Its not what you know, its who you know

We are proud to say that we have a number of ‘Preferred Suppliers‘ that we have worked with over the years, and who we recommend to our own clients, colleagues and friends.

Reading a blog post earlier by Richard Branson on Customer Service – click here for the link, I was able to make the link between the companies I use as Preferred Suppliers and those that don’t make it to the list.  The link is simple, it is all about exceptional customer service.

And as a new year starts, we will be updating the list, to include only those companies who have gone the extra mile, there will be a few new ones listed, and some will drop off the list – watch this space!

For more information please email info@ampmpa.co.uk

One fine networking evening….

Since the summer we made a stand on networking and decided that we must attend at least one networking event a month, so far, so good.

We started off in July by being invited along to the 25th anniversary celebrations of Berkeley Bate (our accountants) at the Victoria Art Gallery and were served delicious canapes and bubbly by our favourite caterers Eat 5 Star.

Later in  July we attended a Best of Bath networking event at the Royal Crescent Hotel, it was a lovely evening and we not only enjoyed canapes and wine in the garden, we met lots of very nice people.

In August we ventured further afield to The Square Club in Bristol to attend the Bath & Bristol Marketing Network Group meeting – lots of people again and fantastic speaker.

September saw both Angela and Sibylle attending the Business Against Poverty networking and wine tasting event at Great Western Wine in Bath.

Making sure we always make the most of everything we do (trying to save ourselves time and money too) we picked up one new supplier – Harvem for our office supplies who we have used twice already and are enjoying the fantastic service on offer. And also became members of Business Against Poverty – so that we may help others who are less fortunate than ourselves and have the chance to put something back. We also had a good evening and had a chance to catch up on a more personal level with each other, and enjoy some lovely wine too!

So remember if like us, networking is not on your To Do List, go along to 1 event a month and make it work for you, its not always about meeting new clients/suppliers etc, sometimes it may just be to let your hair down and enjoy a glass of wine or 2!

Great Venues in Bristol and Bath

We spend a lot of time sourcing venues for events, and hundreds of phone calls, emails, site visits and successful events later, we decided to share with you just a couple of our current favourite venues in the Bristol and Bath area (others are available!).

We always look at the different venue options before even considering using them, for example do they have wi-fi throughout, are there refreshments on demand, is there ample parking, is audio-visual equipment included as standard, what are the catering facilities like and of course, what is the half day, full day and 24 hour delegate package rates?

Even in a time of recession, people do still hold events, and because cost is more of a factor in some cases, we always insist on the highest levels of customer service.

With that in mind we would like to recommend 2 such venues which have fantastic facilities, professional, friendly and courteous staff and of course offer competitive pricing.  Have a look at:-

Engineers House – Clifton Down, Bristol : See www.engineershouse.co.uk
Bailbrook House – London Road, Bath :  See www.bailbrookhouse.co.uk

And don’t forget after organising hundreds of events, we can help save you time and money – take a look at our website for more details www.ampmpa.co.uk

Off Site Back Up

I am so happy because yesterday I rather stupidly over-wrote a file that I had worked on for 3 days before Christmas, with a one page summary sheet.  The classic, oh no, did I really just exit and say ‘yes’ to save.

No undo option available, no recycle bin as I had not deleted it, and no printed versions.  The only alternative would be to start again, except I back up off site every day and was able (after a short call to the helpdesk) restore my file from a back up done before Christmas.

So I thought I would let you all into my off site back up secret – its called Back Up Direct, visit their website http://www.backupdirect.net/ and tell them that I said they are great!