Sherri’s Blog

I read an article about consumers blogging about the products that they use and the experiences that they have had with them.  The problem arises when consumers make claims about products that are dissimilar to the product’s claim.  It creates dissonance.

The article mentioned a consumer complaining about the customer service he received from a particular product.  However, you’re never going to get the same exact service from two different places.  The people are always different.  Even if trained in the same way.  There is always the possibility that the employer’s personality will come through.  I don’t believe that just because one person is rude at a particular location, that all employees of that facility or other facilities at other locations will be rude as well.

We should not base our perceptions of the company or their products based on one rude employee.  If this becomes habitual with several employees, then yes, this could be a problem.

However, I feel there is more of a relationship between customer service received over the telephone and the company.  Service received in person is less related to the company.  But the employees hired specifically to accommodate you when you have a problem with the product, such as 800 numbers, should be trained and screened to be of adequate assistance and well represent the company.

As for those in charge of hiring employees, you want to choose those employees who are going to represent you well.  They too have a great influence on the reputation that your company gains.

But how many complaints with customer service are necessary to damage a company’s reputation?  Is one enough?  I think one complaint can be enough to encourage others to speak up about their dissatisfactory.  So the main issue would be to please the customers.

Employees of businesses need to think about this.  They need to be aware that you are representing a company.  And we’re all familiar with the statement “the customer is always right.”  Now we know this is not necessarily true, but it’s a pep talk you must give yourself when you’re dealing with consumer relations.

As for ordinary complaints that go against the product’s slogan, motto or claims, this is something the company needs to look into.  If your product is not doing what it says it will do, then there’s a problem that needs to be fixed.

There is also a problem when there’s too much informal communication about the product.  I feel it is always important to have formal, professional comments as well.  Someone that knows and understands the product and can clarify the issue.  Many times consumers make complaints that may be due to personal misusage.  I feel professionals should always be invited to speak openly in these types of blogs.

So in the end, hire those that will represent your company well and be on the look-out for bloggers discrediting your product.  Give honest responses and clarification and make it known that you’ll do what’s necessary to fix the problem if there is one.  When it comes down to it, a company’s reputation depends on their abilities to keep their word and satisfy the customer.

 

As an employee of a small business I have seen the effects that the higher gas prices are having on such businesses.  I work at a balloons and gift shop that also decorates for special events.  We are often making deliveries and having to go on site to set up for proms, weddings and other special occasions.  In addition, we are constantly having new merchandise delivered to us on a daily basis.  Apparently, we are noticing the increased prices of gas.

The problem is that we’re losing money as these prices increase.  Just last weekend we had to decorate for a prom that ordered 2,000 special edition balloons, along with many other props and items.  We of course, had to order from another company and have the merchandise delivered to us.  The delivery charge for UPS was dramatically higher than usual.  So what can we do about the money we are losing?

I found an article with a list of possible solutions.  The first tactic suggested increasing the price of our merchandise.  We have certainly done this.  We have increased the price of our Jell Belly jelly beans, a popular product.  We have also increased the prices of our gift baskets and wrapping fees.  Some people seem disappointed, others hardly notice.  But when it’s costing us extra to have these products shipped to us, we have to make up for it somewhere.  However, this may be difficult for some people to see the connection.

That’s why I believe the second tactic mentioned is also a good idea.  This tactic suggests increasing the actual delivery fee.  With our fee already being $6, some people question that as it is.  To raise it higher, I’m sure some people would definitely complain.  Every now and then, we get a customer saying “She just lives 5 minutes way from the store, is the fee still $6?”  And yes, the fee is the same no matter where the delivery.  But if someone complained about the increased delivery fee, it would be much easier to explain that’s it’s because of the increased gas prices than it would be to try to explain the increased prices of jelly beans to an in-store customer.

The article mentioned that Wings Zone, a store that we have here, had to change their once popular “free delivery” slogan.  They now charge $1 for delivery.  However, their customers have quite understood.

The third tactic says to improve your energy efficiency by taking shorter routes and things of that nature.  That’s a good idea.  However, not always easily accomplished.  Whenever we get a new employee, we always know that they’re going to be gone for at least an hour for their first delivery.  Sometimes people give you wrong or unclear directions and sometimes you get lost.  Even with all the practice I’ve had driving around this small city, I still find myself lost at times.  Maybe better maps and additional clarification from the sender and the person the merchandise in being sent to would definitely help out.  But the majority of the time, when you end up driving in circles burning gas, it’s not your fault.

