Author Archive
The Google Hosting to Improve the Web Address Search
The online store will need the address of the website. The website address is like the place where the virtual customers come and do the trading with you. We can see many people that choose to shop in the online store to save more their time and energy. You still can do the other things while you shop through the internet connection. However, if you have the website address, it is necessary for you to have the good rank in the searching tools of the internet. This is to make it easy for the customers to get your address through the search engine.
The search engine website such as Google is the best website to look for the necessary website address. By only one click, you will get millions of the addresses of the certain keywords. People do not have time to search your address in the middle of these millions. Get your rank to the top search result now by getting the Google hosting assistance.
The complete information is by clicking on the website Alreadyhosting.com. You can get the explanation first and if you are interested, you can directly use the system for your website address. You will improve the website you have with the easiest way.
Exercising With Kids — Tips For Parents
Making exercise a priority is a challenge for everyone. And for parents it can be especially difficult to find time to workout because of the full plates that they often juggle. When summer arrives the juggling act becomes even more tricky with kids home from school and involved in extracurricular activities.
But, finding time for regular physical activity is so important that it should be a priority placed on your calendar, just like your kids’ softball game. A parent needs to exercise not only for themselves, but also for their kids benefit. It’s important to set a good example. If your children never see you engage in fitness or if they hear you complain about working out, then they are going to have a negative image of exercise. Let them know that you workout to stay healthy, to be strong and to have more energy and stamina (so you can keep up with them)!
The big question is how to make it a priority that fits in your schedule. Well, it’s actually easier than you may think. With a little planning you can find ways to incorporate workouts into the time you spend with your children. Regardless of what age your children are, there’s a way to find time to workout (often even with your kids)! Here are some tips based on the age of your children.
Age: Infant through pre-school
- Fit in exercise time while they are napping. Try a home exercise video, walking or jogging (if you have a treadmill), jumping rope.
- Occupy them for even 15 minutes with a video or toy while you do some toning exercises like squats and tricep dips.
- Grab your stroller and go for a brisk walk*. Or, buy a jogging stroller for more flexibility. With a jogging stroller you can walk faster, jog or even run at a fast pace. And, for veteran rollerbladers, you can even use the stroller for some skating time.
- For younger children, you can use a back carrier to transport them while walking. This can burn even more calories as the extra weight makes it more challenging.
- Turn on some music and dance together. Toddlers love dancing, especially when their parents joins in.
- Push your kid on a swing. And, after every push complete one squat.
- Use an infant carrier or bike trailer to enjoy a bike ride together.
Age: Grade School
- Try rollerblading or skating together.
- Spend an afternoon at a park with a playground, but don’t spend the whole time relaxing on the sidelines ? join in on the fun. Spend some time swinging to help workout your legs. Try making it across the monkey bars ? even just once (it’s a great upper body workout and you’ll be amazed that your kid does it with such little ease). Try some pull-ups using a bar on the playset. Do some tricep dips on a nearby park bench.
- Play catch with a ball or get a small group together for a kickball or softball game.
- Make Saturdays family bike outing day.
- Involve your kids while you strength train. Let them count your reps out loud for you and/or clock your rest time in-between sets.
- For pool outings, don’t just spend time soaking up the sun. Walk back and forth in shallow water while your kids have fun splashing about.
- On rainy days that force you inside, walk or run up and down the stairs. You might even make it a contest to see who can finish 5 complete rounds first.
Age: Teenagers
- Register for a fun run (or walk) event and spend time together training for the event.
- Purchase a family gym membership and workout together weekly.
- Play tennis or basketball together.
- Consider joining a community volleyball or softball team that includes enthusiasts of all ages.
- Don’t just sit and cheer your kids at their sporting events. Every few minutes do some walking or jumping jacks or squats.
- Implement a daily family walk each day before or after dinner.
- Work together in the yard raking leaves, planting flowers, trimming trees.
So, with all the above recommendations, you no longer have the “I’m a parent ? I don’t have time to workout” excuse. If you implement these activities for just 30 minutes three times per week, you can easily burn an extra 450 calories or more! Plus, working out sets a great example for your children that will teach them at an early age how important (and easy) it is to make physical fitness a part of daily life. Exercising with your kids also provides the extra bonus of spending quality time together.
