Counter Assertion

On Friday, August 29, 2008, Sean King published an article in The Seoul Times, called “One Country, Three Systems? Unlikely.” Sean King discussed Hong Kong’s return to China in July of 2007. Though the Chinese anticipation for Hong Kong’s return was significant, there was more intrigue following what this move would mean for Taiwan.

Sean King’s analysis, decidedly, is that most people were “unnecessarily pessimistic about the former colony’s post-handover fate.” He said that the economy has remained unwavering, in spite of the difficulties China faced.

Sean King said, “…for Beijing, democratic virtues, or lack thereof, are only the beginning of the end of Hong Kong’s parallels with Taiwan. History is the key differentiator.” He then discussed some of the history behind the issues with Hong Kong and China. He referenced when Hong Kong became a part of China, falling under the Qin Dynasty.

And lastly, Sean King said: “It’s more than just a question of representative government. It’s a question of whether Taiwan’s people, ethnic Chinese or not, can see themselves within a greater Chinese state. Only Taiwanese themselves can make that call, and they’ll likely take their own sweet time. But the decision must be theirs, and theirs alone, to make.”

Sean King is the Vice President of Park Strategies, LLC and has been the expert in Asian-US economy interests for a number of years.

I was co-hosting a radio program the other day dedicated to the subject of customer satisfaction.

A caller mentioned that she hated having to stand in line to return items to department stores. I commiserated, but I also pointed out that she shouldn’t show her emotions when she’s standing in line.

The clerks will detect her furor, and they’ll slow down their transactions, hoping she’ll go to a different register, or give up.

I offered another, related tip.

When you reach someone who can help you with your problem, instead of sounding angry or displeased, it pays to manifest a different attitude.

Try curiosity.

For instance, on more than one occasion my charge card payments have arrived late, and huge penalties have been assessed. This bothers me, as it does, you.

Why can’t they get it right?

Anyway, if I come across as angry or in a condescending or haughty way, they blame me for the tardiness, insisting I was late in sending my payments.

If I sound curious, I get better treatment, and any late fees and finance charges are waived. I say:

“I’m a little concerned. I sent in my payment on time but for some reason, it doesn’t seem like you got itwhich is weird!”

“Oh, we got it,” they’ll reply, “but it seems it got here three days after the due date.”

“Wow, that’s unusual!” I’ll say.

“Well, we’ll go ahead and waive it for you.”

Problem over!

You have to try this. I’m sure you’ll get better customer service, and avoid hassles, while saving money.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

The last thing we want to hear during our work day is complaints from customers. However, it does come with the territory. Here are a few tips on how to turn your customer’s complaint into a positive.

1. Listen

When a customer comes to you with a complaint about one of your products or services, listen to them. Listen to what they are telling you, and take notes if at all possible.

The number one thing a customer wants when they have a problem is for someone to listen to them.

Allow them to vent, let them get it all out. Once they have explained their problem in full, begin to ask any questions you may have to get a full handle on the situation.

While you are listening, body language is very important. Make sure you maintain eye contact. This sends your customer a message that you are taking them seriously.

2. Be Empathetic

When the customer is done explaining their problem, show sincerity by telling them that you understand how they feel. Apologize on behalf of the company that they feel the way they do, and tell them that you are committed to resolving their issue within the guidelines of your company.

By becoming defensive in this situation, you are taking a bad situation and making it worse.

By having an understanding of where your customer is coming from on the situation, and speaking in a calm tone of voice, you can clearly defuse the situation.

You don’t by any means want your customer to become angry and cause a scene.

3. Offer a Solution.

We have all heard the expression “the customer is always right.”

I don’t necessarily agree with this, but it is important to work toward finding a solution, even if the customer is in the wrong. For instance, you might try meeting them half way.

You will know wether or not your customer is a repeat offender, and you can handle the situation accordingly.

For customers who have a legitimate complaint, it is best to rectify the situation right then and there. Wether it is giving them their money back, or replacing their product.

