reuboni”

Delicious corned beef topped with kraut, horseradish, banana peppers and Russian dressing, and finished with imported Swiss cheese…”To die for!”

Aside from the unbelievable menu selections; I think what is even more impressive is DeLeo’s customer service and passion for his work. Owner, Tom DeLeo, a transplant from Connecticut, is easily one of the most entertaining and charismatic people I’ve ever met. In this last visit, Tom remembered me from visiting the year before. I was floored that he recognized me, I have a tough enough time remembering my own Uncles’ names. While enjoying my Reuboni I realized it wasn’t just me that he recognized, Tom greeted everyone who entered like they were his best friend.

There are several factors which make DeLeo’s Deli a winning mix and hopefully a longtime staple of Estes Park. I personally believe that like his terrific sandwiches, these ingredients are the key to running a highly successful business.

• Passion! This guy loves creating sandwiches.
• Good Story. He’s an ex-insurance executive who was disenchanted with that way of life and was looking for something a bit simpler.
• Love of People. He adapts to every visitor and brings a smile to all who visit. It’s as if he can instantly read each customer like a book.
• Great Product. The sandwiches alone could sell this place. Tom could be the “sandwich Nazi and people would still frequent his deli.

I love my job, I’m excited about what we do, where we are heading and the team I have to work with. However, sometimes I think it’s really easy to get caught up in the daily grind. People like Tom remind me to keep it real; to wear the passion on my sleeve and throughly interact with every customer from the heart.

Tom, thanks for making a kick-ass sandwich and keeping it real, even if my Philly friends have now disowned me.

I’m a big fan of 37Signals and what they stand for so I know my feature request has a 99.9999% chance of never getting implemented but I’ve got to make these requests for BaseCamp.

REQUEST #1
Apply to All
When creating 10 or more Milestones, please give me the ability to apply my dropdown selection to the other 9 Milestones. For instance, if I’m selecting USER A for who is responsible, why do I have to select that multiple times?

REQUEST #2
JavaScript Calendar
Why is it when I add 1 Milestone I’m given a nice visual calendar to select a date but when I’m adding multiple Milestones I’m given a date drop down for both year, month and date. It seems as though this design choice is making me work too much.

REQUEST #3
Hasn’t Logged in Recently
This use to work really well but it changed a few months back. Now I can’t tell the difference from a user who hasn’t logged in verses a user who has never logged in. Perhaps a simple variation call “has never logged in” might help here.

Otherwise this is a great product, I continue to recommend it to my clients and associates but these few changes sure would be real nice additions. At least in my book.

When I first got my iPhone 3g a few weeks ago I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to get a case. However, over the next week I found that the phone was slightly too slippery and nerve wracking to carry around naked (ohhh la la). So I started doing some basic case research. Checking out reviews at the Apple Store, Macrumors forums, and asking for ideas on Twitter. Eventually I settled on the Contour Flick. A fairly minimalist case with a supposed incredible look and feel.

Here are my first impressions after a few days of use:

First off, the price point on all iPhone cases is ridiculous. They should all be $15 or under. That said, if I have to spend over $25 I mind as well get the best looking and feeling case I can. The Flick comes in at $35, a bit steep but in the ballpark of many other hard iPhone cases. I have the white and contrary to what I read on some reviews the white matches the phone’s white pretty darn well. It’s not a complete color match but it definitely looks better than almost any case I’ve seen. Primarily because it’s super thin. The thickness has a trade off however because it isn’t a largely protective case. It’s probably enough that it might save your phone if you drop it once but I would still aid on the side of caution. One concern is the bottom edge of phone (by the dock connector) because the case offers no covering for the metal rim on that section. However, for me it seems worth the trade off for such a minimal body shell and natural iPhone feel.

