Inside John's Locker

This is the third and (I promise!) final installment of my attempt to answer what looks like an easy question. The decision to do a full Beta Trial of Owner’s Locker was an excellent one. Finding the right people to participate was critical and was difficult at first as we discovered that we had to do a lot of pre-education work to get people to consider Owner’s Locker. We learned two key lessons from our early efforts to assemble a Beta Trial team. Word of mouth “buzz” was very effective and once we could get people to try Owner’s Locker, they REALLY liked it.

In October, when the process of getting member of the MouseOwners boards was in full swing, I was also working on establishing a relationship with a much bigger board, The DIS. At the time there were about 2000 members of MouseOwners while The DIS discussion forums had 150,000 members. I had no idea how to contact The DIS so I approached a Moderator named Jim C that I had once answered some questions for me and asked how I should proceed. Jim suggested that I talk with someone called Webmaster Doc and passed me over to him. That was a very fateful moment because Rob Lindsey (Doc) had appreciation for Owner’s Locker the moment he heard about it. I now know why. Rob and Liz are away from their home in Indiana about one week a month…and more often than not, that week is spent in Orlando. Rob suggested that I put together a quick e-mail describing what I’d like to do and he would forward it to Corey Martin. The DIS is owned and run by a fellow named Pete Werner. Pete is very ably assisted by Corey. Getting to Corey was another piece of good luck because as soon as he saw my brief memo, he liked Owner’s Locker a LOT. If you’ve labored through Parts 1 and 2 of this topic, you know by now that it took some effort to convince most people to get on board. Not with Corey. He’s an entrepreneur by nature with a good eye for business. He took the idea to Pete and sold him on the concept of Owner’s Locker and came back to me with an offer we couldn’t refuse. Brian and I have since met with Corey as well as Pete and let me tell you, they’re both savvy businessmen. AND, they’re very generous. They both see Owner’s Locker as a good idea that needs some nurturing. As Pete puts it, “I appreciated the people who helped me out when I got started with The DIS and I like to help people with good ideas get a start.” I’ll do a separate post on Pete and Corey but needed to throw that in now.

I had asked Corey about the possibility of using The DIS forums to solicit Beta Trial Members. I figured it would be expensive but it was something we needed to do. Corey came back with the suggestion from him and Pete that we announce our Beta Trial on the Disney Vacation Club forums on The DIS. The announcement would be a “sticky” meaning that it would always be at the top of the forum. It could stay there for a month….and it would be FREE. Like I said, it was an offer we couldn’t refuse.

I haven’t mentioned the Owner’s Locker website so far in this discussion but here’s where we were. Brian and I started working together in August, 2006 he agreed to come on board in December, 2006 full time (with no pay, I might add)
At this point we were looking at the fourth website that I had developed and had just met Alex, our fantastic web developer who had given us the great news that what we really needed to do was start all over. So the first big decision Brian helped with was scrapping all of the prior website work and moving forward with Alex. It was absolutely the right decision and Alex began work in December. But here we were in early January, 2007 with no functional website. The early Beta Trial Members were solicited in person or by e-mail and all of the Visit-scheduling had been done by e-mail or phone. If we were going to make an announcement on a site like The DIS, we’d better have a site that could at least handle the Beta Trial applications. Which Alex was able to do. We patched together parts of site number 4 along with an application page and response mechanism that Alex was able to quickly set up.

And on January 11, 2007 the following announcement went up on the DVC boards of The DIS:

“New Service: store your personal vacation gear
________________________________________
We’re launching a new service for frequent visitors to the Orlando area called Owner’s Locker. You fill one of our special containers with the things you’d like to have on hand when you visit. We have it waiting for you at the front desk of your resort when you check in. Then we pick it up when you check out and keep it in our climate controlled warehouse until your next visit. It sure beats hauling all of that stuff back and forth!

John”
Oh, I almost forgot, while we were getting the website ready accept applications, guess who was checking into Disney’s Old Key West Resort and agreed to give Owner’s Locker a try and had Beta Trial Locker #012?? None other than Rob Lindsey—Webmaster Doc. As soon as our announcement went up on the DVC Boards, it was followed by this post:

“I just wanted to add that John does have permission to post this information and link to his service.

So far so good!
__________________
Doc
Assistant Webmaster DIS
doc@wdwinfo.com”
Well, that little one/two punch was golden and did the trick. We were quickly inundated with applications and our newest problem was deciding how to quickly limit the numbers. We decided that we would accept applications of folks visiting before the end of April and began turning down applicants who were coming after that date. The Main purpose of the Beta Trial was to test our systems and get launched as quickly as we could.

So, within a week, we went from having 12 Beta Trial Members to the 100 that we wanted thanks to Doc, Corey, Pete and the forum members of The DIS.

We had already learned that word of mouth buzz was a good tool and that trying a Locker was important. We now had a much better feel for how powerful web-based tools could be for our education/marketing efforts and we had an incredible example of the power of a personal endorsement. When a respected resource like Rob said, “I’m sitting at OKW right now looking at The Owner’s Locker,” the floodgates opened. Note to self……

JDVM

Posted by JDVM at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I started to answer this seemingly simple question in an earlier post (Part 1) and my fingers got tired after telling the story of only our first 4 Beta Trial Members. And, sadly, you sort of need to read Part 1 of this tale for this post to make sense. Here’s the rest of the saga (hopefully) of where the other 96 came from.

October 1, 2006 was the big delivery day for our first Beta Trial Members. Linda Thompson, a skeptic turned convert would be returning for her second trip with her Owner’s Locker. Laura Johnson and Marilyn Garfinkel (who seriously doubted the value of Owner’s Locker) would be trying out Owner’s Locker for the first time.

Between Linda’s first trip in August/September and this visit, she had described Owner’s Locker to a friend and MouseOwners member, Pam Enri (matysgranma). Pam and her husband, Tom, come to Orlando a lot and were interested in giving Owner’s Locker a try after hearing Linda talk about us. Although I had not met Pam, I agreed to have a Locker waiting for her as well as she was going to be joining the group in town the first week of October.

I remember Linda asking me whether Pam would qualify as a Beta Trial Member since she wasn’t a member of Disney Vacation Club. I told Linda that I was actually glad she wasn’t because Owner's Locker would cater to all of the resorts in the Orlando area. But I was curious as to why she stayed at DVC resorts if she weren’t a DVC Member. Turns out Pam and Tom rent DVC points to stay at Boardwalk several times per year. Yet again, I tell myself just how much I can learn from this Beta Trial.

The person that would be the owner of Locker #006 also checked into Disney’s Boardwalk Villas that day. One Kim Holtman. Kim is the owner of MouseOwners and she and I had corresponded about Owner’s Locker prior to her trip. Kim liked the idea and had said that it would be OK to discuss the Owner’s Locker on her site. She even agreed to display a small Owner’s Locker banner next to the MouseOwners forums at no charge. Kim accepted my invitation to dinner and I met up with her and her husband, Eric, in the Belle Vue Lounge at Boardwalk and we later had a fantastic dinner at Flying Fish Café. I explained the business to Kim and Eric and they were extremely supportive and agreed to become Beta Trial Members. I had brought Locker #006 with me just in case! (actually, I thought I had brought Locker #005, but there’s one more reason to have a rock solid bar code tracking system!)

