When I was a real estate agent, my fellow agents were big on giving their clients gift baskets as a housewarming gift. These baskets were custom made filled with all kinds of goodies that their clients loved. It was a great personal touch - I mean, who doesn’t like a gift basket?
Recently I had the chance to do a mini-interview with Rick Inglett of 
Arcana Custom Gift Baskets, a company based in Daytona Beach, Florida, but they offer nationwide shipping...And ummm...if you ever think of sending me a gift basket, (hint - hint!) you can send me this Ghiradelli-filled basket ;)
When did you start your business and how did the idea of doing a gift basket business come about?
I started my business in October 2003. I decided to start my gift baskets business because it was something I enjoyed doing when I managed a Barnies Coffee and Tea store in Buffalo New York. I enjoy and miss the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and I have always the customer service aspect of retail. I went back to school in 1995 and received a degree in Respiratory Care and have worked in Healthcare since 1998. Health care also relies on customer service also but in a different way. I started out by making a gift basket up to give to a friend as a gift for their baby shower and some one at the shower liked it and ask me to make one up for them to give as a gift. This got me thinking, and so I started looking into what I need to do to get started and so as the word of mouth spread my business started increasing and each year I get busier.
What do you believe makes you different from other companies in the gift basket business?
To be honest with you the main thing I think that does set me apart from other companies is my Customer service. Though from what I have seen most of the people in my industry are a great group of people and very helpful especially to new people starting in the gift basket industry. But to separate yourself from the rest you have to work hard and be willing to do what you can to please your customers. I will work with my customers to get them what they need and if I can not get them what they are looking for then I will help them find what they are looking for.
What is your customer service philosophy?
It is not about making a sale with every encounter, It’s about earning trust an loyalty. Without customer trust you have nothing except possible a one time same. With Trust and customer loyalty the word of mouth is the best advertisement.
Thanks again to Rick Inglett for the interview! Tomorrow Rick will be a guest blogger here where he will share with us what you can do to show the clients you care and keep them coming back to you! Stay tuned...
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