The United States Postal Service is facing a $9 billion deficit in 2011 and says it must take drastic action – like closing some post offices and eliminating Saturday mail delivery – if it is to survive.

There are many explanations for the decline of the Postal Service.  They blame the increased use of email, congressional mandates that put it into a bind, etc.  But, has anyone visited a post office lately?  Are there lessons to be learned, and changes that can be made, from the service one gets at a post office?  You bet – and in the interest of helping out the USPS, here’s a list of suggestions that may help it get out of the doldrums.  Certainly, readers can ad their views.

Top Ten Problems

1. One of the reasons great and successful companies gain public favor and have customers coming back for more is because they know what is meant by customer service.  Take the retailer Nordstrom for example.  The company is successful because it knows how to bend-over-backwards when it comes to customer service.  Nordstrom’s customer service goes so far as to have employees sewing buttons on clothes purchased elsewhere and taking back garments—no questions asked—years after customers purchased them.   The result?  People are so in love with Nordstrom and the Nordstrom experience that they drive hours to reach one.

Can you expect that level of service at a post office?  You already know the answer to that.

2.  Almost any retailer, no matter the product, knows that when five or more people are waiting in line, you open another line to accommodate them.  Will you ever see that at a post office?  Not hardly. 

If post offices want to have people be satisfied customers, then open lines when needed, irrespective if that’s during employees’ break time or lunch hour or whatever.

3. Simplify rates.  Can anyone – honestly – explain the myriad of rates that the post office charges?  It is a hodge podge of the mostly unintelligible services and charges.  Does anyone not feel like you go to a post office and just open your wallet or purse and let the postal worker take out whatever they want to pay for your mail?  It’s true.  With the advent of the Forever Stamp, most people probably don’t even know what a first class stamp’s cost is.

4. Speak up, speak clear.  Have you ever had the experience of arriving at the postal window and hear the clerk mumble something but you can’t understand a word they are saying?  Add to that the security Plexiglas that most post offices have and you are lucky if you can hear or understand anything.   Do you see anything like that in any other retailer?  Of course not.  Employees at most businesses know they need to communicate with customers and make every effort to do so.  The post office, on the other hand, seems to delight in making it harder to understand anything.

5. The customer is always right.  Is anyone not familiar with that adage?  Well, the post office clearly is not.  If there is any group of employees that seem to delight in telling its customers they are wrong, it’s the post office.  Worse, any challenge to them may result in a look meant to send you to the deepest core of the center of the earth.  There really needs to be some attitude adjustment at the USPS.

6. Who is having the most fun at the post office?  The employees.  While you are waiting in line, hoping for it to move just a little bit faster, have you ever noticed the employees have a gabfest about what they did on the weekend?  Sure.  And, only with great effort (which they’ll let you know about with a look that says ‘why do I have to bother with you’) will they eventually turn their attention to the long line of people waiting for service.

7. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor …  That’s the post office motto right?  But, I’ve noticed times when due to inclement weather or some other reason, that a postal carrier decides not to deliver mail to my block on a particular day.  Is anybody watching what carriers do on their route?  Doesn’t seem like it.  If there are any supervisory people checking out the carriers on their route (or even the employees in post offices) I’ve never seen it.

8. Where’s the stamps?  The post office often comments on how they are incorporating new technologies in their service.  That may be so, but if you wander into some post offices you’ll see vending machines where you can easily and quickly pick up stamps and related postal matter.  In other post offices, however, you’ll see no such devices. To get one stamp you’ll have to wait in line behind the one person who needs to have every one of 100 letters weighed, insured, get a delivery confirmation, etc.  Come on.  Certainly more machines can be placed in each post office so customers can get service more quickly?

9. Clean it up.  Going into some post offices means going into to the most unclean and disorganized places you ever seen.  They ought to hand out antiseptic wipes.  Do you really expect customers to enjoy their post office experience, if they feel like going to one is like visiting a slum?  Clean it up folks.

10. Where’s management?  Certainly, the senior management of the USPS must know very well the problems in the post office.  They must all know that service in a post office is not highly regarded by most people.  They must realize there is a reason for the derogatory term, “going postal.”  Are they doing anything to resolve any of the above issues, and the many others that are no doubt the bane of most customers’ existence?  It certainly doesn’t seem like it.

