As the season winds down for most we all wonder how others out there did and what worked well for them. I offer a few responses from around the country and invite yours for next time editor@formaltimes.com Read on and let us know what your think

Hi from Florida!
Flat front pants, flat front micro fiber laydown collar shirts, and the tighter the coat the better! These kids want it totally FITTED! Most even commented on the shirts being too full. Our prom season ended May 10th. Also we noticed the kids were not afraid of color. Our "highlighter" colors rocked! Our store did a vintage prom theme this year showcasing fur trimmed coats and sequined lapels..We did not offer these for rentals but the hub that it created was well worth it. The most popular "wrong" comment made by the young kids this year..."I don't want the shirt with the ruffles." We were always correcting...They are pleats!
Enjoy,
Susan Damon
The Tux Shop
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

SAL OF J & L NEW ORLEANS

WE HAD A GOOD SOLID 5 WEEKS OF PROM RENTALS ENDING MAY 10,DOWN SOUTH WE RENT PLENTY WHITE TUXES AND THE TAILS SEEM TO PICK UP STEAM THIS YEAR WITH THE 2BUTTON NOTCH REALLY ANY THING IN WHITE WAS OUT THE DOOR ICE BLUE SEEM TO BE THE VEST COLOR THIS YEAR FOR 20 YEARS I 'VE HAD REQUEST FOR HATS BUT NEVER CARRIED THEM THIS YEAR I BROKE TRADITION AND STOCKED HATS AND FANCY CANES , THE CANES DID OK BUT THE HATS ARE STILL SITTING AS A SALE ITEM FOR 29.00 THAT MIGHT BE TOO HIGH

PS. LOOKING FOWARD TO SOME REST



A Better Deal in La Jolla Ca reported. Prom was okay, we have a large construction project in front of our store so we're sure it affected us somewhat. Figures will be clearer after the month is closed. Our biggest rental so far has been the Aston and the new PE 2 button peak. We love it.

32185 Hollingsworth | Warren MI 48092

We are finishing up with our last week of Prom!!! We had an AWESOME prom season. Our top tuxedo renters were the Calvin Klein Infinity and the Calvin Klein Arden. We did really well with both. We all know it is all about the vest & tie color. We did a lot of turquoise, fuchsia and surprisingly white vest & tie.

Sam Carlson of the Chicago area Black Tie stores talked of a strong prom with little spent to promote their stores. They felt the wide selection and availability of styles in their stores helps them to compete. They offered a promotion in conjunction with a local Six Flags Amusement park and felt it was very well received.


Prom Time in The West
Mr Formal based In Portland OR
It's been an exciting prom season out west this year. Accessories seem to be the big story again. Colors, colors, colors. As always there has been a strong demand for the neutrals and classic colors, but this year we are seeing increased interest in a whole rainbow of choices. From fuchsia to lime green, lemon yellow to purple and grape. Deep ice blue to pool blue. Having the right dress colors has been the key this year, for sure.

Tuxedo styling is leaning to the more classic/traditional looks. Tone on tone shadow stripes, pinstripes, white tuxes round out the fashion forward group.

We still have several busy prom weeks ahead, but so far we are encouraged by a strong 2008 season.


Ducky’s Formal Wear of Galesburg where Diane Peters your IFA membership coordinator makes her home saw a strong season that was all about color. The striped coats dropped off slightly and she saw a definite increase in bow ties. Black shirts and color color color!!



Never Turn Down Money

Read a great article the other day about accepting all credit cards. American Express in particular due to the higher processing rate is not as readily received. Should we turn down money when offered in any form? Should a small business offer any obstacle to customer satisfaction no matter the price? It really made me think about our industry and the number of small 1 store operations in competition with mega giants. If offering stellar customer service is time and again presented as the only means to compete, is this one of the areas we could improve?
"Visa or MasterCard only?" But are you refusing money? American Express charges more for their service, yet this is the type of credit card widely used for business expenses. Be careful when telling a customer that you can't do something when what you really mean is you won't do something. As a business if American Express charges more, then pass this fee along to the customer or eat the cost. The money you make and good will created will out weigh the small fee you pass along to them.
We all have a past experience with different types of businesses where they earned our loyalty or lost our business forever. Small experiences shape opinions for a long time to come. Why leave money on the table? Why pass up the chance to make a sale? Get the money, process the order, and get the commitment now. It certainly beats the alternative!

 The IFA has partnered with Applied Merchant to offer competitive rates and great customer service to our members. We have our own rep who works closely with all of our accounts to answer questions and field requests. It's a benefit specifically designed to lower your costs on processing, as well as provide cost-effective tools for the growth of your business. Read on to learn a little about them.
My name is Jessica Hein and as the Relationship Manager at Applied Merchant, our practice is to provide every member the truth about their actual costs. Has anyone ever sat down with you and told you the real cost of Visa and Mastercard? Have you checked your credit card processing statement and didn't understand what you are being billed for? These statements are extremely difficult to read and understand. And in most
cases, you are paying for additional fees that you didn't know you signed up for.
As an IFA member, this plan includes a detailed explanation of your monthly statement and rate analysis, free of charge. Please fax over your statement and I will respond within 1-2 business days.
Jessica Hein
Relationship Manager
Applied Merchant Systems
Phone: (312) 893-6712
Fax: (312) 794-6786
www.appliedmerchant.com

Management Practices of Industry Leaders – Part I
By Bob Barry


As a top formalwear operator, we must look outside the industry to identify the characteristics of leading owners and operators in numerous other industries. By looking both within our industry and outside the industry, we can maximize our education and maximize effectiveness as managers. Some of the key characteristics of leading customer service oriented owners and operators include:

Focus On Aggressive Goals:

If we want dramatic results we must set up aggressive goals for ourselves and for the overall company for the individual department lead personnel and for each member. These goals must be written, communicated and measured.

