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    Unstable Oil Prices Affecting Many Industries from Airlines to Upholstery
    Airlines sure. But upholstery? Hmmmm…Oil prices can affect a larger part of the economy than is usually thought of. The reality is that a large part of manufacturing (such as plastics) rely on petrochemicals to actually make their products. Upholstery is one of these industries. Many furniture manufacturers are seeing across the board increases in foam costs which are a primary raw material needed in the manufacturing of upholstery fabrics.To some people, it sounds like a repeat of the 1970s. The stock market fluctuations, the lines for gasoline (which, thankfully have abated for now), and the slow influx of alternative energy solutions make it seem like we are in a time warp. However, a lot of industries can’t switch from petrochemicals even if the alternatives’ technology was far more advanced.Industries that are staples of the economy, such as injection molding, use oil based raw materials as inputs to make common industrial items that are needed around the economy. You can’t make a solar panel into a box of garbage bags. And you can’t add hydrogen to a manufacturing process to come out with a brand new pair of sneakers.With oil prices now down from their close to $70 mark, a lot people are wondering in w
    nagement tactic. I have worked for a business that did this and believe me it only breeds negativity and poor morale and again only leads to poor customer service because the customers sense the tension with your employee. Now, if you do not know what mystery shopping is, let me clear it up for you. Mystery shopping is where you have someone pose as a customer or potential customer to see what kind of customer experience they receive when they come to your business. Again, the standards that are in place all depend on your type of business and what you have trained your employees to provide to the customer. Obviously if you haven't trained them yet, do not do this until you have. Now, mystery shopping can be done in several ways. You can hire a company to do this for you. You provide the company with the criteria that your employees should meet and what you want the mystery customer to do and say. Then, they will hire a mystery shopper to come in posing as the customer and the mystery shopper will report back to the c
    Only in a Town for a Short Stay? Consider the Established Look of Executive Suites
    Here is a creative tip for giving temporary office space a look of permanence. Discover 'executive suites'.No...we are not talking about expensive ivory tower offices. The term 'executive suites' is a concept ...not a brick and mortar location. It is ideal for anyone needing temporary office space in almost any city of the world.Consider just a few of the many advantages for using executive suites: You can move into this type of temporary office space in a day...and move out in a day.Because executive suites can be obtained fully furnished and staffed, there is nothing to sell or people to fire.Simple rental programs are available that provide use of temporary office space for a day, month, year or how ever long you need it. You are never locked into a long-term lease.Because executive suites are located in prestigious office buildings and the individual offices are tastefully decorated, you will have an instant look of established success. The concept of executive suites was developed a number of years ago to answer the need for temporary office space...or even a permanent location that does not require being tied to a long term leas
    As many of you know, I have made it my mission to change the world's view point of customer service. Too many people today have just accepted the fact that no matter where they go, they will receive less than acceptable customer service. THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE!

    When we work so hard for the money we have, why spend it at a business establishment (no matter what type of business) that provides you less than superior customer service? Does it really make sense to hand your money over that way? Still not clear... okay, let me present this to you in another way. You go to a restaurant and ask for a steak. The waitress brings you out a piece of chicken. You shrug your shoulders and say, "okay, that's fine." Furthermore, you eat the chicken and still leave the waitress a tip...would you really accept that? No, of course not! But that is the type of unacceptable customer service we are receiving in other places of business and just nodding our heads, and saying okay! STOP THE MADNESS PEOPLE!

    For all you customers out there (which means everyone), it is time to reclaim your God given right to receive Great Customer Service. It's called Free Will people, and I'm going to use my free will to change the world's view on customer service. One of the ways I plan on doing this is by refusing to do business anywhere that I receive poor customer service. Are you willing to help me in this mission? All you have to do is this: stop doing business in places that don't appreciate your business. And, let them know that you are no longer going to do business there and why. Sometimes business owners or managers do not know there is a problem until you let them know, so make sure you tell them. Once we start changing our views on what we accept as customer service, the businesses will adapt to start pleasing us better. It makes sense, doesn't it!