About The Author
Lynn Bode, author and certified personal trainer, offers her services online through WorkoutsForYou.com. Workouts For You provides affordable online exercise programs to help even the busiest of people lose weight, tone-up, build muscles, increase stamina and more via the Internet. Let us guide you one-on-one through your fitness journey. Visit: http://www.workoutsforyou.com for a free sample workout.
Mandatory Credit Counseling for Those Considering Bankruptcy
Most Americans are aware of the sweeping changes in U.S. bankruptcy law that were made by Congress recently. These changes, strongly supported by the credit card industry, were designed to make it more difficult for Americans to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Federal bankruptcy code. Chapter 7 allows consumers to essentially have all of their debts wiped away by the court. While many people will still be able to file under Chapter 7, many more will have to file under Chapter 13, which requires the establishment of a repayment plan. A less publicized provision of the bankruptcy bill is the one that requires debtors who are considering filing for bankruptcy to first undergo credit counseling. What does this mean for consumers?
Actually, the details are not yet known. The law, which takes effect on October 17, 2005, does require that debtors considering bankruptcy receive credit counseling at least six months before filing for bankruptcy. The law also requires that they receive additional counseling before the case is finalized and that any agency providing counseling services must charge an undefined “reasonable fee.” Other than that, there are no details yet. The portion of the law that deals specifically with credit counseling hasn’t yet been written, and the full details are not expected to be released until mid-summer. Even those who work in the credit counseling industry do not know what will be expected of them once the law takes effect.
For consumers with problem debt, this confusion is only making a bad situation worse. In the Fall, more steps will be required of those filing for bankruptcy, but no one knows what those steps are, what they will cost, or how involved they will be. Anyone who has a current financial situation that they feel may lead to bankruptcy would be well advised to consider filing now. Bankruptcy should be considered a last resort for those with problem debt, as a bankruptcy filing will stay on a credit report for at least ten years. If bankruptcy appears inevitable, however, filing now will probably be easier, cheaper, and faster than filing after the new law takes effect in October.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing.
Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and StructuredSettlementHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding structured settlements.
Latin Dating – Beauty and Romance
Like any other society, Latin culture is one that is embedded with traditions, values and celebrations. Of all the different attributes that are associated with Latino’s, there is no question that passion and romance are considered to be two of the most intriguing.
If you are of Latin descent and are interested in seeking a relationship with another Latin man or woman, there are many ways you can go about creating the perfect romantic dating experience, that both you and your date should be able to enjoy with no strings attached.
The following are a few ideas of how you can create romance on your dates:
Dinner – Dinner is always a perfect dating choice, because you can make it as casual or romantic as you would like it to be. It all depends on where you go, and the way you act during the meal. If you are interested in being romantic at dinner, listen intently to what your date has to say, take his or her hand from across the table, look them in the eyes and be honest when you express yourself. However, you should keep in mind that romance can be interpreted as an invitation to sex, or even make the other person feel uncomfortable if they are interested in taking it slow. Therefore, be a tasteful romantic and know when to draw the line. For although you want to capture your date’s interest, you don’t want to make them feel uncomfortable in the process.
Dancing – Dancing is a great way for you to have fun, while still getting to know and remaining close to your date. Going to a club, or attending Latin dancing is how you can keep the romance freely escalating without having any further expectations hanging in the air.
Walking – You would be surprised to discover the power behind a nice leisurely walk. There is something truly magical about making nature apart of your date. Although not everyone is fortunate enough to have a beach close to them, there is sure to be parks, waterfronts and old fashioned neighbourhoods awaiting your footsteps. Holding hands and talking on an evening stroll, watching the sunset in silence, and gazing up at the stars, are just some of the ways you can use simple beauty to add to the romantic atmosphere of your date.
Due to the fact that traditions are an important part of Latin culture, dating someone of your same ethnic background is usually a plus when it comes to family relations, especially if you are interested in perusing a serious relationship with your dating partner.
Nevertheless, despite your dating intentions, there are many ways you can make your dating experience a beautiful time that you can truly enjoy who knows where a little romance can take you.
