Bali

In the wake of the verdict in the Schapelle Corby case we would be interested to know if any Australian conferences booked in Bali or other parts of Indonesia are going to be cancelled or moved? If they are going ahead are they well supported by delegates?

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Schapelle and her family at this time.

storm brewing???

There is a storm brewing between the C & I industry and Tourism Australia.

The likelihood of Tourism Australia putting all their marketing efforts into the "big picture" and forgoing any involvement in the specialised industries such as the C & I market is a certainty.

Particularly if it follows the same pattern that transpired in NZ. The new marketing manager for Tourism Australia, Ian McFarland, was previously the marketing manager for Tourism New Zealand and helped launch their very successful campaign in 2003. At the Leaders Forum at the MEA conference last month, we got the impression that this would be the case.

Whether this is a good thing or not, the industry is stewing.

The word unique is unique

Why is it that just about every article, announcement, press release or promotion of a property, attraction, destination or product is lauded as "unique". The Macquarie Dictionary's definition of the word unique is: adj. 1. of which there is only one; sole. 2. having no like or equal; standing alone in comparison with others; unequalled. 3. remarkable, rare or unusual; a unique experience.Ipso facto there is no such thing as "very unique or really unique".

C'mon - there are 26 letters in the alphabet that make thousands of adjectives - and there will always be one that will be the right fit. There are some adjectives that come into fashion (whether they are correctly used not), that hang around and lazily fill out sentences and refuse to leave the building. Kick them out, send them to their rooms, expel them, sack them - kiss them goodbye, thank them for their time and ask them never to darken a paragraph again!

CIM Editorial Department

workplace etiquette

I heard on radio yesterday that people hate mobile phones in the workplace that have unusual ring tones. I have found myself left humming a ring tone after a colleague's phone has rung. Should mobiles be banned in the office? Or placed on silent ring? Which then brings up the issue of vibrating mobile phones on desks. But we wont go there. Maybe we should just co-ordinate so that everyone has the same Eminem song as a ring tone.

Also mentioned on radio was the new trend in offices for a clean desk policy. I am guilty of a messy desk, but it is my organised chaos, I know where everything is. But to the outsider it looks like I am lazy. Do we really think that a clean desk means employee's are working harder, or are they just spending time tidying the desk? Next we will be seeing KPI's that include a tidy desk!

the art of queuing

Having attended an event over the weekend at the Sydney Superdome, I walked away scratching my head wondering if the contract catering company has someone with some sort of practical knowledge guiding them in customer service.

Like many other people attending the Bette Midler concert my party decided to have dinner in one of the restaurants and cafes at the Superdome.

The one thing that sticks in my head about the whole experience is queuing! We queued to get into the Superdome we queued to get into the restaurant, we queued to order our drinks we queued to order our food. After ordering the drinks, instead of actually giving me my drinks to take back with me my drinks went into yet another queue to be distributed to our table by a waiter. It seemed quite unnecessary. By the time we got our meal and finished it we had to race off to find our seats. There is a lot of needless queuing going on.

To add insult to injury during the intermission I purchased a bottle of Coca Cola, only to be given a half empty open bottle.