    As for all of you employees and employers out there, there are certain steps you can take to make sure your customers receive the best customer service around. And, when you start providing that type of customer service, your customers will keep coming back for more. In fact, if you provide them with the best service they can get anywhere and with a little flair, they will come back more often because they can't get enough of it.

    So, what are the steps? Follow these certain steps to assure your customers will be coming back for more: (I have broken this down into two stages. One for employers and one for employees please read both!)

    Employers

    • Provide training to your employees on how to treat your customers. If you are unsure of how this should be done, please visit my blog at what-customer-service.blogspot.com and email me and I will set up a training class for you. Think of it this way... what do your customers' expect to get from your business. This is obviously different for every business and also depends on the type of business you have. But put yourself in your customer's shoes...If you were the customer, what would you expect to see in terms of customer service? Once you have clearly defined that, you can then train the employees on how to provide it.
    • Set the standards high for your employees and make sure they stick to it. However, don't just use this as a tool to "write up" or "fire" your employees. Let me be clear... if you have an employee who you need to fire then by all means do so. But I don't believe in the type of management that only uses negative reinforcement. I believe that you should also use positive reinforcement with your employees as well. In fact, you'll find that the more positive reinforcement you use, the more you'll get out of your employees. Don't use fear management. It breeds negativity and bad morale and eventually your customers can feel and sense it. This will only further lead to poor customer service.
    • Having Mystery shops of your business is a great way to find out how your employees are doing. Now, having said this again I go back to my last point, do not use this as a fear management tactic. I have worked for a business that did this and believe me it only breeds negativity and poor morale and again only leads to poor customer service because the customers sense the tension with your employee. Now, if you do not know what mystery shopping is, let me clear it up for you. Mystery shopping is where you have someone pose as a customer or potential customer to see what kind of customer experience they receive when they come to your business. Again, the standards that are in place all depend on your type of business and what you have trained your employees to provide to the customer. Obviously if you haven't trained them yet, do not do this until you have. Now, mystery shopping can be done in several ways. You can hire a company to do this for you. You provide the company with the criteria that your employees should meet and what you want the mystery customer to do and say. Then, they will hire a mystery shopper to come in posing as the customer and the mystery shopper will report back to the co
      DVD Duplication v/s DVD Replication
      Duplicating means to copying, Identical, Exact copy of one thing or reproduction. It is act or process of reproducing something. It is carbon copy, image, and copy. Bearing exact features of the original, from which the copy is made. It therefore means a copy that corresponds to an original exactlyTo replicate means an act of duplicating or reproducing something, an echo or reverberation, a copy or reproduction. Again we see that is a process of duplicating or reproducing something. It is a Duplicate made by original maker.Here we come close. Both words have similar meaning just bearing a thin line to differentiate each other.Conclusion drawn from the above text is the copies can be made or Duplicated or anything can be identically be copied manually or by help of machines (photocopies, imaging machines etc) by any individual.Technology has played wonders. Duplication of a document in thousands of numbers can be obtained in seconds. High tech copiers with digital technology have gained market and importance due to speed, quality and due to the special feature of being cost effective.Media is an initial and essential ingredient of our high tech digital world. Advent of computers, it advancements,
      customers out there (which means everyone), it is time to reclaim your God given right to receive Great Customer Service. It's called Free Will people, and I'm going to use my free will to change the world's view on customer service. One of the ways I plan on doing this is by refusing to do business anywhere that I receive poor customer service. Are you willing to help me in this mission? All you have to do is this: stop doing business in places that don't appreciate your business. And, let them know that you are no longer going to do business there and why. Sometimes business owners or managers do not know there is a problem until you let them know, so make sure you tell them. Once we start changing our views on what we accept as customer service, the businesses will adapt to start pleasing us better. It makes sense, doesn't it!

      As for all of you employees and employers out there, there are certain steps you can take to make sure your customers receive the best customer service around. And, when you start providing that type of customer service, your customers will keep coming back for more. In fact, if you provide them with the best service they can get anywhere and with a little flair, they will come back more often because they can't get enough of it.

