Want to know what's out there on the web for those of us who are Just Over 50 and Not Ready for the AARP, join the conversation online or in person at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin on March 8.
Check the Just Over 50 and Not Dead Yet companion site for details.
After an unsatisfactory customer experience a few days ago, I had a follow up conversation with one of the managers. The response was that customers should understand that they cannot always get what they want... Say they wanted green olives instead they should be satisfied to be offered black ones... I also had to hear this decision maker let me know that he had a lot of things to worry about and that things were bound to fall through the cracks, he also offered that he had bigger problems to deal with than my little one... I was left to think that he was not a good listener and that his life would be easier if only he did not have to deal with his customers needs.
Even though I toyed on and off with Blogs using first Blogger and mostly Typepad it is not until March of this year (2005) that I became a steady blogger. I have to thank Debbie Galant of Baristanet for giving me a ready made name Serge The Concierge for my first blog when she first wrote about my business, Montclair Concierges.
I started the Blog as a way to communicate with potential customers by sharing things I know about and also things related somehow to the services we offer. It has been interesting to see some food and music items picked up by readers around the world. I am trying to keep my blog writing part of my day even though I skip some days due to lack of time or inspiration.
I started a second blog in May whose original purpose was to promote a Blog Panel we had in Montclair, New Jersey. It has now morphed into Creative Business and should by the fall become more a team blog with Jay Jacobs of My Petfat and Eric Bienstock of 3 Minute Thinking.
On the business side, I found out that having a write up on Blogs such as Baristanet had much more impact on the traffic of my websites than any print media article. I realized that after I launched my second website New Jersey Concierges and a link to it was published.
Since Typepad, which I use for both Blogs, partnered with Kanoodle, I used the service to place ads on each of them.
To conclude, participating in the Blogosphere allows me to reach more people directly and at the same time write about things I care about.
Two new customers for my personal assistant service, Montclair Concierges, reminded me that I never know what the next job will entail. Both were time sensitive. One was the need on short notice for a business visa. The other one involved the same-day delivery of documents for a bankrupcy case. Both were a first for me so it allowed me to expand my horizon regarding services that I could/should offer.
In both cases, the tasks were planned very quickly.
What I learned through these 2 clients was the need to be agile and flexible! The clients found our services when they needed them and we were able to fulfill their needs on short notice. It was a perfect illustration of a few points made by Barry Moltz in his book You need to be a little crazy.
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