Wedding planning just got easier at MFX Salons Spas

You would be amazed at how many wedding parties pass through our doors. Quite honestly, up until now, we were equally amazed at how we managed before our decision to deploy our new web-based planning and collaboration software created by the fine folks at 37signals.com. For us, it is not uncommon within our salon and spa locations to have three or four wedding parties receiving services on a Saturday. This especially happens during peak wedding season.

Until now, the majority of the planning and coordination process for weddings took place over email. What a headache! To eliminate redundancy and confusion on our end and the bride’s, it’s our practice to coordinate all communication through one team member for our entire company. Now, picture all of the phone calls and emails flying back and forth when scheduling multiple services for several different people. When brides contact us for services, we understand that they are allowing us to be a part of the most important day in their life. That’s a lot of responsibility. What worked for us five years ago, just wasn’t working for us now. We knew that we needed to look at how we facilitated our work flow that allowed more organization and better collaboration between Maximum FX and our clients. That’s when we found Basecamp. A web-based collaboration tool that allows us to manage projects, and collaborate with our team and clients the modern way.

Here's a sneak peek at the Project Dashboard that summarizes all of the recent activity on this bride's wedding planning.

Here you can see where the bride uploaded photos to the Basecamp project ahead of her scheduled visit. This allows her stylist to review the images to get an idea of various looks that she enjoys. With iPads available in the salon, this makes for a very powerful bridal consultation.

Basecamp allows us to contain all communication, calendars with events, files, images, to-do lists and more between Maximum FX and our client within each project that is created in the software. The software is web-based so we can grant access to our clients for specific wedding projects that we create. It’s just an easier way to work. It eliminates stress, improves communication, and positions us to provide a better salon experience for our brides.

Here you can see where phone notes are stored under the wedding project created for Cynthia Woods. Both the bride and the MFX wedding coordinator can log in at any time to review notes that were made by either party.

So there you have it! Just one more innovation brought to you by Maximum FX and the guys over at 37signals.com. Stay tuned for more blog posts on how we continue to use Basecamp for internal projects, making collaboration productive and enjoyable for our team members every day. If you are getting married, or you know of a friend, family member or co-worker who’s planning a wedding. Send them our way. We promise to take good care of them!

Filed Under: Stuff We're Working On

Great customer service from Rudy’s BBQ – Capital Of Texas HWY

By Chris Murphy Leave a Comment

We recently hosted a baby shower for one of our colorists at our South Congress location. She loves all things country, so when we were trying to decide what food to serve, someone suggested Rudy’s BBQ!

I called the restaurant to place my order and was told that on the day of pickup to use the phone located outside in the front of the restaurant to let them know that I was there to pickup my order. I thought to myself. Hmm, interesting, but really didn’t give it much more thought. So, as instructed, I pull up to the restaurant and I immediately locate the black old-style dial phone that is literally attached to front wall of the restaurant. When I called the number to let the fine folks at Rudy’s know that I was there, I was greeted by a friendly “Hey Chris! We’ll be right out with your order. In the meantime, help yourself to an ice cold beverage located in the ice chest right in front of you.” Immediately, I looked down and found the ice chest full of all kinds of beverages, from sodas to water. For some reason, I never noticed it up until then.

In less than a minute, out comes the most friendly guy who handled my food delivery with speed and efficiency. Everything was handled right there on the front porch, payment and all! I can’t remember the guy’s name who helped me, but he even loaded my catering order into my vehicle for me.

Needless to say, I was impressed. It’s obvious that the folks at Rudy’s are obsessed with great service. They pay close attention to the finest details. It’s as if they know, from the customer’s perspective, everything the guests experiences from beginning to end. It was the little things, the subtle touches that wowed me. That’s incredible customer service. I’m a customer for life. If you’re looking for some great BBQ, check out the fine folks and food at Rudy’s BBQ.

K&N Management, the parent company of Rudy’s BBQ and Mighty Fine Burgers is a two-time recipient of the Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award. The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by the . The Baldrige Award is the only formal recognition of the performance excellence of both public and private U.S. organizations given by the President of the United States.

Filed Under: Business

Austin Fashion Week August 20-27

By MFXTeam Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Events, Fashion & Accessories

Energy Savers: Tips to Save Energy Today

By MFXTeam Leave a Comment

Set your thermostat to the highest (or lowest) temperature setting that will still let you be comfortable. In the summer, 78-80 degrees should be the goal when you’re at home and 85 degrees or higher when you’re out. With hot weather, use fans when possible to help you feel more comfortable when you’re in the room. They can make the room feel up to five degrees cooler and use a fraction of the energy that your AC does.

