I think there’s a shortage of outlets. Not those sprawling malls where high-end brands pretend to sell you things at special prices; I mean the good old-fashioned electrical kind. The ones we all need, eventually, to charge up our toys.
When they put me in charge of hotel rooms, coffee shops, airports, waiting rooms and other places people with toys spend their time, I shall put power bars everywhere! First, I will elevate them. If not to the pedestals they deserve, at least to knee height so those of us who don’t wear track pants to work can plug in our dying devices without scarring the people around us.
Next, I will make them easy to find. Maybe with lights or signs or a beeping noise that gets louder as you get closer. That would save people like me from scouting the Starbucks before I even order to see where the lone outlet might be so I can plug in my computer and do some work.
Also, I will have lots of them. I recently spent two days in a lovely hotel meeting room in a top property with excellent food and obsequious service. The catch. Somewhere between ordering the mahogany board room table and searing the fois gras, someone forgot to put outlets in, on or even under the table. There was a lovely projector that glided out from within the table (presumably powered by something other than gerbils) yet not a hint of a source of power for the eight people and their laptops, BlackBerries, iPhones, iPods and other things they forgot to charge at home. The hotel staff helpfully brought in power bars which they plugged into the wall sockets (convenient if you’re having a Spiderman convention, one assumes) and then taped to the floor. I’m pretty sure this hotel was built after the advent of electricity so it’s a complete mystery why they didn’t think anyone would want to plug something in at the table.
Speaking of hotels, I will also make sure that every hotel room in the world has at least four open outlets on the desk. Not two outlets down behind, one each taken up by the work lamp and the tv, but enough on the desk to run a computer, charge a cell phone, power up an iPod and one left over for something crazy like a digital camera or just to stick keys into for the heck of it.
Yes, when I’m in charge we’ll get rid of those weird proprietary sorts of outlets that say “only special appliances can work here”. These are the kind airports, malls and commuter trains use. They need to be outlawed. I will also put an outlet at EVERY seat in airplanes. It’s time to end that sick human experiment that provides two outlets in each row of three seats. And I’ll put them on buses and trains. What better way to get people out of their cars than to offer not just space to play with their gadgets but also the power to do so?
BizMarketer is written by Elizabeth Williams,
I help companies have better conversations
Drop me a line at ewilliams@candlerchase.com
Or follow me @bizmkter
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