Confrontation

Confrontation, I hate it. I will do almost anything to avoid it. At times would could even say I can be passive aggressive. I know this is not the best way of dealing with all things, and I am trying not to do it as much anymore.  Some things are small enough and not that important, that it doesn’t really matter if I ignore it because the problem will eventually go away. I have two jobs right now, one here at Nixon Insurance and at Bradley University in the parking department.  Now everyone knows that when dealing with the public, you are going to have times when there is confrontation and it cannot just be shoved aside.  I have learned a lot from both of these jobs about how to deal with a customer who is upset. Here are some tips I have found that really help me when these problems arise:

1.       Listen

a.       It’s very important to let the customer get everything out that they need to. Who knows maybe it’s a small problem that has an easy fix. I’ve had people call me at Bradley and tell me they are not trying to take their anger out on me but they just need to vent. That’s perfectly fine with me, I know the person is not directly trying to be angry with me, they just need an outlet. By listening, you get a chance to understand where the customer is coming from.

2.       Understand

a.       Going off of listening, understanding the customer and why they are reacting the way they are important. Remember, the customer expects you to be able to answer most if not all their questions and if you can’t that can become very frustrating. Do not get frustrated with them, because this could only make things worse. Just stay calm and try to see things from their point of view.

3.       Get Help

a.       For the most part at Bradley, I can answer the customer’s questions and give them the answer they may or may not be looking for. Here at Nixon, I usually am not able to do so I have to find someone who can. It will make the customer feel as though you are really trying to help them and not blowing them off. It also shows you take them seriously and really want to help them. 

Drive Safely.

What better to blog about today than the weather?  It seems the weather people may have been fairly right this time. I don’t know about you, but I hate driving when it’s raining, snowing, etc. In fact, I prefer to avoid it at all costs.  But, sometimes you have to venture out, and call me paranoid, I always keep my extra Carhartts in the back, along with some hand warmers, gloves and extra food and water.

Yeah, yeah, we all know how to be cautious and drive in snow, but there may be something you’ve never heard or thought of. So, here are a few tips I found for driving in the snow, and maybe, just maybe, following these can help you avoid an accident. I know there were definitely some I had not thought of.

1.      To avoid getting your car towed or plowed in, review the parking restrictions and plowing routes for your city. You may need to move your car. (I grew up in the country, so this would totally slip my mind.)

2.      If you must drive, clear the snow off of your windshield, windows, mirrors, headlights and brake lights (no one can see covered brake lights!!).

3.      Make sure your wipers and headlights are turned on.

4.      Be patient – don’t rush! Remember, everyone else will be running late, too! (Sometimes I have little trouble with this patience thing..)

5.      Drive for the conditions. Go well below the speed limit – ice, heavy snow, traffic and poor visibility will require longer following and stopping distances (allow at least 8 to 10 seconds for stopping).

6.      If you do come across a snow plow or sand truck, don’t panic, drive slowly and give them the right of way. (Sometimes it seems like those snow plows are going 100 mph, I definitely don’t care to get in their way!)

a.        Drive slow, leave plenty of room for stopping distance (at least 150 ft.) and pay attention to the snow plow and what it is doing.

b.        Snow plows and sand trucks may stop, back up or turn around  suddenly

7.      Stay in the inside lane (the one furthest away from the curb) on multi-lane roads. Single lane road? Drive closer to the middle of the road. Why? Snow tends to drift and pile up on to the sides of the road.

8.      Drive in tire tracks that have already been established.

9.      Don’t changes lanes unless it’s necessary – you could catch a wheel in the heavy snow or an ice patch and lose control.

10.  Watch out for black ice. Black ice is common under bridges and overpasses. It’s called black ice because it’s dark and hard to see.

11.  If you need to make an emergency stop, don’t pump the brakes if your car has an Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS). When you release the brake, your car’s brake system will turn off and on.

12.  If you are stranded or stuck in a snow bank, do the following:

a.      Using the shovel in your winter car emergency kit, clear away the snow from around the tires, under the car and near the exhaust. (Shovel...why didn’t I think of that?)

b.      If you have sand in your car, scatter it around the front tires (for front-wheel drive cars) or around the rear-tires (for rear-wheel drive cars). (I carry sand with me all the time..not..)

c.       Put the car in a low gear and go SLOW – do not spin the tires! This could ruin your clutch or transmission and create ice under your tires.

d.      If the situation allows (and it's safe), try to slowly "rock" the car back and forth to build a small amount of momentum.

e.       Call roadside assistance if you are unable to free the car.