Turn off all lights, fans, TVs, computers and other electronics when not in use. Electronic appliances are silent users of electricity, even when they are not being used. Electricity is still being consumed to power all components, even the pilot light. The easiest way to control your electronics is to purchase and use power strips.

Start to weatherize and seal your home. If you have a fireplace, make sure the damper is closed in the summer so you’re not losing cool air up the chimney. If there are drafts coming in or around your windows and doors, then consider installing weather stripping. Seal cracks and places where plumbing or electrical items enter the house or come through the ceiling.

Lower (or raise) the energy “load” on your home. Close curtains and blinds in sunny areas, especially on west or south facing windows in hot weather, and open them in cold weather. Landscape the outer perimeter of your home so that your air conditioning unit is shaded but has sufficient air circulation, because it reduces radiant heat.

Check the air conditioning filter every month and change if needed. Dirty air filters prevent efficient airflow throughout your HVAC system, and as such, can cause your AC unit to run longer and possibly even shorten the lifespan of various parts. Therefore, regularly replacing your air filters will ensure cleaner air for you and your family to breathe as well as preventing your ducts from clogging and filling up with various dust particles.

Set your water heater to “Medium” or a baseline of 130 degrees. You may be able to set it even lower if your dishwasher has a pre-heater. If you’re used to long showers (more than 5-10 minutes), save by shortening the time spent showering by setting the heater to run out of comfortably warm water by the time you’ve finished.

Wash clothes in cold water and wash full loads whenever possible. 80-90% of energy costs for washing clothes involve heating water for hot or warm cycles. Cold water detergents do just as well in almost all cases.

Use the automatic drying setting on your dryer, rather than timed drying, and dry full loads. By using the timer setting, you run the risk of over-drying your clothes (potentially damaging them). Don’t forget to clean the lint trap after every load; that leads to airflow efficiency which means longer life on your unit.

Turn off the Heated Dry setting on your dishwasher and let the dishes air dry inside. Wash full loads here as well.

Turn on your old, inefficient fridge in the garage only for those few occasions when you need extra room to store stuff. It takes extra energy to run a refrigerator or freezer in a non-air conditioned area. Add to that the age of the appliance – if it is old, then the extra monthly energy costs could be significant.

Keep your refrigerator closed while deciding what to eat. Each time you open the fridge door, the compressor has to run for eight to 10 minutes to keep the cold inside.

If your dryer has a moisture sensor, clean it occasionally to keep the waxy build-up from dryer softening sheets from impeding the sensor’s ability to detect moisture.

If you’re thinking about purchasing a new or additional computer, then consider buying a laptop – they are less power-hungry than desktops. A laptop typically uses less than 20% of the energy an average desktop does with an LCD monitor and as little as 14% of what a desktop with an old-fashioned CRT monitor will use.

When buying new electronics or appliances, look for the ENERGY STAR® label which can be found on many different products such as TVs, computers, cell phones, washers and many more. The ENERGY STAR label is the industry’s leading brand for certifying that electronic appliances are energy efficient.

Install and use dimmer or motion detector switches where possible. They can reduce energy usage for an area by 40-50%. Don’t forget to dust your light bulbs periodically. Dust can cut 20% or more of the light they emit.

Filed Under: Environmental Responsibility

Energy Conservation – Together We Can Make A Difference

By MFXTeam Leave a Comment

Almost all of you are aware that we are living through one of the hottest summers in recent memory, especially in Texas. As an Aveda Environmenal Lifestyle Salon and Spa organization, we pride ourselves on the practice of being an environmentally conscious company. From the products that we use, to the ways that we conserve and protect environmental resources, we try to provide a living model for others to follow. As you can appreciate, the high temperatures have meant a dramatic increase in the amount of electricity being consumed. And with a sizeable portion of our society – such as the elderly and the economically challenged – especially vulnerable to the threat of rolling blackouts and other types of outages, the current landscape could prove a recipe for disaster.

Towards helping to decrease pressures on the Texas grid and ensure that affordable energy is available for everyone in our community, we are encouraging you take a very simple, yet meaningful, action – that is, beginning today and for the remainder of August, please raise your thermostat by two degrees during the crucial peak usage time frame of 12:00 noon through 7:00 p.m. daily.

We are also encouraging you to decrease your August energy usage so as to lighten the load on the Texas energy grid. To help you, we have prepared a list of energy savings tips that you can put into action. By conserving energy particularly during peak usage hours, we will ensure that everyone will have access to energy as needed. Plus, these tips represent some great ways for you to realize lower energy bills yourself this summer.

Together, we can all make a difference.

Filed Under: Business, Earth Month Tips, Environmental Responsibility