Certainly not all post offices are as described above.  Many offices and employees across the country are doing a great job.  Their work and their post offices are nothing like what’s been described here.  The problem is, that too many of them are exactly as described here and they’ve been that way for a very long time.

If the post office wants to improve service, get its finances in better shape, and have people think well of them then they need to refocus on the most obvious issue facing them.  They are doing a lousy job at their most basic task  – customer service.

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Whatever the case, I can assure you it boils down to your beliefs about what you can
and cannot do. It sounds simplistic, but this is the secret root cause that you’ve
not been able to decipher until now.

You see, when you were a little child, you might have picked up the telephone and
gotten scolded by your mother for doing it. Or any other behavior. Perhaps it was
your fault, perhaps it wasn’t. That’s not really the point. The idea is that you
learnt something that day, and it wasn’t pleasant.

When you grew older, you had an ingrained emotional experience that was linked to
the phone. You later justified it as something that you didn’t really want to do
anyway. The trouble is that now, you might be working in Customer Service, where you
have no choice but to pick up the phone.

Now, you start seeing patterns. You realize that your belief requires updating. So,
you turn to neurolinguistic programming. It’s an art of investigating processes.
While I model powerful processes, I can also model limiting ones so as to figure out
what to do with it. If you’re depressed, I can use NLP to figure out why you are

depressed and how you do it, so I can undo it. If you’re unable to believe you can
achieve a $1m income within 2 years, I can use NLP to shift that belief.

Whatever the case, you grew up with a great deal of beliefs that you might never be
able to understand unless it causes you some pain. And it might be necessary for you
to be learn how to release this in order to generate massive change in your life
toward the results you want and the success you desire.

Join me as I run teleseminars worldwide. Neurolinguistic programming is a learnable
skill over the telephone, and I’ve taught many people about it over the years. With
my 14 years experience in training, and having certified so many people in NLP, I
believe that you can achieve whatever you want in life as long as you learn how to
use this skill.

Even those who want to develop the capabilities to help other people, NLP is a very
powerful skill that can shift lives in a way that might shock or surprise you. It
deals with the shifts in your mind and rewiring your old programming. All you need
to do to learn more is to go to http://www.NLPTeleseminars.com and find out more
about our upcoming NLP Teleseminars. Our introductory trainings are all for free, so
you should attend to discover the secrets behind the most coveted tool for your
mind.

These jobs may just be the perfect career opportunity for those who would like to work from home. These days more and more mothers are looking for an opportunity to have a career while still being at home with their children.

The most common types of call center jobs focus on providing some form of customer service. This could include providing technical support for a wide range of areas such as helping someone hook up their surround sound. It could also include verification services, sales or telemarketing, and even straightforward customer service.

There is a small investment that has to be made by people who want to do this type of work from home. You will need to have a fairly current, reliable computer and usually a land line telephone. A few companies do require you to pay for a background check which typically costs around $50, but this will only be when there is an actual job offer.

It’s important to remember that there are a number of shady companies out there who will offer to help you land call center jobs if you pay them a fee up-front. You should avoid these companies because they are rarely legitimate.

Today with many of these types of telecommute jobs, you may be able to work from nearly any location including dance lessons and little league. You won’t have the hassle of dealing with rush hour traffic because when you wake up, you’re already at the office. This can also save you money since you won’t have to pay for nearly as much gas as you would with a regular, out-of-home job.

You won’t have to call in or make other arrangements when you or one of the little ones catches a cold. You’ll probably even be able to continue on as a working mother during those times when your child is sleeping and recuperating from the illness.

You will need to do some research to find a good paying, legitimate telecommute job. There are a number of websites designed specifically for working mothers to help them find new careers in order to be at home to raise children. Two of the most reliable sites are wahm.com (work at home mom) and JobsForMoms.com.

Whatever the case, I can assure you it boils down to your beliefs about what you can
and cannot do. It sounds simplistic, but this is the secret root cause that you’ve
not been able to decipher until now.

You see, when you were a little child, you might have picked up the telephone and
gotten scolded by your mother for doing it. Or any other behavior. Perhaps it was
your fault, perhaps it wasn’t. That’s not really the point. The idea is that you
learnt something that day, and it wasn’t pleasant.