Always leave your customer with your business card and tell them if they should ever have a problem again, they should not hesitate to contact you immediately. This will help them regain their confidence in you and your company.

The main goal when a customer has a complaint is to not allow the problem to snowball. Your objective should be to defuse the situation and retain your customer.

By handling tough situations such as these in a professional manner, you will find your once complaining customers satisfied that you resolved their issue, and a new found respect for you.

This article may be reproduced by anyone at any time, as long as the authors name and reference links are kept in tact and active.

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

Online gaming has developed into one of the largest and most profitable online industries. The invention of the Internet and its mass popularisation throughout the world has produced incredible results throughout the commercial sector. But the gaming sector has been a particular revelation, with new games and rejuvenated old ones. The online casinos are a particular example of an industry that has taken on much of the fundamentals of the offline original, but with a modern virtual twist.

The success of online casinos has been unprecedented, with it quickly developing into a huge global multi-billion dollar industry. With new games and revitalised Java versions of the traditional casino pursuits, the online casinos have harnessed much of the popularity of the original whilst injecting a new and exciting formula. Unlike the ordinary casinos the online versions are not bound by the same restrictions or boundaries. They are able to remain open 24 hours a day and host as many people from all around the world. This limitless opportunity has led to the huge growth in membership and revenue for all of the sites, and has inevitably created a hugely competitive market.

Having witnesses the huge rise in the casinos revenue and the huge profits being created, a number of new sites have emerged looking to take a share of the market. Sports betting sites and other online gaming programs have introduced casinos to supplement revenue. As a result of this competitive environment advertising and marketing have become an integral part of the new and established casinos armoury. The larger sites must utilise marketing to remain ahead and establish their brand name, whilst the smaller sites must attempt to climb the ladder and generate the membership to become financially competitive.

One of the most popular and successful methods of advertising has been through affiliate marketing programs. Website owners are given advertising banners and other marketing tools to promote the casino. No money is exchanged by either party until the affiliate produces customers, at which point they are rewarded with either a single up front cash payment or a share of the money generated by the player for their duration on the site. With bonuses and incentives in place for the affiliates, the program is an effective method for casinos to reach a vast audience through a hard working network of websites, without having to pay up front advertising fees. The success of the affiliate programs has in turn rubbed off on the industries that they represent, and this is particularly true of the online casinos. It is a situation where success has breed further success, with both the affiliate and the online gaming industries benefiting from positive dual promotion.

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Email is a great way to keep in touch with those visitors to your site who have given you permission to periodically contact them. The most common method is an opt-in for a newsletter or ezine. Visitors provide you with their name (for personalization) and email address and authorize you to email them information. This is generally a two-step opt-in process that requires them to confirm their subscription by answering an email sent to them by your autoresponder. Decide whether you want your autoresponder to reject opt-ins from free email services., many of which are used as secondary addresses by people who wish to segregate (and maybe not read!) commercial email. By rejecting these sign-ups you can keep your list to a manageable size with primary addresses, but you may also alienate interested people who happen to have a free account, and don’t realize that they won’t receive your information. No method is best for everyone, and you’ll have to test the waters for your target group.

You also can set up your site to serve up a blank email, the way hitting “Contact Us” works, whenever a user clicks the subscribe button. This way you’ll get a blank email pre-populated with the user’s primary address. Be certain your process includes confirmation so there are no misunderstandings.

Once you’ve been through the process of offering information to site visitors, you need to be certain that you give them something of value each and every time you email them. It’s a two way street: you worked hard to convince them of the value of your information and you have their attention, as long as you produce. Make every issue special, even if they have to be pretty infrequent at first, or your hard work marketing yourself will not only be eliminated, but turned to a negative.

Karen Kari’s articles and more information on the affiliate business can be found at:

http://www.affiliatebandit.com

http://www.advertisingcellar.com

http://www.billionfreeads.com