Wasn’t it Malcolm Fraser when he was Prime Minister who said: “Life wasn’t meant to be easy.” (Okay so now I’m showing my age now.)

Life doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom either.

This is one of the stories from our online feedback program. Each person who goes on a RedBalloon experience receives an online survey, and for each completed survey (about 14% of all surveys sent) the RedBalloon Pleasure Relations consultants read every response. This one was forwarded to me because it came from a participant in one of our corporate program.

It reinforces why experiences work – and why cash, in the end, is not a motivator….

“With 4 kids between 7 and 13, my wife and I don’t get out much on our own. Some time ago we booked into a hotel at Darling Harbour for a weekend away. I received 150 Red Balloon points for 10 years service at with my company a couple of weeks ago and so started looking at how I could use them while we were staying in Sydney. A seafood dinner on the harbour sounded like it would hit the spot so I went for the seafood platter (105 points). My wife and I ordered an entree each and consequently had trouble getting through the platter. It was superb! I used to have the mindset of “just give me the money” but can virtually guarantee it would have gone on bills. Sitting down with my wife and choosing a Red Balloon experience sure beats sitting down to pay the bills!!! And the view from the restaurant is hard to beat. Thanks a lot guys.”  MQ

(Click for more information on the Seafood dinner experience)

This is a simple tale, but it is the moments that we grab in our busy lives to share with our loved ones are those we remember vividly. The fact that his employer made this possible – means that he is also thinking highly of his employer, and letting others know what a great employer they are. (You can see that his wife is pretty pleased with her husband’s employer too.)

It’s why I love what I do… providing RedBalloon programs for businesses. Of course, we want to do more. If RedBalloon is going to win the game of changing gifting in Australia forever –we need every company, business, firm and organisation to give us a try.

Let me know if you want me to come to your work place so you can have a ‘good time’ from your employer too. And as you can tell – it doesn’t have to cost a lot.