Amazon Offers Sanity to Parents

As the holidays approach and we being to purchase all those cute little toys for our children, so begins the frustration as well. If you’re a parent, I know you know what I mean.

There you are sitting with your family around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. You children begin to open their presents one by one…while you have an arsenal of hand tools within reach so you can spend the next 30 minutes disassembling the box, the hard plastic clamshell casings, plastic bindings and wire ties…just so your little one can actually begin playing with their new toy. In fact, after about the third one, you may even begin to experience wrap rage, a dangerous heightened level of anger, frustration and violence resulting from the inability to open hard-to-remove packaging according to  Wikipedia. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up people! I have personally experienced wrap rage over the past three years of my daughter’s life.

Enter Amazon and its amazing Frustration-Free Packaging efforts. This is seriously, in my opinion, the best thing since sliced bread. Not only is the frustration-free packaging recyclable, but it was designed to be opened without scissors, a knife, a box cutter, or even a jackhammer. And of course it won’t damage your product or, in some cases, won’t send you to the emergency room with cuts, bruises, sprains or other bodily injuries. Merry Christmas to all!

So kudos to Amazon for recognizing this parental problem and doing something that actually makes a difference. I for one would welcome frustration-free packaging into my home any day and hope to see more of this in the future.

Why Are Virtual Assistants So Happy and Upbeat?

A couple of days ago I had a phone consultation with a potential client who I would love to work with. He is my ideal client on so many levels. During the consultation—which lasted almost 1 1/2 hours—we got to know each other and discussed his marketing needs among other things. I know, I know. I’m sure there are some jaws dropping out there in the VA world because so many VAs advertise free 30-minute consultations, but personally, I don’t care whether it takes 10 minutes or 2 hours to discuss my prospects’ needs. It takes as long as it takes in order to fully understand my prospects’ businesses, where they’ve been, where they want their businesses to go, what I can do for them to make that happen, and if each is a client that I truly want to work with. I would rather know that the prospect and I are compatible, both in our personalities and in how we would work together, as opposed to taking on clients who obviously aren’t a good fit. It would be a waste of their time as well as mine if I were to learn the ins and outs of their businesses over a period of time, only to part ways due to things I could have recognized if I’d just taken the time in the beginning. Personally, I’m an “in it for the long haul” kind of girl.

During the course of our conversation, the potential client mentioned that he was talking to several other VAs who provide marketing services (to be expected, of course) and that he was really impressed with the virtual assistance industry as a whole. He went on to say that everyone he had spoken to thus far seemed very happy and upbeat. Read more

Ultimate Guide to Productivity: A Tip That Worx

I’ve been tagged! One of my very good and long-standing clients, Gillian Hood-Gabrielson of Healthier Outcomes, has tagged me once again. The last time she tagged me, I didn’t have a chance to participate because I was busy launching two new products: a resource site for the virtual assistance industry and a series of books I wrote with Jaime Lee Mann of Mann Made Time. As you can imagine, these projects took every spare second of my time, and then some. I didn’t want to miss out on this topic, although it is a little late. But better late than never, right?

The topic for this tag is favorite productivity tips, which was started by Ben Yoskovitz at the Instigator Blog. I have to admit that I haven’t been as productive as usual for the past few months, so this will be a hard one for me, especially after just returning from a much-needed vacation. I’m very good at helping my clients get organized and get things done, but lately I’ve had a harder time getting MY stuff done! My business has grown so much—and I’m certainly not complaining—but I often find it hard to keep up because I’ve taken on too much or overextended myself, even after adding several subcontractors to my team. For months I have been searching for that perfect system which will allow me to communicate with my team members and clients in a cohesive environment, and nothing seems to fit the bill. I am now testing yet another system and have high hopes that this will be THE ONE! Read more

Part 2: Customer Service Gone Good

In Part 1: Customer Service Gone Bad, I recounted an experience that I think is a prime example of poor customer service. If you missed Part 1, click here. Now that you’ve read the first part of my story, we can continue with the rest of the story.

After I left the clinic where my non-existent appointment was scheduled, I immediately phoned the emergency room where I was initially treated. You’ll remember the nurse referred me to Dr. Davis. I recapped the treatment I received at the emergency room, the follow-up, the referral and what happened when I arrived for my appointment that morning. I asked them to please refer me to another doctor because I would not return to Dr. Davis or that facility. The nurse I spoke to was extremely apologetic about my experience and immediately gave me the name and number of another orthopedic doctor. I thanked her and immediately called to schedule an appointment with the new doctor.

I explained to the new doctor’s office that I was referred by the emergency room and needed an appointment as soon as possible. It had been six weeks since my injury. She asked me a few questions about the injury, my name and insurance information and then, why I waited six weeks to seek treatment. I, of course, explained what had happened and she immediately asked me if it was Dr. Davis’s office. She mentioned this wasn’t the first time she had heard of problems with Dr. Davis and the facility where she works. This did not surprise me, and of course just confirmed my decision to go elsewhere. Obviously Dr. Davis and this facility do not have the best reputation.

My new doctor’s receptionist said she could get me in at 9 am on Monday and I was shocked! I took the appointment and thanked her for getting me in so quickly. I was just grateful I didn’t have to wait weeks – again. I remarked that I couldn’t believe the terrible service I had received at the other facility and the total disregard they had for people’s schedules as I had taken time off work and disrupted my family’s entire schedule to go to the appointment. She then asked where I was at that moment. I told her and then she put me on hold for a minute. When she came back, she told me that since I was just a couple of miles away they could squeeze me in right away, between other appointments. Seriously? I couldn’t thank her enough as I drove straight to their office. I couldn’t believe it! Read more

Part 1: Customer Service Gone Bad

Friday was supposed to be a good day, one that I had been looking forward to for weeks. It was finally time for my doctor’s appointment. Long story short, on June 24th I tried to walk on my foot which was completely asleep. I went down like a sack of potatoes and twisted my ankle so bad that I ended up in the emergency room. I was certain I had fractured something, but thank goodness the x-rays showed nothing. Although, I’ve been told that it probably would have been better if I had broken it. I didn’t understand that statement then, but I certainly do now.

Two weeks later, the nurse from the emergency room called to check on me. Her timing was good considering my foot and ankle were getting better but then suddenly turned into one big bruise and swelled up again. She referred me to an orthopedic doctor to schedule a follow-up to be on the safe side. And now, the saga begins.

When I called to make an appointment, I got voice mail. I left a message with my home and cell phone number and then waited. Two days passed before anyone returned my call and, of course I was not home when they called, so they left a voicemail. The next day I called again and, you guessed it, got the same voicemail. I left a message, but this time with my cell phone only. This went on every single day for a week. Why, because the person could not follow a simple message and call my cell phone. Every time she called I was out running an errand, picking up my daughter or house hunting with my real estate agent. I finally did reach her and learned the earliest appointment she could schedule was August 4th. I scheduled the appointment despite being annoyed that I had to wait 3 weeks to have my injury examined. Keep in mind, I can hardly walk and I have a 15-month old who would give Speedy Gonzales a run for his money! Read more

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