Managing Customer Relationships

Being a discerning consumer, I am very particular when it comes to customer service.  In my opinion, the price one pays for a product is irrelevant if excellent customer relationship is established.  A couple of weeks back, I was out shopping for some baby clothes and walked into a store which was having a store-wide sale.  Despite the attractive discount signages, I was appalled that the sales-persons in the store could not even manage a smile, let alone help me pick up an article of clothing which had dropped from the rack.  Although I got what I wanted from that store (at a steal, I might add!), I would definitely think twice about frequenting it again.  This is an example of a store that needs a proper crm software. 

Crm is the acronym for Customer Relationship Management, and is an essential tool for organizations aiming for a solution that can be implemented with simplicity and in a seamless, integrated manner.  The evolution of this revolutionary crm software promises to level the learning curve of your sales staff and to have the entire organization up and running in a matter of days!  I was amazed by the numerous features offered with this software,  including One-on-One Training and a unique Lead Attention Meter, which allows you to stay on top of all your leads and issues.

Every business needs a CRM these days, especially the store I visited the other day.  They should really think of signing up for the 14-day full-featured free trial before they lose all their customers!

Posted in Rainmakers | 1 Comment

One Step Closer to Jubilation

The Reds were going into the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal tie, with a one-goal deficit to work against. They were going against Chelsea, under the muse of The Special One. And the leg was going to be played in glorious Anfield.

Oh, what I would have given to be there…. To be a member of the “12th man” during that match. To watch Liverpool kick butt as we marched into the second Champions League final in 3 years! To drown myself in the mesmerizing strains of You’ll Never Walk Alone…. the match was nothing short of phenomenal. With an amazing 64% possession in the 1st half, Liverpool nearly sealed the deal several times in the second half and also in extra time. I missed several heartbeats too, I tell ya. But the match remained a 1-0 scoreline with that delightful goal by Daniel Agger and was certainly destined to go into a memorable penalty shootout. Dirk Kuyt scored the determining goal in the penalty shootout, quite deservedly so, as he missed a couple of great chances in the match. Truth be told, it proved a really daunting and pressurizing task for the Chelsea players to score against Pepe Reina in a penalty shootout, what with the Liverpool crowd jeering them on behind the goal mouth.

So we meet AC Milan in the final again. A repeat of the great Istanbul encounter 2 years ago. My hubby and I were kicking ourselves silly after that fantastic Istanbul match, which left us sleepless after that, because we were telling ourselves that we ought to have been there, drowning ourselves in championship glory. And a win that was won in that magnitude too!

I wonder how much it will set us back if we were to book tickets to Greece now. Athens beckons. And I can’t wait.

Posted in Relax & Celebrate | 7 Comments

All About Loans

Typically when one makes a decision to purchase a property, financial officers would tell them that it will not be a problem to secure a bank loan.  True in most cases, but, I recently knew a person who could not obtain a loan because he had put his name as a guarantor for someone else’s bank loan.  And it turned out that the person he was a guarantor for could not repay his loan, so the guarantor himself was blacklisted.  So even though this guarantor is a district manager of a well-established firm, he could not secure a loan.   So although it may seem as though any Tom, Dick and Harry can easily get loans approved, financial institutions do have a master list they refer to before they approve loan applications.

Thankfully though, there is now such a thing known as bad credit loans, simply put: loans offered to people with not-so-nice credit histories.  Of course, the interest rates may not be as appealing as that of a loan offered to someone with a credible loan history, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?  Out of the 2 kinds of bad credit loanssecured loans surprisingly offer more uncertainty than an unsecured loan.  An unsecured loan is also known as a personal loan and enables one to borrow money without the risk of one’s personal assets being up for repossession should something go wrong.

On the other hand, if you’re already in a mountain of debt and you want to reduce your debts into one easy payment, you might want to consider taking a loan that can enable you to consolidate your debts.  This is a great mechanism to help you get the reins together and to take control of the situation.  At the end of the day, it is a matter of getting the peace of mind by not having to worry about paying countless debts, but rather paying just a lump sum every month.

Posted in Rainmakers | 1 Comment

Where it all started…

Phew! We just got back from our trip to Ipoh and Taiping over the past couple of days, and boy are we tired.  On Saturday we made a trip to my hometown in Ipoh, spent the night there and on Sunday, headed for my hubby’s hometown in Taiping.  Managed to down some fantastic homecooked meals, which we have really been deprived of (save for some weekends when I do cook), whilst Ethan had a good time exploring both places.

On Sunday morning, we made a trip to Leech Street in Ipoh to savor the authentic white coffee, from the place where it all started.  The Nam Heong restaurant was jam-packed with coffee lovers and (I think) visitors to Ipoh.  Thankfully we found a seat, and ordered coffee and roti bakar (what else?!). 