Hard Work:

In our readings of leading owners and operators in the computer, manufacturing and service fields we find there is no short cut to hard work. Most successful business leaders work smart, but also work long solid hours focusing on key priorities.

Toughness:

During the last three to four years we have seen top formalwear operators become tougher in their management style. We are finding a direct relationship between toughness and profit. This is also seen in large corporations such as General Electric, Coca-Cola, IBM and many other leading service providers. It may be difficult to adjust your approach to increase your toughness, but we are seeing the old saying of tough but fair is critical to the success of your business.

Demanding:

Along with toughness we must be demanding of ourselves and our key team members. We must demand a minimal level of performance on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. As we are being demanding of our people, again, we must be demanding of ourselves in that we must support their success.

Focus On Growth:

The most profitable operators in all industries are growing at a rapid pace. There is definitely a link between growth and profit. We must have intelligent growth which is supported by a business financial management sales and marketing plan. We have all seen businesses that grow too fast and then often get into financial problems.

New Product or Service to Market:

Speed is a key issue within the industry and with other service providers. In the formalwear industry, we must look at the speed of return of stock to maximize inventory. We must look at the speed of service within our stores due to the convenience factor that our customer appreciates. Every process within our business should be reviewed, analyzed, and we must focus on increasing our efficiency, throughput and speed.

Confront with Confidence
Rules of Engagement
By Jim Mathis

So much is being written on dealing with difficult people in the workplace. How to work around them or how to placate them. How about how to confront them? How do you handle confrontation? If you are like most, you avoid it at all costs. Besides, aren't we all taught to play nice and get along with one another in Kindergarten? Aren't only mean people the ones who confront? WRONG! Most would love to know how to confront problem people, but lack the confidence to do so. Some supervisors would rather pass the problem along to someone else than confront it head-on. We are frightened at the reaction of the other person.

Think about this, though. Maybe they are behaving in an improper way because no one has ever spelled out what was wrong to them in a manner they understand. Maybe no one has ever stood up to them in a proper way to confront them. Well gather your courage, take a deep breath and clear your throat...We're going to go through the process of confronting another person--with confidence.

There are Rules of Engagement for confrontation with confidence. Before you take the first step, though, there is an important decision you must make: Are you confronting the other person for their own good and/or the good of the organization, OR are you doing it for your benefit? If you answered for yourself, check your own attitude, because this will not produce a Win-Win result. If you answered for the other person’s or the organization’s good for you, you may proceed. You have a better chance of succeeding and bringing about a positive resolution. More on this in Rule #2.

1. Clear the air immediately and personally. Don't save everything wait a long time and "gunny-sack" the other person. Gunny-sacking is saving up all of your complaints and problems until the bag is full and them dumping it on the person. Don't get "historical." Getting historical refers to going back over a long periods of time and recalling every detail the other person has done that angers you. This will not promote a win-win situation, and I guarantee if it is a win-lose situation, you will lose!
2. Confront with the right spirit. See the note above #1. Leaders must be neither overeager nor too hesitant to confront. I confront not because it makes me feel good but because I, as a leader, am committed to both the organization’s goals and seeing another mature as a human being. Always have the spirit of putting the other person first in the confrontation and you will benefit.
3. Know their personality and behavior (as well as your own). Different personality types (DiSC®) react in different ways to criticism and confrontation. High I's will try to change the subject and tell stories. High C's will state the rules and go into details. Know how your type reacts to their behavior. Be prepared to react with the knowledge of personality management and professionalism.
4. Start with a positive note. Everyone likes to be complimented. Look for the positive things in the other person's actions that you can begin with. This will put them (and you) at ease to carry on the conversation. It is like using an illustration at the beginning of a speech. It gets the other person to think about pleasant thoughts about them self.
5. Outline the problem. Tell him/her what the meeting is going to be about. Structure what you need in three parts: (A) What - describe what the other person is doing to cause you a problem. (B) How - Tell how this makes you feel. (C) Why - Tell why this is important to you.
6. Encourage a response. Give them an opportunity to answer for what you are saying. John Maxwell say, "The people affected are going to feel shock, bitterness and resentment. And they may not spare your feelings by hiding behind a stiff upper lip. Whatever they say, or keep to themselves, they won't be ready to listen to the reason this is happening to them until they have expressed their emotion or had time to swallow the hurt." Keep the subject focused on your concerns, though. Don't allow them to wander off into another area to distract the conversation.
7. Repeat the other person's position. Re-phrase what they are saying back to them to make sure you (and they) hear what is begin expressed. allow them to correct misunderstandings or misquotes. Let them know that this is "on the record." By the way, do not record the meeting without the prior consent of the other individual; and then I wouldn't do it as it has a tendency to put them on the defensive before the meeting even gets started. It's alright, though, to write make notes, and even give the other person a copy for their files.
8. Explain why the action was wrong. Go over the rules or guidelines that have been broken and make sure they understand in writing what they did incorrectly. Ask them to repeat or rephrase why the action was wrong. Put it in their words so they understand and learn. We remember less of what we simply hear, and more of what we say and hear.
9. Indicate the desired action to be taken. This places the focus on the future, and prevents a re-telling of events that gets "historical." The person who wants to change will gravitate toward the possibility of making things better. This also keeps the conversation on a positive, cheerful note. By the way, watch out when people say they agree with you in principle. It usually means they are getting ready to argue.
10. Reiterate the positive strengths of the person. Go back over their positive contributions to the organization. Don't bring up anything negative at this point. Remember that you are putting them first in your concern and you want them to be better. The Number One Management Principle is: "What gets rewarded, gets done."
11. Put the issue in the past. Never bring it up again unless the problem re-occurs or you use it to affirm positive change and growth. Be careful not to bring it up in a way that makes it seem like you are gloating over a victory you've won. Everyone likes to save face.

