wairarapabusinessshowcase

Fourteen Decades of Chartered Accounting Service: A Prosperous Future Rides On A Well-Planned Present

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 06:46:58 GMT

Ensuring Stability Relies on Successfully Riding the Waves of Change

In Masterton, there is an accountancy firm that has seen the reign of two queens, the coming of the computer age, the birth of the AI revolution . . . and 140 years of constant change and evolution within the Wairarapa’s widely varying agricultural sector.

And with the benefit of those 14 decades of hindsight, it can consolidate nearly all its rich history of insights into one overarching theme with two key components: those that adapt survive, grow and profit . . . and the key to adaptation is quality and timeliness of information.

Nowhere are “Just In Time” informational inputs of greater value than in a farming operation . . . and the Wairarapa, historically, is built on these. The region has one of the most diverse agricultural sectors in New Zealand . . . from dairying to forestry, from viticulture to numerous different types of cropping, to sheep and beef farming, historically the region’s agricultural mainstay. With the challenging nature of much of the region’s land, there’s also a well-developed stud breeding sector here, producing animals that are sought after for their hardiness and adaptability.

All of these operations – whether large or small – are capital intensive . . . often an understatement. And all are subject to, and sensitive to, changes in market tastes, expectations and demand . . . often in response not only to the domestic scene but also to international markets.

This richly diverse agricultural sector represents a very large component of chartered accountancy partnership Sellar & Sellar’s client base – and has done so since its 1884 beginnings (albeit, for the first four years of its existence, not by a Sellar, but by one William Boyce Chennells). Chennells was joined four years later, in 1888, by William Sellar, as his co-Partner (the Partnership then becoming Sellar & Chennells). The firm increasingly became a Sellar family operation and in 1936 changed its name to reflect that directly: Sellar & Sellar. The Sellar family succession held all the way through the decades until the last Sellar retired as a Partner in 1975. (See detailed timeline at end of Feature.)

The Timeless Criticality of Timely Information Inputs

The evolution and survival of agriculture in all its forms within the region’s diverse base has required many of its component sectors to change rapidly at times within the nearly one and a half centuries the successive generations and Partners of Sellar & Sellar have observed – and served – them.

Whether it’s been dairy farmers responding creatively to modern-day environmental challenges with the likes of farming dung beetles to reduce the volume of nitrogen leaching into waterways, farmers converting sections of land to forestry for carbon credits, or the adoption of and investment in advanced technologies, a willingness to change and adapt is the constant theme running through that long observational history.

And it’s always been quality informational inputs – from the days when the region contributed to the first shipments of frozen carcases from Dunedin’s Port Chalmers to London to be sold at the famous Smithfield Market, to today’s increasingly fast-moving agricultural landscape – that have been key to the success of long-term sustainable agricultural operations.

Sellar & Sellar Partner Graeme Bayliss has, during his 36 years with the firm, provided chartered accountancy services to almost as many dairy farm operations, and to the often multi-generational families that own them . . . especially here in the Wairarapa where, in the majority, dairying is still a family business.

“Good solid data is a core tenet for the profitability of any business,” says Bayliss. “But nowhere more so than in dairying. Its hands-on, especially market-sensitive, and very capital-intensive nature.

"It has very high inputs . So if you’re going to optimise for very high outputs , you have to keep everything in a very fine balance. Precision-budgeting is absolutely critical.”

Forecasting Is the Catchcry

The catchcry here is forecasting.

“Historic data has its uses in mapping and recognising longer-term trends . . . but what we want is the freshest data inputs possible, so that what happened or maybe went wrong last week, can be changed, fixed or improved on this week.

“Nipping an issue in the bud means exactly that: nipping it in the bud, before it gets the opportunity to blossom into a budgetary black hole.

“Things in dairy farming have to be a lot more real-time, and it’s the accountants who work collegially with dairy farm advisors, for example, who can readily discern what data points are the ones to keep the closest eye on, in any given circumstances and in any given environment.

“The decisions you make this week affect how much milk you get out of your farm next week. The impacts of decisions are seen far more quickly and rapidly than in other types of farming.”

Bayliss cites fuel and electricity as two specific cost items that benefit from real-time tracking, and that can inform profit-preserving behavioural changes.

“Fuel prices . . . a biggie," he notes. "You have forecast a fuel line item of X in consideration of the global factors impacting fuel prices in that moment. But the online fuel usage suddenly leaps to Y. We then need to explore why that is; was it just that fuel prices increased, or was it actually something different – like some behaviour related to usage? Or has the operation reached a point where it’s time to purchase more efficient machinery?

“When you’re keeping a weather eye on this sort of a variance each year you can readily see that, for example, it’s been a consistent unwelcome variance across say, the past three to four farming cycles, and now it looks as though it’s going be a constant, and therefore a constant budgeting challenge . . . So now we reach the point where we decide we won’t delay what has become obvious without letting it get any worse i.e. that we’re going to have to plan a big capital expenditure item.”

The same goes for electricity – another commodity that can vary wildly because of cost and usage practices.

“What’s the operation’s break-even point when an electric appliance is cheaper to run than a diesel appliance, and how does that feed into the decision to finance a new capital investment? Investing in a new electric motor-driven asset is going to be expensive, for sure, but we have to understand the payback period involved with having made that investment decision vs the risk exposure of uncertainty around global fuel prices.

“It’s the old saying, you can’t benefit from what you don’t measure. You can’t make a conscious decision if you’re not conscious of the information required to inform it.

“Also, because you milk cows twice a day, there is – accordingly – a wide spectrum of cost inputs that have the scope to improve economic performance in a short time span. From feed type-related decisions to whether to invest in a new tractor dependent on what’s happening with diesel and looks to be continuing or not continuing with that, to the best way, in any specific set of circumstances, to fund or finance capital expenditures, or maybe avoid them altogether through the use of contractors.

“In dairying you also have more expensive livestock, you’re paid for how many kilos of milk solids you’re producing, there are large HR costs, irrigation considerations, and a multiplicity of equipment types and the associated decisions and upgrades to be made on a reasonably regularly basis.

“There’s risk management in terms of exposure to higher interest rates. If we’re working with a switched-on client they’ll often want us to model budgetary impact scenarios with them . . . What does a ¼ percent increase in the cash rate mean for their cash flow position, and how does that flow into their medium-term goals and funding requirements? Are we going to have a lean budget or a generous budget next season . . . and more immediately, is it going to change the way we meet the costs of this year’s expenditures? Should we leave interest rates floating or locked in for two or five years?

“There’s a frequency of information needed in the dairying context, and if we, as accountants, get that it gives us the ability to optimise the direct, on-farm impact of our advice. Time lags erode profitability. Timeliness optimises it.”

It’s an unavoidable truth that, for the most part and certainly in the shorter term, primary industries are price takers on the international market, so the focus necessarily has to be on where a farmer has the greatest degree of control: the efficiency of input costs.

Analysing costs either too long after the fact and/or as a total picture without drilling down to find out the reasons for variance, can hide a multiplicity of sins. The more accurate and granular the information is, and the more regularly it is compiled, the better the analysis, and the sooner the client can act on the information and make a timely change . . . a change that, itself, gets monitored in a timely fashion and that facilitates further analysis for continuous improvement.

"That’s the reality and the benefit of real-time, 'Just In Time' information . . . whether it’s the intensive operating landscape of dairying or the very different environments of forestry or a vineyard, the principles hold. Dairying simply provides a peak example.”

Passing On or Passing It On

The commonality between almost all primary industries is their capital-intensive nature.

“There’s a huge investment in land, plant and machinery, and the value of the combined assets which have traditionally been held by single families or extended families requires some focused decision-making on how to protect that asset for the family – protect it against tax, protect it against commercial risk, and protect it against financing-related risks,” says Bayliss.

“There’s no time like the handing on of the family farm to see exactly what it looks like when these have been managed well over the years compared to when they haven’t.”

The agricultural scene in the Wairarapa has traditionally been the domain of large farming families.

“That’s what makes the Wairarapa so different in this current age; we still have a large concentration of old money spread around many multi-generational families.”

And Sellar & Sellar has serviced many of them.

According to the 2025 Rabobank white paper, ‘Changing of the Guard: Stepping Up the Succession Conversation in New Zealand Farming’ , the demographic face of farming is changing at an alarming rate. The bald fact: the average age of the farm owner is getting rapidly older.

Since 1996, it states, the proportion of farm owners aged 25 to 54 has steeply declined. Those aged 25 to 39 declined by 64 percent, while the proportion of those aged 40 to 54 is down by 54 percent.

Meanwhile, the proportion aged 65 and over has increased sharply: the 65 to 74 age group is up by 89 percent, while the proportion of those over 75 grew by 322 percent between 1996 and 2023.

Study Reveals Concerning Laxity in Succession Planning Among Farming Families

A February 2025 Rabobank survey of 450 farming businesses across the full spectrum of operational sizes, revealed a concerning laxity in succession planning.

According to Rabobank’s documentation:

Across all respondents, 33 percent said their farming business had a developed and documented succession plan, while a further 17 percent had discussed succession with the relevant parties but nothing had been officially documented. Half had neither discussed succession nor commenced a succession plan.

The 33 percent who had discussed and documented a succession plan was weighted towards farms with an annual gross on-farm income of over $1 million (where 45 percent had documented succession plans). This compares to just 22 percent of the sample’s smaller farming businesses, where the gross on-farm income was less than $200,000.

Part of the difficulty in transitioning leadership is the complex mix of family relationships in a business setting. Younger generations may be required to “earn their stripes” before taking control of the business, while older generations may grapple with retaining a meaningful role. Relationships that were once strictly family-based soon merge into working business-oriented relationships between parents and the next generation and/or sibling partnerships, with the challenge of working together effectively. People seldom hold discussions around the concept of control. If roles and responsibilities are not clearly delineated, the potential for conflict is high.

Unexpected events such as death, injury or divorce also have no contingency planning to fall back on, whereas an up-to-date, functional succession plan - if one existed - could smooth the way to a harmonious and productive outcome.

So, as the Rabobank document would indicate, with just over half of all current farm and orchard owners set to reach or pass retirement age in the next 10 years, there’s a pressing need to get on and do something about this serious gap in planning.

Timely Information . . . Every Time

Injecting the matter into the directly relevant accounting environment, it yet again highlights the need for regular, timely data inputs.

“A farm is a complex operation; a system of inputs and outputs. And that complexity has become extreme in the regulatory environment, particularly, in recent years,” comments Bayliss.

“If you come to the point of an event or an impending event forcing the issue of succession planning and you find that, at best, for years you’ve been making decisions on lag time, or at worst you’ve been running completely blind, you can imagine the mess.

“Because of the complexity and the increased wealth of these complex businesses, the transference of them down the generational chain means you have all that much larger value that can be lost through inadequate planning.

“That’s where accountants and lawyers work together alongside financial advisors to create a scenario where all affected family members are aware of what the parents are doing . . . and how the wealth is going to flow down, which in turn helps the younger generation to plan their own futures.

New Title

Multiple Families, Multiple Considerations & Multiplied Ripple Effects

The days of a farm supporting one family are now becoming rarer. The same farm needs to support multiple families. Planning or the lack thereof has magnified ripple effects.

“It’s societal, commercial change at the highest level,” Bayliss states. “It requires cool heads and high-grade, timely information to be put to maximum effect, and preferably also to have been put to that maximum effect for years or decades before.

“A lot of these farms have been held in trusts – and the problem with trusts is that they get set up and then they just get parked for decades . . . usually for a multitude of reasons: they don’t want to think about death, it’s expensive to restructure, or now they have conflicting priorities.

“They just want to focus on today and hope that the future takes care of itself.

“But then the future gets closer, or worse still arrives without warning, and then there’s a slap-in-the-face level of realisation that they aren’t prepared at all . . . and you can very quickly end up with a total conflict between the parties within a family.

“These are all the issues that should have been thrashed out years before.

“For example, often the younger generation doesn’t want to spend years and decades building an asset. They want a return now . The mindsets of the younger folk have changed.

“But the older generation doesn’t see the need for the younger generation to have it easier than they had it. Their mindset is that they did it themselves, so why should the kids just come in and take the wealth? And then you get inter-family squabbles with romantic partners getting involved, and it all turns to custard.

“You have to address this even if it’s uncomfortable . . . because one day it’s going to become a lot more uncomfortable and that one day is going to come.”

The need for relevant, regularly captured and analysed information underpins a well-researched succession plan. It's the basis upon which all advisors make their recommendations and provide their guidance . . . including farm management advisors and lawyers, not only the accountants.

It’s only through this quality and recency of information that those parties can see what the business is really worth and its potential going forward in various contexts or modes of operation . . . and thus, the options that are available to it and the incoming generation.

“If it’s a swap from less intensive farming policy to a more intensive farming policy, or a change in land use to a different crop, that the incoming ownership and management has in mind . . . you need to know what the family asset is worth and how it can be utilised, converted, or optimised in all those scenarios.”

Greater than the Sum of the Parts

"This is where smart forward planning can ensure that the opportunities each party benefits from are greater than the sum of the actual parts," says Bayliss.

“It’s all part of a comprehensive, responsible, forward-thinking succession planning exercise. And knowing the true make-up of the existing base of wealth is the foundation, and also the foundation to fairness (which doesn’t always relate to straight equity) in the transference and sharing of that wealth around the different family members.

"That in itself is another huge topic in its own right.