It was the first time I had coffee in 2 years, at least, what with the pregnancy and breastfeeding.  Although I’m still breastfeeding now, I figured it should be all right for me to have a cup.  And I’m glad I did.  The coffee’s aromatic fragrance was just an invite to its smooth taste and rare blend of authentic coffee beans.  According to my hubby, from the taste, it is apparent that the white coffee here in Nam Heong is made from soaking and sieving the beans using the traditional muslin cloth, as opposed to the one at the Old Town White Coffee franchise, which tasted like they made it from the 3-in-1 packets.  I noticed that the Old Town White Coffee franchise even copied the way Nam Heong places the coffee spoon. 

However, the coffee at Nam Heong ought to have been served in the traditional coffee cups, the kind with the green designs at the side.  That would have given it that extra authenticity.

Rotibakar was all right too, thin and crisp.

Best of all, 3 cups of white coffee and 5 servings of rotibakar only cost us RM7.80.  In the Old Town White Coffee franchise, one cup of coffee alone would have set us back RM2.20!  It was therefore a surprise to me that the franchise also existed in Ipoh (in Greentown business center), and it’s a really huge one too!  Of course, people who frequent it pay for the ambience as well.

Well, I’m glad we found time to have brunch at Nam Heong.  Truly delicious and memorable coffee – I’ll take this anytime in place of a Starbucks latte!

Posted in Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings | 9 Comments

Technorati-Boosting Party

I’ve been an avid reader of Paris Beaverbanks’s blog since about a month back as she’s got some really awesome and interesting ideas and boy, can the lady cook too!  At the start of my whooopeee 5-day holiday, Paris presented me with this *online blogging gift* by favoriting me with a Technorati rank-boosting tag, which promises to boost one’s popularity on the internet…oh yeah, and it’s also supposed to spread good chi and karma around too…heh heh…

So! In the spirit of celebrating my newly-acquired Google Page Rank (4/10) (believe me, I’m smiling ear to ear now!), I shall proceed with this tag. 🙂

Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)

***START COPYING HERE***

Here are the Rules:

1) Write a short introduction paragraph about what how you found the list and include a link to the blog that referred you to the list.

2) COPY the Rules and ENTIRE list below and post it to your blog. To avoid duplicate content and increase the amount of keywords your site can accessible for, go ahead and change the title of the blog. Just don’t change the links of the blog.

3) Take “My New Faves” and move them into the “The Original Faves” list.

4) Add 5 Blogs that you’ve just added to your Technorati Favorites to the “My New Faves” section. Remember to also add the “Fave Me” link next to your new blogs (i.e. http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=http://www.yourfavesdomain.com)

5) Add Everyone on this list to your Technorati Favorites List by clicking on “Fave the Site.” Those who want good kharma will fave you back. If not, you will for sure get the benefits of faves from the bloggers who continue this list after you.

My New Faves:

PabloPabla’s Whatever – Fave the site
Little Miss May – Fave the site
Jutz1Blog – Fave the site
Sketches of LifeFave the site
My Baby BayFave the site

The Original Faves
:

Hochiak!Fave the site
Giddy TigersFave the site
Oh! For the love of meFave the site
Live Life, organics and your health
 – Fave the site
Pink ElleFave the site

Paris BeaverbanksFave the Site
TigerfishFave the Site
WennnnFave the Site
SiwwyPigFave the Site
angelFave the Site

LBFave the Site
Cool InsiderFave the Site
Simple AmericaFave the Site
ChenFave the Site
Captain PicardFave the Site

East Coast LifeFave the Site
Culture Shiok!Fave the Site
Pond PerspectiveFave the Site
Carlo OcabFave the Site
Fruity OatyFave the Site

Michael McKinlayFave the Site
Nice4Rice Free BacklinksFave the Site
Work at Home, Make Money OnlineFave the Site

Web 2.0, Tech ReviewsFave the Site
Wireless LAN SecurityFave the Site
Bobs [ReformatThis]Fave the Site
Everyday WeekenderFave the Site

Armen’s BlogFave the Site
Gary LeeFave the Site
Dosh DoshFave the Site
Nate WhitehillFave the Site
Ms. DanielleFave the Site

Jeff KeeFave the Site
Scribble on the WallFave the Site
Jimi Morrisons HeadFave the Site
Jon LeeFave the Site
SamanathonFave the Site

Eat Drink & Be Merry Fave the Site
The Man of SilverFave the Site
Hannes JohnsonFave the Site
My Dandelion PatchFave the Site
Nathan DrachFave the Site

SiteLogicFave the Site
Julies JournalFave the Site
Stephen FungFave the Site
Ed LauFave the Site
QMusingsFave the Site

***END COPYING HERE***

Posted in Blogging, Memes & Tags | 9 Comments