The fourth and final tactic tells you to know that absorbing the pain in the short run is the best option.  Sure, larger businesses around you may not have to increase their prices as much, but when you’re not filing bankruptcy at the end of the year you’ll be glad that you did increase prices.  Besides, if you offer quality products and services, which my store does, you want lose too many customers anyway. 

I read a post about an interview with Michael Eisner, a former Disney executive.  During the interview, it was mentioned that America is falling behind in technology while China and other countries are advancing.  It states that this has something to do with the fact that other countries are putting more effort into this sector.

From my opinion, Asia has always seemed to be more advanced in technology.  Well, in certain areas at least.  When I think of brand name electronics that I trust, most of them are Asian.  Not to go against American products at all, but everyone knows that the good cameras and television sets are made in Asia.

But this post reminded me of a show I was watching about Japan a few months ago.  Japan has developed the first robot with human-like features and movements.  Although I can’t remember the station, I came across an article about the robot that also includes a couple of photos.

The female android, by the name of Repliee Q1Expo, “naturally” flips her hair out of her eyes and scratches her nose during conversation.  Her skin is made of thin flexible silicone rather than hard plastic.  The Japanese have also included chest motions which makes it appear as though she’s breathing. 

She can interact in conversation and even respond to touch. They are still perfecting the smoothness of her movements but it’s amazing.  They plan to build a robot that can pass for a human.

That reminds me of the movie “Irobot.”  But anyone who has seen that movie knows that robots interacting in the human world didn’t turn out so great.  There are serious possibilities for malfunctions no matter how advanced the robot may be.

To actually have robots interact with peoples could be dangerous.  The first time a robot accidentally harms a child or even an adult, there will be major chaos.  I don’t believe it’s an issue of us being ready for such technology, but an issue of safety.  Or maybe I’ve been watching too much T.V.

Either way it goes, this just proves how advanced Asian technology is.  Technology is a wonderful thing improving the world in many different areas.  But as an American, I would love to see Americans advance in technology and not let all the Asian countries steel the glory.  We have intelligent people as well.  Let’s prove it.  Unfortunately, I can’t help out in that department, but I have faith in our people.

I’m sure we have something top secret going on right now that we’re waiting to shock the world with.  Maybe not a robot, but something great. 

But until then, my fascination is still focused on this human-like robot.  But although I think it’s amazing, it’s almost scary.  In fact, that does scare me.  I don’t know if I’m ready to interact with a robot on regular basis as if it were human.  Maybe at a theme park or something of that sort.  In fact, maybe Michael Eisner could use his influence to get one of those at Disney!

When you have to do a survey over the phone, you may think it will be easy.  Well, this was a major part of our assignment in my Survey Research class.  But it was not easy.

We were required to call the top 100 newspapers in America and ask them to take a survey.  But really, how many people do you think have time to take a break during work to have a conversation?  That’s basically what you’re asking when you attempt to take a survey over the phone.

In order to get these people’s attention and participation, we had to include an extra bit of information within the introduction.  “I’m a student at Auburn University.”

It’s funny how a line so simple can change people’s views about taking a survey. But believe me, it did.  That one phrase encouraged these editors, publishers and other representative to participate in our survey.

So, why was the fact that we’re students such an encouragement to participate?  I gave this some thought and came up with a few answers.

Number 1, who doesn’t want to help out a student?  When it’s for an educational purpose, you can’t just say no.  I’m sure all of the employees from the newspapers had received a college education.  It’s kind of a bond.  Something we had in common with these people.  They remember the days of struggling through college.  Therefore, they were more than willing to participate in order to ensure that we received a good grade.

Number 2, I’m sure we were viewed as less threatening since we are not professionals.  It gives a sort of comfort.  It’s a lot scarier when you feel as though a professional is giving you a survey.  You’re also a lot more trusting since we were just students.

This leads me to number 3.  These employees didn’t know if we were some organization trying to steal their information or what.  I’m sure many wouldn’t have felt comfortable releasing information without their manager’s approval had we not mentioned that we were students.  This also may have made them feel that the survey was not as serious.  However, it was.  I feel that the fact that we were students giving a survey, made them feel more relaxed with answering questions about their papers.

So I guess that’s a key aspect of phone surveys.  Or any survey for that matter.  Find that extra little phrase that’s enough to encourage that final decision to participate in a survey.  This may be difficult to do however, or perhaps it might just jump out a slap you in the face.

During class today there was a discussion about what is actually deceitful and what’s not.  A classmate, also majoring in PR stated that PR is misleading.  Another classmate told him he needed to change his major to journalism if that’s the way he felt.

But what is misleading?  Is rearranging words to sound more positive really misleading?  Not really.  It’s all in the way you perceive things.