      So, what are the steps? Follow these certain steps to assure your customers will be coming back for more: (I have broken this down into two stages. One for employers and one for employees please read both!)

      Employers

      • Provide training to your employees on how to treat your customers. If you are unsure of how this should be done, please visit my blog at what-customer-service.blogspot.com and email me and I will set up a training class for you. Think of it this way... what do your customers' expect to get from your business. This is obviously different for every business and also depends on the type of business you have. But put yourself in your customer's shoes...If you were the customer, what would you expect to see in terms of customer service? Once you have clearly defined that, you can then train the employees on how to provide it.
      • Set the standards high for your employees and make sure they stick to it. However, don't just use this as a tool to "write up" or "fire" your employees. Let me be clear... if you have an employee who you need to fire then by all means do so. But I don't believe in the type of management that only uses negative reinforcement. I believe that you should also use positive reinforcement with your employees as well. In fact, you'll find that the more positive reinforcement you use, the more you'll get out of your employees. Don't use fear management. It breeds negativity and bad morale and eventually your customers can feel and sense it. This will only further lead to poor customer service.
      • Having Mystery shops of your business is a great way to find out how your employees are doing. Now, having said this again I go back to my last point, do not use this as a fear management tactic. I have worked for a business that did this and believe me it only breeds negativity and poor morale and again only leads to poor customer service because the customers sense the tension with your employee. Now, if you do not know what mystery shopping is, let me clear it up for you. Mystery shopping is where you have someone pose as a customer or potential customer to see what kind of customer experience they receive when they come to your business. Again, the standards that are in place all depend on your type of business and what you have trained your employees to provide to the customer. Obviously if you haven't trained them yet, do not do this until you have. Now, mystery shopping can be done in several ways. You can hire a company to do this for you. You provide the company with the criteria that your employees should meet and what you want the mystery customer to do and say. Then, they will hire a mystery shopper to come in posing as the customer and the mystery shopper will report back to the c
        What Every Carpet Cleaner Needs to Know About Soil
        In order to understand how to clean carpet, we need to know what soil is and the problems it presents. Soil in carpet is any substance that is foreign to the carpet's construction. Soil includes substances such as dirt, sand, food, oil, hair, dust, and anything else that finds its way onto carpet. Carpet not only traps soils that fall onto it, but it also acts as a filter for the environment. Dust, dander, soot, gases and odors are all trapped in carpet.Most soil found in carpet is sand and dirt tracked in by foot traffic. This type of soil is abrasive to the carpet and is what causes the carpet to wear. The gritty matter actually cuts and scratches the fibers of the carpet, resulting in a dull, worn appearance. The rest of the soil found in the carpet is usually grease and oils. This type of soil is acidic, which is why most carpet cleaning chemicals are alkaline cleaners. Alkaline cleaners neutralize the acids in order to remove the grease and oils.Soil and dirt are considered "soluble" whereas oil, grease and solids are considered "insoluble", which means they can't be dissolved in water or solvents. Because soil and dirt are soluble, they are more easily removed with vacuuming and extraction. However it's the in
        art providing that type of customer service, your customers will keep coming back for more. In fact, if you provide them with the best service they can get anywhere and with a little flair, they will come back more often because they can't get enough of it.

        So, what are the steps? Follow these certain steps to assure your customers will be coming back for more: (I have broken this down into two stages. One for employers and one for employees please read both!)

