Monday, November 30, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
The Dirt - August 2015
Friday, May 15, 2015
A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who love and nurture a kid(s) who needs you. I hope the holiday gave you rest, relaxation, and every reason to keep doing the amazing work you do! Here at Dos Gringos, we’re catching our breath after an extremely busy few weeks leading up to May 10. We enjoyed a really nice bump in sales brought on by interesting, innovative promotions for Cinco de Mayo celebrations. The controlled chaos included us busting our own record for highest single day of sales in our 27 year history. We did it May 2, the same day American Pharaoh won this year’s Kentucky Derby. The whole DG family will celebrate our record breaker in style during a fun-filled day in August at the Del Mar Racetrack. You can’t get those results without all hands on deck; I’m proud of the team effort that turned all our planning and preparation into orders and fulfillment. | ||
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Of course, when you go hard and fast for a while, you also get to see where there’s room for improvement. Flow and speed are two things we’ll continue to scrutinize and make better to ensure the best possible experience for all of our clients. | ||
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CHECK OUT OUR NEW PRODUCTS! | ||
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Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’ve always believed that a little luck goes a long way – but it’s up to us to make the most of it! I hope you get your share of good fortune in this month of spring and renewal. One of the most significant things Dos Gringos has never left to chance is the deliberate decision to not be a flower broker. With the variety of roles and players in this industry, it’s easy to forget who’s who and what’s what, but distinction and nuance matters – especially for you, our clients. | |||||||
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We are the first, middle, and last part of the chain that makes up the flower-buying experience. This means there’s never a middle man when you work with Dos Gringos. We are our own research and development experts. We own the seed, we own the production and we own the assembly facilities where your bouquets are made. We’re committed to regular, relevant innovations that drive quality up and costs down. We also own the responsibility for mistakes – we are people first, and people mess up -- and we take great pride in making things right when they occur. The buck truly does stop right here and right with me. | |||||||
As we continue our quest to bring smiles to millions, we continue to stand behind the pillars that have supported our growth to date: People, Freshness, and Innovation. The idea is simple – build a great team of forward-thinking professionals committed to delivering the freshest, most reasonably priced flowers and greens on the planet – but it’s not easy. We “get after it” every single day, and agility and evolution are key. It’s my responsibility to ask the right people to do the right things and then thank and reward them for excellence. | |||||||
When I became owner and chief gringo over 20 years ago, we harvested 100 Sunflowers a day. Today we harvest 100,000 daily. That says a lot about the desire to spread smiles and good cheer, not just on the part of my team but on the part of people in general. There’s a demand for flowers; we need to keep making them fresher and more convenient so more and more people can share the love. It’s a great reason for showing up to work each day! | |||||||
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Dos Gringos was proud, to again, be a sponsor for the Fifth Annual Chelsea's RunCharity Fundraiser this past weekend. The Sunflower ~ It is resilient, it is bright and always follows the sun. It stands out in a crowd. It is surprising, towers over others in uniqueness and splendor, and the closer you look, the more amazing its depth and beauty. Chelsea’s favorite flower, theSunflower has come to symbolize the light and hope that continue to shine brightly. We were glad to donate 2,500 of them to brighten the run! | |||||||
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Tuesday, February 10, 2015
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![]() Strategic Planning was a big topic for us throughout the fourth quarter. Several meetings and conversations resulted in an aggressive plan that holds true to our foundation and the things we’re best at. I want to share what we’re going after so you can get involved as much as you like and help keep us honest and realistic. Highlights include: FRESHNESS: In the flower business, the number of things that need to go right to ensure the BEST end-user experience is mind-numbing. While we embrace the challenge to examine and optimize every last step in the process from ranch to retail, we know that one aspect gets most of the attention: vase life. People who buy flowers want those stems and blooms to last as long as possible. That’s why we’re committed to a three-year-project to drive a full three days from our supply chain. This will demand better forecasting, planning, and logistics solutions, for sure. First steps include the recent addition of a full-time horticulturalist to oversee our fields in Mexico and visits to supply chain efficiency experts outside of the flower business. It’s our belief that the one thing that we will never hear from our customers and your customers is… “I really wish my fresh flowers didn’t last so long." INNOVATION: New seeds, new designs, and new displays will help deliver on our promise of “Different by Design®.” In March we’ll introduce you to our new Director of Operations who will focus so keenly on day-to-day operations excellence that I and other leaders will be free to play more offense and less defense. While Jeff Cottingham helps us gets everything just right on the operation side, I plan to increase visits with potential and existing clients and spend a lot more time on “new and next.” Our collaborative approach to date has served us well, and I will continue to ask the people closest to the action – YOU – for the insight, ideas, and feedback that will drive our future focus. Please click on the attached link if you’d like to help. If not, all good. We’re still working hard on everyone's behalf.
PEOPLE:
All the freshness and innovative ideas in the world won’t do anything for us -- or you – if we don’t have the right team in place to execute. There’s opportunity to change and improve our hiring process to ensure we’ve got the right folks in the right seats – and that we’re treating them so well they don’t want to work anywhere else. An outside firm that we hired to help us with this teams up with us to help define our talent management strategy and long term road map. ![]() This month we would like to feature our new Teammate Fernando Ayala, who is our Agronomist, handling our Mexican operations.
Q. Although I have just begun my employment with Dos Gringos I am most excited about?
A. The attention the company is giving me, I really feel like I am part of a team and a work family. Q. My personal moto or mantra is? A. Everything you wish for is possible, but if you leave it as a wish it will only be an illusion. Q. I chose agronomy as my course of study because? A. Earth is a female figure that must be treated with respect and care. Q. The top three highlights of my life (so far) have been? A. My family, agronomy, and Dos Gringos. Q. My favorite flower/ food/book/movie is? A. Dahlia, shrimp, Mexico Before God (Francisco Martin Moreno), La Malquerida, El Rebozo de Soledad (Soledad’s Shawl) and Maclovia. Q. People would be surprised to know about me. A. The only time my mother went with me to school is when I graduated. Q. In my free time I enjoy. A. Charreria (Mexican rodeos), Swimming, read articles related to my career and profession, and learn more about my country. Q. Is there anything you would like to add? A. The only barrier we have is fear to make a change. Never a dull moment, and we’ll certainly keep you posted on programs and progress. In the meantime, Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
SALUD!
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Friday, December 12, 2014
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![]() ![]() ![]() Look for us in early 2015 to make strides in streamlining and accelerating the flower flow process from Ranch to Retail: - Optimizing our logistics resources - Minimizing production dips - Increasing our product development pipeline for new seeds and designs. Your input and feedback on any or all these are welcome and appreciated. Until then, enjoy friends and family and try to sneak in at least a little R&R. Happy New Year!
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Friday, November 7, 2014
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Strategic planning is on the calendar as well. In addition to new, smarter approaches to preventing the fall dip, we’ll start tackling long-term questions about differentiation and a business model that can’t easily be duplicated – all so we can continue to give you the best flower-buying experience at the best possible prices.
In the meantime, on behalf of everyone at Dos Gringos, thank you for choosing and partnering with us, and have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving!
![]() ![]() 50k Run Stats: Time: 5 hours 25 minutes. Finished #15 of 200 in age group.
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