Frank Duru is the author of many different articles but his works concentrate much on dating related information,. such as “When it comes to Multicultural Dating The Most Important Ingredient is Love”, “Religious Dating – Traditions and Values”. Find More Articles at Our Interracial Love Community.
Customer First Customer Service
The world of customer service is rapidly changing. Thirty years ago, telephones and mail services were the norm for most companies. Now, faxes, email and web sites offer more options to customers than they’ve ever had before. It takes a dedicated team to keep loyal customers coming back and new clients coming in.
Customer Service is about that ultimate contact between people. It’s about a potential or existing customer/client walking away with the intent of buying your product either for the first time or again. Employees make countless decisions every day that directly or indirectly affect customers and strengthen or weaken your company’s reputation and bottom line.
Forging lasting relationships with customers leads to long-term loyalty and referrals. The bottom line is that excellent customer service may be the most important factor in improving a company’s bottom line.
Customer Service is about offering solutions that are best for each customer. As a company, you need to offer every option available—addressing everything that’s important to each customer. Focus on each customer as if he were the only customer.
Everyone at your company can work together to turn customer responses into key performance indicators by:
? Giving the customer confidence. When they speak out about a concern, you address it within a reasonable amount of time (call back before the end of the day or tomorrow with their answer).
? Giving the customer specifics. Tell them exactly what you are doing or going to do and when (I’m going to research the invoice and will call you back within an hour).
? Fulfill your promise. Fulfill it within the period given at your initial customer contact.
? Be reliable. Deliver what the customer ordered, when they want it (ask the customer to be sure!) and make sure it’s delivered at the price agreed to.
Every employee plays an important role in fulfilling each customer’s needs:
1. Buyers/Purchasing Agents — maintain and replenish the inventory at the best prices possible, making sure you have in stock what all your customers want/need.
2. Distribution Center/Warehouse Personnel — receive the product, verify quantity and condition and put the product away in the right location so the pickers/pullers/stockers can easily and accurately find the product and package/load the product for delivery? in some cases placing the right stops in the right order on a delivery truck.
3. Drivers/Delivery Personnel — delivers the product, with little to no damage, finds the correct items for each customer easily and efficiently. They also resolve any customer issues at the time of delivery (calling the center/home office/plant to resolve any billing issues or product issues, or replace damaged items at no additional cost to the customer).
4. Sales Support/Customer Service — takes the customer orders, ensure the prices are correct and deliveries are scheduled for the correct days and times.
5. Sales Consultant/Team/Person — works one-on-one with the customer, taking their orders, making sure they are offered new items, resolving issues and adding new customer accounts.
6. Management Team/Owner(s) —- provide any and all support to their employees to ensure the customers needs are met as promised. They provide a working environment that stimulates employees to be proactive, productive and pro-company?these all lead to happy customers both internal and external.
What will make your company stand out? over and above?other companies? How responsible, responsive and timely are you meeting your customers needs? The customer doesn’t want to know what it took to get his product there and he doesn’t want to hear excuses why his product and/or delivery were delayed. He ordered and expects delivery as promised, so he can go about his business without enduring any inconvenience whatsoever.
The customer understands the importance of measuring their own performance, so they are going to require that the people servicing them—YOU—understand their needs at a much higher level.
Partner with your customers, to provide not only products but also knowledge, expertise, follow-up and execution.
For these and other reasons, all company employees—including management and owners—must have good manners?publicly, on the phone or through email, letters or notes. You must also be accurate and neat and willing to ‘go the extra mile’. It’s important that the customer ‘feels good’. Sometimes a simple gesture?being friendly or simply smiling both in person and over the phone does the trick.
Friendliness costs nothing and requires little effort but is worth millions when it comes to building long-term lasting relationships with customers that lead to ongoing loyalty and endless referrals. Friendliness is, by far, the most important factor in improving a company’s bottom line. Besides—it’s contagious!
What it boils down to is this: What a customer likes the most about any company/distributor isn’t their computers?it’s their employees!
Not only do the employees represent the company, when they contact prospective and current customers/clients, they are the company. How each employee performs reflects directly on what people think of your company overall.
In summary, satisfy your customer and you satisfy your bottom line.
F. McDuffee has been specially trained by one of the masters of copy— Michael Masterson —through The American Writers & Artists Institute. As The Words Turn© will provide creative copy that will entice new and rebuild established relationships—leading to repeat business.
