Business Advice – SNDA Online

Making the Most of Customer Service

Staff — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 06:09:48 +0000

One of everyone’s most frustrating experiences is dealing with poorly trained, less-than-motivated, and often distant-sounding customer service representatives. Sometimes I hesitate to make a purchase at the thought that I might have to return the item and be forced to navigate the muddy waters of the customer-service return process.

The following experience illustrates the benefit of taking a step back and looking at the situation from a mediator’s perspective.

I had changed apartments and asked my local phone carrier to transfer the number. Soon after I moved I got an offer from a long-distance carrier to switch, and I accepted it. I then ordered new business cards with my new address and phone number, and left for an overdue vacation.

Two weeks later I returned home – tan, but listening to the sound of silence whenever I picked up the receiver. Initial calls (from my cell phone) to the local and long-distance carriers went unreturned. When I finally spoke with one customer-service person, he predictably blamed the other company for the incident.

Either way, I was informed, I would now have to get a new phone number, because too much time had elapsed since the phone was deactivated. My old familiar number will get recycled and be given to someone else in due course. That was not the course I felt due, as I had just received a shipment of my new business cards.

After some research I found the numbers of my new phone company’s corporate offices. I called and asked to be transferred to the executive office. There a courteous assistant answered. I introduced myself, asked her for her name. I then asked if there was anyone capable of reversing the fate of my quickly fading phone number. Alternatively, I asked to be reimbursed for my soon-to-be-useless business cards and the good will of losing a phone number many of my clients already knew.

The person I was speaking with seemed sympathetic to my plight, but reluctant to legitimize my request. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a point, but how could she determine a fair value for my loss of good will?

I then suggested a conference call with technical people of both companies so we might sort out the situation. I was told it was theoretically possible but not commonly done.

A few days later I received a call from the local company’s vice president with experience in handling such issues. Until that point I didn’t know there was such a person. She dialed a number and another voice came on – this one from the long-distance carrier. They exchanged pleasantries followed by codes which seemed to me like a random recitation of the alphabet. But within minutes they proclaimed success and I was on my way to making local (and long-distant) calls once more.

Leaving aside the practical lessons of timing my move, ordering business cards and long-distance service, what lessons can be drawn from this?

• Clear Story. Before making my first customer-service inquiry, I reviewed the events leading up to the situation, found the confirmation numbers I received, and looked up the cost of my business cards to the penny. These minor facts gave me credibility.

• Clear Goals. I knew what I wanted (my phone number back) and created some “next best” alternatives (refund for the cards and the good will). I also knew that issuing checks is not what companies want to do.

• Clear Plan. Before calling customer service I’d decided that if I didn’t get a satisfactory answer I would hunt down the executive-office phone numbers. Making this decision early gave me a “next step” alternative. Without it I would have been frustrated by the lack of responsiveness and unable to focus on a next-best course of action.

• The Kindness of Strangers. When calling the executive office I expressed my frustration, but made it clear that I was not mad at the person answering. I just needed her help since I was running out of options. She had not been calloused by the daily routine of handling customers, and empathized with my situation. By the end of our conversation she wanted to help me.

• The Name Game. I did this as a matter of introduction at the beginning of each conversation, and referred to each person by his or her name. This created an aura of relative friendliness and also let the person know I knew his or her name for any future correspondence.

• The Path of Least Resistance. I knew that it was easier for the central-office assistant to find my friendly old helpful phone number than the alternatives I presented: issuing a refund or doing nothing. Given that I knew her name, she was reluctant to leave me without at least some outcome. Finding a technical expert is not difficult when calling from an executive office.

• Persistence. I didn’t give up, especially when my initial calls went unanswered. I used each unsatisfactory result as a stepping stone and evidence of my best intentions during the next conversation. My attempt to work within the system even when it failed me paved the way to support from others to help me get my number back.

Selecting a Mobile Payment Partner

Staff — Sat, 01 Jul 2017 15:39:01 +0000

Tips to select a mobile credit card processing partner.

Using a phone to accept credit cards online has become one of the most important revolutions in financial technology in the past two to three decades. Processing payments from a mobile device has made it easier to service the customer whenever he or she is ready to buy, and allows for faster checkout speed too. Still, investing in mobile processing isn’t a simple matter. This guide will help you determine which payment processors offer the best benefits to you and your business.

