Ok....so after the grocery store incident, I made my way over to ABoR and enjoyed two fantastic classes instructed by a top notch national instructor (I'm not putting her name here because I don't want her to be associated with the rest of this entry!) on Social Networking, The REALTOR® Code of Ethics, and how to adjust my company's policy and procedure manual given this new social networking world we're in. Great classes. Only 30 people there - that might be the topic of my next post!
Anyway, at the end of the day I went home, traffic a little heavier than normal but no big problems. Took a bit of a nap (let's be honest, I'm not used to getting up at 6 a.m. and engaging my brain until 4 p.m. non-stop!). Then we decided to head to Best Buy to look at laptops and iPod stuffs. When we were done with that we were going to figure out what to do for dinner. In the car on the way to the store, we decided pizza sounded good. I pulled out my iphone and did a google search for the pizza place we wanted to order from. It's one of my favorites - but not as good as Casey's Pizza back home!
I found the site, but couldn't get a phone number to come up for the local store. Thankfully Rick was able to. So I called the store, and asked them what their specials were. They were two large two topping pizzas for 19.99. I asked if they had a special that included a specialty pizza - she said yes, one specialty pizza and one large two topping pizza for 21.99. I said perfect - let me figure out what specialty pizza we want and I'll call you back.
So we fired up the iphone again and looked at the specialty pizzas. I settled on the Smokehouse bacon and something or other - that came from the menu I pulled up on the iphone. Rick wanted the two topping to be Canadian bacon and mushrooms. So I called back and someone else answered....here's how it went.
PG (phone guy): Thank you for calling ABC Pizza (name changed to protect the...well, anyway), would you like to try two large two topping pizzas for 19.99
ME: No, but I'd like the one large specialty and one large two topping pizza for 21.99
PG: Sure sir - are you Chad Cardani at 2523 Carlow?
ME: Yes I am (wondering why they know this and thinking it's creepy - but a sign of the times apparently)
PG: Ok great. Is this pickup or delivery?
ME: Pickup (we're too cheap to pay someone to deliver it)
PG: Ok, what would you like as your specialty pizza?
ME: The Smokehouse Bacon and something or other (again, directly from the menu on Ricks' iphone that was in my hand)
PG: Gosh I'm having a really hard time hearing you - these phones are terrible. Would you repeat that?
ME: Sure. I want the (repeated it....THREE TIMES)
PG: Ok sir, sorry about that, it's really hard to hear. (in the background - HEY Sheila - is asjas;liasdglkasf asdljhasd asdl;hfasd asdjhk ) I couldn't tell what he was saying. Phone was hard to hear on. :)
PG: Ok sir, that will be $26.00 plus $2.00 for tax.
ME: 26 PLUS 2 for tax?
PG: Yes.
ME: How is that? The special is 21.99 for blah blah blah....
PG: Yes, but the Smokehouse Bacon blah blah pizza isn't a specialty pizza anymore, so I had to create it for you, and that adds more toppings (apparently that is what he was talking to Sheila about"
ME: But it says it is a specialty pizza online
PG: Well that's online - we're on the phone
ME: Uh...ok...so you're telling me there are two different menus?
PG: Yes sir.
ME: And you can't honor the online menu because we're on the phone?
PG: Yes that's right.
ME: And you weren't going to tell me there was a problem, you just created the pizza and added extra dollars to the special for me?
PG: Yes sir.
ME: Wow....so you can't fix this problem?
PG: No.
ME: So you want me to pay extra because I'm on the phone and not online?
PG: The pizza you want isn't a specialty pizza anymore
ME: But it says it is online
PG: But we're on the phone
ME: Ok....well I guess I'll figure out something else for dinner.
PG: Uh....ok....as;lk asd;lkjhasd asdlljhsad (he said something as I was hitting the hangup button.
WTH is that??? Really??? I realize we're talking about a couple bucks - but really? Wouldn't it have been better to make the pizza I asked for and not charged extra? So instead we wasted 5 minutes? And instead of keeping a happy customer and giving up those two extra bucks, they got NOTHING?? (And this bad PR!)
Since we were in the grocery store parking lot, we went in looking for something to eat. Low and behold they have take and bake pizzas...for 5 bucks. We got an onion, some lemons for water, ice cream, frozen fruit bars, and had a great conversation with the friend we ran into, for far less than the pizza stores price.
