Today we're going to make a concertive effort to work on our communication skills. In order for us to effectively communicate with one another we must first have knowledge of the thing we're communicating about. We cannot be effective communicators if we don't have anything to communicate about. The world is constantly evolving every second with newer inventions & ideas. It is up to us to keep up with these evolutions in order to be as productive as we can. This can only happen if we study, research, read & keep up with current events. In keeping up with current events (i.e., newspapers, the Internet or television) we must be careful not to allow the media to form opinions for us but do our own extensive research on the subject matter we're examining to properly form our own opinion & verifying that what we've heard or read through these media outlets are in fact true.
In closing, the only way we can communicate with each other is to first have something to say that's worth anything. An increase in knowledge is by far the only way one can have something worth talking about. If you have anything to say, make sure it's true, helpful & necessary and by all means PLEASE do your homework & know what it is your talking about before you say anything! Remember effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know. So, it's better for one to think you are a fool with no proof then for you to speak and remove all doubt!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Father's Year!
There are many stories how the custom of honoring Dads on a Sunday in June got started. The most popular story about the origins of Father's Day is said to have started growing its roots in the year of 1909. Mrs. John B. Dodds, from Spokane, Washington, campaigned for a Father's Day celebration. The idea came to her while she listened to a church sermon on the virtues of Mother's Day.
Mrs. Dodds thought about her own childhood, raised in a family of six children by a single father after the death of her mother. Mrs. Dodds thought of her father, who acted as both father and mother, and nurtured and cared for her and her siblings. There were many other fathers who selflessly gave of themselves to help take care of their own children, as well as provide for them financially too.
She wanted all fathers to be honored with a special day all their own. She campaigned and worked to spread her message, and even got the help of friends and family to write letters to influential people who could make this dream happen for her.
After much hard work, Father's Day was first celebrated in 1910. Mrs. Dodds wanted the date of the holiday to be on her father's birthday, which was the fifth of June. But the events had to be moved to the nineteenth of June so there would be enough time to prepare.
Over time, annual celebrations were held throughout the United States and Canada. In 1972 Richard M. Nixon signed a congressional resolution creating Father's Day in the United States.
In the years to follow it seems that the initial meaning of the holiday has transformed to just a marketing title for the retailers to sale merchandise. The real importance of fathers in the since seems to have been lost in the sauce! When I watch a sporting event such as football, when a player is honored for a good play such as a touchdown, when they are on camera they seem to always say,"Hi Mom!" Never, "Hi Dad!" I wonder why this is?
As a person who never knew his father, it is very important to me that fathers re assume their roles in family life as the head of the house, provider & protector. I was recently in a discussion in the barbershop I work & we talked about why is there so much fan fair for mothers on Mother's Day & not enough for fathers on ours?
I've come to the conclusion that women are more emotional than we are & the happier they are the happier the home will be! With men, our happiness is somewhat pride driven. When we see our life lessons we've tried to instill in our kids successfully put into practice, our hearts smile & our egos are super stroked! As a father myself through marriage, my kids are priority to me. I received the best Father's Day gift I could ask for when my son who is in basic training in the army was able to call & wish me a Happy Father's Day. What really pleased me was the initiative he took to enlist in the military to better himself & how he constantly tells me how he's glad I taught him certain things dealing with being a responsible man in society.
Anyway, in conclusion fathers ( and I am guilty of this) , let's stop complaining about us as fathers not getting enough recognition like the mothers do. Let our works, leadership, examples, devotion, provisions & training of our children be a tribute to a Happy Father's "Year" so we can look at the fruits of our labor on Father's "Day" & be proud! There in lies our most priceless gift...a successful child. HAPPY FATHER'S YEAR!
GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE!
Mrs. Dodds thought about her own childhood, raised in a family of six children by a single father after the death of her mother. Mrs. Dodds thought of her father, who acted as both father and mother, and nurtured and cared for her and her siblings. There were many other fathers who selflessly gave of themselves to help take care of their own children, as well as provide for them financially too.