When you grew older, you had an ingrained emotional experience that was linked to
the phone. You later justified it as something that you didn’t really want to do
anyway. The trouble is that now, you might be working in Customer Service, where you
have no choice but to pick up the phone.

Now, you start seeing patterns. You realize that your belief requires updating. So,
you turn to neurolinguistic programming. It’s an art of investigating processes.
While I model powerful processes, I can also model limiting ones so as to figure out
what to do with it. If you’re depressed, I can use NLP to figure out why you are

depressed and how you do it, so I can undo it. If you’re unable to believe you can
achieve a $1m income within 2 years, I can use NLP to shift that belief.

Whatever the case, you grew up with a great deal of beliefs that you might never be
able to understand unless it causes you some pain. And it might be necessary for you
to be learn how to release this in order to generate massive change in your life
toward the results you want and the success you desire.

Join me as I run teleseminars worldwide. Neurolinguistic programming is a learnable
skill over the telephone, and I’ve taught many people about it over the years. With
my 14 years experience in training, and having certified so many people in NLP, I
believe that you can achieve whatever you want in life as long as you learn how to
use this skill.

Even those who want to develop the capabilities to help other people, NLP is a very
powerful skill that can shift lives in a way that might shock or surprise you. It
deals with the shifts in your mind and rewiring your old programming. All you need
to do to learn more is to go to http://www.NLPTeleseminars.com and find out more
about our upcoming NLP Teleseminars. Our introductory trainings are all for free, so
you should attend to discover the secrets behind the most coveted tool for your
mind.

Image by sivart13 via Flickr

I really wanted was to be able to make a call if I got in an accident or if there was an emergency. My plan started out at $42.00 a month. That included 200 week-day minutes and unlimited week-end calling after 6:00pm. I was ok with that at first. I had to put a $200.00 dollar deposit down because my credit wasn’t that good. Rogers told me they would hold it for a year and then if everything with my account was good they would refund my money. After the year was up I called to get my money back they then told me that it would take at least a month or I could pit it as credit towards my future cell phone bills. I was really angry when they told me this. I asked them how it could take so long when it only took 15 seconds for me to hand the money over to them. Apparently that’s just the way it goes. I only used my cell phone for 13 minutes one month yet I still had to pay the full price $42.00 for the month. I missed a couple payments but I always got my account up to date by the next month. Rogers is worse than a credit card company. You miss one payment by a couple of days and they are calling you left and right all hours of the day and even at 10:00pm at night. I called them back and asked them why they were calling me so much when I had already made arrangements with their people to pay my bill. They said that they hadn’t received the e-mail yet. Then they looked up my account and you know what they said “oh, Here it is someone made a note sorry about that disregard anymore calls and thank you. I was getting fed up with their service so I asked the person when was the last time you called someone to thank them for paying their bill on time. They said they only call to remind people that they forgot to pay their bill. I find that extremely annoying. I mean hello we are not stupid we know if we paid our bill or not. I don’t need someone hounding me day and night.

I believe I am going to switch companies. My bill for one month with Rogers is $51.00. I only use it to call my sister and my home. I do not have internet or texting just a phone. I would like to try Telus pay as you go. It’s $20.00 dollars a month and you have unlimited calling after 6:00 during the week-days and unlimited on the wee-ends. This also includes unlimited internet usaage and unlimited text messaging. If you don’t pay the $20.00 then your phone doesn’t work. Simple as that. You pay the $20.00 and you are back on track. So, how can Rogers expect to compete with other companies while they are charging a fo0rtune. We had a flood in our town in December 2010. My cell phone would not work. But I still had to pay for the month. It was 2 weeks not working. So, I went and bought a new phone thinking there was something wrong with the one I had. I had my new phone for 5 days and the caller ID was showing up on the screen upside down. I sent it back to get it fixed. I was told it would take only 3 days. Well, 15 days later I finally got my phone back. What kind of customer service is this ? If you had similiar problems let me know. I’d like to know that I’m not the only one who has constantly had problems with Rogers.

