Ambiance Wins World Class Customer Service Award
Three-Time Honoree Named “The Great Escape”
CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 22, 2009): Smart Business held its annual World Class Customer Service Awards on Wednesday, June 17th. The magazine recognizes businesses that excel at raising the bar for customer service at this prestigious event, held at Executive Caterers at Landerhaven. Award winners for 2009 included the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Shearer’s Foods, Inc., and Ambiance, the Store for Lovers.
For the third year in a row, Smart Business honored Ambiance for its customer service, and this year, awarded Ambiance one of the eleven top honors in customer service excellence. Ambiance is one of only four companies, and the only retailer, to be honored all three years the awards have been handed out.
“In tough economic times, we all want to get away from the troubles and challenges that loom, seemingly larger than life. That’s where Ambiance comes in,” stated Dustin Klein, Executive Editor of Smart Business, when announcing Ambiance the winner of ‘The Great Escape’ award. “Its unique product and service mix provides clients with an opportunity to forget about the outside world and focus on a critical but often overlooked aspect of any couple’s life – their relationship.
Klein continued: “From its Great Lover’s Club, which includes more than 180,000 members, to its ‘Think Like a Customer’ training philosophy and mandatory service standards, everything this organization does is aimed at ensuring its customers achieve a more loving, passionate relationship…essentially, a Great Escape.”
“We are so thrilled to be recognized for our exceptional customer service, and especially in this category,” beamed Ambiance President Jennifer Downey. “We believe that every couple is entitled to a fulfilling love life, and it is our mission to provide the most attentive, compassionate service to every customer who walks in our door,” she stated. “Through these efforts we provide couples ‘The Great Escape’ from the hectic routine of daily life, from bedroom boredom, and from the monogamy that many couples experience in long-term relationships.”
Ambiance, the Store for Lovers, is a chain of romantic boutiques with locations in Northeast Ohio. For location information or to shop online, visit Ambiance.com.
Ambiance Commemorates 15 Years at Parma Heights Location
CLEVELAND, Ohio (April 23, 2009): Ambiance, the Store for Lovers signed a new five-year lease for their store at 6879 W. 130th Street this week, marking 15 years at the location.
“The Parma Heights Ambiance has been a success since the day we opened the store, and we are ecstatic to commemorate our 15th anniversary there,” stated President Jennifer Downey. “Parma Heights is a close-knit, family community and we are thrilled that couples in the area have made us an important part of their lives.”
The landlord of the Parma Heights Ambiance appreciates the long relationship he’s had with the retail chain. “Ambiance has been one of my best tenants for so long, for so many reasons,” offers Robert Neito, owner of the South Park Plaza Shopping Center. “They attract a great clientele and are a financially sound tenant that pays rent in advance. Ambiance takes care of their store and always has attractive window displays. I love working with them, and wish I had ten more tenants like them.”
This location was the third store opening for Ambiance, which has helped Cleveland couples enhance their romance since 1981. For locations or additional information, visit www.ambiance.com.
Cleveland Clinic, ABC News & Ambiance Agree: Have More Sex and Be Healthier, Happier
CLEVELAND, Ohio (March 12, 2009): Does Cleveland know about healthy relationships or what?
On Monday, March 9th, Cleveland Clinic internal medicine specialist Dr. Michael Rozien and Oprah’s “Dr. Oz” appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America to tell adults that if you have more sex, you’ll enjoy a longer, happier life.
The doctors stress that adults can
- reduce their risk of stroke and heart attack by 50%;
- add the happiness equivalent of a $50,000 raise;
- make their bodies feel 2-8 years younger;
all by increasing sexual activity to at least once a week.
This news is no surprise to Cleveland’s own Ambiance, the Store for Lovers. “I’ve always stressed that enjoying sex with your partner on a frequent basis is a vital part of life’s balance,” insists Ambiance president Jennifer Downey. “Having this medically-based evidence reported in the mainstream media, showing proof of sex’s benefits to the health of adults, adds credence to the mission of our business.”
Drs. Oz and Roizen stressed in the interview that a crucial part to maintaining a healthy sex life is reinvention. Many couples gradually grow apart and have to reconnect because chemicals in the body such as dopamine begin to wane, Dr. Roizen said.
“This is why we remind couples that ‘monogamy shouldn’t be monotonous,’” Downey continues. “We at Ambiance strive to give committed couples the tools they need to keep the spark between them lit at any stage of their relationship. Trying new things and experiencing new sensations brings both pleasure and longevity to couples, and the experts agree!”
Ambiance, the Store for Lovers has become a Northeast Ohio institution by helping couples enhance their romance since 1981. For locations or additional information, visit www.ambiance.com.
Ambiance Projects Record Donations to American Heart Association in 2008
CLEVELAND, Ohio (January 21, 2008):Every February, the American Heart Association “Have a Heart” campaign launches at Cleveland-area retailers. It is a large part of the Association’s fund raising campaigns and one in which local chain Ambiance, the Store for Lovers, participates enthusiastically.
Ambiance’s Romance Consultants expect to collect more than $6,000 in donations this February, a 50% increase over 2007. This goal is almost half of the Northeast Ohio goal for the American Heart Association’s Ohio Affiliate, which hopes to raise $13,000 in the month of February.