She wanted all fathers to be honored with a special day all their own. She campaigned and worked to spread her message, and even got the help of friends and family to write letters to influential people who could make this dream happen for her.
After much hard work, Father's Day was first celebrated in 1910. Mrs. Dodds wanted the date of the holiday to be on her father's birthday, which was the fifth of June. But the events had to be moved to the nineteenth of June so there would be enough time to prepare.
Over time, annual celebrations were held throughout the United States and Canada. In 1972 Richard M. Nixon signed a congressional resolution creating Father's Day in the United States.
In the years to follow it seems that the initial meaning of the holiday has transformed to just a marketing title for the retailers to sale merchandise. The real importance of fathers in the since seems to have been lost in the sauce! When I watch a sporting event such as football, when a player is honored for a good play such as a touchdown, when they are on camera they seem to always say,"Hi Mom!" Never, "Hi Dad!" I wonder why this is?
As a person who never knew his father, it is very important to me that fathers re assume their roles in family life as the head of the house, provider & protector. I was recently in a discussion in the barbershop I work & we talked about why is there so much fan fair for mothers on Mother's Day & not enough for fathers on ours?
I've come to the conclusion that women are more emotional than we are & the happier they are the happier the home will be! With men, our happiness is somewhat pride driven. When we see our life lessons we've tried to instill in our kids successfully put into practice, our hearts smile & our egos are super stroked! As a father myself through marriage, my kids are priority to me. I received the best Father's Day gift I could ask for when my son who is in basic training in the army was able to call & wish me a Happy Father's Day. What really pleased me was the initiative he took to enlist in the military to better himself & how he constantly tells me how he's glad I taught him certain things dealing with being a responsible man in society.
Anyway, in conclusion fathers ( and I am guilty of this) , let's stop complaining about us as fathers not getting enough recognition like the mothers do. Let our works, leadership, examples, devotion, provisions & training of our children be a tribute to a Happy Father's "Year" so we can look at the fruits of our labor on Father's "Day" & be proud! There in lies our most priceless gift...a successful child. HAPPY FATHER'S YEAR!
GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Customer Service
In the hustle & bustle of this world of not enough time in the day & societies fast pace, businesses have gotten away from customer satisfaction & customer service has become a lost art. Being that good customer service is the livelihood of my business (since I am a barber), I feel that it's a must that some of these issues be addressed. Since I am a "customer" in the since of the word on a daily basis (i.e. I shop at stores, fast food places,etc.) there are some special treatments I feel that I'm entitled to! It is not a right for a business owner to receive my money for their product or service. It's a privilege!
First of all, the main goal of good customer service is repeat business! When a customer of mine enters the barbershop where I work where there are 5 more equally qualified barbers & chooses to wait however long it takes to get service from me, that's mainly because of superb customer service (not to mention the cuts are tight also)! No matter what the business is, the customer needs to leave there happy no matter how much money they parted with. A good experience will help them get over the pain of parting with their hard earned cash! If they have a good experience they'll pass on positive feedback to others.
The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship. You have to make that person feel like their the only one who matters at the time & in a sense they are because they have what it takes to keep you in business...CASH! If you're not a customer, you're a salesperson because you're trying to sell your product or service. A good salesperson makes the customer want to pursue them.
I recently patronized a Kentucky Fried Chicken establishment located at 106 W. Illinois Ave., Dallas,TX 75224 (#214-941-1673) & had several bad experiences. It's definitely my fault that the occurrences have been frequent seeing that I should have stopped frequenting them after the first couple of incidents. Anyway, since I did here's a few things that happened. I went through the drive thru on one occasion & the person working it didn't see me because he was on a cell phone with his back turned. The never have everything on the menu & it's usually what you order that's not in stock. When I complained to the "manager" he said,"My bad my nigga!" Now how disrespectful is that? Upon another visit, there was a line of people in the lobby with one person working the register & the drive thru. But, the manager was standing there with her purse on her shoulder with several other employees standing around not helping.