Be careful out there!

Jenny

Intern

Source: http://www.whathappensnow.com/articles_show.cfm?id=107&cat=1&sub=1

Constructive Arguments

        This semester, I am taking a Argumentative Writing class. Basically for the whole semester each class, a person gives an oral presentation about something they are interested in and then another person gives the entire class a paper that wrote about an argumentative subject. Each class we discuss both the paper and the presentation. The classroom is set up in a circle so it's easier to talk to people and it makes the class feel less formal when it is set up that way. The conversation in the class flows quiet smoothly and people are able to express their opinions as freely as they wish. It's very interesting to listen to what other people have to say and how they view things differently than I do. Even though the class is called Argumentative Writing, there are never really an arguments per say, it's more of people just expressing their different views to each other and listening to others saying why they do or do not agree. Sometimes you can feel the tension rise when two people have views that are strongly different and do not agree with each other at all. When this happens, the professor makes them stop and really listen to each other but then the conversation must turn away from being tense to more open minded.
         Personally, classes with discussion like this are much more interesting to me than ones where you just sit for the whole hour and listen to the professor lecture non-stop. I feel I get more out of the class because I am listening to more than just one opinion from someone who can be quiet older than me and already views things in a certain way. Whereas the majority of college students are my age and might be more likely to have different opinions and views and they might have a way of talking that is easier for me to understand than the professor. My main point of this whole thing, is that different opinions and arguments can be good. People need to go in with open minds and remember that the argument should be constructive not destructive. It's good to have differences of opinions and arguments, I believe we need them to keep learning and maybe even change the way you view something. There always those people who's mind will never be changed and will defend what they believe till the end. I'll admit it there are some things you cannot convince me to change my mind about no matter what you say, but I do try to keep an open mind when listening to others.
         So the next time you are have an argument or differences of opinion with someone, try to keep an open mind and get something out of the argument. Find a way to make the outcome a positive one and be willing to listen to what they have to say even if you do not agree with it.


Brooke Neal

New Appreciation

           Have you ever thought about all the effort that goes into starting and running a successful business? I was raised by a business owner; so, I've always known that it takes a lot of planning, research, money, you name it, but I never really had it all put into perspective. Actually, I still probably haven't. The example I'm referring to is just a simple business plan for my Entrepreneurial Finance class.

            I’ve only been working on this project for three weeks, but already I’m overwhelmed with all that has gone into it. You need a product, not just any product, but something people actually have a need for. You need a proper design for that product. Then, you need the materials, a place to produce it, people (maybe even machines) to do the producing. Those people need to be paid, so you’ll need to plan your payroll. Not to mention, you need insurance if your employees get injured on the job. There’s also insurance for your property, insurance for your vehicles, and insurance for lost profits if you are forced to close down for a few days. Almost forgot, there’s also health insurance obligations (and this is just me reading off of the project requirements!)

On top of insurance obligations, you might have advertising expenses, license fees, professional fees, rent, maintenance, supplies expenses, travel. You’re also most likely going to need to borrow money for start-up costs and other things, so you’ll have to get a loan (enter the research and financial projections). Where does it end?? We are only scratching the surface right now! I’ve always admired those who had the determination to start their own business, but this one project has really given me an even greater appreciation for their hard work.

Cell Phones

Cell phones. Everyone has them and they almost seem to be a necessity now a days. I can't go a day without mine; it has my email, schedule, reminders, and many other things on it. If I forget it at home I feel like I am missing an arm (how sad is that?) and can't function normally throughout the day. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people use their phones in anyway when they are at Subway ordering a sandwich or dealing with a cashier directly. Personally, I feel it is one of the rudest things you can do. The other day I was at a Subway getting a sandwich at lunch time and a girl in front of me couldn’t put her phone don’t for even one second. Being that it was lunch time; the line behind me was at least 5 people deep. Every time the person making the girl’s sandwich had to ask her twice what she wanted on it because she would always being looking at her phone the first time and not paying attention.  You could see frustrated the worker at Subway was getting and it was clear myself and everyone behind me felt the same way too. If she could have just put her phone down for even 3 minutes, her sandwich would have been made that much faster. There is even a sign posted in subway that says “please refrain from using your phone while ordering”.