Hire an experienced writer… one who will eliminate the wastebasket potential of your marketing materials. Visit As The Words Turn© for more information on services available.
CEM Can Improve Customer Loyalty
‘A 5 percent increase in customer retention increases profits by 25 to 95 percent.’
‘The greater the loyalty of customers, employees, suppliers, and shareholders, the greater the profits reaped .’
This is the received wisdom from experts on the nature and importance of customer loyalty. Yet in a world of product and service commoditization and as the timelag between imitations to innovation declines, how can organizations differentiate themselves to build loyalty?
The answer lies with Customer Experience Management creating the ‘emotional responses and connections with products and brands tha are difficult to build in any other way’ . In effect marketing is not just concerned with the uniqueness of the 4 Ps and more focused on the way customers feel about you through the emotions evoked by the customer experience. Need this be surprising, or is this long overdue? after all a dictionary definition of loyalty refers to it as a ‘feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection’ .
Looking at the evidence from the services sector, the Market Metrix hotel index demonstrates this link between loyalty ‘emotions’, customer satisfaction and price premiums elicited by the ‘experience of hotel products and services’.
‘Guests who experience the loyalty emotions at midscale hotels feel these emotions and they will pay on average $10 more. If they do not feel these emotions, they will pay only about $3 more’
A recent Gallup survey further found that:
‘Over a one month period shoppers whom were emotionally connected to a supermarket spent 46 percent more than shoppers who were satisfied but lacked an emotional bond’
For the New York supermarket Wegmans this emotional bond is reflected in the customer experience with well cared for employees at the frontline treating Wegmans consumers in a better and friendlier manner.
Managing the customer experience to achieve the correct emotional response for loyalty involves more than the right price or the right product and don’t expect satisfaction alone to be enough. For instance, delight and anger have been noted as emotions that may link better with understanding customer emotions and loyalty.
So look at your whole customer experience and ask the question, what emotions are you evoking and will these be valuable, detrimental or could they be reengineered in such a way as to promote a loyalty inducing experience.
By Colin Shaw
Beyond Philosophy ©
Research Reference
Frederick Reicheld
Trends in the Experience and Service Economy, Professor Voss, 2004,
www.dictionary.com
Evoking Emotion, Barsky and Nash, 2002
The Price of Loyalty, National Petroleum News, March 2005
Schneider and Bowen, Sloan Management Review, 1999
Colin Shaw
is the Founding Partner of Beyond Philosophy and guru of the Customer Experience Management. He has also produced two most successful books on customer experience which are now available in market. His first book, Building Great Customer Experiences sold out within just eight weeks, is on a third reprint and available in paperback. Colin’s second book, Revolutionize Your Customer Experience released in September 2004 and considered as Bible in Customer managment business world.
Whats For Lunch?
As an entrepreneur, I’m always intrigued by small businesses, home-based or not, that exceed the expectations of their customers in a big way.
Let me tell you about one of them.
Recently I spent some time with my daughter in her college town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We were spending the day getting her apartment ready for her return to school in the fall. When it was time for lunch, she wanted to take me to a restaurant in the small town of Northport, just to the north of Tuscaloosa.
Northport is one of those typical southern small towns whose downtown area has been converted into a delightfully quaint shopping area. Central to it is a restaurant called City Cafe.
What an experience.
We arrived at the location at 11:30 a.m. Typically I like going to restaurants for lunch at that time so that one can “beat the rush.” I commented on this to my daughter before we arrived; she just laughed.
When we walked in, I understood why. I faced a room with
Like visitors to Disney World, we automatically took our place at the end of the line. Then I began to look toward the front of the line and realized that it continued on into another room (which I couldn’t see). So I asked my daughter, “where is the FRONT of this line?”
Her response – “you’ll see.”
Sheesh!
So I began to look around at the diners surrounding me. Their plates were piled high with what can only be described as “down home Southern cooking.” And the diners themselves? A quick glance around the room told me that this establishment attracted customers from every walk of life. At this moment, however, they all had one thing in common – the serious business of eating.
Meanwhile, the aroma was making my mouth water. So I turned my attention back to the ultimate end of the line. When would I have my turn?