If you want a minimalist case this is a good buy for sure. It fits snug, looks great (minus no apple logo showing) and seems durable for basic wear and tear. I.E. a night at the bars, a skid across the picnic table, or the occasional water contact. Over time I assume the white will look cleaner than the black in regard to prints and scratches. Still, dirt might be another story. The case does scratch fairly easily but can only really be noticed from an inch or two away. The rubberish clip hinge on the bottom for docking is secure and feels good. However, if you plan on docking it nightly I could see it wearing out and not fitting as well over the course of a year.

To summarize: I recommend the Contour Flick highly but want to emphasize that this is really a case for people that want some protection in that awful “oh… crap… I just dropped my baby on the concrete floor” type of moment. This case is not for the “I leave my phone wherever I want to whenever I feel like it” type of owner. And definitely not for construction workers, waiters/waitresses, or stunt men. If you have additional questions please feel free to ask them in the comments. Also, if you’ve had particularly good or bad case experiences we’d love to hear about them.

It isn’t often that I run across a Firefox Add-on which just blows my mind and makes me want to sing the praises of the developer, but Better Gmail 2.0.5.2 is one such add-on. This week we converted the office away from Microsoft Exchange server and onto the Google Mail App instead. I won’t go into the reasons why in this post, but after I made the switch I was somewhat disappointed with the interface of Gmail and it’s inability to allow me to customize it.

Here were just a handful of my gripes.

• I can’t resize the width of the left side menu bar
• Why does Gmail feel the need to “label” my messages rather then using the conventional folder system?
• Shouldn’t I be able to modify the color scheme to my liking. There is only so much pastel I can take
• When writing messages the REPLY, FORWARD and DELETE aren’t in the most obvious or intuitive locations

I don’t want to continue on bitching about Google, because aside from the interface the Gmail App kicks ass and checks SPAM well. It is reliable and it allows me to IMAP my mail to desktop clients. In light of my situation I looked for some way to relieve my disdain for the default interface.

Better Gmail 2 makes the entire mail experience much more enjoyable and easy on the eyes.
Google Talk actually looks like an IM client

Labels are converted into operating like folders.

A handy keyboard shortcut menu

All in all, this add-on has made the jump from Exchange to Gmail VERY enjoyable! I highly suggest Better Gmail 2.

So, I would assume most Account Managers, Project Managers, and anyone else in client services all know about (and occasionally create) call reports. However, I’d be willing to bet that eventually almost all of you have given up on them. I know, from personal experience, that the call/meeting report is thought about and started with good intentions. Inevitably, however, it ends up being one of the first items to slowly fade away. While it appears to be a good idea, it always seems like a waste of time, and the easiest task to drop. You get busy, and bogged down with tasks, and figure “who really reads these things anyway?” Well, as much as it may seem like extra, unnecessary work, I can say it is one of the best tools anyone in client services can use.

For those of you who have never heard of these, it’s basically a summary of a meeting, phone call, or even quick discussion you’ve had with a client. (It doesn’t hurt to do this with internal meetings too.) After every meeting, send a summary and list of action items to your team and your client. Trust me. It’s worth it.

The call report does NOT need to be an extensive document. It just needs to cover the basics. If you have a client who tends to “forget” what you talked about, you may need to be a bit more specific. No matter the level of detail, just do one. Every time.

I can’t tell you how many times there has been a conflict about what we decided, a task unassigned, or a lack of follow up on an urgent request. With the call report, this is practically impossible. I have had times where the client was quite upset with a situation and couldn’t believe we chose to go down a certain path for his design. Based on a meeting we had over two months ago, I vaguely remembered him requesting something along those lines, but I honestly had no idea what we decided. I feared we were in for a huge change (and a significant loss of money). Low and behold…the magical call report. I pulled up the old document that was sent to my client the day after the meeting, and copied the exact statement saying he agreed to the change. Not only did he insist on this change, but he also agreed that it was out of scope. The call report saved us hours of headaches and a bundle of money. This is not just a random example. These types of things happen at least once a week, and the meeting report has saved my team, my company, and myself a lot of problems. So, I beg of you. Take the time. It’s worth it. And who knows? It may even save a life or two.