        Employers

        • Provide training to your employees on how to treat your customers. If you are unsure of how this should be done, please visit my blog at what-customer-service.blogspot.com and email me and I will set up a training class for you. Think of it this way... what do your customers' expect to get from your business. This is obviously different for every business and also depends on the type of business you have. But put yourself in your customer's shoes...If you were the customer, what would you expect to see in terms of customer service? Once you have clearly defined that, you can then train the employees on how to provide it.
        • Set the standards high for your employees and make sure they stick to it. However, don't just use this as a tool to "write up" or "fire" your employees. Let me be clear... if you have an employee who you need to fire then by all means do so. But I don't believe in the type of management that only uses negative reinforcement. I believe that you should also use positive reinforcement with your employees as well. In fact, you'll find that the more positive reinforcement you use, the more you'll get out of your employees. Don't use fear management. It breeds negativity and bad morale and eventually your customers can feel and sense it. This will only further lead to poor customer service.
        • Having Mystery shops of your business is a great way to find out how your employees are doing. Now, having said this again I go back to my last point, do not use this as a fear management tactic. I have worked for a business that did this and believe me it only breeds negativity and poor morale and again only leads to poor customer service because the customers sense the tension with your employee. Now, if you do not know what mystery shopping is, let me clear it up for you. Mystery shopping is where you have someone pose as a customer or potential customer to see what kind of customer experience they receive when they come to your business. Again, the standards that are in place all depend on your type of business and what you have trained your employees to provide to the customer. Obviously if you haven't trained them yet, do not do this until you have. Now, mystery shopping can be done in several ways. You can hire a company to do this for you. You provide the company with the criteria that your employees should meet and what you want the mystery customer to do and say. Then, they will hire a mystery shopper to come in posing as the customer and the mystery shopper will report back to the c
          Change Management at General Motors in Oct of 2006
          It looks like General Motors is getting ready to lay off a whole bunch of people in the tens of thousands. Recently Mr. Kirk Kerkorian has been trying to buy up more shares of General Motors and continue to take over the company. It makes sense from his standpoint to buy General Motors stock on the cheap and then repair the mistakes and watch the stock go back up again. He stands to make a tremendous amount of money when General Motors recovers.One of the board members who is on Kerkorian’s side has left the board and one has to wonder if he has left the board because he was thrown out or because General Motors is getting ready for massive layoffs and they do not want their main guy involved in board decisions when employees are being laid off. Because in the future the employee unions would not respect the board members who were on the board at the time of the layoffs.It would be much better to leave the board now and come back onto the board later or put in a new person to do the heavy personnel cuts and replace them later with new management after that is finished. Sometimes change management at large corporations has a lot to do with labor relations and the blame game.If someone leaves the corp
          ct to see in terms of customer service? Once you have clearly defined that, you can then train the employees on how to provide it.
        • Set the standards high for your employees and make sure they stick to it. However, don't just use this as a tool to "write up" or "fire" your employees. Let me be clear... if you have an employee who you need to fire then by all means do so. But I don't believe in the type of management that only uses negative reinforcement. I believe that you should also use positive reinforcement with your employees as well. In fact, you'll find that the more positive reinforcement you use, the more you'll get out of your employees. Don't use fear management. It breeds negativity and bad morale and eventually your customers can feel and sense it. This will only further lead to poor customer service.
        • Having Mystery shops of your business is a great way to find out how your employees are doing. Now, having said this again I go back to my last point, do not use this as a fear management tactic. I have worked for a business that did this and believe me it only breeds negativity and poor morale and again only leads to poor customer service because the customers sense the tension with your employee. Now, if you do not know what mystery shopping is, let me clear it up for you. Mystery shopping is where you have someone pose as a customer or potential customer to see what kind of customer experience they receive when they come to your business. Again, the standards that are in place all depend on your type of business and what you have trained your employees to provide to the customer. Obviously if you haven't trained them yet, do not do this until you have. Now, mystery shopping can be done in several ways. You can hire a company to do this for you. You provide the company with the criteria that your employees should meet and what you want the mystery customer to do and say. Then, they will hire a mystery shopper to come in posing as the customer and the mystery shopper will report back to the c
          Payroll Services Reviewed
          Does anyone go into business thinking how fun it will be to file taxes or filtering through piles of payroll and employee benefits paperwork? Of course not! It is however a vital part of doing business and is increasingly more and more time consuming. That's where Payroll Services Companies come into play. Payroll Services can free up your valuable time to do what it is that earns you money!There are many ways to get the dreaded tax and Payroll paperwork completed without spending all your time doing it. There are Payroll Tax Services, Payroll Administration Services, Online or Web Based Payroll Services, advanced Onsite Payroll Software, and many other Payroll Outsourcing Companies to chose from to lighten your heavy load. After all, people go into business to work on their passion or to live out their dreams not to deal with all the hassles and technicalities of running that business. Your employees deserve the best possible benefits and you deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your business is complying with all the rules and regulations. With the peace of mind that comes along with that, you can dedicate your time and energy to build your business and focus your mind on the important things re
          nagement tactic. I have worked for a business that did this and believe me it only breeds negativity and poor morale and again only leads to poor customer service because the customers sense the tension with your employee. Now, if you do not know what mystery shopping is, let me clear it up for you. Mystery shopping is where you have someone pose as a customer or potential customer to see what kind of customer experience they receive when they come to your business. Again, the standards that are in place all depend on your type of business and what you have trained your employees to provide to the customer. Obviously if you haven't trained them yet, do not do this until you have. Now, mystery shopping can be done in several ways. You can hire a company to do this for you. You provide the company with the criteria that your employees should meet and what you want the mystery customer to do and say. Then, they will hire a mystery shopper to come in posing as the customer and the mystery shopper will report back to the company you hired on how your employee did with full details on each of the criteria and an overall grade. The company then gives you the details on the mystery shop. It is a great way to test your customer's overall experience and further train your employees. Now, a few things I recommend. Do not tell your employees that you are doing this. If they know, they will be nervous and treat your customers differently. It is more natural if you just have them doing what they always do to grade the normal customer experience. Once you have received the feed back, use it as a training tool for not just that employee but all of them so everyone is on the same level. And reward the employee for a job well done. If you don't want to hire a company to do the mystery shopping, you can ask a friend or family member to pose as the customer and grade the experience. Or, survey your customers on how well they thought their overall experience was, what they liked about it, what they didn't like about it, and what they thought you could do differently!
        • Lastly, and I can't stress this enough, the only way to provide great customer service is to have a customer service standard, have a plan on how your employees will deliver your standards, and test the standards. Also, pay your employees what they deserve and provide them rewards for going the extra mile. If your employees are making minimum wage and not getting any incentive to "go the extra mile", then you won't get anything extra from them and neither will your customers. Your employees are the face of your business. The service your business receives comes directly from your employees, so make sure your employees are getting a fair deal.

