The ABC of Superior Customer Service

If you want your front-line staff to remember the essentials of customer care, theres no better way to teach them than with the ABC of Superior Customer Service.

A is for Attention to Detail. Because when customers know you care passionately about the little things, theyll know you care a great deal more about the big things.

B is for Benefits which is all your customer wants you to tell them.

C is for Complaints, your free marketing service.

D is for Dedicated staff, because when the team is fully engaged, customer loyalty goes up by two-thirds.

E is for Empowerment which means trusting and training your staff to do whatever it takes to thrill the customer.

F is for Feelings. As the Scottish Life advert says: Make each customer feel like youve held the door open whilst laying your jacket across a puddle and then rescued their kitten from a tree.

G is for Going Out Of Your Way, just like the engineer who took a 50-mile detour on his way home from work just to deliver a phone to a customer who had been waiting all day for it.

H is for Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch, because when things get complicated, thats when people want the personal touch.

I is for Ichiban, the Japanese word for wanting to be the best.

J is for the customer Journey, which you must know every inch of.

K is for Kaizen, another Japanese word which means continuous improvement.

L is for Loyalty, which you buy by engaging their minds and piercing their hearts.

M is for Moments of Truth, those hundreds of opportunities every day to turn their heads.

N is for Now For Something Extra, that ends every customer interaction on a high.

O is for Observing your customers needs before they know them themselves.

P is for the Pride that staff feel when they know theyre in a valued profession.

Q is for Quality: of product, of service, of manners, of courteousness.

R is for the golden Rule: the customer is always right, even when theyre wrong.

S is for Sincere Smiles, that arent false but melt the coldest hearts.

T is for Tact, the one thing your customers will notice but you must pretend not to.

U is for Underpromise and Overdeliver, the simplest way to make someones day.

V is for adding Value because theres nothing so precious as your time, your care and your attention.

W is for the Wow Factor, when you stop them in their tracks.

X is for Xtraordinary service that is out of this world.

Y is for Your Mum Was Right, because its all about respect.

Z is for a good nights Zzzzzs after a great days work.

Practise these attitudes and skills, and youll love your job and your customers will love you.

2005, Eric Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com

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Prevent Hair Loss - 5 Simple Precautions

Some individuals may not be able to prevent hair loss if there are genetic factors involved or an immune system disorder.

In many cases however, being aware of factors that can unnecessarily damage the hair can help prevent hair loss or at least minimize the danger. Look over the 5 precautions below and see if any apply to your lifestyle:

#1 Prevent Hair Loss By Choosing The Right Shampoo

Alkaline based hair shampoos can damage hair and even kill it. If you purchase shampoos designed to give your hair more volume and bounce, be especially careful. Check the information on the packaging and use only shampoos with a pH factor in the 4.5 to 7 range to be safe.

#2 Prevent Hair Loss By Treating Your Hair With Respect

Hair is particularly fragile when wet. So do not use a brush which causes too much tension on the hair causing it to break. Rather, use a wide-tooth comb and lightly comb the hair carefully.

For the same reason never rub the hair vigorously with a towel after a bath or shower. Instead, dab and pat the hair to remove excess moisture.

Do not use hair dryers on high heat settings to avoid heat damage and keep either your head or the hair dryer moving so the jet of hot air is not concentrated on one area for too long.

#3 Prevent Hair Loss By Not Smoking

Smoking has a major negative impact on the body's circulatory system. Hair follicles thrive on a constant supply of oxygenated blood. Smoking adversely affects the blood's ability to do its job.

Additionally, the nicotine smoker's crave causes the body to produce more adrenalin, a stress hormone. Stress can be a major contributing factor in hair loss.

So if you want to prevent hair loss and save a substantial amount of money at the same time, invest in a program to quit smoking.

#4 Prevent Hair Loss Through Proper Diet And Exercise

Many people can greatly improve their diet by simply cutting out sugar overloads from candies, cakes, soft drinks, etc. A balanced diet with correct proportions of fruit, vegetables, cereals, dairy products and protein can have an amazing effect on the health of the scalp and hair production.

Regular exercise, something as simple as a 30 minute brisk walk a few times a week, can do much to keep the circulatory system in good working order and deliver oxygenated blood to the scalp and hair follicles.

#5 Prevent Hair Loss With The Daily Scalp Massage

The purpose of scalp massage is to increase blood circulation. An ideal time for many is to do it in the morning while in the shower, even in conjunction with using hair shampoo.

Just use the balls of the fingers to apply light pressure to the scalp in a circular movement, one area at a time. Move from the forehead to the back until the whole head, front, temples, crown, back of the head, have received this massaging motion.

It will take discipline to make this procedure a daily habit. However, spending just a few minutes a day while showering in massaging the scalp can contribute to good blood flow in the essential areas that control hair growth.

None of the suggestions above are particularly revolutionary or astounding. Most are just common sense. The challenge however is in doing them. If you have the motivation and self-discipline to employ the 5 strategies above, you may well prevent hair loss from causing you unnecessary anxiety.

Mike Jones is a writer and webmaster with over 10 years experience. His recommendation:

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How Do Hybrid Vehicles Get That Great Gas Mileage?

The term that really applies is HEV, which stands for hybrid electric vehicle. These are the most fuel efficient vehicles available for majority of us.

While actual configuration may vary due to the design intentions of the manufacturer, they generally combine a small (by regular vehicle standards) gasoline engine with an electric motor.

While the gasoline engine does most of the locomotion at highway speeds, when less fuel is required, it also is available to provide the extra power that the electric motor cannot provide or sustain for long.

The electric battery/motor combination can start the car moving in some instances, maintain systems without the gasoline motor having to idle at stops such as lights and in drive thrus, and can assist the gasoline motor as it propels the hybrid vehicle down the road. Not only is fuel being saved while the electric motor is maintaining vehicle systems in what would normally be idling situations, but this means that less pollution is being emitted into the air, usually within the confines of our most polluted areas...our cities.

During the rolling of the vehicle, particularly in coasting situations, the battery which provides the electric motor with power is recharged. When braking at slower speeds (in-town, stop-and-go), regenerative braking is generally used to stop the car rather than the brakes themselves. In regenerative braking, the electric motor actually changes is polarity, becoming a electric generator which recharges the battery. This change from motor to generator creates a reverse torque which is used to slow and stop the vehicle. At highway speeds, normal braking occurs.

At times, the charge within the battery may dip below the needed level, and at these times, the small gasoline engine automatically comes on to recharge the battery.

Even with hybrids, however, there are different vehicle types to meet the needs of the consumer. There are hybrid SUV's, Trucks, and small and mid-size sedans such as the Toyota Prius, which is one of the most fuel efficient hybrid vehicles available, getting on average about 50 MPG. Larger hybrid vehicles, such as SUV's and Trucks, tend to provide fuel economy in a relative sense. The fuel economy of these larger hybrid vehicles tends to roughly equal a gasoline powered sedan.

Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area writer. A graduate of the University Of West Florida (1973) with a BA in accounting, he is a member of Mensa and has held several managerial positions. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, he became interested in internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has blogs on the subjects of weight loss and health, hybrid cars and alternative fuels, and internet marketing and related business topics.