Do you remember when video cameras weighed about 50 pounds? I remember being so excited when my
Father brought home our first VHS video camera! I wanted to video tape everything from my Mother’s garden to a fake rock concert in our basement! When we brought it our trip to the Azores I did most of the filming and did a whole lot of zooming in and out! Hey, it was a cool feature back then!
Now technology is super cool and thankfully super light! The Flip video camera weighs a little more than my large Tim Hortons coffee, but unlike the coffee it fits nicely in my purse or pocket! It is designed to digitally record mini videos (like 60 minutes or less) and upload them to your favourite social site like MySpace and YouTube! All this for under $200.
You can compare the three Flip models at:
http://theflip.com/products_flip_ultra_specs.II.shtmll
How can you get your hands on one? You can order online or at a local shop (if you can’t wait for it to be shipped…like me!). Take a look at: www.theflip.com/buy for your best options.
FYI: Canadians can find The Flip Ultra at Wal-Mart, while the Mino is not available in Canada! *tears*
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October 6th, 2008
I found this cool which is perfect for anyone who likes to read from a script whether it be a sales call, leading a teleclass, recording a podcast/videocast, …you get the point.
It’s called Free Prompter, and just by the name you probably have figured out what it does.
What you do is:
- Copy your script into the black window on the site www.freeprompter.com.
- Click “start”.
- A new window will appear.
- Press “forward” to start. Your script will start running up the window just like a teleprompter.
- The buttons “stop” and “reverse” found on the bottom of the window will help you out while read your teleprompter. The number you see is the speed setting.
- Play with the settings on the original window to change the font colour, size, style etc.
If you find that you need some space in between paragaraphs add a <br> to force a new line/blank line. (The ‘<br>’ code is html code 
)
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October 2nd, 2008
If you can’t get enough of social networking and social media, you will love this hot new game! It’s the world’s first social reality game! Although it’s still in Beta and only testers can play at this point, it has incredible potential to change the world.
How it works:
- Each Akoha card has a mission written on it such as “invite someone to coffee”, “donate an hour of your
time”, “give someone your favourite book” etc. All missions to Play it Forward!
- When you take action on one of the cards, you must then give a person that card.
- That person then goes to www.akoha.com and registers their card. This enables Akoha to track the travels of the card (where it’s been and how many people have used this card) and it gives you the opportunity to see how the card got to you through a map! By registering you also earn Karma points.
- While on www.akoha.com you can then choose other missions to play with friends, strangers etc. Once you complete a certain number of missions you can create your own missions for others to play!
- You may also purchase your own deck of Akoha cards!
I’m truly impressed by this game! Not only does it use technology to better the world but it challenges us to “pay it forward” by “playing it forward”. It’s no wonder it was selected as one of Canada’s 20 Hottest Innovative Companies.
If you cannot wait to play the game when it’s ready to go, why not join their list of Beta testers? You can
register at: www.akoha.com/betalist
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September 26th, 2008
Guest Speaker Linda Dessau will speak to us on the topic of “5 Secrets to Improve Anything You Write.” Linda is the founder of www.youtalk-iwrite.com. She is also a writer, certified coach and the author of “The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write” available at www.forcoacheswhowrite.com. This call will help improve your blog posts, newsletter articles and your written products!
Date: Thursday November 6th
Time: 2:00pm Eastern
To join us on the call sign up for your membership at http://www.helpdeskforcoaches.com/signup.htm
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September 25th, 2008
1) Donna, what inspired you to want to write this book about customer service?
I’ve been speaking about customer service and employee engagement for several years, but thought.does the world really need another book on customer service? Then I had a conversation with a friend about the concept of red-carpet customer service and it occurred to me that people who deliver service to celebrities are in a position to know exactly what that means. I started to interview them about what it takes to deliver service to the people who expect the best at all times. Then I learned about non-celebrity service companies that deliver extraordinary experiences to their customers - and was so excited by what they were doing, I had to write the book.
2) Since writing the book, can you share one good customer service experience you have had? And one not so good?
Negative: I was looking for a clothing store located on a very long street in Tampa, Florida and couldn’t seem to find it. I called the store and asked what the cross street was so I could locate the store. The woman who answered said “I don’t know.” She followed that up with, “just keep driving around. It’s a big store. You’ll find it.” Then she hung up. WOW! She couldn’t even be bothered to ask someone what the cross street was. Needless to say, I stopped looking and found somewhere else to shop.
Positive: Recently, I was in a hotel getting ready to speak and realized I forgot to purchase extra batteries for my microphone. I called down to the front desk and asked if they had batteries in the gift shop. They didn’t. There was nowhere within walking distance to buy them and I didn’t have a car. The desk clerk and I ended the call. I had just about decided to take a chance on the old batteries and hope they lasted, when the desk clerk called back and asked what kind of batteries I needed. She got in her own car, drove to the store, and bought be the batteries!!! Red Carpet Service!
3) I know that you are a national speaker, how did your speaking career begin?
My degree is in theater arts and I did some acting in college and summer stock when I was younger. Later on, I found myself working in the field of elder care designing creative programs for seniors and then learning about and getting involved in employee engagement strategies - resulting in higher employee retention in my last job. I began speaking on this topic and one day was asked “How much do you charge?” Soon after, I read a book called “Speak and Grow Rich” by the late Dottie Walters. It taught me about the business of speaking and I found a way to put my theatrical talents together with my new found expertise - and began a new career. The best thing I ever did for my career was join the National Speakers Association and become active in my local chapter. For anyone who has aspirations of becoming a professional speaker, their website would be a good start - www.nsaspeaker.org.