Selecting a Partner

You’ll quickly find that you have many options for online credit processing, from banks to technology startups. Your best choice will be the partner who provides a comprehensive solution to the unique challenges your business faces, along with affordable rates and efficient service. Also keep in mind that banks rely on middlemen, so they may not be the most affordable option, even if they feel like the most reliable one.

Functionality is another concern. With new plug-in technology, merchant credit card processing is now possible on your iPhone, Android or tablet.

Security is Key

Any payment processor is going to need heavy-duty security if your customers are to feel comfortable using it. You’ll need encryption that will obfuscate the information from the payer and the payee, and a secure method to transfer that data. More retail businesses are using encrypted card readers to prevent unauthorized access to this precious data.

Without that security, your customer information is constantly at risk.

Instant Background Check Information Gathering

Staff — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 10:41:21 +0000

Article Written by : Avoid Debts

Today we do not know who anyone really is. Doing any kind of business with anyone is risky. We have to use the tools available to us to find out if they have been in prison, whether or not they have bad credit and how bad, and many other possibilities. An instant background check is a great way to get a quick snapshot of an individual, as long as the information is accurate. This information can protect you financially and physically. So performing the check is a measure of safety to protect your well-being and that of all those involved.

In any background check you cannot count on all of the information being true. The percentage of accurate information retrieved will determine the accuracy of the report. Keep in mind that sometimes wires get crossed and you may end up with someone else’ report. This risk does not mean you not try anyway. With a little information from the individual you can verify which source of further information is more accurate.

Whether you need a tenant credit report or criminal background checks for employment, all the information must be as reliable as possible and quick. You expect a measure of processing to determine which information is solid and which has a higher rate of failure. Take the time to do a check. The big question is what to do with the information once you have it. Certainly you must use it to make a decision about whether or not to be involved with the individual. Do you tell them that you did the check and do you tell them what you found? These are questions best answered by each individual based on their conscience.

Adding a Shopping Cart Solution to your Website

Sun, 13 May 2012 02:22:27 +0000

Getting a website for your business is usually the first step in increasing your reach online. However, your website is not complete until you can actually sell your products or service online. In order to accept orders online, you will need to add a shopping cart solution to your website. There are a lot of good shopping carts to choose from and even the most basic will be fine unless you have some custom requirements.

Before looking at any shopping carts online, first make a listing of all the features you would need. For the sake of comparison, visit your competitor’s websites, and if they have shopping carts, go through the purchasing process and analyze what features they have and what might interest you. Then analyze your sales workflow and information requirements. Now you have a baseline for features.

The final requirement of your ecommerce cart should be customizability. This is because, your requirements are likely to change in the future and the last thing you want is to be stuck with a cart which cannot be upgraded or modified. You might want to add a free shipping option based on certain criteria, accept a different payment gateway for credit cards, it could be anything.

Now you can look at the cost of installation and future changes/upgrades. Put all these figures together and you will have comprehensive assessment of both your shopping cart needs and how what is available stacks up against it.

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For more information visit www.securenetshop.com

Being Your Own Boss

Staff — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 02:21:51 +0000

Article Written by : Scrumpy Jack
Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

Being your own boss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be especially when you still have to go in when you’re sick or your kids are sick. That’s happened to me more times than I can count and although I always take care of things working for yourself is really stressful on my life. I opened this place about two years ago and business is good, although to know the exact numbers I’d have to ask my wife. She’s in charge of the books and she does stuff like go to bank-card-processing.com and talk to lenders because I’m more of a people person than a numbers guy at the end of the day. We make a great team but it’s tough since we’re the only two employees and sometimes there’s more to get done than we’ve got time for! I like having my own say though, and it’s nice to think that one day we could vacation without having to ask permission but at this rate we’re a long way away from that point!

Event Seating Needs To Be Flexible, Ready On A Moment’s Notice

Staff — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:29:00 +0000

If you’re running a space that presents public events you’ve got to be aware of the many different factors you must take into consideration if you’re inviting members of the public to enter your arena, performance space or sports stadium. You are responsible for ensuring the safety of those who attend events on your site. But beyond that, you must be able to provide reasonably comfortable accommodations for the duration of their visit to your place of business.

