Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category
This one has been around a long time, but it’s one of those stories we should all read several times a year. I wanted to share this since it’s almost time to put 2009 to bed and jump into 2010.
One evening a man told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.”
“One is Evil – It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
“The other is Good – It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”
The man simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Do you know which one you feed?
Thanks to Kneale Mann at http://onemann.blogspot.com/2009/12/two-wolves.html.
I just read a quick little ebook by David Allen Bullock.
Wow. Just wow. We all know it but many of us don’t realize we’re not living it.
No registration necessary (go down to the lower right side to the word HERE), and it’ll take you 10 minutes to read it.
You’ll be glad you did.
Some disturbing news from the FTC. Seems that you can now be fined for exercising your right to free speech:
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/05/20/what-to-make-of-ftcs-proposed-paid-post-regulations
I’m still flabbergasted, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s perfectly OK for a cemetery to rip you off because the FTC can’t be bothered to make them follow the same rules funeral homes do…not that they don’t rip you off either, but there are at least some rules.
However, if I’m understanding this correctly (and please set me straight if I’m not), Joe Shmoe has to disclose if he’s helping his brother-in-law get his business up and running, or if he’s getting a free movie ticket for encouraging others to go see a particular movie.
Is a blogged endorsement for a product or service false or misleading because someone is being paid for it? Certainly not. It’s one type of joint venture and businesses do it all the time. It’s one way any smart businessman makes money.
What ever happened to one doing his or her due diligence and the concept of caveat emptor? Or are we so stupid and incompetent we have to have the gubmint take care of us and bubble-wrap us from our own mistakes?
My guess is that somebody got ripped off and knows someone at the FTC.
Color me disgusted. What do you think?
Why do businesses have trouble getting and keeping loyal customers? Owners and employees forget the cardinal rule: It’s not about you–it’s about your customers. If you treat your customers as treasured partners instead of dollar signs, you’ll have the competitive edge every time.
While there are a thousand and one ways to deliver stellar customer service, the following seven tips create a win-win for your customer and your business, whether your business is online or off.
1. Hire the right people.
If you don’t have the right people, you can’t fully serve your customers. Period. Take your time hiring and pay employees well for their expertise. Better yet, give them a piece of the pie for excellent performance. Invest them in your business, and they’ll represent you well.
Listen to your employees, especially those on the front lines with customers. They’re the eyes and ears of your business, and you ignore them at your peril.
2. Do what you say you’re going to do.
If you tell Mrs. Brown you’re going to call her about her leaky faucet tomorrow at 10, you’d better be on that phone at 9:59 dialing her number. Or better yet, go to her house and look at the faucet yourself. Go above and beyond and you’ll be remembered.
Customers talk. Make sure they’re saying good things when they mention your name.
3. Pay attention.
Learn who your customers are. Greet them immediately by name when you see them, and ask how their families are. If you have an online business, drop them an occasional email to see how they are and how your product or service is working out for them.
Connect on a personal level and you’ll have more loyal customers than you’ll know what to do with.
4. Help your customers with all their needs.
Mr. James loves your mechanic Tim, but he really needs someone to detail his car next week. Put him in touch with a good detailer and you’ve just solved another problem for him.
Make sure your referrals are top-notch and that you’re paid a commission every time your referrals buy. In turn, give anyone who refers business to you a commission. This type of joint venture is a win-win-win.
5. Know how to handle complaints and upset customers.
Your front line staff plays the most visible and critical role in the customer’s experience. Be sure they know what to say and do . . . and what not to say and do. Set guidelines for handling every type of complaint and get staff involved. Properly handling complaints separates successful businesses from failures.
6. Stay in contact.
Collect email addresses and start a monthly newsletter to keep customers informed. Create a short, simple “What do you think of our company?” questionnaire using SurveyMonkey. Questionnaires and newsletters give you the opportunity to anticipate and identify customer needs.
Customers don’t buy products and services—they buy solutions to their problems. Buying decisions are made emotionally and justified logically, so appeal to both sides of the equation.
7. When in doubt, err on the side of the customer.
This is not to say the customer is always correct, but the customer’s perception needs to be that she is treated fairly. If you have a conflict, do what you can to resolve it.
Often the customer just wants to be heard and wants to know that you understand. Sometimes a small tweak, like changing a due date, is all the customer needs. It’s always a good idea to use The 10 Words of Great Customer Service: “What can we do to make it work for you?”
If you have a customer that just won’t work with you (and it will happen), consider refunding his money and letting him go. If you argue or refuse to refund his money, he will tell everyone he knows about it. If you part on friendly terms, he might tell everyone he knows, but there’s a chance you won’t look like the greedy bad person if you treat him fairly.
Having good customer service is crucial for every business to stay alive, but having great customer service will make your business thrive. Customer service is everyone’s job, no matter where they work. Your business will not and cannot exist without happy customers.
I’m as guilty as anyone else of wasting time online…I love Facebook and surfing in general. Too often, I find myself intending to spend 10 minutes on a site…then I look at the clock and half an hour (or more) has gone by.
I’ve decided to get a handle on this once and for all. It’s hurting my pocketbook and keeping me from achieving what I want to do. But–I’m not going to give up my surfing completely. I’m just going to do it smarter, and I’ve come up with three things that might help you too.
1. Make a to-do list every day, not just when you think you need one. I had done this occasionally in the past, but was never consistent about it. I’ve been doing it for the past few days and I’ve been amazed at how well it’s working. It keeps me focused and moving forward. So simple, yet so effective.
It’s up to you whether you do the hard stuff first or get the easy tasks out of the way. Try it both ways and see. I find that I do better if I work on the complicated or difficult tasks in the morning when I’m more likely to stay on task. The afternoon is for easier items on the list, and I’ve been known to stay up late to read or study.
2. Plan breaks–yes, I said plan them. Make surfing breaks a regular part of your routine and schedule them. Decide on a reasonable time frame for you. For some that will be 5 minutes once an hour to check email, for others it might be half an hour once a day to write a personal blog post.
Be careful that you don’t overschedule breaks. Five or ten minutes an hour is fine, but twenty might be pushing it.
There are a few ways to schedule breaks. You can do it like “regular jobs” do, at a couple of set times every day. That works well for people who like a rigid schedule. For those who like structure with a bit of flexibility, perhaps 5 minutes every hour will be ideal. People whose work is more task- than time-oriented might like to complete a task uninterrupted, then take a break. Find the schedule you like and stick to it.
3. Use a timer. Whether you “go on break” twice a day or once an hour, you need to track and be accountable to yourself for the time you spend online. Find a timer. You can use a manual timer, like one you’d find in a kitchen, or set an alarm clock for the time you need to go back to work.
The trick here is to find a timer that you have to shut off, preferably one with a loud or irritating sound. Set it close enough to your desk so you can hear it, but far enough away that you have to get up to turn it off. The annoying noise from the timer breaks the concentration you have on your surfing, and getting up reinforces that break from the computer. Then you sit down and resume working.
I hope these ideas work for you. What tips do you use to stop wasting time surfing?