Needless to say, I won't be patronizing them anymore & what's worst is by me sharing my experience there will be several other people who will stop eating from there. Several attempts to speak to a customer care representative failed. That's another major problem in itself. If the ownership or upper management don't get a handle on this one location soon it's bound to doom!
In my research of top businesses I've comprised a list of customer service pluses that has these businesses succeeding.You first must answer your phone. People want to talk to a live person. Not a recording.You must keep your promises.As a barber, if I tell someone I can stay late or come in early for them, I have to keep that promise. That type of service will probably make that person an exclusive client of mine, that is repeat business.Listen to customers. It's annoying for customers to have to explain something over & over again.You should make appropriate responses & problem fixes.Deal with complaints.You can't please all the people all the time but your attention to the complaint may please this one customer this time.If you have staff, properly train them & make them knowledgeable about your business.Be helpful even if there is no immediate profit.Take extra steps. If you work in a grocery store & I need to know where an item is, don't direct me to it, take me to it & ask if there's anything else you can assist me with.Finally, throw in something extra like a discount, additional information or even a smile. As a barber, I do extra things like beard & mustache trims which we usually charge for.
There are a lot of places that sell chicken like KFC so you have to have better services than your competitor & to be successful you must exceed your customer's expectations. What can you offer that's better then the competition? A lot of people just lower their prices but their just prices, not service.Hassle free convenience & a pleasant experience provides customer service that distinguishes you from the competition.All products & services are the same. It's the customer service that makes them different.
The last observation that I would like to make is that for some reason business owners horribly neglect customer service in the inner cities or "hoods"! Why is this? Maybe it's because it is widely accepted in the inner cities & there is a lack of respect & self respect. Why should we be subjected to piss-poor customer service when we frivolously spend more money then anyone else. We are over charged & under serviced & we take it with a smile. We go into establishments like we owe them something when they should be showing their gratitude to us just for considering their business.The problem we're facing in dealing with these challenges are self propitiated. If I continue to spend money with someone who has poor customer service, they'll continue to treat me the same way. Why stop doing something that works?
In conclusion, no one wants to spend their hard earned money. So while they are, the experience need to be made as pleasant as possible. In the case of the KFC, I was so upset that I ordered over $60 of made to order food through the drive thru & drove off once it was prepared.That's unfortunate for the owner but"OH WELL!" This location & others like it in the inner cities needs a total management make over & I believe that once this happens & these steps I've previously outlined are put into action I can enjoy my barnyard pimp a little bit better!
First of all, the main goal of good customer service is repeat business! When a customer of mine enters the barbershop where I work where there are 5 more equally qualified barbers & chooses to wait however long it takes to get service from me, that's mainly because of superb customer service (not to mention the cuts are tight also)! No matter what the business is, the customer needs to leave there happy no matter how much money they parted with. A good experience will help them get over the pain of parting with their hard earned cash! If they have a good experience they'll pass on positive feedback to others.
The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship. You have to make that person feel like their the only one who matters at the time & in a sense they are because they have what it takes to keep you in business...CASH! If you're not a customer, you're a salesperson because you're trying to sell your product or service. A good salesperson makes the customer want to pursue them.
I recently patronized a Kentucky Fried Chicken establishment located at 106 W. Illinois Ave., Dallas,TX 75224 (#214-941-1673) & had several bad experiences. It's definitely my fault that the occurrences have been frequent seeing that I should have stopped frequenting them after the first couple of incidents. Anyway, since I did here's a few things that happened. I went through the drive thru on one occasion & the person working it didn't see me because he was on a cell phone with his back turned. The never have everything on the menu & it's usually what you order that's not in stock. When I complained to the "manager" he said,"My bad my nigga!" Now how disrespectful is that? Upon another visit, there was a line of people in the lobby with one person working the register & the drive thru. But, the manager was standing there with her purse on her shoulder with several other employees standing around not helping.