"By way of example, the potential wealth creation available to each person might, according to the parents’ wishes, need to be commensurate with their input into the family wealth to date – which is the essence of fairness in a context where 'fair' and 'equal' aren’t always the same thing.”

___________________________________________________________

The Sellar & Sellar History Timeline

1884 - William Boyce Chennells commences operation as an Accountant in Masterton.

1888 – William Sellar goes into partnership with William Boyce Chennells.

1898 – George William Sellar, son of W. Sellar, joins the firm of Sellar & Chennells.

1906 – G.W. Sellar becomes a Partner with W.B. Chennells.

1913 – W.B. Chennells retires from partnership.

1931 – William Michael Sellar joins Sellar & Chennells.

1936 – W.M. Sellar joins his father G.W Sellar as a Partner, firm to be known as Sellar & Sellar.

1975 – W.M. Sellar retires as a Partner from Sellar & Sellar.

Ammu: Bringing A Fuller Appreciation of Indian Cuisine to Wellington & the Wairarapa

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 07:01:17 GMT

How Special Is THIS Indian Restaurant? How to Even Count the Ways . . .

When diners across New Zealand think of an evening out for Indian food, the cultural default is almost universally North Indian: thick gravies, heavy cream, tandoori meats, and the omnipresent butter chicken. While those familiar classics hold an indisputable place on the Kiwi palate, they represent only a fraction of the subcontinent’s vast culinary geography.

At Ammu – first established in Upper Hutt in 2018 and now making its ambitious Wairarapa debut at 109 Chapel Street, Masterton – the table is set with a unique richness and variety of culinary heritage.

Owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Eldho Paul and Jyothy Prabhakumar, Ammu is ensuring Wellingtonians and now residents of the Wairarapa have a very wide selection of Indian cuisine . . . and especially through the delights of the trademark dishes of their homeland: the South Indian coastal state of Kerala.

Simply speaking, Ammu is best described as an Indian restaurant with a menu that, while offering all the well-known North Indian curries like butter chicken, tikka masala, rogan josh and korma, places equal emphasis on its range of traditional South Indian dishes . . . most especially those from the proprietors’ beloved home state.

Introducing Truly Authentic SOUTH Indian Cuisine

The hallmark of Kerala cooking lies in its aromatic lightness and use of indigenous coastal ingredients. Where North Indian curries lean heavily on cream, butter, and tomato bases, Kerala cuisine draws its character from coconut derivatives.

“The dishes from our region are more coconut-based, whereas North Indian dishes are heavier,” Jyothy explains.

“Popular South Indian dishes are those like goat curry masala and chicken roast (despite its name, this is still very much an Indian curry).

“Ghee rice is something that is becoming more popular here as more locals try it. It’s prepared with a smaller grain rice and cooked alongside certain spices and clarified butter to make even the rice very aromatic.

“One of our local Indian customers told us recently that it is like something her grandmother used to make . . . . which, in the Indian culture is the ultimate compliment, because anything that is like our grandparents would cook would be very authentic and very good.”

South Indian biryanis, too, are different to normal biryanis. For example, in Ammu’s chicken dum biryani, a true Kerala, and now Ammu, signature dish, the chicken is cooked in a special gravy after which the rice is added, “and then the whole thing is sealed in dough that forms an edible lid and that traps the steam inside the heavy pot while it continues cooking to completion, so that all the flavours stay in. The dough seal forces every grain of rice to absorb the intense aromatics and the natural juices of the meat.

“Cooking the rice and the chicken together in the same cooking process produces a richer flavour and real aroma.”

The dish is an especially popular one, Jyothy says.

It’s also one of an ever-growing range of signature preparations that demand intensive, multi-stage labour . . . another being its Dosa.

Unlike ordinary flatbreads, Ammu’s dosas – crisp, savoury crepes – require a multi-day commitment.

Raw lentils and rice are soaked and ground into a silky batter which is allowed to ferment naturally overnight. The resulting crepes are served with a wide choice of fillings ranging from spiced potato masala to the layering of egg, cheese, spiced potato and rich butter chicken that form the Ammu Special Dosa.

Behind the Scenes: From High-Level Systems to Culinary Discipline

The precision that goes into running a restaurant operation that offers such a wide variety of dishes, and calibrates them finely to bridge authenticity of tradition with the Kiwi palate and preferences . . . and that also ensures constant freshness and peak quality, is rooted in the respective professional backgrounds of the couple.

The couple met while studying back home in India. Jyothy completed a Bachelor in Computer Applications, while Eldho – drawn to commercial cooking by his childhood fascination of watching his father lead the feast preparations for extended family and community weddings – completed a Bachelor in Hospitality Management.

Jyothy arrived in New Zealand first, in 2011, landing an assignment with Infosys for Telecom (now Spark), systematically diagnosing faults in customer-facing and enterprise software systems. When Eldho joined her in 2013, he brought an equally disciplined background in his own area of expertise, having trained under senior chefs in five-star hotel kitchens across India where storage logic, raw ingredient freshness, and uncompromising food safety standards were drilled to the letter.

In New Zealand, Eldho immediately stepped into the kitchen at Lower Hutt’s famed Little India chain of restaurants. Over several years – often moving between five Wellington region sites to cover senior kitchen posts – he absorbed the operational logistics of high-volume, standardised commercial operations.

That foundational balance – Jyothy’s systems analysis and operational governance paired with Eldho’s technical kitchen discipline – became the modus operandi of Ammu . . . and the unrelenting standard upon which the Ammu operation, the existing business they purchased in 2018, would be based. (To be noted, the Upper Hutt business had been owned by a Sri Lankan family, and Eldho has kept many of its founding dishes from that culture alive in its menu today.)

When the couple first took over the business, one of their priorities was to ensure that – notwithstanding their intention to create an extensive menu and one which would place a priority focus on South Indian dishes – they were also both maintaining and introducing only dishes that would be welcomed and appreciated by their customer base.

“We started off doing weekly Chef Specials. That encouraged people to try new dishes and gave us the market intelligence we needed to know that they would like what we were adding to the existing menu.

“And we did find that they would fall in love with a new dish, and through this demand, we would then incorporate those special dishes into the regular menu . . . and that’s one of the reasons the current menu grew to the huge size (more than 80 dishes) that it now is.”

How do Eldho and his staff keep the ingredients for so many dishes, fresh?

The answer is two-fold:

“First, there is actually only a small number of sauces which each form the basis for large categories of the dishes,” explains Jyothy. “The variety or the variation is what you add to, and how you cook, these base ingredients. It’s those additional determining ingredients and the manner of cooking that turn it into the specific outcome you’ve intended. Some might have more tomato in the base and some might have more cream in the base, for example.

“It’s all permutations and variations on a base theme; that’s a key in Indian cooking.

“So while we might have close to 100 dishes, we only need around 20 different ingredients.”

Eldho trains his chefs to operate their ordering and re-stocking on a “Just In Time” (JIT) basis.

“We project demand very carefully,” Eldho explains. “We almost never make anything in bulk. We would rather run out of a certain ingredient and be upfront with a customer if they order a dish impacted by a shortfall of that ingredient on that day, than be the sort of restaurant that makes a huge amount of something and keeps it in storage.

“Even though you can do that and still be within the food guidelines for the industry . . . no, we won’t do that. We would rather run a tight ship with careful projections and deal honestly with shortages if we run out of the fresh ingredients for a dish. Although, because of our careful projections it is not a frequent thing to run out, but there are times when we do, and we will deal with that with honesty rather than with compromise.”

Quality AND Quantity

The other “secret” – which is hardly a secret, just a tenet of good food – is that Ammu refuses to fall prey to the temptation so many food operations do fall prey to in an ill-advised attempt at increasing profits i.e. that of “stretching” ingredients and resorting to lower quality ingredients.

“We won’t do it,” says Jyothy. “We don’t try to cut down the quality or quantity of ingredients to cut down the cost. It’s against our entire ethos for Ammu.

“For example, after Covid, the specific brand of flour we used became very expensive,” she explained. “But we kept buying it because it produces the best quality naan bread. It would have been easy to have just gone with the flow at the time and taken what was available and avoided the increased cost; but we refused to do that.

“We’re not going to compromise on the quality that our customers are used to getting. We won’t do that with any of the ingredients.

“Our chefs know that. None of our curries are watery, for example. We always make sure they have the optimum amount of cream or other key ingredients in their base.

“Our definition of value for money is not on cheaper or extended ingredients or bulk-made ingredients. NO! Our definition of value for money is that when the customer sits down to their meal, they know that the greatest care and pride has gone into their being delighted with it and they know that what they have paid for that meal was worth every cent.

“So we have a reputation that we’ve built on a certain quality that our customers have become used to. That’s why they keep coming back. They know when they come to Ammu their meals will all be the same high quality – every time.

“That’s the direction we decided to take the Ammu business and brand name in at the outset, and that’s paid strong dividends in terms of customer loyalty. And we will never compromise on that.

“In the same way, we keep a close eye on our social media reviews, and we will promptly make any changes we need to, if we see a review that we’re not happy to have received.”

Service Staff & the Customer Experience

Service staff are central to the customer’s experience at Ammu.

“For example, we will go to the table multiple times to make sure that the customer is happy,” Jyothy says.

“Maybe we might find that we got the spice levels wrong and the customer wanted something slightly less hot or slightly more hot. We will not hesitate to take the curry back and make another version according to their taste.

“We now have a strong customer base in Upper Hutt, with customers who come in every week, and some who will always come in for lunch every Tuesday, or dinner every Friday . . . our ‘regulars’.

“And whenever any of our regular customers go on holiday and come back and say, ‘We really missed your curries’, that makes us feel very happy, because they must have had other Indian food where they went – but they missed our curries.

“Or if not Indian food when they were away, they must surely have had other delicious food where they went, but it’s our food they missed.

“It’s the ultimate validation of our quality.”

The Indian restaurant and takeaway scene in Upper Hutt especially. is a very competitive one.

“There are about 12 other Indian restaurants in Upper Hutt. Two of them are within 100 metres of us. And there are more than 15 in Lower Hutt and Petone.

“So the fact that we’ve built such a strong, repeat customer base in such few years means what we’re doing and what we’re offering is hitting home . . . and we believe it’s both the quality of the meals and the standard and personalisation of the service.”

The Culture & Consistency Behind Quality Cuisine

Any chefs joining the Ammu team are trained very specifically in Eldho’s recipes, regardless of how experienced they are.

“That applies to even the most experienced chefs,” says Jyothy. “Because, in Indian cuisine, there are so many different ways to make the same dish, so it’s central to our consistency.”

Most of the Upper Hutt operation’s staff have been with Ammu for a minimum of four years, and one has been on the Ammu team for six years.

“We treat them like family. If they need support from us in the way that a family might support them, emotionally or with what is going on in their own lives, we are there for them. If a person is happy in their work, if they are relaxed and have no stress because they are in a friendship-based environment, this makes for pride of product. If people come to work happy, they are doing their work happy.

“It also makes it easier to foster continuous improvement. It’s easier to convey to them what any customer says to us at the table or when leaving – including if there’s ever anything negative.”

Jyothy and Eldho believe in – unusually for the restaurant trade – a very flat, “horizontal” management and staff structure.

“Usually there would be an invisible but distinct line of separation between owners and staff,” says Jyothy. “We don’t operate that way. We believe that if you remove that line of separation, the staff are more willing to come to us with observations and problems or suggestions for improvement.

“My staff call me chechi, which is Malayalam (a common Indian language of Kerala) for ‘older sister’.”

The Masterton operation’s chefs are quite a young crew, and call Eldho “chettan”, meaning “older brother”.

A happy work environment in the restaurant trade is a productive work environment, and a productive work environment is, in turn, paramount to the actual food and service quality.

“You can’t achieve that on the surface without that sort of supportive structure underneath it. The visible is always dependent upon the invisible. And we have proven that.”

Why Masterton?

What drove the couple to open the Masterton operation last October?

“For a few years we had a plan to expand,” Jyothy explains. “Initially, we thought of Porirua, but we have such a lot of customers who have for a long time been driving over to Upper Hutt to eat here that it felt like the right thing to do to open in the Wairarapa, especially because there are very few pure South Indian dining options there.

“And when we saw that beautiful old landmark blue and white building in Chapel Street, we felt like the decision was a natural one.”

Ammu Masterton is located at 109 Chapel Street, Masterton.

Ammu Upper Hutt is located at 851 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt.

Both are licensed to serve a full range of alcohol and have a BYO licence for wine. Their range of beer (always a great pairing with Indian dishes, both North and South) includes brands like Kingfisher that is wildly popular in India, as well as the usual Kiwi favourites, and also low and no-alcohol options.

Soft drinks as well as well-known Indian beverages like mango lassi, salt lassis, and sweet lassis, and freshly brewed Indian tea are also served.

Advocate Across the Table: How Loan Market’s Megan Brown Is Rewriting the Home Borrowing Experience

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 07:02:07 GMT

'Average' Home Loan Broker or Trusted Advisor . . . Which Would You Rather Have In Your Corner?

When a home buyer hopeful walks into a bank or other class of lender to apply for a mortgage, the power dynamic is a classic imbalance from the outset.

The lender asks the questions. But the home buyer – unless especially seasoned and well-researched – has very little idea what to ask the lender . The borrower-buyer is in a passive, submissive role – largely by default . . . by a completely understandable lack of expertise.

