Do Business Well

Demand high standards from your service representatives

Make people smarter! The abilities of real people delivering service to the e-customer services person will need to increase so they can add value to what the system already provides. If service representatives are left innumerate and illiterate, unable to organize, disaffected and reluctant, they will probably not add anything positive to the service experience. The bar is raised for those able to justify their involvement in the process. It has already started to happen.

Is there a future where we will go to one man to buy everything? A man who is wired into the complete network and is fantastically adept at manipulating the available tools to get us what we need. He may be able to serve and support thousands of e-customers because each needs personal involvement so seldom. Continue Reading »

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Many people have a simple money management philosophy: “If I have it, I spend it till I don’t have it.” Others are so good with money it makes you sick. These are the ones who save every penny they’ve ever found, then buy a new Porsche on their sixteenth birthday. Assuming you didn’t trade your pennies for a Porsche, here are some tips to help you spend less and get more for your money.

(Not) Spending Tips

I’m guessing that you’re a pro at spending money. The trick that’s harder to master is not spending money. Try these tips.

Ask Why

“Why do I want to buy this thing?” It’s amazing how silly some of your purchases look when you ask that question. Continue Reading »

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This one really bugs me. It’s a philosophical thing. You’ll be pleased to see a lot of stores encouraging you in the same thing: SAVE BIG! SAVE MORE! But they’re talking about something else.

The only way to save money is . . . well, to save it. That means, Don’t spend it. When a store announces that you’ll “save money,” what they really mean is that you’ll spend less of it than if you shopped somewhere else. (And as we saw with that discount trick, that claim may not even be true.)

But whether you spend $145 for something, or “save” by spending just $125, you’re still spending it. Of course, retailers don’t want you to think that way. They know that if you focus on what you’re spending, you may have second thoughts. So they try to focus on the positive side. There’s nothing wrong with that. And if you truly are going to spend money anyway, then look for ways to spend less of it. Continue Reading »

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