Customer Service Let Down

The phone call this morning had almost a bitter-sweet ending.  I had to call a company who charged me for an item that was returned within the required 30 days.  Original hold was only about 5 minutes then found out that I called the wrong customer service department.   Second hold was equally only about 5 minutes.  The person I spoke with had no clue as to why my account was charged the $99.99, but put me on hold to find out.  When she came back, she told me that their system was totally automated and the item was, indeed, returned and credit processed prior to the 30-day requirement.  However, their system took up to 2 complete billing cycles to take effect. Bottom line is that my credit was issued March 22; the automatic charge came through on my June 16 bill and the credit should hit my July 16 bill.  Isn’t it interesting that havin? a totally integrated automated billing/shipping system has a lag time that defies the old snail mail system we oldsters were accustomed to?  I am totally baffled by and question what kind of automation and integration this very large well-know company utililizes.  I think we all should take note to take a 180 on that one!

The bitter-sweet ending…..while I received my answer and was assured that my credit would appear on next month’s statement and in record time , I recognize that no matter how hard we work at automation, and integration, sometimes things are better left alone.  I sell online. I would be out of business if I treated my customers this way.  My customers have come to trust me and know that I deliver in a timely manner while while keeping them in the loop all along the way.  My business is built on the premise that I owe my customers the respect they deserve as they are what drives my income.

Note to Verizon:  Maybe you can learn something from the little guys!!

 

Measuring Success

How do you measure success?

Success:
To laugh often and much,
to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,
to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends,
to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others,
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded!
Ralph Waldo Emerson

  I don’t know about you, but I have fallen short  in the definition of “success” as shown above.  Life can be simple or we can fill it up with all kinds of “things” that keep us distracted  of its true meaning.  I consider myself an entrepreneur, work online from home and have a love and passion for what I do, but that doesn’t always measure up on the yardstick of success. 

I am just getting acquainted with one of my fellow Rock Stars - JanieRuth.  She is one of those infectious people who exude ultra personality, energy and care for anyone who crosses her path.  While in Chicago at eBay Live last week, JanieRuth suffered a 10-foot fall at the Art Institute of Chicago  and  suffered a serious head injury.  When she awakened from her coma, the first thing that struck her friends was her smile.  That beautiful enveloping smile shone throughout the ICU room and touched the hearts of all those around her. 

I’ve never met JanieRuth – only online.  Her vitality, strength and now, her courage impacts me greatly.  If only I….

Please pray for JanieRuth and her family over these next 4-6 weeks.  Let us uplift her as she has done to so many others.  Take note and take care to touch someone else’s life.  Set that example, as has JanieRuth , in your personal life as well as in your business.  Remember, it isn’t all for naught.

Gosinta has all vinyl records on sale through the end of the month.  Go now!

Is Love Really the Thing for eCommerce success?

Do you really love what you’re doing?  That word is sooooooo overused and so misunderstood.  I could go into a discussion of the Greek words for love and how each one described a different type of love, but that really won’t do any good here. 

So many of us are going to work each day just for the pay check.  While there’s nothing wrong with that, we can miss out on so much of life.  For example, I really loved my job working in the arts and entertainment industry……excited every day to go to work.  There were new people to meet every day, different problems to resolve between acts, promotors, the house and the public, different hours every day, different days off every week, longer hours, longer days, shorter nights, less sleep, less time for my husband and family, less time to kick back and relax with friends….and on and on.  While I really loved the job, it took its toll on not only me and my health, but also on all of my loved ones. 

The decision was made to retire early so that I could do what I wanted.  Only what was it?????  Finally, at the age of 55, I realized I wanted to work from home, have quiet time for myself, time with my husband and children who were now grown with children of their own and sell on eBay.  After 3 more years of messing around,  I found my niche, a catchy name and really started to work.  The most recent results are in:  providing a safe marketplace for those who listen and collect vinyl record albums and 78rpm’s; becoming an eBay PowerSeller; and most importantly, understanding and experiencing that “Love is the Thing” just as Nat King Cole said. 

Ramping it up a bit,  I was a “Ramblin’ Rose,” searching for that impossible dream and not finding what I was looking for.  Like “Mona Lisa” I couldn’t seem to grasp that “Unforgettable” experience I so yearned to have.  Nat had all the answers.  It is all about love.  So many of us get caught up in that whirlwind of life and can’t see because of the dust storm.  Selah….pause and think quietly about what it is you really want to do when you grow up.  Love is the  Thing – giving, receiving and providing an experience for the buyer when you sell online.  Build that trust relationship; provide something that your market loves and stand behind it because you love what you are doing!!

Check out these Nat King Cole albums in my store, Gosinta.

 

 

Gosinta Rocks Your Online Business World!

 

A little more bio info and revelation of the plan:  I am a baby boomer who has taken early retirement and started doing something I always wanted to do – work for myself from home. Over the next weeks and months we’ll be talking about a number of things. My goal is to encourage, help educate and share my incredible life with you!

My Life Rocks

• eBay and OSI RockStars

• The importance of a Rock Solid Marriage in being an entrepreneur

• The Rock of my faith and how it has help shape my business plan

• How my business works around my Rockin’ family – soon to include the addition of a great grandson

You’ll find encouragement here: breath mints for your tongue, finger tips for written communication and mind wraps for both your heart and mind.  We’ll discuss the four temperaments as seen in business relationships.  We’ll talk about character traits that can help us strengthen ourselves and work with others.  Finally, there will be music
reviews and some ear tickling, featuring artists and music found on record albums and 78 rpm records from my
eBay store.

Come on in; sit, relax….and enjoy!