Now - here's a quick update. As I sat down to write this I pulled up the pizza stores website so I could find the name of the specialty pizza. It's not there. Apparently when you're using the mobile interface they haven't updated the site to show the current offerings.
Ya - I know the right thing to do would be to contact them and let them know there's a problem. And the right thing to do last night was to give me the pizza I asked for at the specialty pizza price.
I'm hearing my moms voice saying "Two wrongs don't make a right"....
Good thing she's in Iowa... ;)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
My customer service day
I think it's kind of odd that I spend so much time learning and growing and attempting to help others learn and grow, all in an effort to provide world class customer service.
Let me tell you a story about my customer service experiences today.
Since we had a shift in temperatures over night, I set my alarm pretty early to make sure I would be able to get up to the Board of REALTORS® with plenty of time to get settled for class. Turns out I got up there around 7:15 a.m. for a class that started at 7:30. So I had this though - run by the local grocery store (it was not HEB) and get a bottle of wine as a welcome back gift for Sally who will be back in the office next week.
I walk in the store and find the wine...then I walk up to the front to check out. There were three people in line ahead of me - so I went looking for another check out - but at that time in the morning there is only one line open. Makes sense. I went back and got in line. By that time I was the 5th person in line. Then I notice there is no checker there. It looked like she had to run over to the customer service counter for something. Then she came back, and immediately turned around and left again and made a copy. Four other employees walked by. All of them looked at us. Nobody helped us. I stood there wondering if anyone was going to say something. Nobody did....so i went to the managers office and asked - with a little more volume than regular conversation - if it would be possible to get some help - because there were now seven of us in line and NO CHECKER.
The manager came and apologized, saying she was sorry her checker had left. When it was my turn - she apologized to me as well. I smiled and said thank you for taking care of us - but that she needed to know that the four other employees had walked by, noticed a problem, and done nothing about it - and to me, that was an even bigger problem. She seemed to agree....I went on my way.
The wine was a hit and I enjoyed a great day of learning with some of the best agents in Austin.
Stay tuned for part two....
Friday, October 23, 2009
Cool stuff going on in Austin
As many of you know, Austin is a creative place - lots of live music and films and all that cool stuff.
Check out this article to see what's happening right now in our awesome town.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Protect yourself online
Nearly every day I get emails from "other professionals" in the real estate industry. Many of them are junk that I haven't asked for from people I don't know - and most of the time those go directly in the trash unless they have a REALLY catchy subject.
About 10% of the emails are from people I have actually met or worked with. Often those will go in the trash too, unless they're directly related to a transaction we're working on or may be working on together (again, noted by the subject line).
Today I browsed an email sent over by a mortgage person that was working with the buyer on a property where I represented the seller. It was one of the smoothest transactions I've done - in large part because the mortgage person knew what was going on and actually paid attention and followed through on things.
What'd I learn today? I learned that some folks need to have better email passwords. Here's the scoop:
Stolen Hotmail Passwords Demonstrate Need for Stronger Passwords
By now, you've probably heard that 30,000 passwords for Hotmail and Gmail accounts were stolen earlier this month.
But did you know that a security group analyzed those passwords and found that the most commonly used password was 123456? If that wasn't bad enough, the second most common password that was used...yep, you guessed it...123456789.
In today's electronic environment, that's unbelievable. We no longer live in a world where we can use a simple string of numbers or a child's name as a password. They're just too easy to hack...and the results can be much more devastating than merely finding your emails made public.
The problem is that we all have so many passwords. So how do we make strong passwords that we can actually remember for every account?
The tips below can help you avoid the most common password pitfalls and even implement a few new ideas that will make your passwords easy to remember...and hard to break!
Don't Use a Password that's Easy to Guess
There's no way around it...a well-protected password is hard for other people to guess. How do you do that? It's pretty simple really. Just follow this advice:
* Use a random string of characters. That means no sequential letters or numbers, like those Hotmail accounts that used 123456!
* Make it looooong. The longer the better--even up to as many as 10 to 14 characters if space allows.
* Switch things up. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, along with a few numbers mixed in the middle or end.
* Don't use substitute symbols in common words. Using "@" for "a" or "1" for "I" may look good to you, but most hackers are smart enough to break those substitutes rather quickly when the password consists of a common word.
