Coffee Plantation: Outdated, Old, Boring

“More Than Just Great Coffee.”

That’s the claim that I read when I walk into Coffee Plantation at Shea Blvd and Scottsdale Road in the Harkin’s Shea 14 plaza.  What I haven’t yet figured out is, what more?  What more than coffee do they offer besides free WI-FI?

You can typically find me at this Coffee Plantation on most weekdays for one simple reason, and it isn’t the coffee.

Free internet.  That’s the real reason I’m here.  There is no other draw.  Not the food, not the coffee, and definitely not the service.

My overall experience at the Coffee Plantation began in the late 80’s on Mill Avenue in Tempe, Arizona.  It was a hip, up and coming place to hang out with my friends between high school and college, and provided a very eclectic atmosphere for various artistic types of which I was anxious to become.

Today, that shop is gone, but some of the other locations are still open.  I’m not sure why.  If this location closed down, I wouldn’t be heartbroken.  Inza Coffee, which was located at Loop 101 and Shea Blvd closed down last year, and most of the people who went there migrated to the next best choice which is where I sit and write today.  I’ve spent a vast majority of my working hours here because I get free internet and it’s close, and primarily because we don’t have much of a choice in this neck of the woods.  So, as a result, lots of business meetings occur here.

So what’s wrong with it, you ask?

Well, there are a list of things that just annoy the crap out of me about this place.  The decor feels like an old McDonalds.  The employees are more interested in socializing with each other rather than tending to the clientele.  There have been too many changes of ownership and too much behind-the-counter drama.  Half of the establishment has a poor WI-FI signal.  The other half is too cold.  People smoke outside the doors and nobody says anything.  They still require a signature for a $2.00 credit card purchase.  The lunch menu is expensive and not worth the price.  They play CD’s and their CD player is ancient, skipping on at least one if not more of each song on each CD.  Ever heard of an iPod?  Tables aren’t bussed.  Every day it seems the owner is meeting with someone about the business, which gives me the impression that they’re hurting.  The wait staff, oh wait, did I go there already?  They’re all nice people, but they’re more concerned with who’s getting more hours than who’s paying their bills…that would be me, the customer.

I honestly have no idea how coffee shops stay in business short of the $4.00 blended drinks which are of no value to me.  Coffee Plantation has a direct walk-through door to the G-Spot, where you can get overpriced Italian ice-cream, and another door down is Pita Jungle, which seems to be doing it all right.  If it weren’t for the traffic that these other businesses generated, I’m not so sure CP would still be here.

If something better comes along, I’m sure you’ll find me there rather than here, cause this place is getting old.  Even with recent attempts to make it more “cozy” by adding a sofa, large cushy chairs, and a divan, it’s still the same old grungy, wicker-chair wielding, cold feet, no-power-outside, coffee shop that feels like a fast food restaurant.

New Coffee Shop Set To Open In Scottsdale

“Making great, natural smoothies.”  That’s the latest, and only tweet from @buzzberry way back in March of 2009.

The intersection of Granite Reef and McDonald hasn’t seen much change lately.  A vacant lot, an over-priced gas station, convenience store, and abandoned service station have been the norm for years.  With the recent remodel of Basha’s, and the construction of the standalone Walgreens, it only makes sense that we see yet another coffee shop emerge.

I noticed a few months ago that the old service station on the southeast corner was beginning to change.  Over the summer, an entire armada of police and service personnel dedicated an entire day to installing utilities to the newly remodeled building, the windows became decorated, and new signage has been installed.  What are we getting in our little neighborhood of Hallcraft homes?  A coffee shop slash smoothie bar.  Huh?

I peered in the window last night and found that they are still well under way constructing the interior design of the store, which I am anxious to see.  What kind of coffee bar are we to expect here?  I wish I knew more.  Their website offers very limited information.  I guess I’ll just have to see when it opens.

Oh, and by the way, that’s not the only coffee shop in Scottsdale that’s preparing to open.  There are others .

Stop Doing What You Don’t Love to Do

Gary Vaynerchuk.

Never heard of him?  It’s possible that you have, since the demographics of the readership of blogs like this one typically consist of like-minded individuals who are constantly looking towards the future, finding new ways to communicate and connect.  Most of the people I have met who are deep into the online world of entrepreneurialism know who Gary Vaynerchuk is.  But, if you don’t know who he is, read on.