That imbalance can cost the home buyer dearly . . . tens of thousands of dollars (or more) over the life of that home loan. More often than not, for a first-home buyer, or perhaps a credit history-challenged applicant – it determines whether a loan will even be granted at all.

A Coming of Age for the Home Loan Brokerage Sector

According to home loan broker, Megan Brown of Wairarapa’s Loan Market, going it alone represents a very unnecessary, and self-imposed, limitation of options for borrowers . . . and no more so than for the first-time buyer (and other slightly higher-risk categories of borrower e.g. the self-employed, the credit-challenged, or the high Loan-to-Value case).

“In reality, the person who walked into their bank and were met with a refusal, might have walked into another bank 20 metres down the road and received an enthusiastic welcome . . . if they had the skill, the confidence and the staying power," says Megan.

“That’s where the broker comes in, because that exact scenario represents one of our core functions on behalf of a client . . . far from the only one, but certainly a very common one.”

In recent years, however, borrowers at large are now recognising the distinct and direct value of loan brokers in turning the tables on the lender/borrower power imbalance: There has been a massive market shift in favour of the use of home loan brokerages in just the last half a decade. In 2019, fewer than 40 percent of borrower-buyers used mortgage advisors. As of 2026, 60 percent of all new home loans are written through a mortgage advisor; indeed, a near-meteoric rise in the proportion of borrowers refusing to limit their options to their own bank or to banks in general.

The ‘Human Factor’

“The surge in our sector in the last six or seven years is, I believe, also directly attributable to the fact that the major trading banks have steadily retreated from local communities, shutting physical branches and forcing clients onto generic call centres and rigid digital portals.

“People want to talk to people when it comes to their finances and a big subject like their home loans,” Megan explains. “People are nervous about putting their financial information online. People are not as open to that. People like to speak to you and weigh you up first.

“Even though we send out forms to pull together basic information, my clients will have spoken to me first and there will have been a level of personal trust established before they are asked to disclose personal information. And if they don’t want to fill in a form they can come in and work through it with me.

“It’s a whole different attitude and approach than that of a bank or online applications.

“And people are also nervous when it comes to such a big financial commitment, they want to know they’re not being set up to be hoodwinked somewhere down the line. People want to know they can trust what they’re putting themselves forward for.

“When you’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars you need to know you’re asking the right questions. But the lopsided power dynamic when a borrower is all alone representing themselves, is such that even if people do know what they should be asking they often fear to ask or don't know how or who to ask . . . and that can be very, very costly."

Turning the Tables on the Traditional Lender/Borrower Dynamic

For Megan Brown, dismantling the imbalance in the borrower/lender dynamic is the entire foundation of her practice at Loan Market Wairarapa.

“When you go to a bank, they’re asking YOU the questions. If you don’t know what questions to ask THEM, they have all the control. They hold the cards.

"And also, your life might not fit neatly into their rigid internal boxes."

But within the home loan brokerage sector itself, there are your standard mortgage brokers and then there are true trusted advisors . . . and while borrowers are certainly now beginning to recognise the power of the home loan brokerage sector in general, they often don’t know how to size up a mortgage broker, or “advisor” at the individual level.

The Transactional Broker vs the True Trusted Advisor

Small change in terminology, big difference in practice and in outcome.

Education and preparation are at the heart of getting the best outcome from a loan application, says Megan.

“A really good broker will start by educating the borrower, first and foremost in terms of their true borrowing capacity. For example, a lot of people think that nowadays you need a 20 percent deposit. But that’s not always true; there are circumstances in which a borrower can viably go with as little as five percent. That’s where meticulous preparation kicks in . . . to demonstrate to a lender that a 95 percent loan is financially justified and serviceable by that borrower, if that is indeed the case.

“Then there’s the all-important consideration of how to structure a loan to fit the borrower’s goals and lifestyles. If a broker has more of a transactional mindset rather than functioning as a true trusted advisor, they’re not going to get the optimal outcome for that client, because they don’t understand what the optimal outcome actually looks like within the framework of their life, goals and visions.

"It goes well beyond the current figures on their bank statements and balance sheets. For example, whether a client is best advised to opt for an interest and principal, or an interest only, loan is not a decision to be limited to pure, present-day commercial factors. A genuinely personally invested advisor will actively appreciate that it’s a decision that should factor in the client's future goals as well as simply their immediate capacities. And that it should factor in contingency plans . . . and what those contingency plans look like for that client, not (at best) some generic equation printed in a template.

“Looking at just these most basic of considerations, you can very easily see how people’s individual circumstances can differ massively even when they are applying for the same amount for the same type of purchase. And further, when you take the time and care to extrapolate out the implications of those circumstances across a longer time frame, you can see how an advisor's duty of care goes beyond just the fundamental securing of financing."

The Anatomy of Trust: From Zimbabwe to Chapel Street

To understand why Megan treats client advocacy as a personal duty of care rather than a transactional pipeline, requires understanding the lived experience that forged her perspective on financial vulnerability.

In 2002, Megan arrived in New Zealand from Zimbabwe. Back home, her family had run a highly profitable engineering firm and a hardware business alongside their equally profitable farm. When political instability forced them to leave, they arrived with virtually nothing.

“We couldn’t bring any of that with us,” said Megan. “We had to pull together with our extended family – my Mum and Dad – and my sister and her family, and rely on that family tightness and reliance to re-establish ourselves and build back up in a whole new country and business environment.

“When you go through an experience like that, you really appreciate just how precious the few people you have to rely on, are to you. That’s a statement of my family values and the importance of integrity, both before but certainly after, and now.”

The relevance of that hard-won, lived experience is this:

“If a borrower is going to trust me with their mortgage, you can be very sure I know what that level of trust means – both to them and to me.”

Putting Down Roots In the Wairarapa & ‘Finding Her Thing’

Three months after her 2002 arrival in Masterton, Megan and her husband (now the Principal of Whareama School out near Riversdale) and her “two under two” moved to Marton for a decade before returning to the Wairarapa in 2012.

Within that period, the family continued an on-the-ground association with Masterton through their ownership and operation (primarily by Megan’s mother, who remained here) of the Kuripuni Post and Lotto shop. Working full-time in Marton but spending weekends back in Masterton behind the shop counter to relieve her mother, Megan found that the operation held an unexpected spark for her, in the form in-store Kiwibank agency.

“The Post Shop had a KiwiBank. It ignited something in me, to see people handling and trying to grow their own finances. When you open up accounts, you start to see people embarking on their goals, and many people will talk to you about how they want to move forward.

"You can perform that role in a very perfunctory, detached manner, or you can really put yourself into it, and really find the best account for them. For example, if they took this account, they’re getting charged $10 per month . . . or this one over here is lower interest but no fees, etcetera.

“Even at that level, in that little outlet, there was the capacity to help put people on their path to security and independence.”

When the family sold the Kuripuni business, Megan initially transitioned into investment advisory in Masterton, phoning clients with portfolio updates, conducting KiwiSaver reviews, and assessing life-stage risk profiles.

Yet, the long-term, passive nature of fund management felt limiting compared to the beneficial impact she knew she could make to people in terms of their immediate, tangible needs – primary of which was often, and even usually, based around real estate financing.

“When we had sold the Post and Lotto shop, I thought that love of helping people with their finances through account selection and establishment would flow naturally into investment advising,” she remembers. “But doing a lot of phoning clients and letting them know how their portfolios were performing . . . and doing quite static KiwiSaver performance reviews and life-stage risk profiling . . . yes, important, but what about the now factor? I had such a lot more to contribute and I needed to.

“I just knew that if I was in a capacity where I had more immediate scope to help people achieve their goals as opposed to being limited to only long-term investing advice, that and my ability to move and flow with the cut and thrust of dynamic markets . . . keeping my finger on the daily pulse of finance and property . . . would see me able to have a far bigger and more immediate impact on those very same clients.

“So yes, I was restless. I could now see my ultimate ‘thing’ . . . where all my skills, background, passions and my lived experience came together to make a truly and competitively superior contribution both to a specific industry and to the clients it serviced or could be servicing.”

Strength in Numbers: 60 Lenders vs the Single Bank Agenda

Joining the Loan Market national network’s Wairarapa franchise in 2025 alongside colleague Matt Spicer, Megan competes against other brokerages with a regional presence, such as Mike Pero, New Zealand Home Loans, Mortgage Express, Squirrel, and fast-growing operations like Opes Mortgages.

Far from being intimidated, she welcomes the competition; it gives those borrowers who shop around between brokerages a benchmark for comparison . . . and Megan knows where they will rank her if they experience the way she works with them.

Her personal brand of service often extends to the time-consuming nitty gritty of helping new home buyers get their personal finances in order before they even get to the application stage.

“Preparation and education go hand-in-hand; they’re often inseparable, particularly with younger people just starting out or just getting onto the property ladder. That’s one place that ‘going the extra mile’ takes a willingness to really put the time and effort in, not just smile a bit wider or contact an extra bank or two.”

Megan’s clientele also enjoy a serious advantage in the form of the sheer breadth of choice the national Loan Market operation delivers to the borrower: access to over 60 different bank and non-bank lenders.

“In terms of the national home loan sector, Loan Market has one of the greatest variety of lender types and within the different categories of lender, the greatest variety of organisations.

“We see readily that some lenders are better than others if, for example, you’re trying to get yourself out of a challenging credit history. Some are better for reverse mortgages. Some are better for those over 65s who are wanting to undertake home improvements to sell or install double glazing to lower their power bills.

“And there’s an even wider variety of considerations that fold into people’s unique circumstances. Some people will be at maximum borrowing capacity on their house, but will need a vehicle for their business . . . and it could really hamstring their business or prevent business expansion if they can’t get it.

“Each lender will have a different attitude and a different risk profile.

"Imagine the lone borrower out there in a huge marketplace of options, trying to figure all that out for themselves. It would take years of research, trial and error.”

The other hallmark of a broker who’s a trusted advisor vs a transaction-based operator is their willingness to be completely uninfluenced by the size of the commission – because it is, of course, the lender who pays the broker.

“The determination to secure the right fit for the client has to be stronger than pushing a single lender’s agenda. The broker must always be trying to get the very best opportunity for the client.

“A good broker will do that by default, by virtue of the personalisation of approach to you and your circumstances.

"If you and your neighbour were coming to me for the same amount for the same type of purpose . . . you and he will almost certainly have a completely different lending scenario . . . you have to find the right fit for the client . . . so if you’re doing your job well you’re always working for the client, not the bank.

“And that’s a critical point of assurance, because once you’ve signed up for something as committal as a mortgage . . . once you’ve signed on that dotted line . . . you’ve made your bed and even if you want to review it down the track, you’re still lying in that bed for a good amount of time.”

Life Cycle Servicing versus Transaction-Based ‘Loan-Getting’

“A lot of people have a loan with their bank and stay there for 20 years,” says Megan.

“But in that 20 years things might have changed markedly – in their own lives, in the general economy, and in the world at large.

“Refinancing might be a smart move to make. Some banks will be keen to get that sort of business, and others will charge a prohibitive refinancing fee.

“Or you might want to install solar power on your home but you might be banking with a bank that doesn’t have a green energy policy. But we’ll know where there’s a bank that’s big on that and we can get you a fabulously low interest rate.

“Or if you’re planning a big renovation and want to boost your budget for that, some banks are really encouraging of that.

“How can you possibly know all that? It’s not your day job. It’s not even just a research job. It’s knowing how those banks have come about adopting those specific policies, whether they’re real, substantial and lasting, or whether they’re just a bait-and-switch special of the month and you’ll potentially take all your business there to find yourself no better or even worse off than where you were with your old bank.”

“This is where a really diligent home loan broker comes into their own, because it’s not just knowing the risk profiles and having contacts with all the different banks and other lenders, it’s about knowing their inner workings, cultures, and how stable and reliable those policies and practices are.

“Whatever stage of your financial life you’re at, you need to have confidence in whomever is guiding you . . . and in that sense it’s not only about accessing the far wider choices of lender that a broker can provide you, it’s also about making sure you are dealing with a broker who makes it their daily modus operandi to have their finger on the pulse of lenders at a deep and knowledgeable level across their entire portfolio of potential lenders.”

Financial Life Is An Ever-Changing Journey

“In short, I view my clients as individuals or families at a certain point in their lifecycle as a homeowner, whether that be the first home buyer, someone making the move from residential to lifestyle, someone downsizing, someone moving into a retirement village, or someone building an investment portfolio.

“Whoever is sitting in front of me is an individual, a family or a business moving through the journey of their own life, and there’s a tapestry they want to weave with that life.

“I want to understand all the threads. And I want to be on that journey with them, either in the background or in the foreground when they need me . . . to help them weave it in the best way possible when it comes to the big financial decisions in their lives that will undoubtedly facilitate that.”

New Title

The Wairarapa Landscape: First-Home Buyers, Downsizers, Upgraders, Lifestylers & Investors

The property market across Masterton, Carterton, Greytown and South Wairarapa is navigating specific regional shifts, with distinct dynamics across borrower profiles.

“Right now the property market is stagnant,” Megan observes. “You’d think that this would be a great time for people to invest, but it’s also an election year so a lot of people are nervous about what new regulations might be introduced.”

Observing the buyer segments, Megan provides the following commentary on the national property scene:

First Home Buyers: This segment remains resilient, accounting for roughly 25 percent of all new mortgage lending in New Zealand, with average loan sizes sitting around $560,000. With investors quieter in recent years, first-home buyers have capitalised on reduced competition.