Spectator events are more popular than ever, and it’s an increasingly challenging job to meet the expectations of those who buy a ticket to attend an event in your facility. Above and beyond requirements stipulated by fire department regulations and other safety requirements, you must provide adequate seating accommodations for the individuals who will make up the spectators in your arena.

The most elementary problem that facility manager must face is how to provide adequate seating for the number of anticipated spectators. One major hurdle that must be cleared along your path to providing excellent accommodations is the guesswork involved in seating each and every visitor who happens to come through the door. As an events manager knows, factors out of your control can greatly affect the number of spectators you must provide for on any given day. Inclement weather, for instance, will create a drop-off in attendance to any public event.

Managers must be prepared for unpredicted upticks in attendance, as well. If for some reason an unexpectedly high turnout appears at your facility you must find a way to present comfortable seating for those in attendance. Flexibility and nimble reactions are crucial when an unanticipated demand suddenly presents itself.

That’s where portable bleachers cannot only come in handy, but can be a life-saver when you must expand your seating capacity on a moment’s notice. They allow you to add or subtract from the basic footprint of seating accommodations that you provide. If more spectators turn up than you expected, a reserve unit of moveable bleachers can be wheeled in and set up in minutes. Suddenly, there’s no more seating crisis, and everyone can enjoy the event on comfort. Standing room only becomes a banished term from your vocabulary.

Bleachers serve a wonderfully utilitarian purpose because they provide instant, basic seating that is perfectly appropriate for any number of different public events. You may be sponsoring a basketball game or a night of Shakespearean theatre, and bleachers can accommodate either audience perfectly well.

Seating doesn’t need to be plush and majestically upholstered to do the job you intend it to do. It should be easy to rearrange, simple to maintain and clean, and readily available whenever you need it. Whether you’re presenting Will Shakespeare or the high school basketball team, that’s the stuff you need.

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ParknPool – the original online vendor of commercial outdoor furniture and site amenities.

Mirror, Mirror On My Wall, Are You The Fairest Of Them All?

Staff — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:26:57 +0000

Homeowners are constantly looking for new ways to improve the rooms of their homes. There’s often a great need to maximize the space that you have. That is true in all kinds of rooms, not just the ones with cramped, tight space. Certain techniques can help you overcome the crowded look a room can take on when too much furniture seems to be situated on too little floor space.

Crowded rooms are also notoriously dark and can sometimes feel gloomy. One way to improve rooms with space limitations is to knock out walls and redesign the floor plan of your house. That’s a big job that involves architects, builders, lots of lumber, plaster and hardware, and of course, a good deal of money.

Rearranging the floor plan and removing a wall that blocks incoming natural light from a window or skylight is effective, but fortunately it isn’t the only way to make positive adjustments to your living space. Another way to visually open up your rooms and distribute natural light sources more evenly throughout your rooms is to install wall mirrors.

Mirrors add new dimensions to rooms. They can transform a dark, gloomy space into one that’s bright and cheerful. They create and optical illusion of greater depth of space, and generally tend to make you feel more comfortable even when you’re in a confined space. Just look around and notice the restaurants, stores and other businesses that employ mirrored walls to open up the space and make it more attractive to customers.

Aside from their capacity to turn a small space into a larger-seeming, airy and comfortable room, mirrors themselves can add to the décor wherever they are installed. You don’t have to stick with simple, conventional flat panes of mirrored glass that are used in commercial spaces. Instead, why not get creative and discover the endless variety of frames that you can order. Frames add a finished quality to mirrors, and can be made from attractive varieties of wood with many different possible finishes.

For a more modern look you can choose chrome-plated or brushed steel frames, which will enhance the mirror’s reflective quality. If the modern look doesn’t fit in with the room you’re seeking to transform, perhaps a more traditional look will give it the well-put-together look you seek. You might also consider antique mirrors, to give your space some old-world charm.

Older mirrors can also come with a wide variety of framing styles, and you might also choose from varying kinds of glass. Some mirrors may feature decorative etching, while other may use convex mirrored glass.

The possible solutions are endless, and just about all of them will cost a lot less than rebuilding your house.

Find out more about Home Improvement Blogs.

Oval and Round Mirrors specializes in Wall Mirrors, oval mirrors, and round mirrors in many styles, finished, widths, and profiles. Find out more about us.

