Secure Shopping

Reduce your chances of becoming a victim whether you're shopping at the mall or at a tiangge. Follow these tips to keep your shopping safe and worry-free.

Make a list. Write everything down before you step into the mall. You'll spend less time wandering aimlessly around, lessening your chances of getting stuck in the crowd prone to pickpockets. It also keeps you within budget.

Shop early. Start way before the season hits to avoid the crowds and the stress of buying gifts at the last minute. Try to get to the mall just before it opens. That way, you'll get prime parking space and a headstart before everyone else starts coming.

Park safely. Well-lit areas are best, especially if shopping in the evening. Always keep your car keys with you and make sure all doors are locked. Do not leave the parking card or ticket inside the car. Most of all, remember where you parked. Becoming lost and confused can make you an easy target for criminals, and you don't want to add more stress after a day of shopping. Safety experts advice that you park near the mall doors to avoid a long walk back to your vehicle.

Hide your stuff. Keep valuables out of sight. If you have a car, keep them in the trunk, or put them on the floor.

Keep your bags and purchases close to you at all times. If your hands are full and you're not done shopping yet, load all your shopping bags in the car, if you brought one. Otherwise, count the number of bags grip on them as you walk around.

Keep your cash. Try not to bring too much cash. Use a credit card or debit card. Otherwise, be discreet when handling your money. Avoid counting your money in the public, especially after withdrawing from an ATM. Take out only what you need. If you can, get one of those pouches you can strap across your body to lessen the chances of getting your valuables snatched from you.

Be vigilant. Try not to be too distracted with your shopping to the point that you don't notice what's going on around you. Be aware of suspicious persons lurking around.

Take someone along. It's best to shop with at least one other person. As they say, there's safety in numbers.

Trust your gut. If you get a nagging feeling you're not in a safe place (e.g. at the ATM, or at a jeepney terminal), leave immediately.

Have your keys ready when you step into the parking area. Fumbling for your keys can distract you from impending danger.

Report it right away. See anything or anyone suspicious? Been victimized by a snatcher or pickpocket? Report immediately to the mall's security, a store employee, or the police (major malls have installed police desks to assist shoppers).

Don't Get Duped Online

I have read a very nice article in the net, 12 Techniques for Helping Your Credit In today's world credit is all important.

Shopping for gifts, flowers, books, airline tickets and more has never been easier with the internet. But like "traditional" shopping, online shoppers can also be vulnerable to crime.

Make sure your browser's secure. Whether you're using Netscape or Explorer, your browser has to comply with the industry standards, known as Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL. According to America's Federal Trade Commission, these are standards that "scramble the purchase information you send over the internet, helping to secure your transaction." To make sure your browser's SSL is enabled, the address should begin with "https" instead of "http". There should also be an image of a closed padlock at the lower part of the window. And before signing anything, check the company's security procedures first.

Protect your password. As with your ATM PIN, never disclose your password to anyone. Use a random combination of letters and numbers (not your birthday, telephone number and other easy-to-guess codes).

Shop only with the best. If you shop with bigger, more reputable companies, at least you know they're legit. These days, anyone can set up an online shopping website and you never know who's behind those fly-by-night groups. If the site is new, IT experts say you should ask for a catalog or brochure by mail so you'll get to know the company better.

Keep a record. After transaction, the website will usually show a confirmation. Copy or print the information out and file it.

Be tech safe.

The Ten Commandments of Customer Service

1. Know who is boss. You are in business to service customer needs, and you can only do that if you know what it is your customers want. When you truly listen to your customers, they let you know what they want and how you can provide good service. Never forget that the customer pays our salary and makes your job possible.

2. Be a good listener. Take the time to identify customer needs by asking questions and concentrating on what the customer is really saying. Listen to their words, tone of voice, body language, and most importantly, how they feel.

3. Identify and anticipate needs. Customers don't buy products or services. They buy good feelings and solutions to problems. Most customer needs are emotional rather than logical.

4. Make customers feel important and appreciated. Treat them as individuals. Always use their name and find ways to compliment them, but be sincere. People value sincerity. It creates good feeling and trust.

5. Help customers understand your systems. Your organization may have the world's best systems for getting things done, but if customers don't understand them, they can get confused, impatient and angry. Take time to explain how your systems work and how they simplify transactions.

6. Appreciate the power of "Yes". Always look for ways to help your customers. When they have a request (as long as it is reasonable) tell them that you can do it.

7. Know how to apologize. When something goes wrong, apologize. It's easy and customers like it. The customer may not always be right, but the customer must always win. Deal with problems immediately and let customers know what you have done. Make it simple for customers to complain. Value their complaints.

8. Give more than expected. Since the future of all companies lies in keeping customers happy, think of ways to elevate yourself above the competition.

9. Get regular feedback. Encourage and welcome suggestions about how you could improve.

10. Treat employees well. Employees are your internal customers and need a regular dose of appreciation. Thank them and find ways to let them know how important they are. Treat your employees with respect and chances are they will have a higher regard for customers. Appreciation stems from the top. Treating customers and employees well is equally important.

Good Customer Service is No Longer Enough

Your business would not exist without customers. And if you have customers, you have to have customer service. Everybody talks about the importance of good customer service, but few seem to follow through on it.

Recently, I had the opportunity to read a few questions of communications expert and author Dianna Booher, CSP. I found out why she says, "Good customer service is no longer enough."

jr: Why is customer service so important to a successful business?

db: Customers have more options than ever before-and feel less loyalty. They want products and services fast, cheap, quick-from whoever will provide them. That means that the competitive advantage is now in your ability to KEEP customers and build repeat business. And the email mindset makes it even easier for customers to spread out their dissatisfaction. Make Customer Jones angry and chances are you've got a nasty rumor going around to ten of his colleagues that you're a lousy firm to do business with.

jr: What's your definition of good customer service?

db: Good customer service is no longer enough. It has to be superior, WOW, unexpected service. In a nutshell, it means doing what you say you will, when you say you will, how you say you will, at the price you promised-plus a little extra tossed in to say "I appreciate your business."

jr: How do you quantify it and measure it?

db: There are as many ways as there are businesses. You can use several criteria as your scorecard-decrease in written customer complaints, decrease in oral complaints, more referrals generated from your current customers, increase in the repeat business of your current customers, faster response time/turnaround time on orders, increased productivity and less rework on customer projects. There are many, many options. Part of our customer service consulting and training is to lead clients to determine how they personally want to evaluate. Evaluation costs time and money, but it's well worth it to see how you score.

Angry Customers

No business is perfect, and even if yours is, your customers aren’t. Dealing with angry customers can be difficult. Here are some suggestions for how to handle them.

1) Don’t take the criticism personally. They’re not attacking you as a person but you as an employee representing a company that they perceive as cold and heartless.

2) Listen to the client. Let them tell their side. This will help the client calm down and think rationally. Meanwhile, you can buy some problem-solving time as you listen. Ask the client what he or she would do in your situation and how to prevent the problem from occurring in the future. Involving the customer shows you care about his or her needs and that you’re committed to customer service.

3) Treat the customer as you would want to be treated. Don’t pass the customer around. If you don’t know the answer to the problem, tell him or her that you’ll find the answer and call him or her back. Give the customer your name and contact information so that he or she can reach you if he or she has another problem.

4) Deal with the person and then with the problem. People often need to vent, regardless of whether you’re the appropriate target.

5) Remember that stellar customer service can be the means for retaining a client instead of losing one, so how you deal with your unhappy customers is crucial.