Beware of the greatest mistakes leaders make in confrontation.
-Failing to line up the facts.
-Confronting while angry.
-Being vague about the offense.
-Failing to get the other person's perspective or side of the story.
-Failing to keep good records.
-Harboring a grudge.

Now ask yourself, "Was that really so bad?" We often imagine confrontation to be worse than it actually turns out to be. Our fears are holding us back. Move forward now for the good of the other person and the organization. You will find it wasn't as bad as you imagined it would be, and you've helped someone else along the way.

JIM MATHIS is an International Speaking Professional and Trainer.



Industry News

Announcement is made of the recent death of Arzelle Mitchell. She and her husband Query founded Mitchell’s Formal Wear in 1969. Mrs. Mitchell passed away on May 21 at the age of 99. We offer our deepest sympathy to the Mitchell family. Please visit the Notice for Arzelle Mitchell. http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000110148489X

Expo 27: August 21-22, 2008 - REGISTER TODAY!

Join us in the “City that Never Sleeps,” Las Vegas, Nevada, as the International Formalwear Association proudly introduces all of the latest for Spring 2009. Mark your calendars for August 21 – 22 and plan to join us at the beautiful Las Vegas Hilton. We have a jam-packed two day agenda including a complimentary seminar series presented by Bob Barry of John Barry & Associates. Make hotel reservations now at $109

(800) 635-7711

Click Here To Download The Expo 27 Registration Form (pdf)

Make your flight reservations! Flights to Vegas were reasonable on Expedia and Orbitz. Made reservations from Moline IL connecting in Denver for a roundtrip flight for 192+tax for the convention. Check them Out!


Formalwear International

IMMEDIATE RELEASE


FWI is proud to announce the promotion of Mr. Peter Aleman to Managing Director of Customer Service. Along with this promotion we have expanded our family to now include Ms. Lisa Perez as our new Brand Manager for our Jean Yves Brand!

Peter will be entering his 12th year with FWI and he has a vast knowledge of our internal operations. He has consistently shown a desire to do what ever it takes for our customers. His commitment to our industry has earned him “The Customer Service Representative of the Year Award” presented by the IFA, in Nashville, in September 2007. We are confident that Peter will bring a new significance to the words Customer Service.

Lisa started her career some 20 years ago with L&M Accessories. Her passion and desire to take on any challenge has earned her an impeccable reputation in the formalwear industry. The decision to name Lisa as our Brand Manager was unanimous because she brings a wealth of knowledge to our company. Her desire to share her bright thoughts and ideas with others will help us in our pursuit of excellence.

We felt that these two strategic moves were needed to strengthen our internal support by bringing Marketing, Sales, and Production together. This will enable us to provide faster and more accurate information in all areas of our company especially with the delivery of our products.

Please join us in congratulating Peter and welcoming Lisa as part of our family!

Dominic Yacovella
& Maurice Silva




Wants and Offerings
DEAR IFA
SAL OF J& L FORMAL WEAR New Orleans IS LOOKING FOR TWO WHT SOUTHBRIDGES 4 BOY 46XL TO BUY, BORROW, OR RENT.ALSO LOOKING TO SELL A RUN OF BLK LAVIDA LARGO LONG COATS A GOOD RUN OF ABOUTY 35 COATS ALSO HAVE A RUN OF WHT A/6 PANTS WITH BLK STRIPE LOST JACKETS IN FLOOD BUT PANTS IN GOOD SHAPE CALL SAL 504-340-4544


Thoughts for the Week

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in the someone else’s hands, but not you” ~Jim Rohn~
“You always do what you want to do. This is true with every act. You may say that you had to do something, or that you were forced to, but actually, whatever you do, you do by choice. Only you have the power to choose for yourself.” ~W. Clement Stone~