Making More Headspace
A favorite app of our Smartwork Media editors is Headspace, which will guide you through a very modern approach to meditation. One of the points founder Andy Puddicombe makes repeatedly is for listeners to give regular thought to why and for whom they want to improve their mindfulness, or their ability to live in the present. To help with this, he suggests sticking a blank Post-It note to a mirror or on their computer. No need for inspiring quotes that lose their meaning after a while. Just a yellow note to trigger the thought: am I focused on the present or distracted? For whom am I doing the things I do each hour, every day?
Give It Away Good
If you’re going to give it away, give it away good. That, says Dianna Rae High, owner of Dianna Rae Jewelry, Lafayette, LA, was one of the most important customer service lessons she picked up from her mentor, her father-in-law. “Meaning, if you are going to offer a free appraisal with a sale, tell them that you normally charge $100 for an appraisal for items not purchased here. And if you have to replace a diamond under warranty, don’t do it with a bad attitude and blame them for it. Treat them as if you had just made a sale.”
Walking Billboards
The Jewelers in Lebanon, TN, has a nifty referral program that features a client’s custom design on a business card with a discount printed on the back. “Customers are typically more than willing to pass out a card with a picture of their gorgeous piece to anyone who will listen,” says owner Shawn Smith.
Get Some Satisfaction
If a customer is unhappy, you know you’ll hear about it. But satisfied customers are a different kettle of fish. To ensure you don’t miss out on this important feedback, author Andy Sernovitz suggests this approach: Hold an Employee of the Month contest and ask customers to vote. Second, ensure your website’s feedback form is in a prominent location. And invite free-form comments in post-purchase surveys.
Keep a Separate Card for Auto-payments
Most banks have accommodating policies for credit card theft. However, it can still be kind of a pain to cancel your card and all of its automatic payments. NerdWallet writer Virginia McGuire has a solution: designate one credit card exclusively for automated bill payments. “I now keep that credit card at home — well-hidden and protected by a burglar alarm — and carry a different credit card for daily spending,” she says. “That way, if my wallet takes a walk without me a third time, I won’t have to change the payment information on my Netflix account yet again.”