Image by Scarleth White via Flickr

Many companies today use call centers to provide clients with customer service. They employ a high volume of knowledgeable professionals who can address any questions or concerns that callers might have. Working at a call center can be demanding. It requires great multi-tasking skills, flexibility, and efficiency. However, this type of work can also have many benefits.

Call centers often have longer hours than a typical workplace because they are designed to provide customer service whenever it might be needed. Some call centers even stay open for twenty-four hours. While this might seem like a disadvantage, it doesn’t necessarily have to be. You can have a much greater flexibility in your schedule than someone who works a typical nine-to-five job. If you work in a call center, chances are your schedule will rotate, and you’ll probably switch shifts with co-workers every now and then. You can take advantage of this schedule to do things you wouldn’t be able to do with a traditional work schedule. For example, when you have to work late, you can sleep longer or go to the park during the day. Having a flexible schedule allows you to do things you wouldn’t ordinarily be able to do.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that working in a call center won’t help their career in the long run. On the contrary, there are opportunities for advancement in all call centers. They are always in need of competent managers and this could be a great career opportunity. Companies like to promote workers from within rather than hire someone new. Existing employees already know how everything works and get along with the rest of the team. If you show that you are a hard worker and dedicated to providing the best customer service possible, you can quickly move up to a higher position.

People who work in a call center spend a lot of time together. Since they usually sit very close to each other, call center employees tend to see themselves as a team. There is a sense of camaraderie and the atmosphere in the workplace is very positive.

Call centers pay their employees good money. They recognize that this can be a challenging job, and provide their workers with enough incentives to do it well. Managers and supervisors can earn even more, although they also have more responsibilities. Call center employees also get great benefits such as insurance and bonuses. If they work in sales, there is often a commission structure that allows employees to make more money once they reach their targets.

Call centers employ thousands of people and many continue to expand as the call volume grows. These types of jobs are always in demand. While this line of work can be challenging, it has many rewards for those who are willing to work hard. You can have a flexible schedule, move up rapidly, and take advantage of a number of company benefits. If you are willing to work hard, getting a job at a call center can be a great move for your career in the long run.

Walmart was started by Sam Walton in 1962 and as of today has many outlets in different countries operating under different names. According to Forbes report, as of 2010, it was the “largest public corporation by revenue”.

Walmart features in the news for many reasons, both good and bad. It is discussed in social medias gaining foes and supporters alike. Some support it for making the common person afford things that would otherwise be outside their domain while critics argue that the low prices have depressed domestic wages and exported manufacturing jobs to foreign countries which in the process has hurt Americans more than help them.

Complaints have been leveled against it for undercutting its business competitors by offering very low prices to the same products as its competitors. By so doing, Walmart was in effect pushing smaller business entities out of business.

Walmart is known to have grown stronger during the recession due to its low prices on grocery and other products. “The financial turmoil that strangled discretionary spending at many stores sent struggling consumers straight into the arms of Wal-Mart”. However as the economy picked up, the sales are said to have “flattened up”.

The areas that the company has however featured more is on its labor relations. Walmart has been accused many times of exploiting its factory workers particularly those from developing countries. It is suggested that the only reason it is able to offer such cheap prices for its products is because of exploiting cheap labor in countries like China.

WalMart has also been accused of being racist against people of color and it has really been working hard to wipe out this image. More and more their commercials have employees who are of color which is of course aimed at showing diversity of its employees. This accusation emanated from a time when someone used a Walmart public address system and said “Attention Wal-Mart customers: All black people leave the store now.”

Recently a gender discrimination class action was filed against Walmart on the basis that Walmart has had policies that discriminated against women in wage earnings and advancement in the company. The women also alleged that they were treated like “second class” employees and spoken down by their male bosses.

The court is yet to determine whether the law suit originally filed by six California women but later joined by other women in different parts of the USA is to be allowed as a class action. If this is allowed, it will be the “largest employment discrimination class action in history”. If the action succeeded it would mean a back payment for a million plus female workers.

But this writer has a different complaint with Walmart and that has to do with its customer service. Perhaps because of underpaying its employees, Walmart seems to get unmotivated stuff or it just does not train its employees on customer relations.