        Employees

        • First of all, when you are working with customers, no matter what your occupation, think of it this way...How would you want to be treated if you were that client?
        • If you are unhappy about your current job, don't take it out on the customer. Remember, it is not their fault that you are unhappy with your job and it's not their fault that you're in the situation you are in, whatever it may be. Again, remember, what would you expect if you were the customer?
        • When talking with a client, first of all, smile! Say Hello, how can I help you? If you are not behind a counter of some kind, shake their hand, introduce yourself and ask their name. Then, ask them how you can be of assistance.
        • If your employer has a standard for customer service, make sure you know what it is and abide by it. And, at the end of the year, when you get your annual review, make sure you remind your boss in writing how you met that standard and ask that it be added to your annual review.
        • If you work in a store of some kind, like a grocery store, department store, etc...why do you ignore customers as they walk by you? Why do you try to run them over as you are wandering around the store? When you go into a store do you expect to be run over, run down, or ignored? And when you are, does it bother you? Here's my point - it should not matter where you work, you should never ignore a customer walking past and you are never more important than a customer. This is a valuable lesson to learn. No matter who you are or where you work, you have to learn to appreciate your customers! Think of it this way - not only that you could be that customer getting the poor service but more importantly, if it wasn't for that customer, you wouldn't have a job! Remember that the next time you ignore a customer.

        The fact of the matter is that customer service is ignored or takes second place to growing a business and increasing profitability. When in fact, great customer service will do just that, grow your business and make it more profitable.

        If you survey a room of 50 people, 94% of the people in the room would tell you that they have not received good customer service lately. Furthermore, they would tell you that they have received extremely poor service recently, more than they

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