Downsizers (Retirees/Empty Nesters): This market segment also includes those unlocking equity to manage living costs. Largely cash buyers or low-level borrowers, they frequently compete directly with first-home buyers for single-level new builds and low-maintenance townhouses.

Movers (Upgraders): While listing inventory gives buyers choice, movers remain heavily constrained by bank serviceability test rates and the challenge of selling existing homes in a softer market.

Investors: Slowly re-entering as interest deductibility rules phase back in, but hindered by the maths: high borrowing costs versus current rental yields make cash-flow positive investing difficult.

The Local Perspective

Putting that into the Wairarapa perspective, the first home buyer market is strong in Masterton and Carterton with their more accessible entry-level pricing i.e. the average house value across the Wairarapa region sits at around $561,000 (well below the national average of ~$870,000), with Masterton’s median sale price sitting at $537,000 .

“ We’re seeing strong activity from young Wellington and Hutt Valley families priced out of the city,” Megan observes.

“With flexible/hybrid work now a normal practice and the train connection available, young buyers are actively using KiwiSaver and low-deposit bank options to secure three-bedroom character homes and standalone properties here.”

Meanwhile, Carterton, Greytown, and Masterton remain prime destinations for older homeowners cashing out of higher-value family homes in Wellington or Auckland to fund retirement.

“Downsizers in the Wairarapa are predominantly cash or low-LVR (Loan-to-Value Ratio) buyers.

“That makes them largely immune to high mortgage interest rates, but it also means they’re actively competing with local first home buyers for the likes of low-maintenance, single-level townhouses near the centre of town.

“In Martinborough and Greytown, this downsizer and semi-retiree market is a primary driver of property values, keeping prices in South Wairarapa higher than in Masterton.”

On the other side of the coin, Wairarapa families looking to trade up are seeing plenty of listing choice, but many are held back by bank serviceability test rates and the need to sell their existing home first in a cautious market.

And as far as the property investment scene goes, Megan says Masterton currently offers relatively strong gross rental yields at ~5.1% (based on median rents around $530/week against a $537,000 median house price).

“While yields are far better here than in Wellington City, high interest costs mean cash-flow positive investing remains tricky. That lower level of investor competition is good news, of course, for first home buyers.”

Value-Added: The Advisory Relationship Starts (or Should Start) Well Before the Application

To ensure clients do not overpay in a fluctuating market, Megan utilises commercial property intelligence and valuation databases – including Valocity, illion, and CoreLogic Property Guru:

“I have access to portals / databases that the average buyer wouldn’t have access to, that allow me to see whether one of our potential borrowers is looking at paying too much; so I can help with a reality check, and give ballpark assistance with understanding current market values."

Beyond the Dotted Line: The Lifecycle Advocate

If Megan keeps returning to the example of the first home buyer, it's because there are many similarities in starting out and starting over, as she and her family had to do when they arrived, now just over two decades ago, in what was then to them, a totally new and foreign environment.

She has a real heart for those "fresh out the gate".

For those first-home buyers, Megan’s initial focus is breaking down the application into manageable, transparent steps:

“A young 20-something or 30-something, or a single parent might come in, tired of paying rent and wanting to secure a future for their kids as they grow up. We’ll fact-find, thrash out their hopes and dreams, gather up their bald financials, sometimes I’ll help them with basic budgeting to help them increase their deposit.

“I might have to get right into the weeds of helping them at a very granular basic budgeting level, like cutting down their takeaways per week. They might have a $10k credit card limit but be on the minimum wage. I’ll see those red flags from the word go and help them reduce them before we even put them in front of the lender. That increases our choices of lender, rather than have to resort to the highest risk profile lender who might not give you the best deal.

“That level of preparation also cuts out the multiple rounds of questions, forms and approvals that a bank or lender would otherwise subject the young person to . . . I want to ensure the process doesn’t demoralise them or cause anxiety for them.

“That upfront preparation also provides them with leverage when real estate agents probe them as to whether they have pre-approval. Having an adviser who has already pre-screened and structured the file means the buyer enters negotiations with genuine leverage rather than uncertainty.”

And all of that is just the beginning of a much longer relationship.

When a client’s lending is approved, Megan views that milestone not as a transaction concluded, but as the beginning of a long-term professional relationship.

“After they’ve secured their optimum financing arrangement, I’ll put them in touch with the best people for the likes of insurances, if they would like to rely on me for that ongoing type of advice. I want my clients, and especially those starting out, to have no uncertainty about any part of the process – so that by the time they walk through their new front door, all they’re concerning themselves with is what cartons to unpack first and what they’re having for their first meal in their new home."

A Relationship, Not A ‘Transaction’

Megan also has a policy of checking in on my clients – particularly her first home buyer clients – over the longer haul.

“This is not a transaction that just ended. This is a relationship that has just begun. They have just trusted you with everything they own; it doesn’t stop with signing on the dotted line.

“In the early stages of the new loan, I just want to make sure they’re OK, that they’re oriented, and if they’re a first home buyer, that they’re coping with the responsibilities of being a home owner. But across the longer haul, if it’s appropriate and they’re confident to do so, I’ll research the options for renewing their loans with other lenders.

“You have to stay in touch with your clients. There’s such a pivotal contribution you can make at so many different stages of their lives, if you are a truly proactive, invested advisor.”

That goes for whatever is happening in a client’s life (a “client”, by Megan’s definition, being anyone for whom she has, at any time, sourced financing).

“The New Zealand economy has gone through a lot of tough times. If someone is struggling they often don’t want to open up about that . . . but to lose their home without having gone back and spoken to their broker is heartbreakingly unnecessary, and I don’t want that to be any of my clients.

“And it can happen, especially in the early stages of home ownership, and even more especially if the economy is volatile. Going from renting to owning is a big shift. It’s a great shift, but it’s not without unforeseen challenges.”

FusionFresh: Fusing Food, Culture & Community

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 07:02:09 GMT

The Little Multicultural Grocery Store that Solves Big Problems for A Growing Community

When is a specialty grocery store more than just a food retail outlet?

When it saves 300 families a regular haul across the Remutakas to Wellington just to buy the food products and other grocery items their household prefers or relies on . . . when it serves as a centre of connectivity for five different immigrant ethnic groups . . . and when it introduces a whole new generation of Kiwi locals to the delights of traditional North Indian, South Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cooking ingredients.

That’s the value a humble but fascinating little Aladdin’s Cave of cultural delights has brought to the Wairarapa since it opened its doors just 18 months ago in March 2025.

Masterton’s FusionFresh is owned by husband-and-wife team Amrit and Ramneet Singh, who migrated to New Zealand from the state of Punjab in Northern India at the end of 2017. A welder and roofer, Amrit worked in his trade all across Hawkes Bay for five years, while his wife managed a motel complex in Havelock North.

After an out-of-town roofing job brought him to Masterton for a week in 2020, he became enamored with its livability – logistically, socially and economically . . . and thus the seed of moving his by-then family of four (now five) to the Wairarapa was planted.

But his roofing and welding job kept him too busy for that seed to germinate particularly quickly once he returned to Hawkes Bay. It was only when the itch to branch out into self-employment had, by mid-2021, become too strong to ignore, that he and Ramneet sat down and had the serious conversation which would see them finally make the move to the Wairarapa in January 2022.

A Critical Gap In Pre-Relocation Research Leads to A Solution to An Entire Community's Problem

But as they settled into their new home in Masterton (with Amrit becoming a self-employed roofer), they realised there was one critical piece of research they hadn’t done before moving here: checking out the availability of Indian groceries.

“Napier has four or five good Indian grocery stores,” said Amrit. “It just didn’t occur to me that the Wairarapa could be such a completely different situation.”

In the manner of newly-immigrated ethnic groups, and particularly those from the broader South Asia region, the Singh family soon became part of the community formed by those ethnicities here.

It didn’t take very long at all to realise that the majority of the approximate 300 families comprising that composite community were all experiencing the drag of a regular, draining, day-long haul down to Wellington for grocery stock-ups . . . which, in addition to the inconvenience and expense, also added the non-desirable issue of having to buy larger volumes of food upfront and also having to reduce the percentage of fresh, perishable components of their diet.

“For the big families, it’s really hard, because they often run out of freezer space, and they’re relying on packaged food much more than they would really like.”

That context paved the way for an unexpected move: purchasing an established real fruit ice cream shop at 101 High Street. Kept in place primarily to avoid disappointing its established customer base, the specialty ice cream operation soon created a remarkable synergy. Long-time ice cream regulars found themselves drawn into the vibrant aisles of ethnic groceries, turning curious local visitors into enthusiastic experimental cooks.

A Well-Rewarded Leap of Faith

Today, just 18 months later, their leap of faith and service to the community of which they are part – together with the continued loyalty of the adopted customer base from the real fruit ice cream operation – has rewarded them with sufficient demand to, thus far, have expanded their range to 2700 different stock lines of packaged, dry, frozen and fresh foods imported (through Auckland distribution agents) from Northern India, Southern India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and a few other smaller outliers of that overall part of the globe.

The community representing those nationalities, according to Amrit, sits at around 200 Indian families, 50 Pakistani families and a similar number of Sri Lankan families, a small number of Bangladeshi families (less than 10) and a handful of others.

The Indian community specifically comprises not only direct immigrants from the north and south of India but also “re-migrated” Indians i.e. those that first migrated to other countries such as Malaysia and other parts of Asia, before moving on to, and settling in, New Zealand.

The shop not only services their core needs – the most common ingredients in the cuisines of these countries, including staples such as curry, flour, basmati rice, lentils, oil, ghee, pickles, pulses, spices, chutneys, frozen foods, snacks, beverages (e.g. special Indian teas, like masala chai) - but also treats and sweets, both branded and freshly-made, that were a part of the childhood of many of the older members of the community or those that are newly-immigrated.

Understanding Cultures & the Existentially Critical Nature of Community

Amrit points out the importance of extended family and community to these ethnic groups . . . seen as nothing short of existentially critical when migrating.

“Newly arrived members of the Indian and the other ethnic groups, because of our extended family and common values, tend to quickly become quite close with the members of the existing community in the area that they have just moved to. For example, Ramneet and I attend a Sikh temple every Sunday. After worship, everybody shares a meal as a regular part of our day together.

“It’s worthwhile understanding this about these cultures, but the Indian community especially.

“While India is a massive country, and actually because it is such a massive country, our culture and upbringing is such that (unless we’re migrating internationally) we live all our lives in tight multi-generational extended family settings and we avoid unnecessary travel.

“As part of that picture, and especially where we are living in the regions rather than the big cities, we are very accustomed to having everything we need all within a 20km or so radius of where we live.

“We really don’t like to travel much within our country; it’s not easy, and we don’t like to be away from our families if we don’t need to; we are very family-centred people.

“So it’s important, if you want to understand our cultures and the way we live, to understand how much we want to have the things we specifically need close at hand, including those that are specific to our own nationalities and culture . . . and not to have to travel a long way to access them.

“You can see then, what a problem the whole food sourcing and grocery shopping issue was for our local community.”

Stepping Up

Why did HE decide to be the one to fix the problem?

“It never initially occurred to me that I would be the one to fix this problem. I had no experience at all in retail. I’m a roofer and a welder; although Ramneet obviously has a successful hospitality and business management background.

“But after two or three years of going backwards and forwards to Wellington every month, and seeing the rest of our community doing the same thing, I thought, ‘No-one’s ever going to do this if I don’t. It’s going to have to be me and Ramneet.’

“So I started searching for wholesalers and talking to several in Auckland, which is where most of the importers of Indian foods are based. I contacted them and spoke to them about a lot of items that I know we all need and to get them to recognise both the demand and the market gap here in the Wairarapa,” Amrit explained.

“I asked if they would support me not only to open and establish an operation, but also to grow it into something special. It took me about six months to wind down my very busy roofing contracting business so that I could make the leap . . . which I made out of sheer frustration in the end when my Mum and Dad came here to visit from India, and suddenly our monthly grocery shopping trips to Wellington became a little over weekly.

“It was on the day I took Mum and Dad up to Auckland to put them on the flight back to India, that I decided to front up and show these wholesalers and distributors that, despite my minimal experience in retail, I was serious. Equally, I needed to see the quality and extent of their ranges to ensure that, if I started this business, they would provide consistency of quality, and consistency of availability . . . and also that what they stocked would offer me the scope to grow the range of my own operation.

“I saw a lot of good brands, ones that the communities I wanted to service not only would readily recognise but many that we had actually grown up with, and so would have strong multi-generational appeal. I went through their product lists extensively, and saw how they themselves were also planning to grow their imported ranges.

“When I came back to Masterton, I sat down with Ramneet, and it was she that gave me the confidence that this was the right time to take the leap. So I started searching for a shop to get the operation started, and I found an existing real fruit ice cream shop – where we are now, at 101 High Street – which, before it had been an ice cream shop, had been a fresh produce shop. In terms of fresh product with a high turnover, it was a proven location.

“Also, the real fruit ice cream business was well-known and well patronised; I had seen the queues of people waiting for this ice cream, and it would have been a disservice to have closed that down. So I bought both the real fruit ice cream business in its own right and I took over the lease on the shop.

An Unexpected, Highly Successful Synergy

“A real fruit ice cream business and Indian groceries is a very odd mix, and I don’t know anywhere else in New Zealand that you would find such a combination, but it is working!

