virtual assistant
A Special Blog Post
Today, I needed to vent a little about some stress I have been having… it involves our dog, Lola and some other unnamed creatures.
Sooo… Lola is our adopted dog.. a beautiful dog in looks, temper and personality. We’ve had her for four years now and everyone loves her. She has always been a suspected Rat Terrier breed mix, but we have never known for sure… until now.
We had some renos done in our basement and apparently that stirred up a few critters. (And God help me, but I did not tell my mother about this while she stayed here over Christmas! Hopefully she does not subscribe to my blog!) We think they are in the walls/bathroom heaters in the basement … or so I thought, until yesterday.
When I woke up I heard that sound I had been hearing during the nights lately… the sound of a mouse – or something, as I have not sighted anything yet – in the main floor bathroom. It was no longer in my imagination. My husband has been telling me this every night in the middle of the night – along with yells of “Go back to sleep, there’s no mouse!”
Everyone heard it today. Something is in that main bath heater for sure. The fact that the dog, who before this has never really spent much time in the basement or bathrooms, has been there too much; pawing at walls, heaters and more. She would not leave the bathroom and was sniffing at the heater and trying to get IN the heater (we are talking a baseboard heater) and was shaking like a leaf in excitement at whatever was making the noises in the heater… well… all this tells me, we in fact do have a mouse.
And Yes, I know the drill… there is not one mouse. I can hear you all saying it now: “Kathy, there is NEVER one mouse” We owned two homes before, that were both over 70 years old. We are good at catching mice… I am just very terrified of them too. They make me yell and swear … oh wait, the mice make me yell, the kids who go “MOM! What’s THAT by your feet!!!! – well, that is what makes me swear – and the kids laugh hysterically.
Anyhow for a little fun and deviation from my normal blogging about business… here is my boring, yet somewhat funny video of my little rat terrier and her persistence in our bathroom heater. And, heaven help me… the tub as well! (You can’t imagine how on guard I am while having a shower lately – I have been showering with my glasses on!). Warning… there may be the start of a little swearing near the end, I apologize, but as you will see it was not my fault. I will not be sharing the video the kids took of me while they were scaring over and over, the first day we realized what may be happening (but that one could win on America’s Funniest Videos).
Needless to say, Braemar Pest Control visited my house today and though Justin (very nice guy) feels that there are not many critters based on the ‘dropping’ evidence, he still wants to solve the problem before the few become many. UGH!
Suffice it to say, though I have all the confidence in the world in Justin and his bait traps. I am scared to use our washrooms now, those little traps stand out a lot under the heaters… and all I do is stare at them in pure fear of anything moving. I walk on guard throughout the house, mostly because my imagination can do more than anything else ever would! I work from home, so the days are a little freaky right now, I walk around making lots of loud noises as I go… trying to shoo my friends away. Again, I have not seen one mouse in person, but I sure feel their presence.
… Now to figure out how to keep Mom away from here until the problem is solved.
My New Year started off with a bang – or rather lots of little ones in my heaters.. how about yours??? 
Words never said enough: Thank you for a Job Well Done
A big (BIG, really BIG) Pet Peeve of mine is that more people send negative feedback than they ever do positive. And even worse, this has trained us all to expect the bad and not the good.
When I worked at Royal Bank years ago, one of my jobs was the Information Desk. You know, the main front desk where everyone stops to get information – who to see, how to do this etc etc. Not many people liked to cover my desk when I was away for a few reasons:
- You needed to know a lot about what was going on in all areas of the branch.
- You got a lot of complaints here – banks cards eaten, not working, big lineups, can’t see banker because of no appointment booked etc etc. Lots of negative things.
- It could get real busy.
My philosophy was always to help out everyone to the best of my abilities; solve problems, fix things, and then of course the go the extra mile to help. Yes, you got the crappy stuff all day long – but you also got the good stuff, the people so happy you helped them, so appreciative of your services. I always said the good may not have outweighed the bad, but the good was so good it would wipe out all the bad.
That’s how I am with service now, I comment on both good and bad service received. But my good always outweighs the bad – that is my personal policy on giving service comments. I have made it a personal commitment to prove to the world people do give feedback on good service too.
In doing so I have learned a few tricks, and the # 1 trick in in how you ask for the comment card. When asking staff for a comment card to fill out, indicate something like this :
I wanted to share how happy I was with the service today, do you have a comment card I can fill out?
If not, you will cause a panic situation. As soon as you go up and say to someone:
Can I have a comment card?
Most times you will get a response like:
- Is there something wrong?
- Can I help you with a problem?
- Did you have an issue with your service?
Others may hear you as well, and come over to offer to help fix the bad service you obviously received since you are asking for a comment card. We have all been trained to expect the worst. I’m not saying feedback on bad service is not to be shared,m it needs to be, no one will learn and improve if not, but share the good too!
So… why not try this out yourself? Those simple words, “Thank you for a job well done” should, in my opinion, be said more often that they are.
One of my most recent comments was about an employee at a Building Supply store here in Dartmouth, Kent at MicMac Mall. We have been dealing here for years and have done some kitchen renos recently. After a fabulous service experience with someone there, I took a minute and filled out the card at the service desk. (I try to do this right there so I don’t forget why or the name of the person who helped me).