Mar put together a Grand Gathering boat trip to view the Magic Kingdom fireworks and hosted a pina colada party in her room at Boardwalk beforehand. This time, I was brave enough to sign up for both.

I saw all of the new Trial Members on this trip and they were really excited about their Lockers and now the “word of mouth” chatter began. The picture above is some of us prior to Mar’s fireworks cruise. To my left are Pam Enri and Marilyn Garfinkel. To my right are Laura Johnson and Kim Holtman.

The Lockers began to be mentioned in trip various trip reports on the MouseOwners boards. The real power and potential of the discussion boards as an advertising/ educational medium for Owner’s Locker became more and more evident. Here were people actually meeting for the first time but acting like long lost friends because of their relationships that had been formed in the discussion forums. The reputation established on these boards was extremely important and it was obvious that there were levels of trust between these folks.

Right after that crew left, Beta Trial Member Ken Welch arrived for his initial Visit with an Owner’s Locker. Ken was thinking “second home’ and brought along a number of items to leave in his Locker—including a spare laptop. Never thought of that. Ken, Millie and I had dinner at Kona café at the Polynesian and just happened to walk out on the beach after dinner as the fireworks began.

At about that time I noticed that Noel S, in one of her posts on MouseOwners, talked about shipping stuff down to WDW and I contacted her and described Owner’s Locker to her. She jumped on the opportunity to give us a try (“sounds like a cool biz!...God knows, we’re your target market!!!") and we agreed that I would deliver her Locker #005 in person at The Gurgling Suitcase at Disney’s Old Key West Resort when she was there later in October. Tough duty. I’ve got to say that I thoroughly enjoyed sitting on one of the picnic tables outside the Suitcase watching people look at Noel’s Locker wondering what it was. Noel and her husband Eric were joined by several friends that evening and one couple was so excited about Owner’s Locker that they wound up with Beta Trial Locker #007, which I just happened to have with me. Meeting Noel and Eric was another bit of good luck. They’ve both had careers with Microsoft and Noel’s background is marketing. Handy, huh? Noel and eric may have gotten a free Locker but I have gotten lots and lots of good advice in return.

And, believe it or not, another meet was being organized in late November by (surprise, surprise) Linda Thompson. There was considerable buzz about Owner’s Locker on MouseOwners at this point and some of the folks showing up for that event had read the comments of the Beta Trial Members and began asking about Owner’s Locker. One of those people was Kathy Sebelski, who said, “where are the lockers? Even though we drive, it might be worth getting one.” Music to my ears. I contacted Kathy and Ron and agreed to get their Locker to them at Linda’s get together after Thanksgiving. It was another fateful meeting. Linda was now on her third trip with her Locker and the airlines wound up doing me a great favor by losing Linda’s luggage. She just happened to have a dress in her Locker that say the day—or evening.

I hit it off instantly with Kathy and Ron (whose license plate is “yensid” and we agreed to have dinner at Flying Fish during their trip. Kathy began to appreciate the value of her Locker instantly and by the time they headed back to Indiana, Ron was a huge convert, too. They are the couple in the video on the splash page on the OL site and are some of our best proponents. In fact, Ron and Kathy were talking up Owner’s Locker with a couple they met while Ron was getting his hair cut in the Magic Kingdom and brought their name and phone number along with him when I met them for dinner. Ron and Kathy had Locker #010 and the couple they met got Locker #011.

Kathy I learned would make an excellent Beta Trial Member because she is so detail oriented. She was extremely curious about how Owner’s Locker worked logistically. And at this point, all I could do was describe how things were GOING to work as the website wasn’t live and the barcode based warehouse management system wasn’t functional yet. Sadly, I confessed to her over dinner that my secret back-up system was to write the name of the Locker owner on the bottom of each Locker so I wouldn’t get them mixed up. Leave it to Kathy to turn her Locker upside down as soon as she got back to her room. And it was just my luck that in my hurry, I had forgotten to write the name of the owner on the bottom of one of the Lockers. I knew there were only five Lockers out and four had names on the bottom so I wasn’t too worried. Do you think Kathy told me?
Hmmmmm.

This may sound like a lot of effort but in the early days it was essential to find the right people, convince them (one way or another!) to try Owner's Locker so the could experience it first hand and let the buzz from their excitement spread. Linda Thompson was a one woman public relations company. Laura Johnson peppered her posts with comments about how Owner's Locker had changed the way she vacationed. Ken Welch talked about have one Locker for the summer Visits and another for their winter Visits. And Marilyn Garfinkel now desribed Owner's Locker as "addictive." Was it worth the effort?

You'd better believe it!

OK, that takes us to Locker #011. I guess there’s going to have to be a Part 3…..sorry.

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

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Once we decided to give Owner’s Locker's service away to a group of volunteers to just get Owner’s Locker out there to make sure it worked, exactly how should we go about finding people to try it?

Well, you don’t just stand on the street corner with a bunch of empty Lockers. Here’s how we did it…or at least this how we started the process.

I can't tell you exactly why, but it was obvious to me that Owner's Locker would need to rely heavily on web-based tools for our education and marketing. Maybe it was becasue I had been a member of several Disney-related discussion boards and could appreciate their power and potential usefulness for us. So that's where I went in search of Beta Trial Members. After following the discussion boards on MouseOwners for several months, I got up enough courage to attend a drinks party hosted by Laura Johnson (jiggerj) at Boardwalk Villa’s on May 1, 2006. Laura is one of those people that no one ever says anything bad about---because you can’t. She really is that nice and she’s the one who talked me into going. She was very warm and welcoming to me as a newbie to the MouseOwner boards. Without intending to, discussion forums can often seem a bit like a private club where outsiders aren't welcome. Laura handles those issue brilliantly. I was very uncomfortable being around a bunch of people I had never actually met but she convinced me to take the plunge and attend her party during her next visit. Have a look at this thread from MouseOwners and you’ll get a feel for what a nice bunch of people they are:

http://www.mouseowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1549

The drinks party preceded something billed as a Grand Gathering that Linda Thompson (Colorado Belle) had put together that included a dinner. I figured I could bale out of a drinks party but there was no way I was going to commit myself to being locked into a dinner! So all I signed up for was Laura's drinks.

As it turns out, Laura’s pre-Grand Gathering drinks party was lots of fun. In addition to actually meeting Laura, I also met Linda—who was mixing wicked margaritas as well as Ken Welch (KNWVIKING 2.0) and Marilyn Garfinkel (idratherbeinwdw). I mention only these four because they became the first four Beta Trial Members and herein lies that tale. In the photo above, Mar is smack in the middle with the black t-shirt. Laura is to her left and Linda is to the left of Laura. That's the top of my head right behind Mar and Ken is to the far left in the rear--or at least a bit of his head is. If you’re a real glutton for my wordiness, here’s a link to a thread I started on MouseOwners about Laura’s party:

http://www.mouseowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2889

I didn’t say a word about Owner’s Locker during Laura’s party but “discussed” it a few weeks later with her and then with Linda and Marilyn and Ken.

Laura liked the idea instantly and readily agreed to take part in the Beta Trial (I told you she was nice). The other three didn’t--at least at first (note to self: what does it mean that 3 out of 4 people say they don't particularly need Owner's Locker? Could we possibly have an education issue???).