"It’s not only working but it has created this unexpected synergy where the Kiwi customers come in and are fascinated by the huge variety of ethnic groceries and start making experimental purchases . . . I’m fielding questions all the time about dishes people want to know how to cook. Of course, it’s usually easier for me to help them find the instructions on YouTube rather than try to navigate language difficulties, but I can still help them with the specific ingredients they’re going to need, and educate them about these.”

Regarding the groceries customer base specifically, the store’s patronage comes from throughout the entire Wairarapa, and also from as far afield as Pahiatua and Eketahuna.

“There are quite a few Sri Lankans working in contracting roles in dairy farming in those outer areas,” Amrit enlightens.

Culture, Community, Customers . . . and Connection

What role does the store play as a cultural connection point for new families settling in the Wairarapa?

“Besides just serving our communities’ culinary requirements and catering for their preferences, we find we are playing an active role in helping the families from these nationalities that have settled here, to preserve their traditions and cultures.”

The various component communities’ Festivals provide a classic example of that cultural connectivity and preservation of tradition.

“There is no more important calendar events for us than our Festivals. Our various individual communities have, for many centuries, celebrated certain special dates and periods of their calendar with different Festivals like the Onam and the Diwali festivals. These are primarily religious events, and there are specific foods associated with each.

“South Indian people celebrate Onam, for which we make Sadhya – a feast that comprises about 27 different dishes. North Indians celebrate Diwali, which features special types of sweets.

“Our customers are not only so grateful that we have made their lives so much easier, but they’re especially appreciative that during the festivals, we make special arrangements to get in the associated foods and treats. They’re delighted that they can enjoy the things that kindle their childhood memories, and the suppliers are very good in supporting us to ensure that.

"So there is an increasing emotional connection now with this shop . . . and our objective is to keep delighting our customers by keeping on adding more products that they recognise from their roots and that they never thought they would ever see again."

Is there a personal dish, ingredient, or memory from Amrit's own background that means the most to him . . . and that he has found rewarding to bring to his local community and customer base?

Without a doubt, it's a particular sweet treat known as gulab jamun:

"Anyone from India knows what this is . . . it's a type of sweet for after meals that you have with tea and coffee. It's loved by all of these cultures, in fact, and they always like to have it. Very few of us would say no to a good gulab jamun."

What has been the most rewarding moment or piece of feedback Amrit has had running the shop?

“When customers see these sweets and the snacks and brands from their childhoods . . . they say they haven’t seen these since they were a child or since they left India. You can imagine yourself if there was a favourite lolly you had as a child or a special chocolate bar you always had, and then suddenly, right there in your own neighbourhood on the other side of the world, years or decades later, you see that lolly or that chocolate bar brand . . . the feeling of nostalgia and appreciation."

Vision for the Future

"Delighting customers like that, and continually expanding our range in general, is where we're focusing. For example, including more products for Fijian Indians and the broader Asian community.

"That, and also introducing our cultures’ cuisines to the local Kiwi customer base, and encouraging and assisting them to experiment with our foods and our beverages. That's both our reward and our vision going forward.”

It's also, though, not to just about groceries.

"It's more than that," enthuses Amrit. "It's to build a reputation as a trusted local business where people know they can buy quality food products per se .

"And to expand the feeling of connection not only between the cultures that make up our South Asia immigrant base . . . but also to foster understanding, appreciation and connection between these cultures and the local, non-immigrant – Kiwi – community.

"I believe that maintaining our respective heritages and integrating into the wider Wairarapa community are two things that can happen at the same time.

"And food has the power to bring people from different cultures together.

"Food can unite us and draw us together. I don’t have to be a big operation to make an impact in helping create that connection between communities. People's mutual interest, inquisitiveness and desire to share their traditions does it for me.

"All I have to do is foster it by providing the right products, the right environment and the right attitude to servicing customers. For example, I want every local to feel comfortable walking into the shop and asking questions to help them try something new . . . or even just to enrich their understanding of each of the different cultures we serve.

"Not everyone in our communities is sufficiently outgoing or confident to share their culture with others. Many people in these ethnic groups are shy by nature, but they still want to be inclusive and to be included.

"Whereas, I have an outgoing nature, and it's easy and natural for me to share about cultural traditions and foods. So I feel a healthy obligation to help create that appreciation of them and to build that bridge between immigrant communities and the local Kiwi community.

New Title

The Products . . . 2700 and Counting

The above montage represents but a tiny cross-section of FusionFresh's 2700-and-growing range of items that the local South Indian, North Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and several other smaller ethnic communities are now delighted to find right here in the Wairarapa . . . all in one place: FusionFresh at 101 High Street, Masterton.

These include, by way of example, high-volume staples like .........., and products considered more of a specialty e.g. those related to specific religious and cultural Festivals, such as the wildly popular Indian after-dinner sweet treat gulab jamun.

POPPIES MARTINBOROUGH: For the Love of Wine

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 07:02:05 GMT

Poppies Wines . . . Crafting the Future from History

How does a winemaking operation develop a reputation for being one of the most progressive, advanced boutique wineries in New Zealand, in the country’s most newly-developed wine region . . . and do so in less than a decade and a half?

The answer? Paradoxically, by adopting, and adhering to, a founding vision of making wines that are 100 percent true to the styles of the regions from which they originated, centuries ago.

Going against the tide of commercialism, mass production and export focus that drove - albeit necessarily - New Zealand's entry onto the world wine stage, Poppies' founders, Poppy and Shayne Hammond, launched with a business plan based on exclusivity over availability, a winemaking philosophy of uncompromising craftsmanship over commercialism . . . and the honoring of history over the temptation of trends.

Back to the Beginning . . . Which Wasn't That Long Ago

Poppies Martinborough Wines had its beginnings in 2012 with the release of its first vintages of Poppies Rose, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, late harvest riesling, dry reisling, and pinot noir. True to the commitment to uncompromising quality and capped production, the range (which has since expanded) was available solely through its cellar door operation . . . which has remained central to its sales platform ever since.

Notwithstanding its limited distribution, the fledgling Poppies wine range launched to – as it turned out – a marketplace both of wine buffs and wine novices . . . all of whom had one thing in common: they resonated with the Poppies’ philosophy of producing only varietals fully authentic in character to the wines made from those grapes historically.

Continuing the paradox, such has been the appreciation of those who have become Poppies patrons both from within New Zealand and from all corners of the globe, that staying true to those historic winemaking protocols has seen it speed up its own history - with the expansion of the operation’s footprint and the business in an incredibly short time span.

Yet, that was never the intention; it’s been a pure, organic response to market demand.

The intention was only ever to craft a premium wine brand based on a genuine love for wine and an appreciation of the geographic origins of the varietals that grow well in the superior soils and growing conditions of the Martinborough region . . . a region which itself is a relative newcomer to wine-growing fame, only breaking onto the scene from a reputation and profile perspective as recently (in wine terms) as 1979.

Small-Scale Production Facilitates Big Flavour (Control Equals Quality and Consistency)

Today, the Poppies operation incorporates not only the cellar door operation but 14 hectares of premium vineyards (some of which Poppies owns directly and some over which it holds long-term leases with growing methodologies in strict accordance with Poppies' own viticultural regime) and a brand new winery built in 2020.

To ensure the retention of a "boutique" environment in all aspects of the business, including the "workplace" itself, the winery was designed specifically to avoid it ever becoming an "industrial" space, even when it reached (as it soon will) its forecast annual production of 100 tonne of fruit. To that end, one of the first things visitors treated to a tour of the winemaking area will notice, is that - unlike a "standard" winery - the Poppies operation consists of lots of small 1500-litre to 2200-litre tanks, square in shape so that they stack.

That not only keeps the winery itself "non-industrial", but producing wine in small batches facilitates the degree of control required to produce consistency in style and quality both across vintages and across the often-extreme weather conditions Martinborough is notoriously experiences in any given growing season.

The vineyards (both the Hammonds' own and those under long-term lease) as well as the winery and the cellar door facility are all located on the free-draining alluvia soils of the micro-region known as the Martinborough terrace. The crème de la crème of grape-growing country, this is a river terrace that wraps broadly around the town.

In the midst of the vines on their self-owned vineyards is a luxury apartment for accommodating paying guests . . . many of whom fly in from all across the globe, some drawn by Poppies’ ever-expanding international reputation, and some on the broader New Zealand wine trail.

“We have visitors from every corner of the globe,” says Shayne, the viticulturist half of the husband-and-wife team that remains the core of Poppies. (The other half, of course, is winemaker extraordinaire, Poppy.)

“There are so many stories I can tell of the way visitors have learned of us and arrived here.

“From the American tourist encountering air stewards and stewardesses on every single leg of his flight between New York and Auckland, who were each enamored of Poppy’s in their own right and insistent that he must make the winery a priority destination; to the Danish couple reading about Poppies in their daily newspaper, to a guy who took a taxi all the way from the Intercontinental Hotel in Wellington after reading a review of one of our wines . . . the stories behind how people turn up at our cellar door continues to fascinate us.”

A Little History of Their Own

Shayne previously worked at Martinborough’s well-regarded Dry River Estate as its viticulturist before he and Poppy, Dry River’s then assistant winemaker, founded Poppies. In fact, when they commenced their own grape-growing and winemaking operation in November 2012, their cellar door/tasting room was located directly opposite Dry River on Puruatanga Road.

A chef by trade, Shayne had traveled extensively through Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe, before moving back home to Ohakune in 2000 . . . where, as fate would have it, he promptly “re-met” his high school sweetheart who happened to be attending a wedding there.

That adolescent sweetheart was Poppy . . . and the rest is their own history.

Poppy had worked in the tourism industry, primarily in Queenstown with daredevil sports-tourism icon AJ Hackett Bungy, before being so drawn to the wine industry that she took the leap to become a winemaker herself. She first attained a oenology (winemaking) diploma from EIT (the Eastern Institute of Technology in Napier) and then her full oenology degree at Lincoln University in Canterbury.

Her work experience had seen the beginning of her tenure with Dry River Estate, and she’d never left – becoming full-time in 2000 (the year she and Shayne rekindled their romance) in the position of assistant winemaker. She was appointed head winemaker in 2003 – a position she held until the 2012 formation of Poppies.

In the meantime, Shayne was also bitten by the wine love bug, and made what felt like a natural transition from the premium echelons of the food industry, to the wine industry, embarking on a viticulture course at EIT that saw him become a fully-fledged viticulturist. After an initial tenure at Martinborough's Margrain Winery, he joined Poppy at Dry River Estates as its viticulturist in 2004.

From A Dream to An Inevitability

Over the next few years the concept of “Poppies” grew from the realms of a dream, to an inevitability.

The couple had by then traveled together to many of the world’s wine regions and developed a joint appreciation of, and desire to commit to, preserving the authenticity of wine . . . by growing grapes and making wines in strict accordance with the methods and styles for which those varietals were known historically, as per the centuries-old ways of the growers and makers in the regions from which they hailed.

“As a wine region, Martinborough was really only established in the late 1970s,” Shayne says. “Whereas, you go back to some of the wine regions in France and you’re talking hundreds and hundreds of years.

“Within those centuries, France, for example – as an icon of the wine world – has formed wines that have long since become the international standard of specific varietals or styles. Take the south of France, which is the traditional home for the rose varietal globally.

“And then you break that down to smaller component regions like Provence, with a global reputation for its traditional very dry, very precise winemaking style. They make this same style every vintage. They don’t go and change it up for variety; they stick strictly to their hallmark style for that varietal.

“That’s the inspiration for us making wine in the ‘new world’. That tradition is our inspiration. We are committed to staying true to the styles developed for any specific varietal in those originating wine regions and homes of the varietal in question.”

A classic example is Poppy’s Tempranillo varietal – the historic home of which is Northern Spain.

“We had a an amazing holiday in Spain in 2005 and when we began our tastings of the tempranillo varietal, we knew that was going to be part of the portfolio of wines we would eventually create.”

Meantime, Poppy’s aromatic wines – pinot gris, gewurztraminer and her late harvest wines – are all made following the traditions bequeathed by Northern France's iconic Alsace winemaking region.

“Poppy has done vintages in Alsace and loves those sweeter aromatic wines; she’s besotted by them,” says Shayne.

But the main game – both for the Poppies range and for Martinborough as a region – is, of course, pinot noir.

“Pinot noir is actually the real reason we’re here, first and foremost, though . . . everything else is a part of the story, and complementary to it. But Martinborough is truly world-class in pinot noir, and we have both a passion and an obligation to further the region’s reputation for it.

“Martinborough is literally geographically determined – through its pinot-perfect soils and its very dry and arid climate – to be the premium pinot noir growing region of New Zealand . . . and comparable with the best of the pinot noir grown and made globally.

"France’s Burgundy region is the traditional home of pinot noir – and we adhere strictly to its historic style.”

The pinot noir varietal is also the couple’s personal favorite.

“Ours is very structured and complex . . . and yet very elegant and refined all at the same time. That’s the hallmark of a historically true-to-varietal pinot noir, and it’s a real art to achieve it.”

Minimalist, Hands-Off Winemaking Philosophy

So how do viticulturist and winemaker achieve the standard of wines that brings rave reviews from wine writers and wine enthusiasts all over the world?

“Our viticulture techniques are exacting,” Shayne explains. “They have to be, because key to our outcomes is growing with no irrigation ('dry farming') and organic and biological pest management methodologies.

“It’s based on respecting Mother Nature . . . working with her, rather than heavy, chemical intervention: minimal chemical use, efficient water management, and taking the long way around a lot of the time.