Some things mentioned in class were phrases such as “used car” being changed into “previously owned vehicles.”  Or “raising taxes” transformed into “tax enhancement.”  And then there’s the phrase “bad credit” being said as “less than perfect credit.”  Yeah the wording sounds better, but you’re saying the same thing.

This reminds me of the other day when my friend was trying on a dress at the mall.  She asked me did the dress make her look weird.  I replied “um… well it doesn’t look like the normal you, but, I wouldn’t use the word weird.”  She replied “So it looks ok?”  If you think about it, isn’t “weird” pretty much the same as “not normal?”  Yet she thought I was saying it looked OK.  However, I’m sure that had much to do with the fact that “it looks OK” is what she was wanted to hear. 

I just really find it funny how we change word around to say the same thing just because it sounds better or less harsh.  People do it all the time.

Speaking of which, in the PR profession, it’s important to portray a positive image.  Sure, such words are used.  But they are in no way less than true.  Being able to come up with catchy little truthful phrases can be a valuable aspect.  I think this is one of the reasons people don’t trust PR campaigns.

I really hate that people view PR as being deceitful.  It’s all about perception.  You perceive what a PR professional says in your own way.  We don’t make up things.  But it is our job at times to make certain issues seem less negative in a truthful manner.  And I don’t think that’s a crime.

Survey Research was done by LuntzResearch Company to discover how much information teens new about the Constitution in comparison to pop culture.  I’m sure we all can guess which topic received the highest percentage…Pop Culture!

The survey was conducted by the use of telephone interviews.  After interviewing 600 teens between the ages of 13-17, the results were a bit disturbing. 

They used 14 questions asked in pairs.  In other words, each question about the constitution had a pop culture question to compare it too.  They compared questions such as “Who’s the Vice President of the U.S.” and “Who’s the star of Titanic.” 

Results revealed only 25.5% of teens knew what city the constitution was written in, yet 75.2% knew what city “90210” represented.  Now where they came up with these comparisons, I’m not sure

I think that’s one of the flaws in this survey.  Who determined which questions were appropriate comparisons?  But not only who, but how did they determine which questions to use? That would require research itself.

In the world of pop culture, the list of questions they could have asked is near endless.  However, questions concerning the Constitution are more so limited.

In addition, pop culture has become apart of everyday life.  Learning about the Constitution is approximately one chapter in a teen’s history book.  When not confronted with this information on a daily basis, it may take more time to come up with the correct answer.  Therefore, I feel is quite possible that many of these teens may have forgotten some of the answers, however, this does not necessarily mean that they didn’t know.

Then there is the amount of questions asked.  Sure, there were only 14 questions… times two!  In all there were 28 questions.  It’s hard enough to get an adult to answer a 10-question survey so I’m sure these teens were ready to get off of the phone by question nine.

As a result, when you’re ready to get off the phone or complete a long survey, you will say anything that comes to mind.  This also relates back to needing additional time to recall “academic” questions.  Once they’ve answered so many, I believe the teens weren’t even trying anymore.

Another problem I had with the survey was the decision to do telephone surveys.  First of all, most teens would much rather be hanging out with friends and watching their favorite T.V. shows after school.  Their minds are far away from academics when school is over and distractions from surrounding activities are increased.  I’m shocked that they actually had 600 teens to participate.  Then again, I’m curious as to just how many teens they attempted to contact.

Second of all, if the survey would have been given at schools, I feel the academic atmosphere would have been beneficial for answering question.  Also, what teen wouldn’t want Math class to end a little early to take a survey?  I feel giving the survey during school hours would have provided more participation.

However, I also understand how giving the survey at school could have altered results.  Teachers and principals wanting their school and students to look as smart as possible would have certainly reviewed the Constitution with the teens prior to the survey.

In conclusion, although flawed, it was an interesting survey.  My favorite question of the 28 was “Where did Abraham Lincoln live for most of his adult life?” compared to “What city does Bart Simpson live in?”  The answer?  Both Springfield!  However, only 17.2% got the Lincoln question correct, while 74.3% were correct about Bart!

Word-of-Mouth (WOM) campaigns are having a big influence on teens.  It is taking the place of traditional advertising and it’s quite interesting.

How often have you seen some outrageous commercial and immediately doubted its claim?  We all do it from time to time.  Especially with info-commercials.

Most of us are more likely to believe or friends, families and peers when it comes to products.  Advertising has often been perceived as a deceitful process.

However, when you have those that you trust sharing beneficial information about a product, you’re more likely to believe it.  That’s why word of mouth campaigns are so successful.  Check out Tremor, a word of mouth company.