Whenever I am in line waiting to check out anywhere and I am on the phone, I will end the call before I get to the cashier. They are giving their full attention to me, so I feel I should give them the same respect back.  It’s one from teenagers to do it, but when I see adults doing it I get really irritated. I was eating breakfast with my dad one day at a restaurant and this one lady was on her phone from the time she ordered till the time she paid for her meal. Not even when she ordered did she set her phone down to give the waitress her full attention. To me, that is very rude and disrespectful back.  It’s one from teenagers to do it, but when I see adults doing it I get really irritated. I was eating breakfast with my dad one day at a restaurant and this one lady was on her phone from the time she ordered till the time she paid for her meal. Not even when she ordered did she set her phone down to give the waitress her full attention. To me, that is very rude and disrespectful.

So please the next time you are waiting in line to check out anywhere or even ordering a sandwich at Subway, please just wait to use your phone until you are done.

Brooke

Probably Should Have Listened...Again

              Last week I was out on Thursday because my parents and I were going to visit some friends in Boston. My parents had been watching the weather and freaking out about how we were going to get stranded in the snow storm that was set to hit Boston the next day. However, I insisted we still go, everyone knows the storms are never as bad as they make them out to be, right?

            We got there Thursday afternoon; the sky was blue and bright. By Friday morning the wind had picked up and the snow was coming down, and it didn’t stop for over 24 hours. So, all the plans we had made: hockey games, dinners, shopping, sight-seeing, were cancelled. We spent the next three days trapped in a hotel because EVERYTHING was closed; driving was even no longer permitted. Walking in the snow was fun, but there was nowhere to go anyway.

            So yes, I did it again. I probably should have listened to my parents and just rescheduled the trip for another, blizzard-less weekend. So here I am, still asking, at what age will I be before they stop being right about everything?

                                                        Deserted town after the blizzard.

                               The street we got our rental stuck on when it was finally okay to drive.

Super Bowl XLVII

So in case you did not know Super Bowl XLVII happened at Sunday...but let’s be real you would be hard pressed to find a person who didn’t know that right? Like most people I went to a party for the start of the game and watched the first half on a nice 70 in TV. Doesn’t get much better than that right? Well I guess being there at the game would have been the ultimate view.  For me, the commercials are the biggest reason I watch the Super Bowl along with the half-time performance.  So let’s talk about those two things. First off I’ve seen better commercials, but a few caught my eye. The Taco Bell commercial was pretty comical, Dodge Ram had a pretty memorable moment, but I think the one that took the crown as the best would have to be the Budweiser commercial. I mean come on who didn’t find the baby Clydesdale growing up and then remembering his trainer after all that time just adorable? In fact the baby Clydesdale in that commercial was only a week old when the commercial was shot.  Now let’s get to the commercial I think stirred up the most controversy was the GoDaddy commercial with Bar Refaeli kissing a nerd. From what I have read, it took 60 takes to get that commercial right. To me, it was just plan awkward, the kissing sounds just took it over the edge. I didn’t get what the commercials message was supposed to be, because I was too distracted by the kissing and sounds.

Now to my second favorite part, the half-time show. Beyoncé gave a performance that will be remembered for a long time. She was judge on stage by former Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. From what was being said on my Facebook Newsfeed and Twitter Timeline, people loved the performance almost more than the game that was going on.  Coming off of the lip syncing scandal at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration, I think Beyoncé wanted to give a performance to remember.  She did just that people were giving her nothing but praise and I think she proved that she can sing live and still give everyone what they wanted.  Then something happened that really made my Twitter Timeline interesting, the power went out of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. If you were to look on twitter at this time, you would see things like Beyoncé’s performance took so much power and was so good that there was no need for the game to go on. I even saw a few that said that Bane from The Dark Knight Rises had come to the game just like he did in the movie.  My all-time favorite had to be a play on when Kanye West took the microphone from Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs to tell everyone that Beyoncé deserved that award instead.  The tweet went something like this...Kanye hits the lights, says “Super Bowl Imma let you finish but Beyoncé had one of the best performances of ALL TIME.” The blackout lasted 30 minutes before the power returned and the game was back on.

I think it’s safe to say this Super Bowl will be one to remember for a long time.