Bring It On - Learning New Tricks

I have to admit... The blogging world has completely swallowed up the past several days for me. As if I didn't know already that this is quickly becoming an obsession, James asked the moment I grabbed the laptop tonight "What? Blogging again?" Yes, yes, I am.

What started out as a simple test for work, then just kind of a thought that was put on the back burner, has now blossomed into a full force research project. The more blogs I read, the more I want to know how they did some of the cool stuff on their pages.

Exhibit A: Airing My Dirty Laundry, One Sock at a Time. I now have discovered how to create a book for Kindle. I've always wanted to write a book, though I'm not sure that I will. But thanks to seeing it posted on her page, I now know how to go about it if I should ever decide to.

Exhibit B: Freelance Lady. By combing through some of her posts I was able to find www.cj.com which is an amazingly easy site to use for people who are looking to advertise on their blogs. You'll note to the right the new section labeled Awesome Affiliates. I added the Google AdSense, but at least with CJ it's companies I know and actually shop at. I feel much better promoting places I actually know something about.

Exhibit C: Mamamusing. I have officially joined my first link up today. Not sure what it will bring to my site, but it directed me to a couple cool new blogs to follow. In following them, it led me to www.BlogLoving.com which coincidentally allows you to link your Blogspot right into it. No double posting like I've found on the other directory sites like BlogHer.com.

I didn't realize when I first started this page just how evolved the Blogging world has become. Speaking as someone who works in marketing, these are things I should know. That I need to know. I'm just excited that I decided to give it a second look because there's so much to learn. To steal McDonald's tagline...

"I'm lovin it!"

Would it Kill People to Be Nice?

It amazes me that in this day and age that there are still crappy customer service agents out there! I find it hard to believe that there aren't nice people out there who need a job and would love to get paid to talk to people.

A couple months ago my daughter had been to the doctor because she had a cough she couldn't shake and they sent her in for a chest x-ray. My insurance didn't cover a whole whopping $32 of it. When the accounts receivable department called to tell me about it, I asked them to send me out a bill so that I could pay for it. Mind you, it took six weeks from the appointment date to bring this to my attention to start with. For those of you have been reading, you know that my parents live about 3 blocks away from me and I've recently discovered that my mailman has been taking it upon himself to deliver all my mail to their house instead. I think he recognizes my name because I have a few pieces that have always gone their so Lena can be registered for school at their address to get off the bus to Gramma. That being said, I didn't get the bill until about 2 days ago finally and had earnestly forgotten about it in the meantime.

I called this afternoon to pay the balance and encountered a lady who clearly HATES her job. When I didn't have an account number to spare her the trouble of changing her client search field she made sure to ask for my phone number with a long drawn out sigh, as if this little click had just required her to sprint a 10 mile marathon without being able to stop for water along the way. (Sorry lady, all I wrote down this morning was the number to pay it, shame on me).  She went straight into getting my debit information without even so much as a "I'll be glad to take care of that for you today" or a "Thank you for taking care of this." I knew roughly what I owed, but wanted to verify the charge amount for my records. Again, I offended this woman by wanting to know what I was being charged and not having the bill directly in front of me so that I didn't have to take up her precious time with a silly question like, "What did I owe?"

I admit that I'm most likely the worst customer ever, because it's my job to teach people like her to be nice to people! News flash sweetheart, I'm also the customer who writes a letter to complain that you need better training when you treat me like some dead beat who doesn't pay her bills.

I concluded my phone call and ran to Wendy's really quick to get some lunch. The woman behind the counter was probably in her mid to late 40's. My guess... She had not planned on growing up to serve cheeseburgers and frosties, but I'll be damned if she didn't greet me kindly, ask how I was doing, and tell me to enjoy my weekend. This poor woman probably isn't making more than $8 an hour, while the woman at the doctor's office is probably making somewhere around $12-$13. Please tell me why the woman who makes more money can't be as kind as the lady who handed me my grilled chicken sandwich?

Hats off to Wendy's for having such nice employees!

HELP 2013 Dreams - Let's Make This Viral

This video  and photos were made by one of the most talented women I know. My Aunt Kim. Please share this video and help support this amazing organization that she has selflessly dedicated her time, energy, and incredible talent to.