thesoapboxblog.com

It is six days before Christmas. It is the time of year in which we should be thinking about the birth of Christ, the giving of thanks, and the gift of giving. It is a time for joy and happiness. It is a time about friendships and family. It is about time.

Every year we are reminded about time. Time does pass us by faster as we age. It is during this time we need to remind ourselves that we can not get time back and that we need to enjoy our lives fo the fullest - as if each day was near the last.

This is not a time about worries, debts and fears. I truely believe that when you think about those things, they come back to you ten fold. It is a time when we should be grateful for the things we have and for thing to come. It is also a time for when we need to be thankful for the time we have used already, because it has made us who we are now.

Over the years of working in public service and dealing with people on personal levels, I have noticed a trend starting to emerge. This trend is that people are pulling away from old traditions and beliefs. Not religious ones, but standards ones such as the one in which we were told, go to school, get a good job, have a family, buy a home, work until you retire, pay off your home…wait for god to take you. I know that is a little extreme how I put it, but in reality, it was the truth. That was how many people spent their time.

Now-a-days, you are seeing people making different choices - a choice to live life on a different level. Using their time in a different way. People are having to find new careers 2 to 5 times in their lifetime. This is due to downsizing, stocks, and poor business management. It also could be contributed to outsourcing of our American jobs. There are many factors as to why, but people are having to start over more often and begin to look at different avenues.

Many people are beginning to leave corporate america and go to work for themselves. They say that every 9 seconds a person buys a website domain for the purpose of a home business. The American people are realizing that with the technology change and change of industries, they need to take matters into their own hands. They do not rely on a guy in charge up stairs to ensure they have a solid future in the company…because anymore, no body matters. It’s all about the bottom dollar.

I respect those that take chances and try to better themselves. They are no longer puppets. They have chosen to spend their time the way they see fit. All in all, I wish everyone had more time.

So this holiday season, if you are working 60 hours or not at all - I hope you take the time to look back and see where you spent your time. It is your life - spend it how it makes you happy - enjoy your life and dream big. Be happy for the life you have
and be thankful for the life to come. You deserve it - we all do.

Happy Holidays.

Dale

I recently finished reading a report from Rich Schefren. The report, “Attention Age Doctrine - Part 2, Web Marketing 2.0″ was released after Schefren was encouraged to do so from his friend and well known Marketer, Jay Abraham. Schefren was basically a no name until only a few months ago. He was a successful businessman making millions in the poker and clothing industries. After those successes, he moved on to create a new website for business marketing opportunities called, Strategic Profits.com.

I have to admit, it was an interesting read. If you are involved in any type of internet marketing or social networking, reading this report will give you an edge on the main stay. You can get your copy at the end of this post. The report talks about many different aspects of networking using the internet, but it also give insights as to where the internet was to where it is going. There are some great stats about advertising and the changes in the media, all because of the influences of the social networking market. Many companies began using social networking to market their product years ago. It seems like overnight the word of mouth advertising boom took place, just as the “dot.com” era did. Even I have discussed this amongst my peers a few years ago. The simple fact that people no longer have personal social skills, but do have computer social skills. This is evident by some of the emails that are constantly sent around the world. People believe what they read or are told by another social internet friend. Take for instance the emails about if you send the email to so many friends - Bill Gates will send you a check. We believe what someone else sent us - even though it is too far fetched to be true.

Now take this report and the terms Schefren has coined, Attention Age and Web Marketing 2.0. Without giving the reports content away here, I will mention that he does have some strong points about our attention span or lack of it and how it pertains to our internet actions. We are bombarded with an overload of information daily. It now has become our brains task to determine what we will not pay attention to. Notice I said NOT pay attention to, not what we will pay attention to. We spend more time now kicking out information than looking for information. We are overloaded. Knowing this, Schefren points us towards a different process in marketing just about anything. The hypes, media ads and email marketing is out. The social networking marketing is in. You already know what they are, or you should. They are the sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Diggs, You tube and so forth. If you don’t have a site set up in one of these, you should.

If you are a novice at Marketing and need to learn how to get your site listed on the Internet Social Highway…I will suggest one company that not only works at putting your site out in many blogs and so forth, they teach you how to do this yourself as well. This company is called Molten Marketing - using them will give the beginner an edge when it comes to blogging, article submissions and getting your name heard and ranked in google.

Schefren report is a quick read, however, if you take some notes, you will come away with the fact that you need to change your way of thinking when it comes to how the world looks for products and services. He has taken the techniques of the well known Guru’s such as Mike Filsaime, Jeff Walker, John Reese and of course, Jay Abraham, and put a unique twist on marketing to the world. I truely enjoyed his examples of how one post on a blog could shut down a major company. Why do you think I posted about Customer Service on this site.

The last point I would note about this report, is that he has a goal at the end and that is to make money. This is what he is teaching, do what I do and make money. Not everyone will follow, many will not even try, but those that do, should learn enough to help them one step further to their financial freedom.

You may download the report at Strategic Profits blog site on the report….here!

Good luck on your success!

Sorry, but you’ll have to laugh at this, simply because we all know people that would do this!