With Tremor, they have teens and parent sign up to become apart of WOM.  They choose teens who have many communication networks, such as being apart of clubs and sports teams.  And also those teens who like to talk and share information about new discoveries.

Once these people sign up, they are able to be the first to try, and test out new products.  They are able to give new ideas and make changes before the products even hit the shelf.

I think that’s a great idea.  Who wouldn’t want to receive free samples and even take part in the customization?  We all have had things that we’ve wanted to change about a particular product.  This gives you an opportunity to do so.

I feel companies that use this technique are making a wise decision.  They are directly marketing to the consumer.  Find out what the consumer wants and needs, and then give it to them.

It’s definitely a 2-way-street here.  The industry gains valuable feedback that will allow them to increase sells, and consumers get what they want.  Why didn’t companies do this a long time ago?

I guess people often don’t realize how much of an influence others have on them.  I think the idea to get moms involved is also great.

When you think about it, college students fro instance, are always calling their parents to clarify which products to use.  Many times I have called my mom from the grocery store asking her what I should buy or what brand I should use in order to make a meal.  Whether it’s to decide what detergents to use or what to mop the floors with, parents have a big influence on what their children purchase.

For example, Downy once ran a campaign for their new wrinkle releaser product using this technique.  They use mom-like figures to go on college campuses to market the new product to students.

The same goes for friends.  If your friend is excited about how well something works, you’re more likely to want to try it as well.

Another example I thought about was a campaign organized to keep kids from smoking tobacco.  They also used this technique.  They had popular students, such as football players, go to elementary schools to teach them about not smoking.

Word-of-Mouth campaigns are not difficult.  All it takes is finding the right people to do it.  Tremor has named these people the Connectors.  By fulfilling the consumer’s needs, Connectors are willing to share these thoughts with others.  In addition they receive free samples and discounts while the company is benefited by increased sells.  It’s pure genius!

According to Wikepedia, genetically engineering is the term used to describe the process of manipulating genes, usually outside of the organisms normal reproductive process. This is increasingly being used on crops and other foods that we eat. The problem is that we don’t know what foods have gone through this process. There is no label required to notify consumers.
After reading “Organic Consumers Association Wants More Scientific Research”, I must agree that this is unacceptable. There have not been more than 10 studies done to determine just how safe these products are. Therefore, we’re consuming products that are potentially dangerous everyday.
I find it difficult to understand what makes food engineers and others manipulating crops feel that it’s unnecessary to notify the consumer. Wouldn’t you want to know which foods that you’re eating are natural and which ones are not? I would.
The Organic Consumers Association feels it’s their responsibility to lobby that labels be placed on GE food and that more research is done. This is a great and necessary idea.
Another objective they feel responsible for is the promotion of organic food. Especially since they’re higher in nutrients.
However, to be honest, I recently tasted some organic “snacks” made from fruits and nuts. I must admit that it was not too tasteful. I’m sure it was healthy, but the flavor definitely needed some improvements.
The snack was moist and seemed fresh, but lacking in taste. Not to completely apply to all organic foods, but if they’re going to promote organic foods, they need to work on improving the taste.
However, I feel their first mission should be to at least get labels onto GE products. Although I’m not sure which foods that I consume are genetically engineered, I’m sure it will be shocking to find out.
But, are people going to change their eating habits once labels are applied? If the foods you love are genetically engineered, the truth is that many may be willing to continue consuming the products.
But I guess the main issue is to notify the public and let them make their own decisions. That’s where the research comes into play. If the dangers of GE food are reported, assuming that there are dangers, then consumers will be more likely to make wiser food choices.
I don’t believe you have to switch solely to organic foods, but at least switch to more natural products. I am in strong agreement with the Organic Consumers Association’s plan to get labels on GE food and have the necessary research done and reported immediately.

So just how trustworthy are paid online surveys?  After reading a few articles about the validity of paid online surveys, I became quite skeptical about just who to trust.

When I googled “problems with paid surveys,” I saw many titles reading “Warning” and “Don’t get scammed.”  However, you wouldn’t believe that these sights were ant-online surveys.  But instead these sites were actually trying to persuade you that there are sights that are scams, yet they can direct you to a trustworthy site.

That was definitely a gimmick.  They made you think you were getting information encouraging you not to trust such sites.  But in reality, they were trying to tell you which sites to visit.  Which all had membership fees.

Sites “Top 2005 Scams Exposed” and “2006 Survey Ratings” were definitely deceitful. The main goal in the end seemed to be to direct you to “legitimate” online paid survey sites.