“It all about timing, and patience and attention to detail. If you create an environment for a weed to grow, weeds will grow. If you create an environment that weeds don’t like, they won’t grow.

“The same goes for insects and other disease and pests; as soon as you put a herbicide onto the ground it will kill everything in its path, not just what you specifically want to kill. And it creates a very sterile environment. But if we plant certain beneficial plants that attract beneficial insects, those desirable insects will naturally control the undesirable ones.

“In short, we work side by side with Mother Nature, synchronistically, rather than fighting her through ‘kill chemicals’.”

To be clear, Poppies isn’t organic-certified (they do use contact herbicides under some vines, and there isn’t any certification for the nutrition-based growing methods of biological farming).

Vision for the Future

Firstly, it’s not just about Poppies.

It’s about the Martinborough region - and continuing to cement its place on the world map of premier wine regions.

“Our former employer, Dry River Estates, was owned by two Americans – Reg Oliver and Julian Robertson. Reg owned vineyards in the Napa Valley just out of San Francisco. He also had a winery in St Helena, north of the Napa Valley.

“I remember one day asking Reg why he invested in Dry River . . . on the other side of the world. He said he bought the winery not only because of its own reputation but also because Martinborough as a winemaking and wine tourism region, was 20 years behind St Helena – and it would some day grow up to be a Kiwi version of it.

“That resonated with me, as a validated future vision: to see clearly the potential for Martinborough to blossom into a world-renowned tourism destination based on wine.

“And time has proven him right . . . and clearly will continue to do so, vintage after vintage and tourist season after tourist season.”

A Day In the Life

What does a typical day in the life of viticulturist Shayne Hammond and winemaker Poppy Hammond look like in practice?

“Everything is very seasonal, especially with our particular, biological form of planting, growing and pest management,” says Shayne. “From October to May – spring, summer and harvest – most of my own time is spent in the vineyard itself, mowing, canopy management and the small amount of spraying that we do.”

Meantime, February to May is when things are at their most intense for Poppy as winemaker, getting ready for harvest.

Both make it a priority to spend as much time as possible in the cellar door operation, despite the fact that they now run a team of anywhere between 15 and 20 staff, depending on the time of year – November to March being, of course, their busiest period i.e. the height of the tourist season.

“We share a real bond with our customers when we meet them, and they with us.

“There’s something about the hand of the maker being that which pours their glass of wine. It creates a mutual emotional attachment.

"That’s the absolute heart of the experience that Poppies was, is, and will continue to be, created around.

“Bringing the finest quality wines, true to their specific origins, to an ever-growing, appreciative audience. And doing so in the most personal manner that we can.

“That will never change. While we’ve had to increase our production – quite rapidly in our short history – to meet demand, there’s a level of growth that we have no intention of going over. Our full capacity is 100 tonne of fruit per year. We’re nearly at that now, and at that point everything becomes maintenance and a focus on perfection.

"Perfecting production and perfecting authenticity, both at the same time. You can’t be a monolith and achieve that, and we have no intention of going in that direction, just because we could.”

The Offerings

Until 2023, the only place to secure a bottle of Poppies wines was at cellar door or through the Poppies Wine Club and the Poppies website’s online ordering facility.

Demand has finally, however, seen the Hammonds begin to grant on-licence access to selected restaurants around New Zealand – primarily in Auckland and Wellington.

The Poppies range includes (cellar door pricing):

Rose at $48 per bottle; Sauvignon Semillon at $48; Pinot Gris at $50; Chardonnay at $50; Gewurztraminer at $55; Viognier at $55; Late Harvest Reisling at $55; Late Harvest Pino Gris at $55, Methode Traditionale (Champagne) at $65; Pinot Noir at $70; Syrah at $75; Tempranillo at $75, and Pinot Noir L'elu at $180.

Poppies has been nominated by New Zealand’s prestigious ' Real Review' wine commentary online publication as one of the country’s top 20 wineries . . . a true feather in the cap of an operation and a label less than a decade old.

Meantime, Poppies Rose was nominated by ‘Real Review’ for the title of Rose of the Year for its 2024 vintage, and was awarded in the top three roses internationally.

Poppies 2022 Pinot L'elu scored 99 out of 100 in a review by the highly regarded and globally recognised New Zealand wine writer, Sam Kim. The 2024 of the same varietal also scored a 99 in his review.

Where, When & How

Poppies Martinborough's cellar door operation is open seven days a week from 11am until 4pm.

Lunch platters are available . . . not your average lunch platter, either. These have 16 or 17 different components, each to provide specific flavours to complement one or more of Poppies' wines.

Poppies Wine Club is free to join, and offers members (who can join either as casual members or subscription members) a 10 percent pricing discount “and perks”.

And there’s provision for overnight stays, in the form of “The Apartment” . . . nestled in a vineyard, for a truly immersive experience that is as authentic as the wines themselves.

The cellar door venue is at 91 Puruatanga Road, Martinborough (phone 06 306 8473). The winery itself is located on one of Poppies' own vineyards, at 35 Omarere Road, Martinborough.

Poppies Martinborough Limited - www.poppiesmartinborough.co.nz

AI Usage in Marketing: 'Disclosure Responsible, Ethical & Expected'

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 11:06:41 GMT

AI & Robotics Expert Provides Commentary on Skinny's New 'Brand Ambassador'

I asked Jamie Munro - my UK-based friend and expert on all matters AI and robotics to comment on the upside, downside, ethics and general state-of-play around the use of AI in this low-price-specialist, youth-targeting New Zealand telco's marketing.

Here's his reply (noting that he's given consideration to explaining some background, for the benefit of my growing international readership):

Skinny is a mobile network provider based in New Zealand that has recently introduced an "AI brand ambassador".

In this case, Skinny has been able to "clone" a real person and use her likeness in a number of AI-generated adverts. Over the last few years, we have witnessed the "deepfake" phenomenon, in which AI technology has been able to generate increasingly realistic images of real people in fictional scenarios.

More recently, AI video generation has improved to the point where a similar thing can be done with videos.

Up until this point, much of the commentary has been focused on the negative impacts of this technology with, for example, reports of nefarious individuals using the technology to generate pornographic images of women without their consent and, by way of another example, manipulate public opinion with realistic but misleading content in the political sphere.

By contrast, Skinny provides an example of the positive applications of the technology. In its case, Skinny has been able "train" an AI video model to produce realistic video and imagery of the company's "brand ambassador", a customer called Liz. Once the model is trained, the marketing team at Skinny is able to rapidly generate "creative" of Liz in various different scenarios.

Cost Efficiencies Are Considerable

In interviews, Skinny compares the cost of getting the video model set up, to the cost of a traditional marketing campaign, pointing out that they now have the model permanently available, and can create new material quickly and cheaply. They are also able to use AI to rapidly test out a variety of ideas, a process that would be too costly without using AI. They emphasise that responsible and ethical usage of AI should include being very upfront, transparent and clear when dealing with AI-generated content.

In the coming years, businesses who are able to apply AI technology effectively will derive serious advantages over those still stuck in the past. Those willing to embrace the new technology in a thoughtful and responsible way will be rewarded with improved efficiency and productivity.

On the other hand, irresponsible usage of AI can be highly counter-productive. Consider the potential backlash if Skinny had used their AI brand ambassador without disclosing that she was generated using AI, and this later became public knowledge.

Consumer attitudes towards AI will change over time, and the usage of AI-generated content may eventually become so common that disclosure is unnecessary, but we are certainly not there yet.

Consistency is Key in Ensuring Top-Notch Customer Service Reputation

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:24:28 GMT

Good Customer Service, Without Consistency, Isn't Good Customer Service

No company or organisation can claim to provide excellent (or even, 'good') customer service, unless that standard of service is provided across the entire enterprise, and with a high degree of consistency .

There are two aspects to that consistency:

(1) A customer service culture i.e. consistency in service standards across the entire enterprise, and

(2) Consistency at the level of the frontline individual - every customer-facing individual.

If an enterprise has a customer-centric culture, it both encourages, and makes it easier, for the individual frontliner to provide top-notch customer service. It’s an attitude with which the entire organisation is infused, and all departments and teams comprising it.

It’s also an expectation from all levels of management. If it’s really working well, it’s a modus operandi shared within each and every peer group comprising the organisation - whether they be customer-facing, administrative, back-of-house, logistics-supporting, or whatever.

The same principle applies to each frontline representative of the organisation, at the individual level: If a customer-facing staff member or representative has “service” baked into their personal ethos, standards and personality, then their customer service performance is naturally high. It’s their personal default setting. Their natural centre of gravity.

When Organisational Culture & Individual Service Standards Are Misaligned

Flipping the above equation: It should be recognised that diligent, customer-focused frontliners can be challenged in their delivery of great service, if there’s inconsistency in the organisation’s internal messaging about customer service standards.

For example, let’s say a company’s brand messaging and broader forms of advertising lay claim to excellence in customer service. But that external messaging doesn’t match with the informal or invisible internal messaging within the company. One way of expressing this is that the enterprise pays lip service to providing high levels of customer service . . . but that's all it is, in reality: just lip service .

That organisation takes this risk (among others): It may have attracted frontline personnel with great attitudes and high personal standards in customer service, lured by the customer service messaging featured in its advertising and other forms of brand profiling to the marketplace. But it ends up with disgruntled and morale-eroded personnel, as those same, originally high motivation hires realise the reality of their new workplace. As time goes on, they feel increasingly unappreciated for, and unsupported in, the effort they expend in servicing the organisation’s customers. Worse still, they might even feel denigrated for it by other, less motivated personnel who don’t wish to stand out against the higher standards of their more diligent colleagues.

So, this scenario ultimately plays itself out where either:

(a) there is a disparity between the degree of customer-centricity in frontline personnel (as a collective) and that of the organisation’s back-of-house / administrative support / managerial staff forces.

There’s a constant tension. It’s particularly evident, and particularly unhealthy, when frontline staff and representatives give undertakings to customers, and both the frontliner and the customer are subsequently let down by a lax or uncommitted performance by those personnel in the background whose role it had been to ensure the promise was delivered upon.

(b) there are significant disparities in attitudes and personal modus operandi between the various customer-facing personnel.

This is the scenario in which it is most evident to the customer. On one occasion, they'll call, visit or make some other form of contact and come away having had a good or at least, a satisfactory, experience. But the next time might prove to be a very different, and far less satisfactory, experience. And unfortunately for the organisation, its management and other upper-level interests, it's a combination of the worst experience and the most recent experience that lodges, often disproportionately, in the customer's memory.

All parties lose:

The customer is the immediate loser in this equation; they’re left frustrated over the absence of service or whatever other form of reasonable expectation they had or were given, that was not met.

The customer-centric frontliner is the other loser; they no longer have the same zeal for their role, and their relationships with their colleagues are strained. Their satisfaction with their employer is progressively eroded.

But the biggest, ultimate loser is the enterprise itself (unless it’s a government agency whose erstwhile presence and standards the “customer” is forced to tolerate).

Because, invariably, there’s a competitor waiting to welcome your disgruntled customer with open arms.

Everyone In A Company Is Either Benefiting, Or Hurting, the Brand

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:32:46 GMT

A Brand Is A Customer's Experience with Your Company; It's Your Reputation

Brand ing expert and multiple-times best-selling author (including of 'The Brand Gap' and 'The Branding Flip'), Marty Neumeier, explains what a brand IS and what a brand IS NOT.

"A brand is not what a lot of people say it is," Neumeier points out. "It's not a logo. A logo is a very useful tool for business, but it's not a brand. it's (just) a symbol for the brand.

"A brand is not a product ( per se ).

"Some people say a brand is a promise the company makes to the customer . . . and there's some truth in that. But that's not (all it is)."

A brand IS A RESULT.

"A brand is a result.

"So a brand is your business reputation.

"And if you don't start there, you don't know what you're doing.

"What's the reputation we're creating (out in the marketplace)?

"Almost everyone in the company is doing something either for the brand, or they're hurting the brand."

Coming Soon: Member Feature

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 06:46:07 GMT

This placeholder represents a future business Feature.

This is placeholder content demonstrating the style, structure and approximate length of a completed Wairarapa Business Showcase Feature.

When published, this page will contain a professionally researched and written article that tells the story of a member business, highlighting its history, expertise, services, values, achievements and contribution to the local community.

The purpose of this sample is simply to illustrate the presentation, quality and depth of the Feature that members can expect to receive.

Welcome

This page contains placeholder content designed to help prospective members visualise the type of professionally written Feature article they will receive as part of their membership with Wairarapa Business Showcase.

Rather than simply listing services or providing a brief business description, every Feature is intended to tell the story behind the business. The objective is to present the company in a way that builds credibility, demonstrates expertise and gives readers a genuine understanding of what makes the business different.

A completed Feature will be individually researched, professionally written and tailored specifically to the member's business. It will reflect their experience, values, products or services, achievements and commitment to serving customers throughout the Wairarapa region.

This placeholder article exists solely to demonstrate the expected presentation, article length and editorial quality.

More Than Just A Business Listing

Unlike a traditional directory listing, a Wairarapa Business Showcase Feature is intended to provide readers with meaningful, informative content.

Instead of a few paragraphs of promotional text, the article is structured much like an editorial Feature found in a quality business publication. It gives visitors the opportunity to understand who the business is, what it does, why it exists and how it has earned the trust of its customers . . . and importantly, what makes it different from its competitors.