4) What actions do you suggest consumers take when they experience bad customer service?
Well, that question could have many different answers depending on the specific circumstances.
In some instances, you can chalk it up to the service representative having a bad day - make the choice to be positive and upbeat anyway - and go on with your day.
In another instance, you might decide to take your business elsewhere. It would be helpful to the leaders of the company in question if you let them know, keeping mutual respect in mind, why you are no longer doing business with them.
If there is a problem that needs to be resolved (for instance, a refund) - firmly, calmly, and respectfully explain your position to the person in question. If they can’t/won’t help you, ask for the person who would be authorized to make that decision. Go to the person who can actually help you, rather than ranting and raving at the messenger. It’s hard to keep your cool when you’ve had a bad experience - and in some instances it’s fair to get angry - but I maintain that we can be angry and still explain our position without name calling.
However, one of the reasons why celebrities get better service than we do is that they expect and demand the best - and if they don’t get it, will take their business elsewhere. It’s not a bad idea for the rest of us to start holding businesses accountable for delivering the service they promise us.
Donna’s book “Insider Secrets to Deliverying Red-Carpet Customer Services” is being released at the perfect time. I don’t know if it’s because we’ve had a year of bad weather (lots of snow in the winter and a lot of rain in the summer) but it seems everywhere I turn I am experiencing “uncustomer service” as I like to call it. Donna’s book is a must for every business and for every team leader.
Yesterday the blog tour stopped at these locations:
Wendy Piersall / CEO of Sparkplugging, will be hosting a guest blog by Donna about how to be a A-list customer.
Heidi Richards/founder of WECAI and WE Magazine for Women Blog
Today, here are a few places talking about Donna’s book
Dawn Goldberg / Write Well Me will be doing her own book review.
Pam Archer / I Do Weddings to showcase Donna’s guest post about tips for brides to be A-list customers
And tomorrow, the blog tour continues at these blogs:
Judy Davids /Guitarist of the Mydols and author of Rock Star Mommy
Claudia Meydrech / Ebook & Book Reviews
Carol Deckert / Run Lancaster
At anytime, you can purchase Donna’s book, The Celebrity Experience, Insider Secrets to Red Carpet Customer Service by going to Amazon
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September 24th, 2008
I can never remember what numbers I am supposed to dial before dialing a phone number overseas….(yes not everyone has skype!) So what do you do when you can’t remember what to dial or you have to give someone else instructions on how to call you?
In walks “international calling codes” hero of a site www.countrycallingcodes.com All you have to do is pick the country you are calling from, pick the country you are calling to and press submit (a button on the middle of the phone pic). You will then be given the country calling codes with the option to choose the city/province /state you are calling.
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September 23rd, 2008
Last week I wrote a post called “What is Twitter and Why do I want to Tweet?“. This week, I’ve got a little tip for you. I have always suggested that you buy the website of your name ie. www.MarySmith.com. Why? Because you want to get your hands on it before someone with your same name grabs it. You never know what they will do with it once they have it and it could potentially be damaging to your brand and your company. Seriously, I’ve heard a few bad stories. 
Now with Twitter you get your own page on www.twitter.com, such as www.twitter.com/techcoach, where you can find me on Twitter. So you can imagine how quick companys such as CNN, www.twitter.com/cnn, Yahoo, www.twitter.com/yahoo and WordPress, www.twitter.com/WordPress moved quickly to get their Twitter accounts and pages. In fact, if you take a look at www.twitter.com/iPod you’ll find that this account is for sale!
So, if you haven’t signed up for your Twitter account yet, get on it…it’s free!
Register the following user accounts on Twitter to cover yourself and your business:
- your full name
- your business name
- your book name
- your other websites addresses (I’ve registered www.twitter.com/wpblogsites where I will be promoting my book)
- any trademark names you have
- your children’s names…why not!?
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September 23rd, 2008
Twitter is a micro-blogging and social networking service that allows you to post your updates (known as “tweets”) and read other’s updates.
Say that again? Twitter allows you to post mini blog postings (no more than 140 characters) that describes what you are up to. The limit of 140 characters keeps you from telling a huge story and keeps you focused on writing the details only. So you may say something like “Reading the latest Seth Godin book”, “Adding blog posts to my blogsite www.wordpressblogsites.com” or “Getting ready for my appearance on Oprah.”
Why would you want to tweet? Well there are a number of reasons, here are just a few:
- Attract new fans who are twitterites.
- Allow your fans to see what it is you are up to and keep them posted on your new services (yes you can market your products and services on Twitter).
- Google picks up Twitter posts in a matter of minutes and places them in their list! (Hello! You want to be on Google right?!)
- Connect with other Twitters by “following” them (sounds creepy but it just means that their updates will appear on your Twitter page so you can keep up with them).
- You can reply to other Twitters’ posts or ask your own questions and get other’s responses.
Your homework:
- Register for a Twitter account if you don’t have one already www.Twitter.com
- Start adding people to your “Following” list by searching or going to their profile and clicking “follow”. You can “follow” me at http://www.twitter.com/techcoach
- Stay tuned for more Twitter tips!!
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September 16th, 2008