These websites that caught the attention of the skeptic listed the top 3 paid online surveys.  I’ll admit, 1 of the 3 were the same for both sites.  Unfortunately that does not guarantee that it wasn’t a scam that the 2 websites had in common.  This so called legitimate site could very well be paying these people to lure in those who feel uncomfortable about paid surveys, yet still had some interest in it.

When I read “Top 2005 Scams Exposed”, the entire layout and use of colors resembled an untrustworthy tabloid.  The further I read down the page, the more I realized that their underlying mission was to promote paid surveys rather than to encourage people not to get involved with such thing.

Now I’m not saying that online paid surveys don’t exist, but you are obviously taking a risk.  Apparently there are scam artist with underlying motivations to reel in those who want to make quick easy money.  I feel it’s necessary for people to be aware of this.

In addition, I don’t believe that people who are paid to take a survey give as accurate answers as those who choose to take surveys for personal reasons.

Those who are getting paid are doing it just for the money.  They will say anything to get it completed just to gain a prize in the end.  Unless accuracy is not the concern of your company, the money insinuative is just a plain bad idea. 

And what good are invalid survey results?  They’re not beneficial to your organization.  It’s a waste of money.  If you’re going to spend money on paying people to participate, you might as well use that money to do some extended research and allow those who don’t have some other motive to be the participants.

So, in conclusion…will I ever get involved in a paid online survey?  No way!

When most people think of heroin, including myself, I think of a junky on the street corner begging for change or sitting in a hit house on the verge of overdosing.  Every idea of a heroin user is to the extreme.

However, there are heroin users (and those who have used before) living amongst us serving our food, sitting next to us in class, taking our bill payments and are even our co-workers.  Yes, believe it or not, heroin addicts can hold jobs.

The fact is that there is such thing has a functioning heroin addict.  Read the article “I Miss Heroin.”  It’s a brief story in which the author shares her story as a recovered functioning heroin addict who by the end of the story is eager to use again.

However, my motivation for writing about this topic comes from situations I have encountered over the past year…

Beginning with the first eye opener, I’ll start from a speech given in my Speaking Before Audiences class.  A classmate, who sat near me, stood in front of the entire class and gave a speech about his past intravenous drug use.  He looked no different, acted no different from anyone else in class.  I mean, he was even in college. 

You can imagine the shock of the classroom.  Definitely not what we expected to hear.  We didn’t know if we should clap at the end or give him a hug.  The initial response was silence followed by awkward stares and looking around to check other people’s responses.  The speech really made me think.  You just never know.

The next situation occurred at my hair dresser’s salon.  Somehow my hair dresser felt comfortable enough to tell me that her mother was a heroin addict.  She then mentioned that her and her 4-year-old son were going to visit her for the holidays.  I was thinking wait, she doesn’t live on the street? She went on to explain to me that she had a job, paid her bills and lived a “regular” life.

This was not at all regular.  I couldn’t believe she was bringing her husband and son to her mother’s house.  This was my first time hearing of what she called a “functioning heroin addict.”  I mean, this lady was someone’s mother, grandmother, co-worker and neighbor.

As time went on, I later met a guy at a bar here in Auburn.  He looked like the typical college student, except he wasn’t.  At our second meeting, he decided to let me know that he was a recovering heroin addict.  Of course I was shocked, once again.

He told me stories of being a waiter and rushing off at the end of the night to buy more heroin with the tips he had made. He mentioned he had relapsed several times and he couldn’t promise that he wouldn’t relapse again.  He told me all the little things that reminded him of heroin and how he wore obvious long sleeves in the summer. 

This 23-year-old college drop out was now living with his parents for support and working at his dad’s company.  Although he seemed nice and willing and trying hard to make a turn around, it was just not something I was willing to deal with.

Now for the present.  In December I met this guy who works at a place that I go to pay a monthly bill.  After once-a-month brief conversations over the past four months he asked me on a date.  I agreed.

During dinner he explained he was a student at Southern Union and was working part-time.  He went on to mention his prior drug use, including intravenous drug use.  Why he felt comfortable to share this on a first date, I don’t know.  Needless to say, it was our first and last date.  

I just didn’t realize how many people used needles to inject drugs.  I’m not trying to judge anyone off such issues, but it’s just not something I want to be involved with.  I’m happy for those who are trying to recover and for those who have kicked the habit, but sharing needles is dangerous. 

According to a Heroin Factsheet, the National Household Survey of Drug Use reported that in 2001, 3.1 million people ages 12-25 had tried heroin at least once. 

It’s a complete shocker how common intravenous drug use is.  I never thought I would meet a person who had done heroin before.  And now I’ve met three within one year in this small Auburn town.  I think it’s sad.  But I tell you, looks can definitely be deceiving.