A Call To Bankruptcy Attorneys Can Be The Starting Point To A New Financial Life

Staff — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:24:52 +0000

Maybe you’ve been affected adversely by the economic downturn that has had the country in its group for several years. Many Americans are feeling the pinch as real estate values plummet, jobs dry up and there just isn’t as much money around as there once was.

Untold numbers of workers have been laid off from their jobs, some of which had been with the same firm for many years. Those who can find work are often accepting positions that pay a fraction of what they were used to earning in more prosperous times.

Homeowners who are paying off mortgages are often finding that they owe more on their home that they could expect to earn were they forced to sell the property. There is a large inventory of foreclosed homes that owners lost in the banking and real estate debacle that took hold in 2008 and is still pummeling the average wage earner. New home construction, which normally drives economic recovery, is also in the doldrums. With the high inventory of foreclosed properties there simply is not enough demand for newly constructed real estate.

If all of this sounds all too familiar, you may be one of the many Americans who have lost a job, a home or another essential piece of property such as a car or truck through repossession. Or perhaps you are in a position now, due to job loss or work slowdown, where you’re liable to lose your home or motor vehicle. You’re undoubtedly searching for a way to prevent your home from being foreclosed on and your car repossessed. With pressures of this magnitude creating tension in your life it’s a good idea to speak with an attorney. By doing that you’ll learn what your rights are, and what course of action you can take to minimize damage to your finances and your own wellbeing.

If you’re in the Southern California area and are seeking legal counsel on how to best handle your financial issues, you might consider telephoning a Woodland Hills bankruptcy attorney. That will be your first step on the road to finding answers to all of the questions you have about the law and your legal rights. You may also learn what you can do to curtail existing problems before they turn into a crisis.

Others in the Southern California region often find it more convenient still to speak with a Van Nuys bankruptcy attorney, also will consult with you and provide sound advice on how you can best deal with creditors and any legal claims that are being made against your property.

By taking a proactive step you’ll be back on the road to rehabilitating your financial situation, and regaining your footing to prevent any further crisis down the road.

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Blanket Advice For The Consumer Who Wants Warmth, Color And Style

Staff — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:08:11 +0000

As the days grow shorter and the seasons drift toward autumn, many will be thinking about staying warm when the cold winds begin to blow. Other than stoking the fire, the next surest way to chase away the chill is to wrap oneself in a soft, warming cover. One of the more traditional solutions many consumers will turn to are fleece throws, which have been a reliable source of insulations for an untold number of years.

For the uninitiated, fleece is the soft, attractive natural wool sheared from sheep or other animals with similar coats. The fabric that’s knitted from fleece has a soft, deep pile and can be used for its insulating properties and natural beauty in various kinds of garments, coats and boot linings, and is frequently knitted into luxuriously soft blankets and throws.

Customers who purchase throw blankets usually purchase those of medium size, which is about 3 by 5 feet, and sometimes a bit larger or smaller. One of the attractive distinguishing qualities of throws is the fringe edging that they are normally finished with. Fringe adds a special decorative touch to a blanket that many consumers find extremely attractive. Apart from its warmth, the throw blanket is frequently used as an element in home décor, especially when it is knitted with colorful patterns.

While sheep’s wool is often considered the gold-standard for throws, customers may also request this variety of decorative blanket knitted in cotton, cotton-polyester blend and rayon, which are also good insulating fabrics. Rayon tends to be less costly than cotton, however cotton is more durable and will remain in better shape after many machine washings.

Always popular with consumers regardless of the season are baby receiving blankets, which are a terrific gift for new mothers who always can use the soft, secure fabric as a swaddling blanket, during burping and diaper change. A receiving blanket can vary in size depending on the job it must do. Some are cut a bit wider than others to allow mother to tuck in the blanket for easier swaddling.

As with throws, baby blankets can be knitted for a variety of fibers, including real sheep’s wool, cotton, a cotton-synthetic blend or pure synthetics. Blankets used for daily activities such as burping and diaper change will likely be more serviceable if a cotton-synthetic blend is used because the blended fabric will stand up to repeated uses and will wash and dry easily.

Whichever fabric or fabric blend consumers choose for a throw or baby blanket, they should keep in mind that price should not be the only consideration. The look, comfort and ratio of fabric weight to insulating capacity are extremely important, as is the ease of cleaning and maintaining the material. A warming blanket is more than the insulation and color it can provide – it’s a durable investment that can bring satisfaction for many years to come.

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