I had the pleasure of attending a recent event which was put on by Keller Williams.  I was offered free registration by @FreedomWeaver and I took him up on it.  Introduced to Gary via one of his Keynote Speeches, I was instantly captivated by his charisma and direct, no holds barred, in your face approach to telling the world how business is changing, and who is going to succeed, and fail.

Gary does what he wants to do, and that started, as he explains, as a young entrepreneur in Edison, NJ where he ran his very own lemonade stand franchise.  Yes, I said franchise.  While his minions manned the stands, Gary watched the eyes of the potential consumer, and adjusted, finding the best place to market his product, which wasn’t a unique product.  What was unique was his fearless approach to doing business how he wanted, when he wanted.  He later applied his knowledge to the sales of trading cards which earned him $1000/week before he was 15 years old.  That’s $52,000/year people.  He goes on to talk about his entrapment in his father’s business at $2/hr for hours every day, to his discovery that he could apply his entrepreneurial skills to the business, making it extremely successful in a very short period of time.

After launching WineLibrary.com, and tv.WineLibrary.com, he has turned the world of wine upside-down, bringing the once snooty knowledge of fine wining to the average Joe.  Now, after pursuing his passion for wine without taking a paycheck for 18 months, “working his face off” as he says, he’s turned that passion into a thriving, very profitable business.  Now, with a New York Times best seller, he’s opening up his “secrets” to a world of people who don’t spend time reading online.

The point?  Gary realized that “there’s no reason you should be doing shit you don’t like doing,” and he started doing what he loves.

So if you’re still doing what you don’t love to pay the bills, take the extra time you have, no matter how inconvenienced you’ll be, or how uncomfortable it may seem (in other words, quit whining, it’s hard work) and start doing more of what you love.  Soon, you’ll find that what you love will pay you more than that job you hate, and you’ll wonder why you ever doubted yourself in the first place.

You can watch Gary’s latest Vlog post on his personal blog, or catch an episode of his Wine show at WineLibrary.com.

The Basic Short Sale Process

Handling a Short Sale for a client is a very complicated and detailed process, but at its core, there are only a few basic steps involved.  The real success of the Short Sale is attributed to the experience level of the agent representing the seller.  If they don’t know what they’re doing, it’s likely you won’t have a very smooth transaction.  In fact, if they are attempting to short sale your home without experience, then they are doing you a disservice, as its our fiduciary as Realtors to represent your best interests, which cannot happen without proper experience.

Short Sales Process at its Basics

Listing:  The first step is to list the property for sale. Traditional marketing does not typically apply to short sale properties because we’re pricing it to sell as quickly as possible.  The seller doesn’t make any  money, and they don’t approve the sale, so essentially, the seller really isn’t the seller.  The bank is ultimately in charge.

Offer:  A qualified buyer presents an offer. Just like any other sale of any other property, ensuring the buyer is adequately qualified to actually purchase the home is just as important on a short sale as a normal sale.

Execution:  The seller signs the contract. Provided the offer is within reasonable fair market value of the comparable sales in the neighborhood, when the offer is presented, the seller will sign it and it will be considered executed or “accepted,” but not “approved.”

Submit to Lender(s): Along with all of the required documentation, the offer and all associated listing paperwork, addenda, financial statement, etc., is submitted by your Realtor to the lender(s) on the property and the approval process begins.

Receive Letter of Agreement: When the lender approves of the sale, meaning they’re taking what they can get from the deal, they provide a letter of agreement which the seller reviews and approves or disapproves of.  If the seller agrees to their terms, the normal closing time line begins.

Due Diligence:  It’s now time for the buyer to conduct their inspections and obtain their funding.  If everything checks out okay, and the property appraises for at least the contract purchase price, then the buyer moves on to the next step.

Signing:  Woo hoo! This is where the buyer signs their final paperwork.  Title will then record the property transfer with the county recorder and the new buyer will take ownership of the property.

That’s it. Those are the basic steps of a short sale.  From start to finish, this entire process is completely dependent upon how cooperative each party to the transaction is, and no two short sales are the same.  This entire process can take a few weeks, to more than 8 months.  So, as a buyer or a seller, be prepared to wait.

« Previous Page — Next Page »