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In rural Carbon County, PA, a group of men were drinking beer and discharging firearms from the rear deck of a home owned by Irving Michaels, age 27. The men were firing at a raccoon that was wandering by, but the beer apparently impaired their aim and, despite of the estimated 35 shots the group fired, the animal escaped into a 3-foot diameter drainage pipe some 100 feet away from Mr. Michaels deck. Determined to terminate the animal, Mr. Michaels retrieved a can of gasoline and poured some down the pipe, intending to smoke the animal out. After several unsuccessful attempts to ignite the fuel, Michaels emptied the entire 5-gallon fuel can down the pipe and tried to ignite it again, to no avail. Not one to admit defeat by wildlife, the determined man proceeded to slide feet-first approximately 15 feet down the sloping pipe to toss the match. The subsequent
fireball propelled Mr. Michaels back the way he had come, though at a much higher rate of speed. He exited the angled pipe “like a Polaris missile leaves a submarine,” according to witness Joseph McFadden, 31. Mr. Michaels was launched directly over his own home, right over the heads of his astonished friends, onto his front lawn. In all, he traveled over 200 feet through the air. “There was a Doppler Effect to his scream as he flew over us,” McFadden reported, “Followed by a loud thud.” Amazingly, he suffered only
minor injuries. “It was actually pretty cool,” Michaels said, “Like when they shoot someone out of a cannon at the circus. I’d do it again if I was sure I wouldn’t get hurt.”

This post has not been confirmed true or false - take it as it is. I will post these when I find them.

Supposely this is a true story. In reading it, I believe it to be true. This is how we operate in the world today…….

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In March 1992 a man living in Newtown near Boston Massachusetts received a bill for his as yet unused credit card stating that he owed $0.00. He ignored it and threw it away.

In April he received another and threw that one away too. The following month the credit card company sent him a very nasty note stating they were going to cancel his card if he didn’t send them $0.00 by return of post. He called them, talked to them, they said it was a computer error and told him they’d take care of it.

The following month he decided that it was about time that he tried out the troublesome credit card figuring that if there were purchases on his account it would put an end to his ridiculous predicament. However, in the first store that he produced his credit card in payment for his purchases he found that his card had been cancelled. He called the credit card company who apologized for the computer error once again and said that they would take care of it.
The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating that payment was now overdue. Assuming that having spoken to the credit card company only the previous day the latest bill was yet another mistake he ignored it, trusting that the company would be as good as their word and sort the problem out. The next month he got a bill for $0.00 stating that he had 10 days to pay his account or the company would have to take steps to recover the debt. Finally giving in he thought he would play the company at their own game and mailed them a check for $0.00. The computer duly processed his account and returned a statement to the effect that he now owed the credit card company nothing at all. A week later, the man’s bank called him asking him what he was doing writing a check for $0.00. After a lengthy explanation the bank replied that the $0.00 check had caused their check processing software to fail. The bank could not now process ANY checks from ANY of their customers that day because the check for $0.00 was causing the computer to crash. The following month the man received a letter from the credit card company claiming that his check had bounced and that he now owed them $0.00 and unless he sent a check by return of post they would be taking steps to recover the debt.

The man, who had been considering buying his wife a computer for her birthday, bought her a typewriter instead.

As I sit here looking at this page that I want to write on, I realize that over the past couple of days I have been wandering around this world slowly shaking my head in amazement. I wonder if I was actually shaking my head physically for people to see, or if I was just doing it in my mind? Either way, the reason is just the same……what is wrong with this society these days? Yes, the list will be long and we can touch on that another time. Right now, I’m talking about good old customer service.

With the holiday season fast approaching, this topic is more than appropriate. You see, in my world of life, I was taught that if you provide a service or a product, you provide customer service behind that service our product. Sounds simple to me. I am afraid that over the past several years, the “customer service skill” has been slowly being diminished. I am sure there are many factors that contributed to this problem, but really, what is behind all of this?

Let me give you an example. I will try to keep this as short as I can and still give you the background needed. Recently I went shopping for a new living room set. It has been a few years since I have bought a higher end funiture set, but it has to be realtively easy, right? Wrong! From the time I found a set that I wanted to purchase at a well known name brand store to the time I finally received my last piece was nothing but poor customer service skills in action. I was told one thing, received another. I knew things were bad when I was informed that if you have a problem with your furniture or delivery, you have to call an 800 number and speak to Customer Care. Do you know what Customer Care is to this organization? Something to the affect of, “I’m sorry sir, but you will just have to wait!” This after being told 3 different delivery dates. The funny thing is I ordered the furniture because I was told it should be in before a specific date that I neeed it by. I guess I was suppose to go without my furniture until they were damn well and ready to give it to me even through they had my money in their bank. Not one person even tried to offer another solution or even try to appease me in the least bit after waiting 2 1/2 months for something that was suppose to be made to order and in stock in 3 weeks.

The worst thing about it, the assistant manager actually enticed me to purchase the 7 pieces from them by telling he would throw in a $50 gift card. After not getting the card and having to remind them, I receive a letter in the mail telling me that the letter was in place of the gift card and that “he would ask” that I use this $50.00 letter on a purchase of $500 or more. What the? Like I’m going to buy something from them again. Now if that is not back peddling, I do not know what is.

After being disconnected by Customer Care three times and having to go to the store three times, when I (yes, I had to bring this up) finally suggested that I get the floor model, the manager did not even offer to give me a discount for my troubles.

It tells me how major companies really do not care about the customer, but only the bottom dollar. We have become a throw away society. We throw cars away. We throw tons of garbage away (remember when grandma saved aluminum foil?). We now throw customers away, because another sucker comes along every minute. I worked in retail from my 16th birthday until I was 20. Then I worked in public service for another 16 years. I was given customer service training up the ying yang. I really do not believe that happens anymore. I guess I really should not be shocked…..look at the way a lot of the kids treat parents now a days. Our teachers and t.v. raise them, and the police are now the disclipine ones. There is no respect. That’s another subject all together.

Anyhow…the next time you get treated poorly at a store, don’t feel bad. It seems to be the way of the world. Here’s your fries sir….now get out.

Well, I for one will not stand it. If a company can not realize the poor service they offer, then we need to stand up and speak out.

Are you thinking of buying new furniture. If you are, I would suggest you check here before you go shopping.

Service with a smile…..have a nice day!