The campaign works like this: Ambiance Romance Consultants ask each of their pre-Valentine’s Day customers to donate one dollar to the American Heart Association. This dollar “buys” a heart on which the customer can write his or her name or a declaration of love to a Valentine. Come February 14th, Ambiance stores display a sea of red hearts.
These efforts have really paid off. Since 2003, Ambiance has donated more than $11,000 to the American Heart Association. In February of 2007, 21% of all customers who shopped at Ambiance donated to the cause. This generosity helped Ambiance double its contribution from 2006 to 2007 for a total donation last year of $4,100.
John Meiners, Executive Vice President of the Ohio Valley Affiliate of the American Heart Association is grateful for Ambiance’s support. “It is because of companies like Ambiance that the American Heart Association is able to continue its successes in our mutual fight against cardiovascular disease. Their donations will help us face this enemy's devastating effects in our community, nationwide and throughout the world.”
Ambiance, the Store for Lovers has become a Cleveland institution by helping couples enhance their romance since 1981. There are eight Ambiance locations in Northeast Ohio. For location or additional information, visit www.ambiance.com.
The usual back-to-school supplies: notebooks, pencils, fishnet stockings
CLEVELAND, Ohio (August 27, 2008): We’ve all been trained to turn our thoughts to romance around the middle of February. But if the last eight years’ sales patterns at Ambiance, the Store for Lovers, are any indication, September can make a legitimate claim as the month when couples, unsolicited, are at their most intimate.
“Every year since 2000 our September sales have been 15-30% higher than August. September is consistently the only non-holiday month where sales rise without any assistance from advertising”, says Jennifer Downey, Ambiance president.
The company’s best guess is that with kids returning to school, bedtimes are earlier, leaving more time for togetherness. Which seems more plausible than…say, an increase in testosterone due to the start of football season. How about: cooler weather brings bodies closer! Nope, doesn’t add up. September’s average temperature in NE Ohio is still around 74º.
The Ambiance theory tying September sales increases to the start of school makes the most sense. After all, on top of gaining more opportunity for intimacy, for three months parents have been spending more time with kids than with each other.
Actually, it’s later in the month when the sales surge traditionally occurs. But then, it takes time to get a bit reacquainted with one’s partner…and during the first part of September a certain amount of psychic energy is spent helping kids get acclimated to new teachers and classmates.
Coinciding with this period, Ambiance stores and the company website and store windows will take on a “Back to School for Kids, Back to Fun for Grownups” theme.
Ambiance, the Store for Lovers, is a relationship resource center that combines an upscale lingerie store and a romantic gift boutique. Ambiance provides a comfortable retail shopping experience featuring an extensive selection of romantic and erotic products, with a sensitive, caring and well-trained staff. Based in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, the retailer operates eight stores in Northeast Ohio and offers online shopping at Ambiance.com.
Ambiance to Debut Adult Novelty Industry’s Latest and Great Products
CLEVELAND, Ohio (August 2008): Ambiance president Jennifer Downey attended this year’s AVN Novelty Expo in Los Angeles in search of the industry’s latest and greatest adult novelty products. The trade show, considered to be the premier event of the year for the lingerie and marital aid industry, brought together top manufacturers to showcase the latest products and developments.
While there, Downey discovered many innovative new products, along with upgraded versions of classic adult marital aids. “The industry is constantly growing. There are a lot of current advancements taking place and I saw a lot of new and exciting items at the expo.”
In keeping with Ambiance’s commitment to providing its customers with the latest innovations and products, much of the latest romance technology showcased at the expo will soon be brought to local customers. “Ambiance has always strived to make contemporary, inventive marital aids available to our valued customers,” stated Jennifer Downey, Ambiance President. Cleveland-area customers who care about their love life will be able to purchase the latest merchandise in local Ambiance stores in the coming months. Along with classic toys and items, many memorable new items debuted at the show this year. Some of the standouts include advances in lubrications and oral stimulation products.
In addition to brand new items, many products are being upgraded and refined to better suit customer wants and needs. These various upgrades and innovations are made with customers in mind to ultimately benefit them. Some of the recent advances include mechanical upgrades, specifically the motors of vibrating items. The motors are becoming more powerful, with more speed settings and vibration options. In addition to this, the sound level is being improved upon, with many toys becoming almost completely silent. These new, quieter products are great for couples who need to be discreet.
Additional women’s products are also being refined. With women making up a large segment of consumers of marital aids, manufacturers are making certain products more appealing to women by using more realistic materials and women-friendly colors and packaging. Women customers have responded favorably to products geared specifically to them. Manufacturers have recognized this and are tailoring products to reflect women consumers’ preferences.
Another key observation was the emergence of more items geared towards the male and gay clientele. Some of the innovations include male-specific lubricants and lotions, along with new advancements in anal novelty items. Much of the above items and romantic technology will be made available to local Ambiance customers in the near future. The additional product selection will increase Ambiance’s already diverse merchandise and give gay couples more options to help spice up their love life.
To better assist local area consumers, Ambiance strives to provide its customers with inexpensive entertainment. The current state of the economy has caused many to curb spending habits. In light of this, Ambiance offers reasonably-priced recreation to local couples. Ambiance’s selection of products gives couples the low cost option of a “night-in” with their toys; an economical alternative to expensive nights out on the town.
Please look for the above products to be available in all Cleveland-area Ambiance locations within the coming months. Please visit our retail locations or www.ambiance.com to learn about and purchase products. |