What surprised me about this feedback, was when a few weeks later received a letter in the mail from Kent, thanking me for the comments and letting me know that the associate would be receiving a ‘star’ at their next team meeting. (One of the few times I ever had a comment acknowledged – a great practice for any business to implement and one that will encourage more good feedback I am sure!). Even better, the letter came from the Human Resources Department at head office… it was so nice to know my good words went far and wide. That letter made me feel great.
We also had above and beyond service from the contractor who did our bathroom and kitchen renos… so we sent him 
and his family a fruit bouquet (*See picture* It’s a really cool thank you item to send anyone , it was from Fruitful Expressions a local biz here) – this totally surprised him and his wife, as it probably is not something that happens often. People would say thanks, great job – but not always take it a step farther.
His wife called my contractor immediately and then he called me. Everyone was happy, them for the thought and acknowledgement of a good job and me, because they appreciated my thanks.
Thank you for a job well done
Words that can change the world and the attitudes of everyone you encounter. I challenge you all to send one positive feedback item every week of your life. Your mood and the mood of others will change, I guarantee it!
You NEED to OWN your own Domain Name
Please! I am pleading with any business owner or entrepreneur who is looking to get a website for their business.
You really need to ensure that your domain name is registered and owned by you – the business owner. I cannot stress this enough.
Yes, I know websites are not your forte, if it were you would be in the website design business. But you are not, you are a fabulous entrepreneur doing great business and with a nice website online that someone helped you setup. But, times have changed and now you need to up level and change your entire web presence, so you ask someone like me to work with you and on your website.
Trouble is… you discover really don’t have a lot of access to the site.
This following situation has happened 3 times in the last 2 weeks to people I know. PLEASE DON’T BE # 4.
We start checking into your present website setup only to discover that your other web guy (sorry boys, but 3/3 were guys) registered your domain name and nowhere in that setup is your name listed. This means that you in fact, do not own your own domain name nor have any control over it.
How bad can it be? 
Let’s see…
- The other person has access to the domain registry, not you.
- The other person controls when your domain name gets renewed (hint, no renewal= no website online, also known as “Why is the website not working?”)
- The other person controls changes and access to your Domain Name Servers (which are part of the setup on how/where your account is hosted and with a web hosting system, you will run into the same situation as in # 2 above, people asking: “Why is the website not working?”)
- Worst of all, your website is connected to this! The website that people use daily.
BUY IT YOURSELF
Please make certain when you need to setup a new domain name or website that you take 5 minutes and go to Bluehost or GoDaddy and buy your own domain name. It’s as simple as buying anything else online. Pick out what you want and put it in your shopping cart, the cart with your name on it, then pay for it with your credit card or paypal account.
Guess what – now you own that baby! No one else.
After this you can always give your web person the access in your account. You can give your webperson the technical contact in the account, something you can change anytime. Please buy the darn thing yourself. And no matter what way you do this you remain the Registrant – the person who owns the domain name.
If I now have you scared and not sure if you own your present domain name? You can go to Whois.com and look up your domain name. Be certain whose name it is under and while sill in a good working relationship, get it transferred to your name by your web person! Right now, in all three situations we are having a hard time getting contact to get access and changes made.
You NEED to own your own Domain Name, I cannot say this enough!
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So? How many of you need to have a talk with someone now?
Get Real! Online Networking has its Rewards
Having worked with many social media clients in the past few years, it’s been interesting to note a pattern that has emerged. Clients who are more accepting of the need for them to use their social networks and post a good portion of their own tweets and updates, are the ones having more success.
Why? It comes down to being authentic and personable. Taking an real interest in listening to others and joining in the conversation. Think of it as a business networking event. Except you are not in a room at a local business, you are online. You can talk with people all over, and connections can be made. From these connections, many things can develop.
You only have a sentence or two in which to do this, so really time is not a big factor. When you read other people’s updates / tweets; think of it as the person having said the same thing to you at a networking event. How would you respond? Type it out in 140 characters or less and now you’ve started social networking – online. Initiate conversations yourself. You would never go to a networking event and never talk to anyone – Twitter and Facebook can help your business in the same way. Reach out to people and network.
What’s the point? Most times I tell clients…
“Because you never know where it can lead.”
Last year, I alerted someone that her BIO on twitter had some weird and inappropriate symbols and curse words in it. She was thankful I took the minute to send her an email to let her know. Never sure how it happened, she was nonetheless grateful and invited me to write an article on a website she owns; one geared to entrepreneurs (my target client).
Another client came to me by alerting someone to the fact that they had a link not working. When I emailed her, she saw my signature and happened to be looking for a Virtual Assistant. She replied with her thanks and also asked me about my business, soon I was looking after the project she needed done.
Mine are not the only stories out there… many people are experiencing the same things and most come from talking to others and providing value; whether a tidbit of information or a few kind words of support or noting something out of place that if not caught could have lost them connections and sales.
Be yourself and don’t be scared to connect with others just because you can’t reach out and touch them – Online friendships and business connections can be as rewarding as in-person ones. They can also lead to more business as people engage you and get to know you.
What tips do you have for ‘being real’ online? Please share your ideas in the comments below
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