Even though Laura was on board, Linda was coming back to Orlando sooner than any of the others and was adamant that she was single and didn’t need Owner’s Locker. It was a great idea for families, she explained. Four times she told me “no”. But she did tell me when she was coming to Orlando next and where she was staying. Linda was coming back to Orlando at the end of August and the others weren't returning until the first of October.

I knew that one of the reasons no one had offered a service like Owner's Locker was that people had not demanded it. So I knew we had an education issue. But I've got to admit that I wasn't quite prepared for the lukewarm reception I met at the early stages of getting Beta Trial Members. I knew Owner's Locker would work. I just needed to twist a few arms and be creative in recruiting the right people to get the word of mouth buzz started.

Now Linda is known for her margaritas and at the MouseOwners gathering, she had a bottle of tequila and a bottle of Grand Marnier that she had brought from Colorado. It took me quite a while, but I found two neat margarita glasses that had cactuses as stems. They were so obviously fragile that no one in their right mind would pack them in luggage. I put the glasses along with a bottle of tequila and a bottle of Grand Marnier into what would become Beta Trial Locker #001 and had it waiting for Linda when she checked into Vacation Village at Parkway on August 29, 2006. The first official delivery of an Owner’s Locker.

At the end of her stay, I had dinner with Linda and I asked her what she thought about having an Owner’s Locker. “It’s too heavy” was her only comment. “But,” I protested, “all it has in it are a couple of margarita glasses and some liquor.” “Oh no, honey, I filled that baby up.” Ah, success. And I do mean success. I didn't realize at the time just how much positive buzz one person could create. When someone starts out skeptical and then changes their mind about something, they can really go out of their way to convince others. Linda is that type of person and she also happened to becoming to Orlando darned near once a month. The more she used Owner's Locker, the more she like it and the more she told people....and, let me tell you, they listened. Call it luck, but with Linda, I had an outspoken convert who would be experiencing Owner's Locker three times in as many months. Small mentions of her Locker began showing up in posts on MouseOwners but I asked Linda to hold off until I had introduced myself to the owner of MouseOwners, Kim Holtman. Not a good idea to have people plugging your product on boards without the permission of the board itself.

Laura Johnson was coming back down in October along with a bunch of other MouseOwners on the first of October--about two weeks after Linda had finished her inital visit with an Owner's Locker. Laura would have Beta Trial Locker #002 waiting for her when she arrived. She didn’t need to be “bribed” to try Owner’s Locker but I still put a bottle of champagne in her empty Locker. But were there going to only be two people in our Beta Trial??

I spent a long time talking to Ken at Laura’s party in May and got along very well with him. He and I are both a bit hidden in the other photo but here we are.

A few weeks after the party, I e-mailed him and then called him to discuss Owner’s Locker. He thought it was an interesting idea but didn’t think it suited him because he and his wife, Millie, always drove down from New Jersey. But Ken liked the concept and we discussed it several times and I think I even sent him a business plan. I can’t remember how many times he told me that he wouldn’t need a Locker but I do recall telling him that I would have one waiting for him at his resort and it would be up to him whether to pick it up from bell services or ignore it. I assured him I didn’t mind delivering and picking up an empty Locker several times if necessary.

Finally, in one of our discussions, I mentioned the phrase “second home” and Owner’s Locker suddenly clicked with him. Ken and Millie had recently bought a camper for weekend trips in New Jersey and had quickly tired of packing up kitchen utensils every time they used it. So they duplicated most of their kitchen for the camper. Actually, Millie says the camper has the better kitchen gear.

But that did it for Ken. Now he wanted a trial Locker. Owner’s Locker isn’t just about keeping things you’d ordinarily throw away when you leave from vacation. It can also be a way to duplicate things you like to have around you but don’t want to go through the hassle of hauling back and forth. Now there were three. Ken didn’t need a bribe in the end either, but I still put a bottle of champagne in Locker #004 for his first visit. I was also pleased that Ken and Mille drove to Orlando instead of flying as I could learn what people who drive think of the convenience of Owner's Locker.

I was determined that Marilyn would have Locker #003 but she was just as determined that she wouldn’t! She was even more adamant than Linda (well she IS from New York) and she finally said,” listen John, I would NEVER pay for something like this because I don’t need it. And I like you as a friend but I refuse to take something for free for two years when I’m absolutely sure I won’t continue after the trial.”

Marilyn (or Mar as we all call her) explained that she kept a special suitcase with her Disney stuff at her home and that part of the ritual she went through the night before she left was to fill all of the shampoo and toiletry bottles to bring down. She also mentioned that she had a vase that she carried back and forth since she liked to have fresh flowers in her room (aha, I thought. Even Mar has an Achilles heel!)

I can’t tell you how many times I begged Mar to just give Owner’s Locker a try. She was one of the Moderators on MouseOwners and was very well respected. She was a natural opinion leader. Emboldened by my success with Linda and Ken, I told her I’d have an empty Locker waiting for her in her upcoming October trip and she didn’t have to pick it up if she didn’t want to. Not a good idea. Mar’s from NYC remember. I had already come up with an idea I thought would surely hook her but it wasn’t going to get very far if she refused to even pick up a Locker. I didn't give up and I kept digging to see what the resistance might be. About a week before she was supposed to arrive, I learned part of the reason that Mar was so reluctant. She was seriously worried that her Locker would not be waiting for her when she arrived. And it didn’t even have her stuff in it yet. She had more confidence in the airlines than us? Wow. But this was one of about 6 million lessons we learned in the Beta Trial: people will worry about their stuff showing up. I was already starting to see just how much we would be able to learn during the Beta Trial. I assured Mar that the Locker would absolutely, positively be there when she checked in and she relented and said OK but that she still just didn't think she needed Owner's Locker. Not exactly a ringing endorsement but the door was left slightly ajar and that's all I really needed.

So fast forward to September 30, 2006. Three Beta Trial Members are arriving at Boardwalk and Beach Club the next day. The trial Lockers are blue. They are sealed with various colored zip ties. There are no bar codes. I did manage to print up really nice looking arrival cards and I wrote their names on the bottoms of the Lockers with a Sharpie so they wouldn’t get mixed up!

Linda’s Locker weighed a ton and Laura’s had a bottle of champagne inside. And I’m in a panic wandering around Downtown Disney trying to find a special Disney vase for Mar that would—you guessed it—easily break if packed in luggage. Can you believe that in that entire huge Disney store that carries everything you could imagine, there are no flower vases? I couldn’t even find a drinking glass that looked slightly vase-ish.

The only thing I could find was this heavy crystal vase in the Arribas Brothers shop that was not particularly cheap. It was very pretty but it was more chunky than fragile. Well, was Mar’s Locker going to get a vase or not? I told myself that she would be an extremely vocal convert so I bit the bullet, bought it, put it in her empty locker and sealed it up. And early the next day, I made the second Owner’s Locker delivery run.

This little narrative has gone on far too long so I’ll leave it to another post to explain how these early volunteers went from being skeptical to excited about Owner's Locker and how we got from 4 to 100 Beta Trial Members…..but first I have to let you know what Mar thought of her vase. Well, she was over the moon. She LOVED it. In fact, she told me that she liked it so much, she left the vase she had brought from home in her Locker and took the vase I bought home with her to display in her living room. I didn’t say a thing.