The other day this writer went to Walmart seeking to buy ink cartridge for her printer and a few other things. The black ink cartridge was on the counter but the tri -color one that accompanies the black ink for the particular printer was missing. The writer saw an employee designated to the area and proceeded to ask whether they had that ink.

This writer could not remember the exact number for the ink (they come in numbers). She tried to explain the model of the printer but before she could explain herself the Walmart employee said, “this is not a butchery that you tell the butcher what cut of meat you wanted”. This writer was tongue tied and asked the employee why he was so rude. He actually wanted to argue because he could not see how his comment was inappropriate.

Before then, in the same store the writer had another experience with a female stuff.  The writer was looking for a particular stitching needle and saw two ladies who looked like stuff. Out of courtesy the writer asked them whether they worked there and they sounded irritated as they said yes. Most well run places would actually have asked first whether the writer needed help.

Anyway, the writer proceeded to ask them where she could get the needles she was looking for. One pointed towards a particular direction and at first this writer could not see the needles and then she heard one of the women say under her breath “You are not serious”. The writer laughed it of and moved on.

The second encounter was therefore déjà vu for this writer who decided the two encounters were enough for the day and it was time to walk out of the place before it got to her. So as Walmart tries to fix its other problems can it also focus on customer service because this writer would rather shop at Target 100% than at Walmart with that kind of attitude.

Writing and posting of articles: There are many opportunities for those looking for online jobs for students and people in the writing field. Whether you have formal education in the niche or you want to learn more about writing, there are tons and thousands of opportunities available on the Internet. You don’t need a phone line or any specific computer experience in order to get started, you simply need commitment and self management skills. The pay ranges greatly for this type of job because the competition is so great so while you can find high paying gigs, chances are that you’ll start out making a penny a word or less until you have some experience under your belt.

Affiliating or sales representative: Sales jobs are also good options for students and people looking to make extra money . These jobs are similar to customer service positions but they usually require outbound calls and sales scripts meant to try and entice the consumer to purchase a service or product. Because these kinds of jobs usually come with higher stress, they tend to pay a little more than customer service positions. However, it takes persistence and thick skin to get this job done.

Data entry: since the advent of computers and since the begining of typing the need to collect and neatly present documents has require data entry. Good typing skills are require for this and at least 10-keys typing often are the most qualified for data entry position.Many computer programmers are not terrific typist but they still find their way into this field.

In conclusion,it is possible to create your own on-line jobs for students and other by offering a service you are good at and finding personal clients to work for. This allows you to set your own fees and schedules, while making the money you need in order to make ends meet. Being a virtual assistant, building websites, performing SEO services, and being an on-line tutor are all viable options. The best thing to do is to figure out what your strengths are and start a job search based on those strengths. And i strongly advice student and young people to to make researchs and visit forums to get ideas.

Customer Service/Technical Support/Complaints Service is another job that many hate but because of the need for income, they take on it.  People who do these jobs actually are on the receiving end of a company’s commitment faults or failures.  The job is more difficult when it is just by telephone support or service.  You don’t actually see the problem live and what could be wrong!  If the caller is not technically knowledgeable, the problem could become a nightmare!

Dirty jobs are definitely most hated and not just anyone would get into them.  Health and sanitation are the main concerns on the job and, a proportionate pay with best risk benefits would only be the reason to do them.  Those given an option for a lesser health risk job for a little less pay and benefit would grab at the opportunity.  For those who have the guts and stay on a dirty job deserve a good pay but only for the love of the pay and still hate the job.

An equal to dirty jobs as most hated job is a job you never wanted and never imagined to be in that job.  Yes, that’s right!  No matter how good the pay is but if you really don’t like it, then, it is the most hated job for those who are in it.  It is just like being forced into a job you never wanted!  Forced labor, right?  The choice is often on the person; you hate the job but like the pay, or, love the job but hate the pay?  Learn to love the one you hate is good; learning to hate the one that you love can come in many ways.

Finally when you get someone and they are from around the world, “jess may I hulp you” than the battle of language begins.  You know you are in trouble when they use the salutation Mr. or Mrs. Followed by your first name. “Jess Mr. John I am here for you today” You can hear the elephants in the back ground. A while back I was told “have a nice hour” I guess he did not like me enough to give me all day.