Lab Owner Sets Sail With Technicians, Families

After a very challenging 2010, Creative Dental Images in Dedham, MA, bounced back for a successful 2011. The staff was able to pull together to reduce remakes and even increase sales.

To reward his seven employees for all their hard work, Owner Joseph Traboulsi treated them and their families—18 people in all—to a seven-day cruise to Bermuda aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. "My technicians work so hard and we're like a family. To be with them for seven days and see them smiling, relaxed and not stressed about work made the cost of the trip totally worth it," says Traboulsi, who covered $23,000 worth of expenses including rooms and meals.

To allow the entire staff to be on vacation at once, the lab shut down for one week in August—typically its slowest time of year—and notified its clients months in advance. As the date of the trip grew closer, excitement grew and the staff counted down the days on a large calendar in the lab. One technician's daughter...