An adverb, hopefully must accompany a verb. It is used to describe
a state of being or feeling. When used with the verb to wait, for example, it indicates a sense of patience or anxiousness.

"He waited hopefully for her flight to arrive."

Use 'hope' with a subject to create a complete sentence:

"We hope the store will open soon."

"I hope to finish the project on time."

"She hopes she won’t have to file another application."

Nobody likes to deal with complaints. Indeed, most of us dread the task. We delay. Make excuses. Get a cup of coffee. Then another.

As difficult as it is, try to view complaints in a positive manner. They allow you to address an issue that perhaps you didn’t know existed.

“Silent sufferers” just go away, whereas irate customers are looking for help, and probably want to stay with you. A survey taken in a major industry many years ago established that customers whose problems with a product were resolved quickly demonstrated greater customer satisfaction and loyalty than those who had no problems at all.

These five tips will help you keep a customer coming back.

Tip 1: Deal with it quickly. Don’t let the phone message or letter simmer on your desk. Reply in some fashion the same business day.

Tip 2: Offer genuine regret in your response. Customers expect to hear some sort of an apology. Most customer service people, unfortunately, give a bored, robotic reply. Show you truly care with a statement like:

"I am truly sorry to hear that one of your processors arrived broken and inoperable."

Tip 3: Recap the issue. This shows that you were paying attention and understand the problem.

Avoid a flippant or condescending tone. Remember that your customer views this as a serious matter. Even if the person is flat out wrong, treat the complaint and customer with respect.

Tip 4: Offer a solution. Perhaps you can provide what the customer seeks. When you cannot, offer a viable alternative and explain why your approach is at least as good. Avoid blaming it on policies even if it’s true. Emphasize what you can do, not what you can’t.

"We have extended your warranty for another year at no charge."

"You may enjoy an additional six months of membership at no additional charge."

Tip 5: Provide a token to help soothe the sore feelings. A gift certificate to a theater or restaurant, even tickets to a sporting event. Here is where you shine: Few businesses take the extra step when resolving a problem.

Remember that a happy customer speaks to no one, but an irate customer tells ten of his friends. With proper care, you can turn a difficult and delicate situation into a positive one for you and your customer.

Even when the customer isn’t right—which is sometimes the case—make it clear that his interests come first. Doing so will help you salvage what often is a very delicate situation.

copyright, 2006

California continues to be a popular launching pad for spam. Some recent messages came with these return addresses:

Customer Care LK
Contact Us At: 2 0 3 3 S a n E l i j o A v e n u e # 4 7 0 , C a r d i f f B y T h e S e a , C A 9 2 0 0 7

List Manager M2, 249 South Highway 101, Suite #425 Solana Beach, CA 92075 (This one offered a link to unsubscribe, but I’ve stopped using them. I’ve been bombarded with spam since I last used a couple unsubscribe links.)

Spark Networks Plc
8383 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 800 Beverly Hills, CA 90211

In addition, someone named Jules using an e-mail address from a “Judith Tyson” sent out a message. He/she offered an address for opting out. Perhaps someone should use it for sending his own spam: juleblz@gmail.com

More to come.....

I.E. vs. E.G.

Writers tend to confuse these two, using i.e. when they really mean e.g.

I.e. , an abbreviation for id est, means 'that is,' and is used when clarifying a point.

E.g., exempli gratia, means 'for example,' and usually is what the writer intends.

Because readers aren’t as familiar with e.g., it’s best to avoid the abbreviation entirely, and replace it with complete words:

"....for example, A, B, and C."

or

"...such as, A, B, and C."

You're usually better off avoiding abbreviations altogether. Like industry jargon, they can confuse your readers and cause them to miss your message.

Know what the definition of loophole is? It’s any product or service that a Democrat realizes one day hasn’t been taxed. Well, a liberal Democrat politician from Wisconsin has found his loophole, and in typical Democrat fashion, he’s determined that the state will take its cut, even it it’s unjustified.

Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, has set his sights on gift cards, those ubiquitous and extremely convenient debit cards used to pay for everything from fast food to fast computers. Quoting Consumer Reports, Kessler says that approximately 19% of all cards go unused. Some are lost, others reach expiration. A common man would say that’s too bad, and move on. After all, another person’s loss is, well, that person’s loss. Perhaps the recipient will learn to take better care of his card next time, and use it accordingly.

Kessler, however, can’t simply walk away from a potential source of revenue. And an opportunity to wield the power of his position. He feels that the state, not the merchant, should profit from the oversight. In typical Peter Pan style, he says the money should go to the state treasury. That’s right: Money that one person willfully handed over to a business for the benefit of another person should be turned over to the state because, well, just because. That’s the way liberal Democrats think.

It’s the same sort of redistributionist mentality invoked by tin-chested African dictators. Problem is, Wisconsin simply has no claim to that money. By purchasing the gift card, the customer essentially entered into an agreement with the merchant. At no time did the customer invite or desire any involvement by the state.

But the state will get involved anyway, if Kessler has his way. He promises to introduce legislation that would force businesses to cough up the bulk of the unused funds. (They’d be allowed to keep a fraction to cover costs. How charitable of him.) His idea disregards the stated intentions of the purchaser; namely, that the dollars go to a business. If the customers wanted that state to benefit, they would cut a check to the state treasury.

Kessler has said that he prefers customers use their gift cards, but if they don’t, “I’d rather the state get the money.” No truer words were ever spoken by a liberal Democrat. They just can’t seem to give up their taxaholic, big-government ways. One hopes that reason will prevail, and this atrocious and un-American money grab—on par with the death tax, by the way—will be relegated to the dust bin.