* For that matter, avoid easy targets like words straight out of the dictionary or things like family names and birthdays.
Don't Use the Same Password for All Accounts!
Most of us cheat when it comes to passwords. We have trouble remembering our passwords, so we come up with two or three that we can remember and use them everywhere.
But...you should avoid the temptation! That's because all of your accounts will be vulnerable if even one account is compromised. The reality is, you need to create and remember multiple passwords--a different one for each account! Fortunately, it's easier than you think. Just follow the steps below.
4 Simple Steps to Memorable, Yet Unique Passwords
Good passwords come down to two things: (1) they're easy for you to remember and (2) they're hard for others to break. Here's a sure-fire tip that can help you achieve both!
1. Think up a phrase. Instead of a common word or family member's name, think up a unique phrase that only you know. For example, you may think up something off the wall such as "I Like Short Hair Too."
2. Make it an acronym. In our example, "I Like Short Hair Too" would become ILSHT.
3. Add Complexity. Remember those substitutes you're not supposed to use with common dictionary words? Well, you CAN use them with your acronym. For example, "I Like Short Hair Too" can become "1 Like $hort Hair 2" which makes: 1L$H2. You can also use upper and lower letters to make it 1L$h2. The point is to be creative, but in a way that you can easily remember it.
4. Make it unique. A password is only really unique if you use it for one account and one account only. So you can't just use 1L$h2 for every account. And, in reality it's still too short. Here's the key to the whole process: Mix in additional letters and numbers that are unique to each account. For example, if you're logging into a "gmail account" you can use the "gm" and "@cct" (for acct) to make: 1L$h2gM@cct. Then, for a Netflix account, you may use: 1L$h2Nf@cct. That way, you're passwords will be hard for others to guess and unique to each account, but also easy for you to remember!
Of course, these are just examples. You'll want to be creative and think up your own acronym and ways to add unique characters for each account. And then keep that little secret to yourself so no one will be able to guess your account passwords.
Follow these simple steps and you'll have passwords that are tough to break, unique to every account, and easy to remember. And if you have children in your house who are starting to use passwords for email and IM accounts, teach them these steps to help educate them on the importance of strong passwords - they'll thank you later in life!
About 10% of the emails are from people I have actually met or worked with. Often those will go in the trash too, unless they're directly related to a transaction we're working on or may be working on together (again, noted by the subject line).
Today I browsed an email sent over by a mortgage person that was working with the buyer on a property where I represented the seller. It was one of the smoothest transactions I've done - in large part because the mortgage person knew what was going on and actually paid attention and followed through on things.
What'd I learn today? I learned that some folks need to have better email passwords. Here's the scoop:
Stolen Hotmail Passwords Demonstrate Need for Stronger Passwords
By now, you've probably heard that 30,000 passwords for Hotmail and Gmail accounts were stolen earlier this month.
But did you know that a security group analyzed those passwords and found that the most commonly used password was 123456? If that wasn't bad enough, the second most common password that was used...yep, you guessed it...123456789.
In today's electronic environment, that's unbelievable. We no longer live in a world where we can use a simple string of numbers or a child's name as a password. They're just too easy to hack...and the results can be much more devastating than merely finding your emails made public.
The problem is that we all have so many passwords. So how do we make strong passwords that we can actually remember for every account?
The tips below can help you avoid the most common password pitfalls and even implement a few new ideas that will make your passwords easy to remember...and hard to break!
Don't Use a Password that's Easy to Guess
There's no way around it...a well-protected password is hard for other people to guess. How do you do that? It's pretty simple really. Just follow this advice:
* Use a random string of characters. That means no sequential letters or numbers, like those Hotmail accounts that used 123456!
* Make it looooong. The longer the better--even up to as many as 10 to 14 characters if space allows.
* Switch things up. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, along with a few numbers mixed in the middle or end.
* Don't use substitute symbols in common words. Using "@" for "a" or "1" for "I" may look good to you, but most hackers are smart enough to break those substitutes rather quickly when the password consists of a common word.
* For that matter, avoid easy targets like words straight out of the dictionary or things like family names and birthdays.
Don't Use the Same Password for All Accounts!
Most of us cheat when it comes to passwords. We have trouble remembering our passwords, so we come up with two or three that we can remember and use them everywhere.