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In an earlier post of Inside John's Locker, I described how we first started working with Mary Waring, the founder of the phenominally successful site, MouseSavers. Mary instantly liked the idea of Owner's Locker, took me under her wing and suggested that we put out a press release on the launch of Owner's Locker. (Hot Off the Presses--Thanks, Mary).

Mary hadn't actually tried Owner's Locker at the time and I noted that post:

"We hope that one day there will be a review of Owner’s Locker that shows up in MouseSavers but that will only happen after Mary and her crew thoroughly test the service themselves. I like that. It’s the way it should be."

Well, a few weeks ago, Mary and her husband were visiting Walt Disney World and gave Owner's Locker a try. And, this is what she had to say....I think you'll agree, it was worth the wait!!

Owner's Locker - Who Needs It?
Back in early 2007, I started hearing from some of my readers about something called Owner's Locker, a service for repeat visitors to Disney World that allows you to keep your vacation gear in Orlando between visits. Several people told me how much they loved this service and suggested I should mention it here on MouseSavers.com. Around the same time, I started reading about Owner's Locker on various Disney discussion boards. Quite a few of the board participants had tested the service and they were all raving about how great it was.

Well, I'm a skeptic. My first question was, "what exactly is the service they provide?" I looked into it and discovered that Owner's Locker delivers a specially designed air- and water-tight container to store personal items that you regularly use at Walt Disney World, such as toiletries, an air mattress, a coffee maker -- just about anything nonperishable. The company picks the container up from your resort when you check out and stores it until you return. Then Owner's Locker has your container waiting for you at your resort’s bell stand when you come back.

Now, we visit Disney World several times a year. Even so, I kept thinking "why would I need this?" My initial reaction was that Owner's Locker seemed a little bit expensive. There is a one-time $75 fee, which covers the locker and the initial delivery and pickup. Then you pay an annual fee of $99, which includes storage in a climate-controlled warehouse plus one delivery and pickup per year. (Or $179 per year for unlimited deliveries and pickups.) But it wasn't the cost that was really holding me back. I just had a hard time understanding the need for this service.

So I talked with some people who were using the lockers and asked what they were storing. They gave me a few ideas*, and when I thought it over a bit, I realized I've been carrying a lot of things back and forth to Orlando that I only use there, such as a big bottle of spray-on sunscreen, laundry soap, a Mickey Mouse vinyl rain poncho, a sun hat, an extra swimsuit and a Minnie Mouse daypack. It occurred to me that by storing all that stuff in Orlando, I could probably take a much smaller suitcase on future trips -- maybe even just a carry-on!

I also realized there are certain things I've never bothered to take to Orlando, even though they would be nice to have, because I knew I'd have to lug them back home afterward. But maybe if I had an Owner's Locker, next time I stayed in a unit that has a kitchen (like a Disney Vacation Club villa, or a villa at Caribe Royale), I could bring some kitchen items that are not provided, such as salt and pepper shakers and spices. And maybe a blender. (Margaritas, anyone?)

The more I pondered it, the more I realized how handy the locker might be. I could bring a crockpot, set that puppy up in the morning before heading out to the parks, and come back to find dinner made -- how great would that be? Then I could keep it in my locker and it would be there whenever I wanted it.

And then I thought about water. Yes, water. In a typical trip to Disney World, I would go through about half a case of bottled water. The water in Orlando tastes bad, and Disney charges a ridiculous amount for bottled water. So every time I visited, I had to make a special trip to a grocery store and buy a case of bottled water. Then I would leave half of it behind, because there was no way it was going to fit in my suitcase. This bugged me because it was so wasteful, not to mention bad for the environment. But if I had an Owner's Locker, I could just buy a Brita water filter pitcher, keep it in my locker, and make my own filtered water every time I visited!

Well, that was the thing that made me decide to try it out, and I have to admit, now that I've experienced the Owner's Locker service, I never want to go without it again! It is totally worth the money.

First, I was very pleasantly surprised about the locker when I saw it in person. It's bigger than I expected -- you can cram a lot of stuff in there! It's very heavy-duty and has removable dividers inside, which you can configure any way you want. It also has a removable "tackle box" type container that you can use for small items. You get to close it up with special seals before it goes back to the warehouse, so no one knows what's in it but you. (There is a private area on the Owner's Locker web site where you can keep an inventory, so you can remember what you've stored.)

Second, I was impressed with how well the system works. I stay at different hotels and villas all the time, in part because I'm always inspecting the MouseSavers Preferred Hotels. Turns out that's not an issue at all. Owner's Locker can pick up and deliver lockers at any major hotel, vacation condo or timeshare resort in the Orlando area. Anytime before a trip, I just log into my account on the Owner's Locker web site and let them know when and where I'm arriving and departing.

The day I fly out to Orlando, I get an e-mail letting me know the locker has been delivered to Bell Services at my hotel. When I arrive, I just call Bell Services and have them bring it to the room (I could also go out to the lobby and collect it, but I'm too lazy). When I'm ready to depart, I call Bell Services and have them collect the locker. They take it to a storage area where it will be picked up by Owner's Locker. Later that day I get an e-mail letting me know the locker is safe and sound in the Owner's Locker warehouse.

The whole experience is easy, seamless and worry-free. Not many things in life are like that!

I actually believe having an Owner's Locker saves me money. I don't have to worry about overweight luggage fees on the way home anymore. (In the past I've I had to repack stuff into two bags at the airport or pay a $75 penalty!) I can cook more often, because it is so much more convenient. I can stop buying bottled water, because I can just fill up my Brita water pitcher. Best of all, no more throwing away half-used items like shampoo and liquor, rather than risking breakage or leaks in my checked luggage.

Owner's Locker makes my visits to Orlando tremendously more convenient, pleasant and "home-like." It's hard to put a price on that -- it enhances my stays so much.

SEE BELOW FOR AN EXCLUSIVE OFFER!

*Here are just a few of the things people have told me they store in their Owner's Locker:

shampoo/conditioner sunscreen champagne flutes laundry soap liquor
sewing kit first aid kit diapers tampons/pads sheets
swim toys tub toys coffee filters umbrellas rain ponchos
corkscrew fuzzy slippers swimsuits autograph books air mattress
water filter pitcher water bottle strap lanyard flower vase waffle maker
game console guidebooks/maps curling iron crockpot flashlight
batteries scissors Mouse Ears eyeglass repair kit night light
pillows paper plates mouthwash espresso machine swim goggles

Mary sure knows how to make a boy smile, doesn't she!!!!

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 6:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm in England for Christmas with my in-laws and I can't help thinking about how much easier this trip would be if I only had a Locker here with my stuff in it. You'd think that if anyone could figure out how to have a Locker, I could. But I here I sit near the Scottish border without a lot of the things I need.

I had to go out this morning to buy an adaptor so I could charge this laptop. The battery had run down and the plugs in England are...well...different. And that's just the latest thing. Even though I spent most of my private live as a corporate road warrior, packing is no longer automatic. I don't travel as much these days and I had frankly forgotten what a hassle it is to pack. My shaving kit filled up much too quickly because I don't have all of those little sample-size toiletries. I had two or three packing lists and then I panicked because I thought I'd lost one of my lists. When I got here, I wanted to write but forgot to put paper in my briefcase. I washed my hair with some strange shampoo today because that was all I could find.

