Savvify

Someone once pointed out to me the fact that there seems to be a micro-economy in the service industry. Restaurant workers take their tip money out to bars and clubs at night and give it to the bartenders, who promptly return it to the waiters and waitresses the next day at lunch. The cycle is almost self-sufficient and is mutually beneficial. Knowing the pain of waiting on customers, each group tips the other well and never raises a fuss. These people do not need to be educated. The rest of you do.

Many of us have stood in a noisy, crowded bar and asked, “What’s a guy got to do to get a drink around here?” Well, you’re about to find out. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts that will keep the relationship between the bartender and bar patron running smoothly.

DON’TS
Fail to have your money ready

We’re waiting on you. Everyone else is waiting on us. Therefore, by the Transitive Property of Equality, everyone is waiting on you. Rule #1: Have your shit together. Not only will following Rule #1 get you served quicker in a bar, it’s a good general rule to adopt in life and is especially helpful in Central American border crossing scenarios.

Whistle

This is an absolute No-No. You whistle at dogs and pretty ladies, not people.

Wave money

Oh, you’ve got a dollar!! I’ll be right over!! Hopefully I won’t break an ankle in my fevered rush to get you your “curz lite.” Well, at least you’re not breaking the next rule.

Yell out the bartender’s first name

There’s something deeply psychologically disturbing about hearing your name called out, turning around and seeing a complete stranger. That’s one of the reasons strippers use stage names. Bartender’s do too. Mine is Pixie.

Say “make it strong!” or “put a lot of liquor in it”

Oh, you’re one of the rare drinkers that like their drink strong! When you say this, you’re assuming I make weak drinks (which is insulting) and you’re assuming that I’ll stiffen this one up for my new best buddy, you. This is the best way to get a weak drink.

Give the ever-expanding drink order

You want a Bud. I go get it. I come back and now you want a Margarita. Okay, no prob. I come back, and (oh yeah!) now you want a shot of Tequila, too. You really could have told us this all at once. See Rule #1.

Pull the redirect (or the bait ‘n’ switch)

Usually used after the money wave or the whistle, this is when the gentlemen passes his turn to the lady behind him. Yeah, um, don’t do that, okay? Chances are she’s not ready, and your weak attempt at chivalry just cost you your turn. See you in 30 minutes.

Try the confused, lost look

This is usually accompanied by the question “What kind of beer y’all got?” while looking at all the beers we have. You did know you were in a bar, right? You didn’t just appear here, did you? Refer to Rule #1.

Order High Maintenance shooters

Example: “Lemme get an Alabama Slammer, a Red Snapper, two Kamikazes, a Buttery Nipple and a Lemon Drop.” Usually followed by a small tip. People, these shooters are fine by themselves, but there are multiple steps involved with each one. Translation: Time Sink. You may get them this time, but you’ll probably be waited on last the next time we see your face. Here’s a clue as to whether or not you’re high maintenance; if two bartenders are working and they see you, and they flip a coin and the loser comes over to take your order, pretty good chance you’re high maintenance.

Assume we know you’re in the band

We know, we know, you’re gonna be really famous, but you’re not there yet, tiger. Tell us you’re in the band and which band you’re in. By the way, if you are in a band and get free/reduced drink prices, feel free to tip, as most bartenders are also in bands! It’s not like we don’t know how it is. Oh, and our bands will smoke your band.

Assume we know you period

Unless you’ve followed the first “Do” rule below, we don’t remember you. You are one of a thousand faces for us, and when you point at an empty glass or a beer bottle that’s invariably facing away from us, your attempt at a shortcut backfires. Tell us what you want.

Apologize for sucking

Don’t apologize for not tipping. Acknowledging that you suck is not the same as not sucking. Oh, and don’t say “I’ll get ya next time.” We know all about you.

Assume soft drinks are free

Are they free at McDonald’s? Are they free at Wal-Mart? Are they free anywhere? I blame M.A.D.D. for this myth.

Put pennies and nickels in the tip jar

We don’t want that crap in our pockets any more than you do. We don’t have anything smaller than quarters. Have you ever ordered a drink that cost $3.17?

Be “The Microbrew Aficionado”

Usually a pseudo-hippy who can’t tip a quarter but can’t bring himself to drink “schwag,” and who has to sample some new berry-wheat-harvest-ale that he heard about at Burning Man. “Do you have the new Vernal-Equinox Special Welcome-Fest?” “Does Anyone?” Here’s your Newcastle. Go.

Be “The Daddy Warbucks”

Dressed in classic day-trader wear, this loud, boisterous guy smokes cigars and orders Martinis and generally exudes an air of money. Until the tip. We hate you.

Be a “Whiney Baby”

Under no circumstances should you ever whine to a bartender when asked to see your ID. Our jobs depend on them, and when we spot a fake/expired ID, don’t argue; we’ve seen and heard it all a million times before, and it will get you absolutely nowhere. If you “don’t have one” or “forgot it,” forget it; you don’t belong out on the town in the first place. That’s the law, plain and simple. If we don’t have the law, the terrorists win. You don’t want the terrorists to win, do you? Bring your ID. Remember Rule #1, from a minute ago?

DO’S
Tip

Tip heavy right off the bat, and you’re the first person we aim for every time you come up to the bar. Did you get that? Go back and read it again. The word will spread to the other bartenders and you’ll be treated like a prince. It will pay off in better drinks and the occasional free one.