Needless to say, I won't be patronizing them anymore & what's worst is by me sharing my experience there will be several other people who will stop eating from there. Several attempts to speak to a customer care representative failed. That's another major problem in itself. If the ownership or upper management don't get a handle on this one location soon it's bound to doom!
In my research of top businesses I've comprised a list of customer service pluses that has these businesses succeeding.You first must answer your phone. People want to talk to a live person. Not a recording.You must keep your promises.As a barber, if I tell someone I can stay late or come in early for them, I have to keep that promise. That type of service will probably make that person an exclusive client of mine, that is repeat business.Listen to customers. It's annoying for customers to have to explain something over & over again.You should make appropriate responses & problem fixes.Deal with complaints.You can't please all the people all the time but your attention to the complaint may please this one customer this time.If you have staff, properly train them & make them knowledgeable about your business.Be helpful even if there is no immediate profit.Take extra steps. If you work in a grocery store & I need to know where an item is, don't direct me to it, take me to it & ask if there's anything else you can assist me with.Finally, throw in something extra like a discount, additional information or even a smile. As a barber, I do extra things like beard & mustache trims which we usually charge for.
There are a lot of places that sell chicken like KFC so you have to have better services than your competitor & to be successful you must exceed your customer's expectations. What can you offer that's better then the competition? A lot of people just lower their prices but their just prices, not service.Hassle free convenience & a pleasant experience provides customer service that distinguishes you from the competition.All products & services are the same. It's the customer service that makes them different.
The last observation that I would like to make is that for some reason business owners horribly neglect customer service in the inner cities or "hoods"! Why is this? Maybe it's because it is widely accepted in the inner cities & there is a lack of respect & self respect. Why should we be subjected to piss-poor customer service when we frivolously spend more money then anyone else. We are over charged & under serviced & we take it with a smile. We go into establishments like we owe them something when they should be showing their gratitude to us just for considering their business.The problem we're facing in dealing with these challenges are self propitiated. If I continue to spend money with someone who has poor customer service, they'll continue to treat me the same way. Why stop doing something that works?
In conclusion, no one wants to spend their hard earned money. So while they are, the experience need to be made as pleasant as possible. In the case of the KFC, I was so upset that I ordered over $60 of made to order food through the drive thru & drove off once it was prepared.That's unfortunate for the owner but"OH WELL!" This location & others like it in the inner cities needs a total management make over & I believe that once this happens & these steps I've previously outlined are put into action I can enjoy my barnyard pimp a little bit better!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorial Day Ponders
Memorial Day was formerly known as Decoration Day to honor the men & women who died in the line of military duty. It was first inacted to honor Union soldiers who died in the Civil War but after WWI it was expanded to honor those lost in any war. It also has been expanded to honor those who have died in the civil area too such as police officers or firemen. Now that we've got the history out the way, let's talk about what the real meaning should be.
Think about it. We say that we celebrate the memory of those who lost their lives protecting our country & freedom when in fact these brave individuals didn't lose their lives, they were taken from them! We all wait for this day in order to be off work & barbeque just like all the other "holidays" we use to get rest or "kick" it. On this day we should celebrate the lives of those who are living & pray for the end of wars so there won't be a reason to honor fallen soldiers.
I recently became an Army dad. My oldest son began basic training about 3 weeks ago. He's in the infintry @ Fort Benning, GA. It is my hopes & prayers that we as Americans can pool together our resources, knowledge & wisdom to help our President find a way to end these illegal wars abroad & at home. The wars at home consist of the battles between the haves & the have nots which I'll break down into sub-categories & explain them in my next blog.
In conclusion, the point I'm trying to make is let's not take this one day out to remember those who's lives were taken protecting our country & way of life. Let's remember them the other 364 days & use this one day to pray for the soldiers who are hear & to bring an end to the wars that robs our young men & women of there lives. So,"Happy Memorial Day!"
GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
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