I need to head back out on Christmas Eve and look for a phone charger--that should be fun. I wish I'd thought of that earlier. Susan and I were out shopping and we fell in love a couple of really nice wine glasses that we'd like to keep at her parent's house. They'll get broken if we try to take them back to Celebration...and they may well get broken if they stay here in England. But not if we had a Locker.

Oh well, I guess it's a good thing that I have a reminder of what a hassle it is to pack and how stressful it can be to have to deal with all of the things you don't realize you need until you're away from home and have to go on a quest.

Maybe we'll open a branch of Owner's Locker here in the Lake District.

Happy Holidays, everyone!!

jdvm
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

When I was coming up for a name for Owner's Locker, one of the reasons the word "locker" was chosen was because of the personal connotation it had. Sure, it sort of screamed "secure" but I also thought it would remind people of what a personal place their high school locker was. Whether it was 18 inches deep with paper and books and other things that shouldn't have been in there, like mine was, or all neat and decorated the way some of the girls' lockers were.

So it's been fun to see more and more Lockers coming back to our warehouse sporting some additional customization!?! Have a look at the great job one of our Beta Trial Members did with her Locker:

The poem reads:

"The first day we met I was as confused as can be...
what should I put in here to store for free?

I thought I wouldn't fill it
but I was so wrong
filled to the brim
including my thongs

I was one of the first trial members back in April' 06
Honored to be one of the elite Beta mix!

My locker is blue
as I am one of the special few
who was there at your birth of something exciting and new

Vacations are easy now
thanks to my sweet baby blue..."

Nice huh?

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I’ll write a longer piece about how much I enjoy working with Lou Mongello of Disney Word Trivia and WDW Radio fame…..but for now, I just want to tell you how excited I am about Lou’s latest podcast. It’s show number 42 and you can listen to it by going to the WDW Radio splash page and clicking on the button that says Listen to the Show.

Lou did a great interview with me that he has turned into an extremely informative discussion on Owner’s Locker. Lou has used his Locker for several trips now. He provides details in his show about how he was initially a bit skeptical about how he would use his Locker…but he’s a big fan now….give a listen…you’ll also see why Lou wins podcast awards. He’s great.

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, we knew were dealing with people’s vacations and we knew we had to get it right. So we wanted to test every aspect of Owner’s Locker before we launched the service.

I’m always quick to give others credit for good ideas but I want to be selfish this time and say that our beta trial was my idea and I had a lot of people tell me we were crazy to do it. But to make absolutely sure everything could work smoothly we gave the service away to a group of volunteers. But while I will knew it was the right thing to do, I’ve got to say that I had NO idea that it would be SO successful.

I had been playing with the concept of Owner’s Locker for several years when the opportunity came up in my career to just do it. Luckily my wife and family were extremely supportive. I began pouring more and more energy (and money) into Owner’s Locker until it became a full time project. I certainly wasn’t alone—I had a lot of help. I pulled in a lot of people with good ideas and skills to help develop Owner’s Locker. Graphic artists, web developers, brand managers, IT specialists, friends and the inevitable accountants and lawyers.

The business was completely designed and the walls were covered with complicated flowcharts of how Owner’s Locker would work. We were on our fifth version of the website. Custom bar code tracking software was designed and delivered; a manufacturer of the Lockers was lined up. We even knew what type of van we’d use and what the uniforms would look like.

But something was missing. Was Owner’s Locker simply a good idea? Or was it reality? It looked good on paper. It sounded like a good idea. But did it really work? Hmmmmm.

This nagged at me until one morning while taking a shower, it just hit me. We were going to give the service away to a group of volunteers and prove that it was real and that it would work.

Two other important things happened at about this time. I decided that to really do Owner’s Locker properly we would need several investors and I also began to draw up a list of people I could have join me as a partner. Being a lone wolf was not healthy and while I relied on lots of people, I needed to work side by side every day with someone as passionate about Owner’s Locker as I was.

The name that kept coming to the top of my list was Brian Whitt, whom I had met 15 years earlier when he sold me my interest in Disney Vacation Club. That has turned out to be one of the best things ever to happen to Owner’s Locker.

With Brian on board we mapped out the design of the beta trial. These were the goals:

1. Prove that all aspects of Owner’s Locker work.

2. Allow for a low cost, low risk start-up of Owner’s Locker.

3. Establish an operating track record.

4. Collect feedback about Owner’s Locker from actual users.

5. Establish Opinion leaders.

6. Provide guidance on what our education and marketing efforts should be.

While Brian and I thought the beta trial was a great idea, we were about the only people who did. Many people told us we were nuts to just give Owner’s Locker’s service away. They were wrong. Seriously wrong. I’ll describe the beta trial, how we got our volunteers and detail the things we learned soon.

Posted by JDVM at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Brian and I had breakfast with Deb Wills recently to map out ways we could work together. We had never met in person, but she and I had spoken on the phone quite a few times. I recognized Deb from the photos of her that are everywhere (she had to look for the guy in the purple shirt). To save you the trouble of reading the rest of this, let me just say that even though we’d never met, I instantly felt comfortable enough to greet Deb with a hug and kiss on the cheek rather than shaking hands---yes, she’s that nice! When you meet her, you instantly think “warm”, “honest”, “confident”, “trustworthy.”

In case you live under a tech rock and don’t have a computer, Deb Wills runs the phenomenally successful site, AllEars. It’s where just about everyone it seems turns for reliable guidance about Walt Disney World. Want to check out one of the resorts?—here’s the place. Want to see what’s on the menu at one of the restaurants?—you’ll find it here. Techies call it content and let me tell you, AllEars has it. And it’s not just quantity. It’s most definitely the quality of Deb’s content that makes her site so popular.

Deb could write a book about creating a brand—but she’s probably too busy writing other books such as her new one, “Passporter's Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line which she co-authors with Debra Martin Koma.” She has been so successful in building a brand around herself; I’m tempted to say that Deb is as well known as her site. And the interesting thing is, she’s not doing this by being a self promoter. She’s just being Deb—an energetic, dynamic, savvy businesswoman who’s fiercely protective of her site and its reputation. And it all comes naturally. She doesn’t try to be warm, straightforward, helpful, authoritative and trustworthy. She just is. And it shows in everything she does.

I occasionally like to share my experiences in working with some of the really nice people we share space with. I’d like to tell you about getting to know Deb Wills and you’ll see what I mean in the paragraphs above and why we felt like we had known each other by the time we actually met. Let’s just say Owner’s Locker had to jump through a few hoops before that breakfast got scheduled!

It won’t surprise you to know that as we were preparing to launch Owner’s Locker, establishing a relationship with AllEars was rather high on our radar screen. So Brian and I started pretty quickly trying to find a way to establish an advertising/sponsorship arrangement with AllEars. To say that this was easier said than done would be an understatement. But I say this in a good way as you’ll see.

I’ve got to tell you that she is without a doubt, the most careful person about accepting advertising that you can imagine. And this isn’t a bad thing at all. Deb just doesn’t want anyone with advertising dollars to have access to the people who trust her and rely on her site.

It was a bit of chore to even get through to Deb at first (and since I now know that she turns down nine out of ten people who want to advertise on her site, I can see why). And getting past Deb’s elaborate screening process for potential advertisers is, shall we say, tough.