About 15 minutes later we made our way to the next room. It was there I discovered that the front of the line ended at the doorway between this room and yet ANOTHER room. Both of these rooms had two rows of booths on either side. I didn’t count them, but my estimate is about six on each side of the room, making about 24 booths in total. They could sit as many as four to a booth.
I looked around for a hostess; there was none. Then I began to understand the system; you waited in line with your party, and when someone got up from one of these booths, you just went and sat down. Period.
The waitress appeared at our table almost instantaneously, cleared off the previous diners’ plates, wiped the table, and took our drink orders. Actually, what she said was, “Tea?” And you’re an idiot if you order anything else. It’s important to note here that if you order tea anywhere in the Deep South, it is understood that it comes iced and sweetened. If you want it any other way, you’d better tell them that.
Time to check out the menu. It was at this time I realized that City Cafe operates five days a week only – Monday through Friday. The lunch menu consisted of your choice of entree and/or vegetables which you chose from the list for that particular day of the week. The price of the meal was determined by the number of vegetables and entrees you chose.
This was Tuesday; my choices included fried green tomatoes. Who was I to pass this up? Beef tips with rice and steamed squash rounded out my meal, but I could just as easily have chosen from a dozen other tempting selections. It was tough to pass up the fried okra and steamed cabbage (my daughter chose the cabbage along with chicken-fried steak), but I was pleased with my meal. Dinner rolls and cornbread were, of course, provided as well.
And the tea? Try drinking it to the bottom of the glass – won’t happen at City Cafe. It’s another person’s job to make sure of that.
The price for both our meals? I spent $10.75 – but $3.00 of that was a tip. No kidding. She and I had dined at a well-known restaurant chain the night before and the tip for that meal was the same as the price of the City Cafe meal itself.
Guess which one I enjoyed the most?
About The Author
Cathy Bryant’s newsletter, HomeBizJunction Herald, has just entered its fourth year of publication. Subscribe today by visiting her website, http://www.homebizjunction.com, and you will benefit from her practical, no-nonsense information on how YOU can achieve your dream of working from home!
Student Credit Cards
STUDENT CREDIT CARDS
With graduate debt averaging over £12,000, the ability to spread the cost of further education using a student credit card is obviously attractive. Adding to their appeal is the fact that these cards are relatively easy to obtain. Unlike many standard credit cards, they are available to people who do not have a regular, minimum income and credit history. They often come with tempting offers including low rates for an introductory period, shopping discounts and free CDs. Flexing student plastic has the additional benefit of creating a credit history that can be used to support future loan and mortgage applications.
So, with no regular income and credit history, what exactly is the attraction of students for the credit card companies? Well, the fact that graduates can expect to earn, on average, £400,000 more over their lifetime than the national average, means that financial institutions are eager to attract this extra earning potential. Banks and credit card providers know that the general public are reluctant to go through the hassle of changing accounts, so by attracting students early in their career, they are likely to stay with them for life.
Student credit cards can have drawbacks. If balances are not paid off in full each month, most cards aimed at students notch up higher interest charges than their regular counterparts. These additional charges often cancel out the benefits of store discounts or free CDs. Credit cards aimed at those in further education may not attract the useful bonuses that regular plastic does, for example air miles, cash back on purchases and interest-free periods.
Credit cards aren’t free money. Flashing plastic creates a debt that must be managed alongside the repayment of tuition fees, bank overdraft and student loan repayments. Handled well, a student will benefit in the future from a good credit rating. Managed poorly, students may end up with a bad history that will adversely affect subsequent credit applications.
It’s also important to note that some standard credit cards do not require the holder to have a minimum regular income or credit history. Students working part time and holiday jobs may earn enough to apply for a range of standard cards. So, it is important for students to check out all suitable credit card deals, not just the ones aimed at people in further education.
A little research before signing on the dotted line can really pay off. By taking the time to compare the deals available on all suitable credit cards, interest repayments can be minimised and the benefits of holding a card maximised. And that really is good news for students.
Please click here for more information of student credit cards available for the UK
Phil Edwards is a Business analyst in the city of London, freelance writer for several finance magazines and websites and co-owner of http://www.1st-uk-credit-cards.co.uk and http://www.1st-uk-loans.co.uk.