But...you should avoid the temptation! That's because all of your accounts will be vulnerable if even one account is compromised. The reality is, you need to create and remember multiple passwords--a different one for each account! Fortunately, it's easier than you think. Just follow the steps below.
4 Simple Steps to Memorable, Yet Unique Passwords
Good passwords come down to two things: (1) they're easy for you to remember and (2) they're hard for others to break. Here's a sure-fire tip that can help you achieve both!
1. Think up a phrase. Instead of a common word or family member's name, think up a unique phrase that only you know. For example, you may think up something off the wall such as "I Like Short Hair Too."
2. Make it an acronym. In our example, "I Like Short Hair Too" would become ILSHT.
3. Add Complexity. Remember those substitutes you're not supposed to use with common dictionary words? Well, you CAN use them with your acronym. For example, "I Like Short Hair Too" can become "1 Like $hort Hair 2" which makes: 1L$H2. You can also use upper and lower letters to make it 1L$h2. The point is to be creative, but in a way that you can easily remember it.
4. Make it unique. A password is only really unique if you use it for one account and one account only. So you can't just use 1L$h2 for every account. And, in reality it's still too short. Here's the key to the whole process: Mix in additional letters and numbers that are unique to each account. For example, if you're logging into a "gmail account" you can use the "gm" and "@cct" (for acct) to make: 1L$h2gM@cct. Then, for a Netflix account, you may use: 1L$h2Nf@cct. That way, you're passwords will be hard for others to guess and unique to each account, but also easy for you to remember!
Of course, these are just examples. You'll want to be creative and think up your own acronym and ways to add unique characters for each account. And then keep that little secret to yourself so no one will be able to guess your account passwords.
Follow these simple steps and you'll have passwords that are tough to break, unique to every account, and easy to remember. And if you have children in your house who are starting to use passwords for email and IM accounts, teach them these steps to help educate them on the importance of strong passwords - they'll thank you later in life!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
I think they've forgotten some places
US News recently released their report on the best affordable places to retire.
Topping the list are Ann Arbor, Ashevile, Aurora, Columbia, Columbus, Eugene, Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Kansas City and Tucson.
These places are all great....for the most part. I mean, who really wants to deal with snow??? It's great at Christmas...and by that I mean Christmas DAY and that's about it.
Anyway...when you're thinking about retirement or talking with someone who is, consider two more spots - Georgetown, Texas and New Braunfuls/Wimberley/Gruene. These central Texas towns are reasonably priced, have a nice selection of restaurants and stores, and are near outstanding health care.
Know someone looking to make a change? Have them give me a call and I'll share some more information on these areas!
Topping the list are Ann Arbor, Ashevile, Aurora, Columbia, Columbus, Eugene, Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Kansas City and Tucson.
These places are all great....for the most part. I mean, who really wants to deal with snow??? It's great at Christmas...and by that I mean Christmas DAY and that's about it.
Anyway...when you're thinking about retirement or talking with someone who is, consider two more spots - Georgetown, Texas and New Braunfuls/Wimberley/Gruene. These central Texas towns are reasonably priced, have a nice selection of restaurants and stores, and are near outstanding health care.
Know someone looking to make a change? Have them give me a call and I'll share some more information on these areas!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Check out the October Newsletter
Friends, the October version of my newsletter is now available for download. Check it out!
As always, if you know someone that can use my help buying or selling real estate in Austin or the surrounding areas, please put us in touch with one another!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Dine at Chili's on Monday, October 5 and help an Austinite out!
Many of you know our friend Delores Rosas who has been battling pancreatic cancer for about 2 years now. Delores proudly has continued to serve for the Travis County Sheriff's office during her fight. Recently, Delores insurance coverage capped out. While her supervisor and HR are trying their hardest to get her bills covered, she is needing some help.
We are very excited that Chili's has agreed to contribute to a fund raiser for Delores who is fighting cancer. Attached is a flyer that must be presented at the time of purchase. 10% of your bill will go into a fund for Delores. This event is all day and is good for dine in and take out. Please feel free to make as many copies as you need and pass them out to friends and family. All Austin area Chili's are participating to include Bastrop, Cedar Park, Buda, Round Rock and Pflugerville. Just make sure a flyer is presented at time of purchase. Thank you in advance for your help.
Contact Erika at epriddy@pancanvolunteer.org or 512-917-2037 with questions.
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