The emphasis is always on providing genuine value to readers while showcasing the strengths of the Featured business in an engaging and professional manner.

This approach not only creates a stronger first impression but also gives prospective customers greater confidence before they make contact.

Telling the Story Behind the Business

Every successful business has a story.

Some have grown from small family enterprises into respected local organisations. Others have been established by passionate professionals determined to improve standards within their industry. Many have spent years building trusted relationships through consistent service, technical expertise and an unwavering commitment to their customers.

A professionally written Feature provides the opportunity to tell that story in a way that a standard website page or directory listing simply cannot . . . with the longevity, and the all-important expanded online presence and digital footprint, that print media can’t provide.

Readers gain insight into the people behind the business, the challenges they have overcome, the principles that guide their work and the reasons customers continue to choose them . . . including over their competition.

By presenting this information as a well-structured editorial article rather than a sales pitch, the Feature creates authenticity and helps establish trust with potential new clients and customers.

Placeholder Notice

This page contains placeholder text for demonstration purposes only.

It has been intentionally written to demonstrate the approximate length, structure and editorial quality of the professionally written Feature articles that Wairarapa Business Showcase members will receive.

At the publisher’s discretion, your Feature may well be significantly longer than this example (this will depend on how the research into your business informs the direction and theme of the Feature’s content, and what comes forth in the interview that will be conducted with you). It is, however, unlikely to be shorter than this example.

Demonstrating Experience and Expertise

One of the primary purposes of a Feature article is to demonstrate expertise.

Prospective customers often spend considerable time researching businesses before making purchasing decisions. They want reassurance that they are dealing with knowledgeable professionals who understand their needs and consistently deliver quality outcomes.

A completed Feature may therefore explore topics such as:

The business's background and experience.
Industry knowledge and specialist expertise.
Products or services offered.
Typical customer requirements.
Quality standards and professional practices.
Innovation and continuous improvement.
Customer service philosophy.
Long-term business goals.

By providing this level of detail, the article becomes much more than promotional copy; it becomes a valuable resource that helps prospective customers make informed decisions. Further, professional presentation is an important part of building confidence.

Each completed Feature will be carefully structured with clear headings, logical sections and engaging copy that is easy to read both online and on mobile devices.

The overall objective is to ensure visitors finish the Feature with a clear understanding of the business's capabilities and a strong impression of professionalism.

Creating Long-Term Value

Unlike short-lived advertising campaigns, a professionally written Feature continues providing value long after publication.

It becomes an informative resource that businesses can share with customers, suppliers, networking contacts and their wider community. It may also be referenced in and linked from websites, newsletters and social media channels, and even LinkedIn and general email signature footers.

Because the content is evergreen in nature, it can continue attracting readers and introducing new audiences to the business for months and even years after publication.

This long-term value is one of the reasons comprehensive editorial Features can become an important part of a business's overall marketing strategy.

Written Specifically for Your Business

Every member Feature will, of course, be painstakingly researched and written with a focus on the business’s or brand’s individuality.

No two businesses are the same, and no two articles should read as even remotely similar to each other. (We are allergic to template-type approaches here.)

Rather than relying on generic marketing language, the Feature will communicate the personality and strengths of the business in an authentic, informative and engaging way.

The result is original editorial content that accurately represents the organisation while remaining enjoyable for readers.

The final production will reflect the unique characteristics of the Featured organisation, including its history, achievements, areas of expertise, future aspirations as these benefit the customer or client . . . and its prominent points of competitive differentiation.

Building Marketplace Trust and Confidence

People prefer doing business with organisations they trust.

Before making contact, many visitors want to understand who they are dealing with, what experience the business has and whether it is likely to meet their expectations.

A comprehensive Feature helps answer many of those questions before the first phone call or enquiry is ever made.

It provides context, explains the business's approach and demonstrates a genuine commitment to professionalism and customer satisfaction.

This additional level of information often creates confidence that shorter promotional material simply cannot achieve.

Supporting Search Visibility

Long-form, informative content is also valuable from a search engine perspective.

Comprehensive editorial articles naturally provide more opportunities to explain services, discuss relevant topics and include meaningful information that benefits readers.

Each Feature is intended to be structured using clear headings, logical content sections and accessible formatting, making it easy for both readers and search engines to understand.

The primary objective will always be to provide useful information for people first, while also creating content that supports the overall visibility of the Showcase website.

A Professional Investment in Your Business

A high-quality Feature represents more than simply adding words to a web page.

It’s an opportunity to present your business professionally, communicate why your specific experience and your unique strengths are meaningful to your customers and clients, and provide information that helps the marketplace understand the value you offer.

Well-written, online editorial content works in concert with all your other marketing efforts, reinforcing your reputation and your competitive positioning at multiple points across your portfolio of promotional collateral and initiatives.

For many businesses, this type of detailed storytelling is something they rarely have the opportunity to present elsewhere.

Coming Soon: Member Feature

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 06:43:23 GMT

This placeholder represents a future business Feature.

This is placeholder content demonstrating the style, structure and approximate length of a completed Wairarapa Business Showcase Feature.

The purpose of this sample is simply to illustrate the presentation, quality and depth of the Feature that members can expect to receive.

Welcome

This placeholder article exists solely to demonstrate the expected presentation, article length and editorial quality.

More Than Just A Business Listing

Unlike a traditional directory listing, a Wairarapa Business Showcase Feature is intended to provide readers with meaningful, informative content.

The emphasis is always on providing genuine value to readers while showcasing the strengths of the Featured business in an engaging and professional manner.

This approach not only creates a stronger first impression but also gives prospective customers greater confidence before they make contact.

Telling the Story Behind the Business

Every successful business has a story.

By presenting this information as a well-structured editorial article rather than a sales pitch, the Feature creates authenticity and helps establish trust with potential new clients and customers.

Placeholder Notice

This page contains placeholder text for demonstration purposes only.

Demonstrating Experience and Expertise

One of the primary purposes of a Feature article is to demonstrate expertise.

A completed Feature may therefore explore topics such as:

The business's background and experience.
Industry knowledge and specialist expertise.
Products or services offered.
Typical customer requirements.
Quality standards and professional practices.
Innovation and continuous improvement.
Customer service philosophy.
Long-term business goals.

Each completed Feature will be carefully structured with clear headings, logical sections and engaging copy that is easy to read both online and on mobile devices.

The overall objective is to ensure visitors finish the Feature with a clear understanding of the business's capabilities and a strong impression of professionalism.

Creating Long-Term Value

Unlike short-lived advertising campaigns, a professionally written Feature continues providing value long after publication.

Because the content is evergreen in nature, it can continue attracting readers and introducing new audiences to the business for months and even years after publication.

This long-term value is one of the reasons comprehensive editorial Features can become an important part of a business's overall marketing strategy.

Written Specifically for Your Business

Every member Feature will, of course, be painstakingly researched and written with a focus on the business’s or brand’s individuality.

No two businesses are the same, and no two articles should read as even remotely similar to each other. (We are allergic to template-type approaches here.)

Rather than relying on generic marketing language, the Feature will communicate the personality and strengths of the business in an authentic, informative and engaging way.

The result is original editorial content that accurately represents the organisation while remaining enjoyable for readers.

Building Marketplace Trust and Confidence

People prefer doing business with organisations they trust.

Before making contact, many visitors want to understand who they are dealing with, what experience the business has and whether it is likely to meet their expectations.

A comprehensive Feature helps answer many of those questions before the first phone call or enquiry is ever made.

It provides context, explains the business's approach and demonstrates a genuine commitment to professionalism and customer satisfaction.

This additional level of information often creates confidence that shorter promotional material simply cannot achieve.

Supporting Search Visibility

Long-form, informative content is also valuable from a search engine perspective.

Comprehensive editorial articles naturally provide more opportunities to explain services, discuss relevant topics and include meaningful information that benefits readers.

Each Feature is intended to be structured using clear headings, logical content sections and accessible formatting, making it easy for both readers and search engines to understand.

The primary objective will always be to provide useful information for people first, while also creating content that supports the overall visibility of the Showcase website.

A Professional Investment in Your Business

A high-quality Feature represents more than simply adding words to a web page.

For many businesses, this type of detailed storytelling is something they rarely have the opportunity to present elsewhere.

Coming Soon: Member Feature

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 06:43:17 GMT

This placeholder represents a future business Feature.

This is placeholder content demonstrating the style, structure and approximate length of a completed Wairarapa Business Showcase Feature.

The purpose of this sample is simply to illustrate the presentation, quality and depth of the Feature that members can expect to receive.

Welcome

This placeholder article exists solely to demonstrate the expected presentation, article length and editorial quality.

More Than Just A Business Listing

Unlike a traditional directory listing, a Wairarapa Business Showcase Feature is intended to provide readers with meaningful, informative content.

The emphasis is always on providing genuine value to readers while showcasing the strengths of the Featured business in an engaging and professional manner.

This approach not only creates a stronger first impression but also gives prospective customers greater confidence before they make contact.

Telling the Story Behind the Business

Every successful business has a story.

By presenting this information as a well-structured editorial article rather than a sales pitch, the Feature creates authenticity and helps establish trust with potential new clients and customers.

Placeholder Notice

This page contains placeholder text for demonstration purposes only.

Demonstrating Experience and Expertise

One of the primary purposes of a Feature article is to demonstrate expertise.

A completed Feature may therefore explore topics such as:

The business's background and experience.
Industry knowledge and specialist expertise.
Products or services offered.
Typical customer requirements.
Quality standards and professional practices.
Innovation and continuous improvement.
Customer service philosophy.
Long-term business goals.

Each completed Feature will be carefully structured with clear headings, logical sections and engaging copy that is easy to read both online and on mobile devices.

The overall objective is to ensure visitors finish the Feature with a clear understanding of the business's capabilities and a strong impression of professionalism.

Creating Long-Term Value

Unlike short-lived advertising campaigns, a professionally written Feature continues providing value long after publication.

Because the content is evergreen in nature, it can continue attracting readers and introducing new audiences to the business for months and even years after publication.

This long-term value is one of the reasons comprehensive editorial Features can become an important part of a business's overall marketing strategy.

Written Specifically for Your Business

Every member Feature will, of course, be painstakingly researched and written with a focus on the business’s or brand’s individuality.

No two businesses are the same, and no two articles should read as even remotely similar to each other. (We are allergic to template-type approaches here.)

Rather than relying on generic marketing language, the Feature will communicate the personality and strengths of the business in an authentic, informative and engaging way.

The result is original editorial content that accurately represents the organisation while remaining enjoyable for readers.

Building Marketplace Trust and Confidence

People prefer doing business with organisations they trust.

Before making contact, many visitors want to understand who they are dealing with, what experience the business has and whether it is likely to meet their expectations.

A comprehensive Feature helps answer many of those questions before the first phone call or enquiry is ever made.

It provides context, explains the business's approach and demonstrates a genuine commitment to professionalism and customer satisfaction.

This additional level of information often creates confidence that shorter promotional material simply cannot achieve.

Supporting Search Visibility

Long-form, informative content is also valuable from a search engine perspective.

Comprehensive editorial articles naturally provide more opportunities to explain services, discuss relevant topics and include meaningful information that benefits readers.

Each Feature is intended to be structured using clear headings, logical content sections and accessible formatting, making it easy for both readers and search engines to understand.

The primary objective will always be to provide useful information for people first, while also creating content that supports the overall visibility of the Showcase website.

A Professional Investment in Your Business

A high-quality Feature represents more than simply adding words to a web page.

For many businesses, this type of detailed storytelling is something they rarely have the opportunity to present elsewhere.

Coming Soon: Member Feature

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 06:36:16 GMT

This placeholder represents a future business Feature.

This is placeholder content demonstrating the style, structure and approximate length of a completed Wairarapa Business Showcase Feature.

The purpose of this sample is simply to illustrate the presentation, quality and depth of the Feature that members can expect to receive.

Welcome

This placeholder article exists solely to demonstrate the expected presentation, article length and editorial quality.

More Than Just A Business Listing

Unlike a traditional directory listing, a Wairarapa Business Showcase Feature is intended to provide readers with meaningful, informative content.

The emphasis is always on providing genuine value to readers while showcasing the strengths of the Featured business in an engaging and professional manner.

This approach not only creates a stronger first impression but also gives prospective customers greater confidence before they make contact.

Telling the Story Behind the Business

Every successful business has a story.

By presenting this information as a well-structured editorial article rather than a sales pitch, the Feature creates authenticity and helps establish trust with potential new clients and customers.

Placeholder Notice

This page contains placeholder text for demonstration purposes only.

Demonstrating Experience and Expertise

One of the primary purposes of a Feature article is to demonstrate expertise.

A completed Feature may therefore explore topics such as:

The business's background and experience.
Industry knowledge and specialist expertise.
Products or services offered.
Typical customer requirements.
Quality standards and professional practices.
Innovation and continuous improvement.
Customer service philosophy.
Long-term business goals.

Each completed Feature will be carefully structured with clear headings, logical sections and engaging copy that is easy to read both online and on mobile devices.

The overall objective is to ensure visitors finish the Feature with a clear understanding of the business's capabilities and a strong impression of professionalism.

Creating Long-Term Value

Unlike short-lived advertising campaigns, a professionally written Feature continues providing value long after publication.

Because the content is evergreen in nature, it can continue attracting readers and introducing new audiences to the business for months and even years after publication.

This long-term value is one of the reasons comprehensive editorial Features can become an important part of a business's overall marketing strategy.

