Leavenworth

What Tourists Want?

A few years ago a movie came out called What Women Want. The premise was that a rather clueless guy has an accident and suddenly has the ability to hear the thoughts of women passing by. How would you like the ability to know what tourists visiting Leavenworth think about your business and how could that help you?

Well, Fritzi and Mitzi are on the case and ready to help! So what did they find out? Here is a Q&A between Fritzi and Mitzi (FM) and an Average Tourist (AT).

 

FM: Let's start out with an easy question: How do you find out what's doing on in Leavenworth?

AT: Duh! I come to the Accidental Bavarian website!

FM: OK. I suppose that was a little self-serving. How do you prepare for a trip to Leavenworth?

AT: Well, usually we go out to the web and see what's going on in town and research where to stay and see if there are any new shops in town we want to see.

FM: Are you able to find out what you want?

AT: Well, most of the time, but sometimes we go to a shop's website and can't find an Email address to contact them. If we're going to a website, Email is our most likely way of contacting them. And some we have to search and search around to find a page with their phone number. Do they want us to contact them?

FM: Why do you come to Leavenworth?

AT: Initially, it was the uniqueness of the Bavarian theme, but the whole town keeps growing on us. And there are lots of things to do all the time. We like coming back again and again.

FM: What brings you back to Leavenworth?

AT: We like the friendly people, for the most part, and it feels like home.

FM: What do you mean "For the most part"?

AT: I mean, we're here to have fun and spend money, but in some shops on occasion we feel as if we're an intrusion. Most shopowners are friendly and greet us and are very helpful, but those that don't we avoid in the future. Like Homer said, "A guest never forgets the host that treated him kindly." Well, he actually said it in Latin, but you get the idea.

FM: How do you decide where you're going to shop in Leavenworth?

AT: You know, a lot of the time we're walking down the street from one shop to the next and come across a place we haven't been into before, or that suddenly surprises us and it can become a favorite that we make sure to go back to every visit. Maybe the shopowner was really friendly or remembered us from when we'd been there before, or we found something in the shop we'd never seen before. The shopowner can really make a big difference on whether we'll come in just once or come back again and again.

FM: Do you come to town with a budget?

AT: We try to think that, but if there are things that catch our eye we will overspend what we were intending to and just tell ourselves that we are doing it because we won't be back for awhile and we don't want to miss it. We don't think Leavenworth is a pie where if one shop makes a sale the next shop loses one. Just make more and better pies and we'll spend more than we intended to.

FM: So, keeping with the pie theme (and who doesn't like pie?)... What makes you cut into one? Why do you spend money when you do?

AT: We'll always linger in or come back to make a purchase in a shop that has unique items we like, is uncluttered and "browsing friendly". We don't expect to be your best friend, but we always warm up to a shopkeeper who treats us as an honored guest. And we love shops and restaurants where the owners are passionate about their product. We enjoy learning about new things, so educate us – but never talk down to us. These things are likely to onvert us from one-time visitors to returning customers.

FM: What keeps you from going to certain other shops?

AT: Grumpiness. Or if we try to get their attention and they have to finish their conversation before helping us.

FM: I know exactly what you mean. Grumpy people really chill Mitzi's buzz. How do you decide where you are going to stay?

AT: It can depend on the season or on a special occasion. We have favorite places to stay. But sometimes we're in the mood for a change. And sometimes budget is the biggest factor.

FM: How do you decide where or what you are going to eat?

AT: Again, we have favorite places, but we like trying new things, too. The scent of sauerkraut makes our mouths water. We almost always plan to mix it up. A favorite place or dish for lunch and somewhere new for dinner.

FM: Any questions you have of us?

AT: Sure. How come so few businesses are open in the evenings on holiday or festival evenings or after events? That seems like a natural time to be open.

FM: Good question! We don't really have a good answer for you there. Let us get back to you on that one.

 

Find us on Facebook and Twitter

Become our friend on Facebook. It's a great place to connect with people who live in Leavenworth and those who live elsewhere but want to stay connected with the village. Find us on Facebook here.

Our Twitter feed is Leavenworthy. Twitter allows you to follow people or send out short text messages (140 characters or less) about what's happening in Leavenworth Some tweet specials for their business or they might share a snapshot of what's going on right now in the village.

You can check out our Leavenworthiest Twitter list for links to Leavenworth-area Twitter accounts. If you know of others we'd like to hear about them.

 

Leavenworth Job Bank

Remember our new Leavenworth Job Bank. With tourist season starting, now is the time to get signed up so you can post positions you need to fill.

You'll need to get a password from us to enter jobs into the database. Go to our Vendors page to contact us for a password and to add a job to the database or to edit or remove jobs you've entered. Jobs are posted only for the time period you choose.

There is no charge to either the job posters or the job seekers for this service. It's our gift to Leavenworth.

The job bank for job seekers is at www.LeavenworthWAJobs.com.

 

Green Shopping Bags

Remember, now is the time to order your reusable "I Found It In Leavenworth" bag. It will continue to advertise Leavenworth and your business long after people go back home. We offer a variety of types of bags with the familiar gazebo and facades of Front Street and "I Found It In Leavenworth" printed on the side. See our "I Found It In Leavenworth" (www.IFoundItInLeavenworth.com) site for pictures, pricing and ordering information.

 

Please Update Your Information

We maintain links from our website to every business or organization in Leavenworth we've been able to find. Believe it or not, we are closing in on 1000 in Leavenworth and the surrounding area. We want to make sure the information we have for you is as complete as possible and provides value for potential and returning tourists who come to our site and for you as well. For that we need your help.

Please come to Accidental Bavarian and check your information, and our link to your site. If we have any incorrect information, or if you feel we have categorized your business incorrectly, please go to our "Are You a Local Business?" link at the bottom of each page and send us an EMail. Your business can be listed under more than one category. For example, if your Bed and Breakfast also hosts weddings then let us know that.

We also have a new Pet-Friendly Leavenworth page. If you have a pet-friendly business, and don't find your business listed, then give us a shout and let us know. We'd be delighted to add you.

And if you have suggestions for future additions to the website, please let us know that as well.

 

Please Link to Us

We love Leavenworth and do our best to encourage people to visit. We created Accidental Bavarian to look at Leavenworth from a tourist's perspective. We promote tourism in Leavenworth by providing travelers information they need to plan a fun-filled, happy experience in the Northwest's Little Bavaria. We currently do this as a hobby and are not backed by any group of businesses in Leavenworth. We offer independent reviews and provide our own opinions.

Please link your website to ours. Click here for sample code you can include on your website to provide a link.

Website Development

We also provide website development via Front Street Webs. Please contact us if you need to update your website or if you want us to create a new website for you.

 

Pass It On

While we've now identified nearly 1000 businesses in our database, we've only found Email addresses for about half of them. Please pass this Email on to anyone you know who has not received it and encourage them to Email us with updated information about their business.

So Fritzi and Mitzi, the Accidental Bavarians, say "Herzlich Willkommen, Leavenworth!"

 

Contact Information

The Accidental Bavarian
  3508 N Calispel St
  Spokane, WA 99205
  509/998-0991

EMail
  info@accidentalbavarian.com

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