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Batch Inclusion Plastic Bags - 7 Ways To Avoid Price Increases
Rubber compounding companies have been using batch inclusion plastic bags for years to increase productivity and assure batch to batch uniformity. However, these particular packaging bags, also known as low melt bags, can also be counted on to reduce product loss, decrease solid waste disposal costs and most importantly minimize worker exposure to hazardous materials. As the cost of plastic resin continues to spiral upward here are 7 ways to minimize or even eliminate a price increase.1. Consider using thinner material. Recent advances in film technology can allow you to reduce the thickness of batch inclusion

of things, but we always do what it takes to make things right, plus a little extra something for the customer. That attitude builds long-time, successful customer relationships. Here are some tips for empowering your customer service department:

1.) Depending on the nature of the complaint, arm your customer service employees with the ability to offer incentives to unhappy customers to encourage them not to leave. Allow them to offer at least half what the people who call former customers can offer.

For example, if you normally charge for a service call, but you’re facing the prospect of losing a 10-year customer,

Important Principles For Building A Strong Company Foundation
Take ResponsibilityWe approach the world as elements of cause rather than victims of circumstance. We take 100% responsibility for relationships and for the work we are doing for customers. Communication from the customer and the support of our co-workers are essential elements in the process of delighting customers. Our approach is one that is based upon taking 100% responsibility for seeing that our co-workers have all the information they need in order to produce the project according to the customer’s expectations. To anyone working with the project, they need to take complete responsibility for unders

It never fails to amaze me how many companies have employees who are empowered to offer former customers wonderful incentives to lure them back, yet their customer service representatives have the ability to offer virtually nothing to convince an unhappy customer to stay.

Powerless, these CSRs often actually ignore customers’ requests and declarations of their intent to leave, even encouraging them to seek out another company!

They often repeat the few phrases they’re allowed to say over and over again, further infuriating the customers.

I recently interviewed the CEO of a mattress company who told me that customer complaints never reach him because his employees are empowered to, within reason, give the customer what will keep him happy. His employees are happier too because they believe the company trusts them to make sound decision.

Sadly, that company is one-in-a-million today. If others would follow his example, there would a lot less need for those employees who call former customers because there would be far fewer former customers to begin with.

When I worked in fast food as a teenager, giving an unhappy customer a free apple turnover and having her leave happy was common place. Today, fast food employees, like others in customer service, are allowed to honor only coupons and deals for which there are pre-programmed keys on their registers.

It seems that companies today would rather lose loyal customers for life than allow their foot soldiers in customer service to toss them an apple pie.

Recently, we had just such as experience with our satellite dish company. After more than four years as a loyal, paying customer, we noticed a problem with our reception. We asked to have someone come take a look at it, and we were told it would be $100. That is the only option customer service was empowered to offer. We announced that we could get brand new satellite equipment for free from the company’s competitor, and we were told to go ahead and switch, which we did.

After we switched, the first company called to ask why we left, and we told our story. The employee agreed that "after four years, we should have fixed it for free." Too late. We’ve signed a new one-year agreement and we couldn’t be happier with our new, free digital video recorder.

On the flip side, we have no unresolved customer complaints at our business because, very simply, we do our best to keep our customers happy from the beginning. Sure, we make mistakes and we run out of things, but we always do what it takes to make things right, plus a little extra something for the customer. That attitude builds long-time, successful customer relationships. Here are some tips for empowering your customer service department:

For example, if you normally charge for a service call, but you’re facing the prospect of losing a 10-year customer,

IT Consulting Services - Offer What Your Prospects Need
IT consulting services come in all shapes and sizes. When you first start a business it is often difficult to decide which IT consulting services to offer. Should you sell what you know, sell what is trendy, or sell what you think people want?The best way to figure out what IT consulting services to sell, and the products that are needed to support them, is to sell, service, and offer the IT consulting services that your prospects NEED.Sounds pretty intuitive, but what typically happens is businesses start-up offering IT consulting services that their prospects want. A need and a want are two different thi

omer complaints never reach him because his employees are empowered to, within reason, give the customer what will keep him happy. His employees are happier too because they believe the company trusts them to make sound decision.

It seems that companies today would rather lose loyal customers for life than allow their foot soldiers in customer service to toss them an apple pie.