When we did get in touch, she was extremely gracious and patient as she listened to my description of Owner’s Locker. She was intrigued but said up front that she had a rigorous program of checking out potential advertisers. First test passed. She didn’t tell me to go away.

Next she asked a LOT of questions about our facility, security, licensing, etc. and she wanted to review the terms we have our Members agree to. Second test passed.

As it turns out, there were several additional levels of scrutiny we needed to go through and the funny thing is, we weren’t even aware of a couple of them at the time! Deb Wills is VERY thorough.

But even after we had successfully passed all of these tests, Deb wasn’t quite done yet. She wanted to try Owner’s Locker herself because she wanted to be absolutely certain that we provided the type of service that was consistent with the quality of her site. Well, she’s tried it and I’ll let her say what she thought of us. But we did have that breakfast and we are now a proud advertiser/sponsor on AllEars. We even made it into Deb's Digest, although I do wish Deb had used the slim-o-matic function on her camera before she took this photo!

Whew, we made it…and you know what? Brian and I loved every minute of it. We’re proud of Owner’s Locker and we treat every Member and every Locker like it belonged to Deb Wills. But more importantly, we treat every Member and Locker the way WE would like to be treated. We’re trying to build a brand, too and Deb Wills sure does set a good example for us. Thanks, Deb!

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (1)

One of the fun things about starting a new business that no one has ever done before is watching the patterns that develop. No matter what assumptions you have made in your business plan, you’ve got to be ready to just watch and see how things unfold once you begin to do business. And you’ve got to be prepared to change your views and adapt to what’s actually happening.

We never open Lockers but we do lift them and move them around. And it’s hard not to notice things. Like our famous talking Locker that had a Pal Mickey that the owner forgot to switch off. Brian about freaked. Every time the purple van went around a corner, Pal Mickey chimed in. And then there was a Locker that had beats of sweat on the outside. It was condensation actually and we decided that someone must have put a lot of things from their fridge in just before leaving.

One interesting trend that we have noticed is that the Lockers are getting heavier. Some Lockers come back weighing a ton on the first trip. But others come back pretty light on their feet. We really worried about the size of the Locker when we started and we’re so pleased to hear so many people say that they are surprised at the size of the Locker when they first see theirs.

But we’re noticing that those lightweights don’t stay that way very long. Admittedly this very unscientific stuff here. It’s largely me and Brian comparing heavy notes over Diet Dr. Peppers. And not only do most Lockers come back heavier after the second trip. They come back even heavier after the third. Let’s just say we (and bell services) are glad the Lockers aren’t any bigger.

But we wonder what all is going on here. It’s fun to try to look at this through our Members’ eyes. Sure people put more things in the second time around. But are folks deciding that it’s better to use the locker for heavier things? Are they beginning to buy or bring down things that they never thought about before? Like plates and cooking items? What ever it is, we like it. The heavier the better as far as we’re concerned. Because that means that our Members are using our service to the max. That we’re helping folks enjoy their time at WDW a little more. That we’re allowing people to feel more like this is their second home.

So come on, Owner's Locker Member's. Tell us what you're doing to make your Locker heavier each time.

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Owner’s Locker is a new business so we needed a name AND a logo that would tell people what we are and what we do. The name does a pretty good job of that but a good logo is essential.

So many things have changed as our business has developed but I don’t think anything has been through so many versions as the logo. First of all, I don’t know why, but absolutely ever person with the slightest creative role in Owner's Locker has wanted to make some sort of change to the logo.

When I first spoke to a web developer, it was the first thing he wanted to work on. Here is what he came up with.

This isn’t a joke. I’m serious. I PAID someone to do this. I think it would make us look like a hazardous waste storage company. Why on earth would someone choose those colors? And, at this point, you're probably asking why I would even consider having his company work on anything else after seeing that. Let's just say that I wish I had asked that question!

But he was a nice guy and rather than telling him to just go away, I gave him another chance.....and he came up with this one. It’s supposed to look like a key which is sort of cute, I guess. Even though it has six sides, it still reminded me of a stop sign. Not a good image to convey.

Well, the website he developed wasn't much better, so off I went in search of another.

While I was moaning about logos, a really good pal decided he'd have a go at designing a logo for us and came up with this version. It's one thing to tell someone in a firm that you don't quite think their logo is what you had in mind. Try telling that to a friend! I think it has an oriental look and he’s still a bit ticked off that we didn’t use it.

I remember one weekend, I was complaining to my wife, Susan, that the logo was giving me fits. I told her we needed to have something that looked like a Locker in the logo and she sat down with a piece of paper and quickly came up with this—OK, she is an artist.

Now, we were cooking. She added an arched line to show motion and this is what the first logo that saw the light of day on a business card looked like.

The type face went through about five different changes. But I thought we were done. But, no. One of the firms that did version three of the website complained about the logo and asked if they could redo it. Here was their suggestion:

I just about went ballistic and firmly explained that my wife had drawn the Locker and it WAS going to be part of the logo. It’s hard to believe but the very same company came up with the real McCoy. I went from being furious to ecstatic. They solved the typeface issue brilliantly and indicated motion with the arrow instead of the arch. And I really like the way that the Locker overlaps the w.

I sort of miss the arched line underscoring the logo but it was replaced by the little arrow on the right which indicates motion.

The logo wars weren't quite over because it was about at this point that we brought Alex on board as our web designer. Alex and his firm, CKBE have done a fantasitc, spectacular job with the Owner's Locker site, but I swear that about his second sentence during our first meeting involved his suggestion that we re-do the logo. I'll do Alex a favor and not add his suggestion to the rogues gallery...let's just say it looked somewhere between an egg crate and a hat box. But the good news is that the exercize sort of got the "gotta change the logo" idea out of his system and he went on to translate it spectacularly on the site as well as the van.

Let's see, which do you think looks better? Our first rendering of a delivery vehicle? or, the last one??

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

This has nothing to do with Oprah. It’s about the color of our Lockers….and our vans….and our website. I mean, if you’re going to call yourself, “The purple place for storing your vacation stuff,” you’d better get your color purple right!

That sounds easy, I know, but like just about everything else with this new business, sounding easy doesn’t make it so.

But just how complicated can choosing a color be? Come on now! Well, read on.

First there was the issue of just what the color should be. We didn’t start out with purple. In fact, I don’t think we started out with a color at all. That didn’t last forever because at some point we needed to show what the Lockers looked like. And then the search was on. What about shades of red and green? There was a really deep red I recall looking good

And then somehow, the Locker came out a sort of yellowy-orange. I never really liked it but other people did.

And then there was turquoise which I really did like but I must admit I thought it might be trendy. You know, it looks OK now but five years from now people are asking what in the hell we were thinking when we chose turquoise.

And then one day I was riding on a bus surrounded by a bunch of people on vacation having fun. And, you know what? The seat I was sitting on was purple. So we had a Locker rendered in purple just to see what it looked like. Love at first sight!

At about this time, Brian came on board and I told him that one of the things we needed to decide on was the Locker color and I showed him the gallery. No question in his mind. Purple.