Written Specifically for Your Business

Every member Feature will, of course, be painstakingly researched and written with a focus on the business’s or brand’s individuality.

No two businesses are the same, and no two articles should read as even remotely similar to each other. (We are allergic to template-type approaches here.)

Rather than relying on generic marketing language, the Feature will communicate the personality and strengths of the business in an authentic, informative and engaging way.

The result is original editorial content that accurately represents the organisation while remaining enjoyable for readers.

Building Marketplace Trust and Confidence

People prefer doing business with organisations they trust.

Before making contact, many visitors want to understand who they are dealing with, what experience the business has and whether it is likely to meet their expectations.

A comprehensive Feature helps answer many of those questions before the first phone call or enquiry is ever made.

It provides context, explains the business's approach and demonstrates a genuine commitment to professionalism and customer satisfaction.

This additional level of information often creates confidence that shorter promotional material simply cannot achieve.

Supporting Search Visibility

Long-form, informative content is also valuable from a search engine perspective.

Comprehensive editorial articles naturally provide more opportunities to explain services, discuss relevant topics and include meaningful information that benefits readers.

Each Feature is intended to be structured using clear headings, logical content sections and accessible formatting, making it easy for both readers and search engines to understand.

The primary objective will always be to provide useful information for people first, while also creating content that supports the overall visibility of the Showcase website.

A Professional Investment in Your Business

A high-quality Feature represents more than simply adding words to a web page.

For many businesses, this type of detailed storytelling is something they rarely have the opportunity to present elsewhere.

An Outstanding Example of Proactive Customer Service

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:29:11 GMT

'Little Things' (the Right Things) Maketh the Organisation Great

As I will say, over and over again: It's the accumulation of "little things" that build goodwill and customer loyalty.

Several days ago, I made a purchase at Life Pharmacy in Masterton. The counter assistant advised me that I had a good number of redeemable "points" accrued on my "Living Rewards" card . . . one of the very few loyalty card programs I participate in - because it's actually worth it, and (in this particular category) I don't care too much if some data-farming outfit records how much cleanser, moisturiser, conditioner and packs of cotton wool I buy.

So that was nice. It lopped quite a chunk off the tally of that day's purchases.

But here's what was truly impressive. The same store assistant phoned me the next morning.

"Good morning, Jordan," she says. "I hope I haven't rung too early? I just thought I'd let you know I noticed just after you left that your remaining points expire next week . . . I don't want you to miss out on using them."

Now, isn't that nice ? And isn't it a personal service modus operandi you'd want to encourage in your store staff, if you were the owner or franchisee? I certainly would.

You see, one small act of caring and extra-mile service like that, goes a long way. And, perform such acts regularly, and the positive impact on how your customers view you (and want to patronise your outlet) becomes cumulative .

Whether an organisation is large or small, that's how customer base goodwill and brand loyalty is built: one good experience at a time.

Brand Loyalty, Customer LTI & Service Claridge's-Style

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 10:53:22 GMT

Lessons Abound Here . . . If the Broader Retail & Hospitality Sectors Want to Learn Them

Saturday night is my night to sit in front of my large-screen computer and treat myself to an evening of "mindless" YouTube videos. Last night, I chose this one: Claridge's - Inside the Hotel for the Super-Rich .

I thought it would interest me for about 30 seconds.

But I watched this 55-minute and 49-second documentary from beginning to end, captivated, and even drawing back the progress bar to re-watch a few segments.

Why? Because it contains SO many lessons for any operator in the broader retail or hospitality sectors (and I do mean, the very broadest definition of those sectors) that could turn an ailing business around in quick-time, make a new business go viral with online fan-commentary, increase share-of-wallet from an existing customer base . . . and, most definitely, send customer LTV (Life-Time Value) through the roof.

I know what you're thinking. What lessons can possibly be translatable from a historic and elitist icon of London's hotel scene, to any small business in little ol' NZ . . . right?

PLENTY.

There's the example of the 80-something Californian couple who have spent their annual holidays at Claridge's every year for the past 40. The documentary shows the delighted elderly pair unwrapping a silver tray that had arrived ( at their home in California ) from the manager and their favorite butler at Claridge's, with engraving congratulating them on their 65th wedding anniversary.

And there's the example of the completely unflappable management team who customised the decor and trimmings of an entire floor of the hotel for a large group of foreign visitors, after researching their personal tastes . . . before the booking had had its final confirmation, and with the group two days late in turning up.

Then there's the woman who refuses to stay at any other hotel because of the treatment her dog (who's not only allowed to stay at the hotel, but receives his own special welcome) receives - which includes having his own bedding and bowls kept in storage at the hotel between visits, and being walked personally by her appointed hotel butler.

Again . . . I can hear the cynical cogs turning: You realise, Jordan, that these elite clientele pay upwards of 5000 British pounds a night, right? It's about the money, J-o-r-d-a-n.

NOT SO FAST.

No, it's about more than the money. Watch it and you'll see what I mean. It's about custom, attitude and all-round graciousness . If you take the time to watch, the extraordinary class and graciousness of the staff - most especially the general manager - can hardly escape your attention.

The customised redecoration of the rooms and installation of a jacuzzi to appease an expected pop star, and the expense of having a guest's favourite food item always at hand just in case they should order it on that day . . . all that is hard cost. Yes. Granted.

BUT . . . the graciousness, class, diplomacy and attentiveness of the staff costs nothing but good staff selection processes and a culture fostered and ingrained by management example.

And still I hear the protestations of the cynical amongst you: They have a HUGE pool of potential employees to draw from, and they probably pay them a mint. To say nothing of the tip culture in elite hotels.

And still I say to you, that the management example and expectation of graciousness, class, and personalised attentiveness either costs a business nothing . . . or, at most, is a soft cost.

Let me give you a couple of classic examples.

What, today, are two businesses you expect the very lowest levels of customer service from? Think about it.

I'll tell you: Supermarkets and "servos" (I'll refrain from calling them "service stations" - coz there ain't a lot of service going on at the average BP or Z petrol fill-up mega-joint).

Now here are two examples of extraordinary service from my everyday life that cost the two businesses in question NOTHING to provide . . . but keep me going back to them intentionally, specifically, and loyally , when I could choose to go to any of their competitors at any time. But, where the choice exists, I will always, ALWAYS go out of my way to patronise these businesses.

Example No. 1:

This example is one of a humble but extraordinary little service station in Featherston in the Wairarapa Valley (and I will call this one a service station, because it deserves the title). I live in Masterton, but if I'm ever planning a trip to Wellington, I'll drive around town for a week on near-empty just so that I can fill up there.

Why?

Last Thursday I had a dentist appointment in Wellington. I hadn't been to Wellington for several months. Quite unusual. I arrived, on empty, and got out to go into the shop and see if my regular guy was there to fill me up (I loathe the smell of petrol). I didn't need to. Another guy was already unscrewing my petrol cap, waiting with a smile for me to instruct him on which petrol to fill the tank with. I entered the shop and my regular guy was standing at the counter and greeted me with an enormous smile and a friendly comment about how long it's been since they'd seen me.

Did that cost them a cent to make me feel so incredibly special? Not a razoo. And here I am writing a testimonial that my several thousand readers will see, and that they can share with any of their customer base. So that's a pretty good ROI for a smile and a personal fill-up, isn't it? Get my point? You never know who your next customer is - or even who your existing customers are (or who they talk to) - in many cases. But the chances of their LTV being worthwhile to your business is always pretty jolly high.

Example No. 2:

I refuse to drink fluoridated water. So I drink a very nice mountain spring water that's casked by a manufacturer whose management, in my opinion, is contemptuously dismissive of customer feedback.

Given my refusal to risk my kitchen floor being the recipient of another 10 litres of water from the bursting-off of a tap from an ill-positioned foil bladder within a cardboard cask, I ask the staff at Moore Wilson speciality-and-bulk grocery outlet in Masterton if they will take the risk on my behalf. They've done it so many times for me, that recently I've begun giving them a call beforehand to give them a heads-up . . . since I can see from the fact that they've had to rip open and reassemble and re-tape the casks after fossicking around for the ill-fitting taps inside the boxes, that they almost always have the same battle with the packaging that I had . . . and it's somewhat time-consuming.

Not only is there never an ounce of reticence to help me out in this manner, but - in fact - the casks are usually awaiting my arrival in a trolley at the end of the check-out they've normally observed that I go through at the conclusion of my shops there.

Yesterday, I had a question about a product. The knowledgeable young bloke on the check-out called over (the manager?), introduced me by my full name, explained my query, and asked her to take me over to the relevant area of the store, and give me detailed assistance. Nice. And the cost to Moore Wilson? A few minutes of the staff member's time . . . who was walking the floor anyway.

It never ceases to amaze me how utterly simple and phenomenally profitable it is to provide good customer service and personalised attention . . . no matter the business or size thereof. And how few business operators - large or small - recognise this glaringly obvious fact.

Customer Service Gold, Customer Service Platinum . . . and Customer Service EXTRAORDINARY

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 10:35:59 GMT

If I owned a retail business, I'd hire these two away in a heartbeat . . .

You know that type of customer service that you experience every once in a blue moon and never forget?

Well here's a couple of customer service pros, that I hesitate to call 'pros', for the sole reason that they're just doing what clearly comes naturally to them.

But these two are SO far beyond even the "gold standard" it's hard to know where to start in genuinely complimenting them.

Isaac At the Rosebowl Cafe

In Feilding for a veterinary visit with my little dog, I'd bought him some food and realised I hadn't brought his travelling bowl. I'd just availed myself of some tasty sandwiches in my favourite stop in the town - the Rosebowl Bakery & Cafe - and, a bit gingerly, went back in to see if they'd help me out with a takeaway container to decant my little guy's food into.

What an extraordinary customer experience that otherwise simple exercise turned out to be:

Isaac, one of the younger assistants there, didn't treat the request in the largely throw-away manner you'd probably expect such a request would be treated: Like, "Sure, here you go." Or, "OK, but we charge 50 cents for our containers." That's been the standard response on the odd occasion I've been in a situation where I've made a similar request elsewhere.

No, no. Not Isaac. I was a customer . And clearly, in his mind, a customer has very specific needs, and regardless of the size or nature of the request, a customer's needs should be properly identified and satisfied with diligence. Which is exactly what he went about doing . . . as I co-operated in a somewhat startled state, with his incredibly insightful questions.

How big is your dog? What volume of food are you going to be decanting into the container for him? If I give you this one, or this one (pointing out two options), which one will he be able to reach into better? OK, wait there, he says.

He returns with the two options. But now . . . there's more detail and diligence to come: How big is the can? If you don't decant the whole can for him for this meal, would it be better to have this takeaway container here? Because you can put the whole can itself into this one, and it also has a better lid, and that means the car won't get reeked out on your long drive home. What do you think, he asks?

Well, I hadn't thought that deeply into it, but as I drove home with half a can of uneaten dog food in a perfectly sized container with a well-fitting lid and thus a non-stinky car, you can be sure I did think about it at that point.

Even remarkably, I had assumed Isaac must have been a dog owner himself. No, he said, he wasn't. He was just thinking through the situation.

And then I pulled out my wallet to pay. No, no, he said, "we have plenty of containers out there; no need, just happy to help. Have a safe drive back."

What can I say? What an extraordinary asset to a customer-facing business of any type . . . and most especially one like a high-traffic cafe a la the very impressive Rosebowl.

And now to Claire at The Warehouse.

Claire has a smile that wouldn't just light up a room . . . it lights up her entire surrounding environment at Masterton's The Warehouse.

Whenever I've encountered her, I've thought, "Oh, there's that smiling lady again."

There's a human warmth to this equally extraordinary service staff member. And a very high degree of conversational intelligence.

Claire is the staffer for whom no request for help is a big deal or too much bother. To the contrary, Claire is the team member who won't just tell you that what you're looking for is "in Aisle No. 10". She wouldn't dream of it. She'll put down what she's doing and walk you straight there . . . and she won't leave you until she's helped you more specifically with what you want.

I went to get a pair of slippers last night. The dickety little hangy thingy they were all on had me completely constumpled trying to get my incorrect size rejects back on them and back on the hook they came off. So I did my best, failed, gave up, and left them neatly against the shelving.

Approaching a nearby staffer from behind as she stacked a shelf, I intended to draw her attention to said unhung slippers.

Swinging around with her trademark twinkling mile-wide-smile (before even seeing who she was about to stand facing, or knowing what they wanted i.e. I could have been any grump or gronk), I saw it was "the smiling lady".

Said smiling lady (who I now know as "Claire") then proceeded to thank me profusely for "my kindness".

My kindness? Yes, she said, thank you so much!

Well I never.

And then (something to the effect of): "Do you need any help with anything else?"

And then a brief, friendly and very intelligent chat sparked by something to do with said item, before encountering her in another part of the store, and having her offer again to help me with another item, on which she provided an insightful commentary that I much appreciated.

Think About It From An Employer's Perspective

I'm always a bit reticent to go on like I sometimes do about what some readers might consider a mundane, everyday experience.

But think of this from the perspective of an employer, many of whom I am acutely aware really have their work cut out for them, getting and ensuring genuinely good staff.

You'd imagine they'd really appreciate this commentary . . . and you'd imagine any employer suffering the either short-term or long-term pain of less-than-optimum customer-facing staff, would also read this commentary with great envy - and a sincere wish that they had customer service pros like Isaac and Claire on their payrolls.