For example, if you normally charge for a service call, but you’re facing the prospect of losing a 10-year customer,

Creating Partnership Agreements
Partnerships are essential in our emerging digital age.Small players with good partnerships can grab precious market share from larger, established names. Digital commerce rewards innovation and collaboration, not old buildings and traditions.At the Westin Hotel in Singapore, more than twenty framed certificates hang on the wall announcing ‘Partnership Agreements’ with key customers and suppliers.Both parties agree to call upon one another as supplier or vendor of first choice, to provide new and special services to each other before offering them to others, and to do all possible to help build eac

thers in customer service, are allowed to honor only coupons and deals for which there are pre-programmed keys on their registers.

It seems that companies today would rather lose loyal customers for life than allow their foot soldiers in customer service to toss them an apple pie.

For example, if you normally charge for a service call, but you’re facing the prospect of losing a 10-year customer,

Serving Company Politics
I once had a boss who informed me there was no such thing as company politics. At the time, I decided that depended on whether you were the person wielding power or influenced by it. In my career experience, I’d categorize self-serving antics, sabotaging behaviors, information hoarding and artful manipulation under the heading of company politics. I’d throw in veiled threats, perpetuated mistruths, finger-pointing and coercion. There’s a long list of behaviors I’ve personally experienced or witnessed in the workplace under the politics label. And I’m sure you can add your own.These negative work cultures are frau

e could get brand new satellite equipment for free from the company’s competitor, and we were told to go ahead and switch, which we did.

For example, if you normally charge for a service call, but you’re facing the prospect of losing a 10-year customer,

It's Not Funny Unless it Sells
We've all encountered humor in advertising. TV ads showing smart dogs fetching their owners a beer. Radio spots with aliens purifying our drinking water. Print ads with famous people wearing milk mustaches. Many use dry wit. Others are just plain silly. A few are in bad taste. And some, heaven forbid, aren't even funny.Humor has its placeDoes humor really work in advertising? Is it okay to get a few laughs when talking about your product or service? Does humor sell? There are no absolutes, no easy answers. What we do know is that, as in real life, humor has its place. In advertising, that p

For example, if you normally charge for a service call, but you’re facing the prospect of losing a 10-year customer, allow the customer service representative to offer half off.

2.) If your company screwed up, and your customer calls you on it, allow your customer service people to admit that a mistake was made, apologize and offer something to make up for it – a free month of service, a coupon for a discount on a future order.

Nothing is more aggravating than having someone apologize without admitting any wrong doing (i.e. "I’m sorry you feel that way." Or "I’m sorry you’re upset about that.") Let them say, "I’m sorry, we were wrong. What can we do to make it up to you?" What ever happened to the motto "The customer is always right"?

3.) Toss the scripts. Giving customer service people lists of things to say to unhappy customers turns your people into nothing more than robots. With today’s voice recognition technology, you may as well use an automated response system.

Train your customer service people how to act like human beings. Provide them with the kind of conflict-resolution training they need to turn unhappy customers into people who at least believe your company cares about their problem and wants to help them.

4.) Offer incentives to customer service people who retain unhappy customers.

For example, tape your calls, and once a month give an award to the customer service representative who does the best job turning angry customers into happy ones.

5.) Don’t’ wait for the customer to insist on speaking to a manager. If the customer service representative’s authority to offer a solution is not enough to retain the customer, it should be SOP for the representative to request time to consult a supervisor and possibly bring them into the discussion.

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If you are a minority interest shareholder in a business, it is critical you understand what you are signing when you execute the shareholder agreement. If you have already signed one and are looking to exit the company and cash in your stock at fair value - good luck.

Let's face it successful interviewing is much more than just giving the right answers to questions. As with most things, preparation is the key to success. Without proper preparation, you will go into an interview as if you were driving a car blindfolded and on the wrong side of the road.

Career Opportunities for New Graduates Studies show that lack of career opportunity is one of the top reasons why employees leave an organization. Also, continually hiring open positions from outside the organization can be detrimental to morale when a qualified candidate is available internally. This article shows how one company obtained valuable information from the season's group of new graduate applicants and combined it with the results of their own survey to identify retention problems and find new solutions.

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