Now you might think that was it. I did. But then I don’t think either of us realized that there were about 4 zillion shades of purple. And let me tell you, we started looking at magazines, cars, and even light poles, you name it. And all we saw was different shades of purple—and none of them was the right one. And it was about this time that we realized that computer screens can not be depended upon to accurately display colors and we also discovered a company that specializes in colors, Pantone. They specialize is colors and make these neat accordion looking charts that every color of every rainbow. So off we went, looking and comparing colors in different lights to finally find the perfect shade of purple that would become Owner’s Locker Purple. It had to be bright, cheery, fun and needed to sort of say “vacation.” It’s Pantone 267 C. And you can go to their website, www.pantone.com, do a search and see for yourself (or you can look at the site, or your own purple Locker or our van the next time you’re in Orlando!)

I think what really sealed the decision to use purple for our color came was a conversation I had with one of my 15 year old twins. When Libby saw the van, she said, “good pun, dad.”

And, I said, “what??”

“’The purple place for storing your vacation stuff’—that’s a really cute pun.”

And, I said, “what pun, Libby?”

“Well, you say ‘purple place’ but you really mean PERFECT place…it’s a pun.”

Well, it wasn’t until just now…thanks, Libs!”
“How about an increase in your allowance?”

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here it is--our press release:

I know it's hard to read so here's a link to the real McCoy:

www.ownerslocker.com/news

So why am I saying, "Thanks, Mary?"

There are LOTS of things I love about this business but one of the fun things is getting to know the movers and the shakers. One of those big dogs is a lady named Mary Waring. You've probably come across her site, MouseSavers:

www.mouseSavers.com

And she's the one who suggested we put out the press release. So thanks again, Mary! It's gone out to over 375 magazines, newspapers and websites that focus on travel.

In my prior life as a corporate stiff, I worked in a VERY large business but I found that once you got to know the right people it was really like a club and there were lots of generous folks ready to advise, help and share their experience.

I'm finding the same thing is true in this business. Sure, Owner's Locker is a new idea so there are not exactly lots of other people out there doing what we do. But there ARE a lot of people whose businesses touch the 50 million or so people who come to Orlando every year.

And one of those is Mary from MouseSavers. She been able to create quite a successful business with her site. So much so that we wanted to be associated with her to help us get our name on the map. Mary, it turns out is not just a dynamite businesswoman and respected website operator, she's an absolute marketing whiz and a very nice person to boot.

Brian and I have been spending a lot of time researching the various websites and other media we can use to tell everyone about Owner's Locker. As a new business, we need to do more than just buy a space to put our logo. Ideally, we'd like to find people we can work with and can help us tell our story to potential Members. And Mary has been extremely open and helpful. I filled four pages with notes from our conversation where she was providing marketing suggestions.

And just like we're being very careful in choosing how and where we advertise, let me tell you, Mary doesn't let just anyone march into MouseSavers. Luckily we have lots of good reviews, feedback and discussion board posts or we wouldn't even have gotten our foot in the door. Right now, we have an ad in MouseSavers (which Mary wrote) that you can see here:

www.mousesavers.com/timeismoney

We hope that one day there will be a review of Owner's Locker that shows up in MouseSavers but that will only happen after Mary and her crew thoroughly test the service themselves. I like that. It's the way it should be.

So, the next time you're wandering around the MouseSavers site, just remember that's there's a really cool person back there cranking those great deals out.

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A question we were being asked a LOT was "How big is an Owner's Locker?" And no matter how we answered the question, it just didn't seem to be enough. Brian and I spend a lot of our time talking to our Trial Members and well as our new Members asking them about their experiences. And I can't tell you how many times that details about the size of the Locker would come up. More than one person built a mock up of a Locker out of cardboard and one engineer actually constructed one from wood to our exact measurements. People wanted to get a feel for just what an Owner's Locker would hold. Several people wanted to know the exact volume of one of our Lockers and then bought a container with a similar size as a test.

One person in New York wanted me to ship an empty Locker to her. I assumed she'd be driving down and wanted to fill it up at her home. But no, she was flying and was going to ship the full Locker down to Orlando. I suggested that it might be easier to ship the stuff down in a box without shipping the Locker back and forth and that's when she told me she just needed to see how big a Locker was. That's also when we both discovered that it's just as expensive to ship a Locker full of air as it was to ship one full of bricks! Not a good idea.

Add to this the comments we received when our Members actually got their Locker at their resort for the first time. SO many people told us it was MUCH bigger than they thought.

If I can borrow a line from that old Paul Newman film, Cool Hand Luke, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." And we did, we needed to explain to people in a better fashion just how big the Locker was. Well, if Brian and I can do anything, we can listen. And that's where that newish page on our site, Meet the Lockers came from (not the first time I've borrowed a line!). There are lots of photos and we've tried to demonstrate just how big a Locker is and what all one can hold.

We were brainstorming with Alex ,our web designer--who just happened to be shooting photos of a Locker full of stuff that we had shipped to him (that's how I know how much it costs to ship a FULL Locker). I was looking at the preliminary photos and they looked great but I thought we still needed to show people just HOW big the Locker was. As a sort of joke, I e-mailed Alex the photo below of yours truly clowning around for my kids in an aquarium I was installing in our house and said, "Alex, we need to put a kid or a dog in a Locker."

After Alex quit laughing, he arranged for his adorable nephew, Dylan, to come by the next day and that's you can see the results at the top of this piece. Dylan was great--much better than the dog photos. He's enjoying his new found "fame" and he's got a nice check in his college fund from his first modeling job.

I wonder if I should call the aquarium people and ask if they'd like to use me to show how big their aquariums are?
JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
John D. Van Meter
Owner’s Locker LLC
Phone 321 939 2260
Email john@ownerslocker.com

Celebration, Florida, 7/1/2007. A clever, cost effective and convenient new vacation storage service called Owner’s Locker is now available to frequent visitors to the Orlando area. www.ownerslocker.com.

Owner’s Locker provides its Members with a purple Locker to store personal items between visits. The Locker is picked up when the Member departs; is stored in a climate controlled warehouse and is waiting at the bell stand when the Member checks back in.

With Owner’s Locker, your vacation is about to become a LOT more convenient: less packing, less hassle, less stress and less hauling means more time to relax and enjoy your vacation.

Owner’s Locker is an innovative web-based service currently available in the Orlando attractions area. Members sign up on the Owner’s Locker website (www.ownerslocker.com), choose a Locker and a storage/delivery plan and use the site to schedule their visits and create and edit a confidential online inventory of the items in their Lockers.

Lockers are tracked using a custom designed, barcode-based warehouse management system and Members can monitor the movements of their Lockers in real time on their personal “dashboard” in the My Account section of the site.

Owner’s Locker is the creation of a seasoned corporate traveler, John Van Meter. “I have spent so much time on the road in my career, I have always looked for ways to feel more at home no matter where I am. I particularly like having the comforts of home around me while I am on vacation.” John has been joined at Owner’s Locker by Brian Whitt, who sold him a vacation club interest in the early 1990’s. With a passion for logistics, Brian is pleased to be a part of a service that makes vacations more relaxing and convenient. “Our Members find that being able to vacation less one or two pieces of luggage makes traveling to Orlando much easier and less stressful.”

Members pay a one-time Membership Fee of $75.00 which includes their purple Locker, the initial delivery to their resort and its pickup and return to the Owner’s Locker warehouse. Lockers are guaranteed for life and the contents are insured for $100. Members then choose a storage/delivery plan. The Standard Annual plan costs $99.00 per year and includes one free Visit (delivery and pickup); while the Annual premium Plan costs $179.00 and provides for unlimited Visits.

