Blog

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Customer Service

I recently read the blog of a good friend of mine discussing how important good customer service is and how we as consumers can make better choices with our money to support the places that deserve our money.  While reading her remarks, it occurred to me that we are all in a customer service position of one kind or another even if we are not directly in the service industry.

I am an accountant and I work for an HVAC installer.  Technically I am overhead.  I don’t make any money directly for the company by selling our services.  However, I am part of the “face” of the company.  Anytime our receptionist cannot figure out who should get the call, it is forwarded to me.  I have a unique opportunity to make a good impression for the customer.  I could easily say it is not my department, not my job, or something else equally as lazy, but I try and understand exactly what it is they are looking for, give them the direct line and name of the person that can help them best and try to get them connected.  If all else fails, I’ll get their name and number and get back to them with 24 hours.

I also have a lot of contact with our customers and vendors.  In any business, we all need certain information to get our job done.  I know exactly which of my vendors can deliver and which don’t.  The same with the customers.  I make every effort to be the type of contact I am looking for, meaning if someone needs information, they’ll have it from me in 24 hours, or a really good explanation why I cannot deliver.  In this tight economy, there are many other businesses that do what we do, many may even be cheaper.  There is nothing you can do for the person who is just shopping for a bargain, but you can make a huge impact for those businesses looking for a company that is responsive to their needs.

We are all in the service industry.  Each day we make an impression on customers and vendors.  Better to make sure it is a positive one.

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Software switchover…nearing the end

Back in May of last year, I started looking for new enterprise software for my company.  By July, I had narrowed it down to a few contenders.  By November, I had narrowed the field even further and management gave me the final say in who we would go with.  The check was cut and the planning began.

I have been through software changeovers before, but usually at the end or near the go live date.  I knew it would be a challenge, but I have taken a beating.  The endless meetings, deciding what to change or keep the same, finding the software does not do things you thought it did, battling the resistance of people who do not want to change, etc.  It is all coming to a climax.  April was suppose to be our original go live date, but got pushed back because we just were not ready.  May is the new time set and so far it is a still on.  I have busy few  weeks ahead of me as I move info from on system to another.

This whole project has been almost too much.  It has been overwhelming.  I already do much of the work in the accounting dept and had to add on a much greater load with the software changeover.  I am thankful that management has been so supportive and that the team involved has worked so diligently to get through issues.  I look forward to the next post where I get to say how successful the changeover was and thank a bunch of people.

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Stupid Netflix

A while back I was able to watch Netflix instantly on my computer with no trouble.  Then they got into bed with the devil (Microsoft) and now everything is done on the Silverlight platform.  Every video is choppy and unwatchable.  I have tried to contact Netflix, but you just get stuck in an endless loop of click-a-button that gets you nowhere.  So in my frustration, they get a nastygram through my rarely read blog.

Netflix, stop fucking with me.  I know you have a monopoly right now, but so did Blockbuster and look where they went after ignoring customers.  Get a better platform.

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End of an Era

I wrote earlier about selling the last of my comic collection.  Today I am mailing out the last set.  I tried multiple ways of selling including going to a local comic swap, posting the entire collection on Craigslist and finally putting the books in 6-10 book lots and selling them on eBay.  The swap netted me about $80, though I practically gave some great books away.  I got one nibble from Craigslist to buy the collection (700 books) for $400.  That is a steal at about $0.57 per books that sell for $3-4 not to mention older collectables worth many times more.  In the end, selling on eBay after all the fees, I netted slightly more with a whole lot more hassle. 

I was asked if I was at least a little sad to be selling the collection I had worked so hard to put together.  At first it was a littler hard, but it got a lot easier as I stared at the stack of boxes I had no intention of opening.  Whatever I might have lost in the buying and selling process I made up for by enjoying the books I had, getting a little money back and gain a lot more space.

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My Little Space on the Web

Many, if not most, of us who access the internet on a regular basis have accumulated a number of sites we visit and profiles to maintain. After a while our digital selves are scattered all over the place. Like a chaotic home or work environment, this can cause us stress. Sites we never have time to look at call to us. Profiles we need to manage also need attention. We need to get our digital house in order, decide who we are out there and get rid of things that are not central to those goals.

The first thing I did was go through my bookmarks and see what all I had. I had signed up for various social and other sites I thought sounded interesting at the time. I collected and bookmarked the areas I felt were important to keep. The rest, I deleted my profiles and accounts.

During this process I decided who I was presenting. You can be who you want and present your best. It was a good exercise that has had a little overlap with the physical me.

To gather my digital self together, I decided to get my own domain name. You can find me at www.justjames.us. Surprisingly, to me at least, .com, .net, .org, etc were all taken. You can register the name you want and many sites. I started at godaddy.com since it was so well known, but in my search for where to host that site, I came across 1and1.com which let’s you register and host cheaper than many others.

Running your own website is not as hard or expensive as you might think. I am using 1and1.com to host my site since it is simple and economical. Creating the pages was as simple as typing a text document. Putting the site up was a little trickier and took some trial and error but once I understood it, getting it out there was a breeze.

So, this is how I’ll present myself to the world at large and keep different areas of my digital self in one place.

Update:  Did you notice the name on the Blog?  www.jamesthegeneralist.com is mine.

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Morning

I am at the Starbucks on Euless Main and 183. I have to specify since there is also one near me close to Home Depot on Industrial and 183. I prefer the one I at since they smile and don’t act like I’m a burden interupting their day.

For today’s trip I had an empty Starbucks bag as payment for my coffee and a leftover giftcard for my sandwich. Total bill: $0.63 cents, plus a dollar tip. Oh frugality.

I walked here this morning since my kitchen is a wreck and I did not want to mess with it. So, I having a relaxing moment with my phone and a hot cup-a-joe. Ah…bliss.
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’70s Apple D

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Taken with picplz.

This is my bear.  He’s been hanging with me for about 30 years.  He’s survived many moved and a devastating ferret attack  After extensive repairs (one of the reasons my wife married me) he is as good as new.  He’s pictured here in an outfit we have in common, t-shirt and beer pants.