So what do people think about it so far?

“This is an idea whose time has come!” Sue P.—Livonia, MI
“What a great idea. I have thrown so much stuff away…” Elizabeth M.- Charleston, S.C.
“Packing is SO much easier…” Carolyn O.—Cedar Grove, NJ

#####

Posted by JDVM at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No extra large bows here. We’re talking about making our van look like this:

You listen to me rattle on in this blog but there’s another key member of the Owner’s Locker team who makes sure everything runs like clockwork. That would be Brian Whitt. He’s the one looking a bit like a hot dog in the photo. I met Brian in 1992 when he sold me an interest in Disney Vacation Club. We’ve been friends ever since. And, both of us just sort of knew we’d be working together one day.

Anyway, back to wrapping this van. We always knew we’d need delivery vans and it wasn’t a huge intellectual leap to decide that they needed to be purple. Not just any purple, by the way, but Owner’s Locker purple. I sorta thought that we’d have a small Owner’s Locker logo on the driver’s door. Brian looked at me like I was an alien and politely explained that our vans really needed to be rolling billboards and this is what we wound up with. It’s great isn’t it! That’s why Brian and I work so well together.

Well, it’s not that difficult to paint a van purple and have a small logo put on the door. What you see here is a wrap job. And like everything we do at Owner’s Locker, it’s gotta be good. It’s gotta be VERY good.

The short version of how they wrap a van is that they cover it with specially printed 21st century sticky contact paper. Remember that stuff?

The next time you’re driving have a look at some of the vehicles that have photos or colorful designs. There are some really bad wraps on the road. So the search went out for the best wrappers around. And we found them. A company called Sign Zoo in Sarasota.

And Brian was off to the races. Did we look at a zillion designs or what?!? We worked with the great guys at Sign Zoo and we pulled Alex our web designer in to help. One day, Brian had a huge section of floor covered with various mockups. So off the van went to Sarasota looking very plain and coming back looking rather special, don’t you think! The photos here are the Sign Zoo guys doing their thing.
JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

Posted by JDVM at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Well as Juliet will tell you, a LOT, since it was Romeo’s last name that got them both into trouble.

But without carrying this Shakespeare thing too far and going on about roses smelling as sweet, what’s in the name Owner’s Locker? A lot of time, effort and thought, actually.

You come up with this great idea to store people’s personal stuff between visits. Now what do you call it?

Well, as is probably overly detailed in another article in this blog, the idea for Owner’s Locker came from several of my experiences with trying to feel at home when I was away from home. When I was based in England, we were lucky enough to have a small place in the country to go to on weekends and we would put the things we liked to have there in a “country box” and we carried it back and forth. When we began visiting Florida regularly, we asked a pal if he would mind keeping a box of our personal items in his garage in Orlando. We called it the “Florida box” and the seeds for a business were sown!

So we plan and study and study and plan and decide to start up this business so lots of other people can have a Florida box. But, what do we call it? Well, if “Florida box” is good enough for us…..

But what if the business is just in Orlando (the “Orlando Box?”) or what if it expands beyond Florida—to Las Vegas or the ski country, for example? OK, maybe we call it the “Vacation box.”

Or perhaps we should get cute. After all, vacations are all about fun. How about “My Box?” or “My Stuff?” Believe it or not, these were all ideas that were kicked around.

Then an old marketing principle came back to me. If everyone understands what your business is, you can call it pretty much what you want. Exxon isn’t exactly descriptive, now is it? But if you’re the in a new business, your name had better accurately describe what you do. Well, there went “My Stuff.”

Owner’s Locker stores people’s personal items in a container between visits and we deliver the container to the resort when they check in and pick it up when they leave. Hmmmm, that’s a bit long for the name of the company. On the other hand, it was obvious that one word wasn’t going to do it. There just wasn’t a “Xerox” sitting out there that told our story. Maybe one word should describe the client and a second word can describe the service?

“Box” just didn’t seem to suit what we wanted to convey about our container. When I hear “box” I think “cardboard.” After a lot of thought, “locker” certainly fit the bill. Locker has lots of connotations, but it certainly implies “secure” and was a name for a container that people would recognize. It also might remind people of their high school locker which is a very “personal” and even “fun” type of storage facility. Remember personalizing the inside of your locker? The only thing I didn’t like about the word was Davy Jones’ Locker but I decided that was random. Locker it was.

“Owner” actually came more easily. People who own a condo and rent it out have an “owner’s closet” where they keep their personal items. And much of what we do really helps make frequent visitors feel more like they’re are at home by having their personal belongings around them. So we had our second word and the decision to call the company Owner’s Locker was done.

But what about the delivery part of the business? The name doesn’t say anything about that. Well that got dealt with the motion in the logo, but that’s another story.
JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

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It really makes me smile to realize that we might play a small part in making people’s vacations better. One of my daughters put it really well when she said I was very lucky because all of our customers were happy since they were on vacation.

I was smiling a lot last night as we did the first video testimonial for what we plan to call Owner’s Locker TV. It was a perfect evening and I was sitting on a bench in Celebration with Kathy and Ron Sebelski. I had asked them if they would mind letting us interview them about the biz.

Well, I wouldn’t exactly that say they jumped at the chance, but as a favor to me, they agreed to do it. And it was great. Here’s a screen shot of us during the process. I'm the one who needs a haircut. Ron just had his cut at the barber Shop on Main Street--a tradition of his.

I really enjoyed hearing them share their views. You see, they drive down to Orlando from Indiana several times a year (not nearly enough, according to Kathy). And they drive a big truck and they don’t have any kids so they can haul pretty much anything they want back and forth. I was interested in their views about why Owner’s Locker made sense for them.
I have no idea what will make it into the final video but I have three favorite parts of the interview:

1. Kathy’s eyes really lit up as she described a pair blue plastic champagne glasses from their wedding that they use only while here. They just had their 14th anniversary and they have been hauling them back and forth.

2. Ron pointed out that even though they have plenty of room in the truck, they were often in a hurry to get packed to come to Florida. It was easy to remember the big things but they invariable got here and would say, “why didn’t we bring…..” and these are the things they’re storing with us.

3. They usually stay in a studio and had been carrying some plastic plates back and forth. Now they have some really nice plates and some cooking utensils that they leave here.

I’ll tell you what WILL probably land on the cutting room floor. I did this really neat introduction of Ron and Kathy. Well, I thought it was neat. The video guy thought I was nuts and Brian just rolled his eyes when I suggested that I introduce them. Ron and Kathy politely didn’t say anything. My daughters laughed when I told them on the way to school one morning that I was going to do it and one even suggested that I please put makeup on. Well, the important thing is what Ron and Kathy had to say and I guess that’s what you’ll see.

One last thing. After all of that hard work, I took R&K to my favorite dirty Mexican restaurant. The name sort of says it all: P.R.’s Taco Palace. It’s right next to a railroad track—so close that your margarita glasses rattle when a train goes by. There is a rather eclectic crowd there but the food is great and the margaritas (a major weakness) are killer. Ron hoped that he could remember how to get back to P.R.’s in Winter Park. I sort of got the impression that Kathy hoped he couldn’t.

JDVM
www.ownerslocker.com

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