Be patient

All you really need to do to get waited on is make eye contact. We see you, and we’ll get to you before the guy right next to you waving money and whistling. Remember, this isn’t insulin we’re passing out here. If you really need the drink that bad, you’ve got a problem to address, Jack. The meek shall inherit the bar.

Be an attractive female

As in life, this goes far.

If this comes across as a little petty, remember: bartenders are a jaded lot.

By being left handed, you have automatic membership into a special group of people. That group is only 7 to 10% of the population, and yet we are not a silent group, as many famous people in our history, past and present, are left handed.

It is said that we “think differently” that we “look at things in a different way”, which obviously helped many left handed people to succeed in a right handed world.

Here is just a tiny list of some left handed people, that you should recognize:

Bill Gates

Ringo Star

Jimi Hendrix

Henry Ford

Paul McCartney

Leonardo da Vinci

Albert Einstein

Just to name a few.. All very creative and successful. It has been said that as a left handed person, we are “right brained”, which would support the fact that we think a little differently than right handed people. There are businesses out there that like to have a point of view from both right and left handed employees for a “different approach” to a problem.

But, because we are a minority, we have to be able to live life in a right handed world, which means we have to get creative with scissors, pens, knives, tools.. and even can openers can be a pain. If you are an older leftie, than you know how hard it was in school. I had a teacher that tried to change me, and I ended up stuttering, as this was not natural. But since then I have found my love in art, painting, drawing and more as a true left hander.

I have found many great left handed products and tools out there now, that make my life easier so that I can get on with what I do best.. arts and crafts.. .

left handed tools and supplies  click here for left handed garden tools, kitchen gadgets, scissors, knives and more.

Do you get sick of looking for jackets without any shape or style?.. Especially if you are a plus size girl? You see all these nice jackets displayed at the front of the store, only to find moo moo style jackets in your size at the back.

Well not any more, with 6 out of every 10 women being plus size. (Which is considered size 14 and up) the fashion designers are finally starting to come up with some trendy and chic styling.

When you have a nice fitted jacket or top, that is the right size for you (remember do not go by that nasty number on the tag, go by the fit) you will actually look slimmer and sleeker. If you choose a size too small or a size too big, you will look awkward and sloppy and this will make you look bigger.

The problem is, that many women, and especially young girls, are so focused on that number (or size) on the tag, that they buy the wrong size, and the outfit does not do them any justice.

If you want to look your best, find a style that you like and will work with your body style, and will fit over your tops, blouses etc. (This rule applies no matter what size you are!) and get the right size to fit you. A nice fitting jacket, will allow movement and you will carry yourself proud and feel your best.

If that nasty tag really bothers you, then cut it off when you get home, no one needs to know your size, other than you and the sales person. Besides, everyone will notice how good you look in your new jacket, and they will not focus on the size.  click here for some great stylish plus size jackets

You thought that you’re already a model employee and that you no longer need any customer service training—until you receive a call from an irate customer, and you simply blew everything. How you’d wish by now it never happened. But then again, only when you decide to go for customer service training, you would have been able to handle the situation like a pro and even receive well-deserved praises from your company.

Why You Need a Customer Service Training

The purpose of going through proper customer care orientation isn’t just to have a certificate, which you can add to your folder of portfolios. The lessons and the workshops that you will eventually go through will hone you to the kind of person that a customer expects you to be, in the same way that you can mold yourself to who you want to be to your customers. Here are some of the benefits of proper customer care training:

1. You will be able to handle almost any kind of situation. You don’t feel nervous, anxious, uneasy, worried, concerned, and even stressed every time you’re already in front of your PC and telephone, and calls start to come in. Rather, you look forward to these occasions. After all, you are feeling more confident that you have the power and the ability to handle every concern.

2. You can eventually calm down a customer and puts him/her at ease. In as much as every John and Jane would like you to provide an answer to their every question and solution to their every problem, you’re not the ultimate know-it-all. What you can do, though, is to put them at ease and bring their confidence level up, especially when it comes to the services of the company. You can not only console them, but you can basically provide them with the things you will do—which you can keep, anyway.

3. You will last longer in your job. Being a customer service representative is not an easy job. At all times, you’re tasked to carry the image of the company to your customers, even when you’re already under pressure. With proper customer care training, you will be able to handle every level of difficulty well, have more appreciation to your work, and, most of all, last longer in your job.

4. You will be a source of pride of your company. The company is basically depending on you, especially when it comes to dealing with customers. When you have customer service training, you will have better chances of performing well with your tasks. In turn, your company will definitely recognize your efforts and reward you in different ways, such as bonuses, incentives, raises, and even promotions.

These benefits you can only enjoy when you have undertaken customer service training. Fortunately, there are a lot of training organizations that can provide you with one, particularly when you’re in Dublin. All you need to do is to give them a call and inform them of your intention to join their customer service training.

About The Author:

Sheila Mulrennan is a business author and journalist who regularly contributes articles on Management, Personal Development and customer service training to leading business publications. Visit customer care training

You thought that you’re already a model employee and that you no longer need any customer service training—until you receive a call from an irate customer, and you simply blew everything. How you’d wish by now it never happened. But then again, only when you decide to go for customer service training, you would have been able to handle the situation like a pro and even receive well-deserved praises from your company.

Why You Need a Customer Service Training

The purpose of going through proper customer care orientation isn’t just to have a certificate, which you can add to your folder of portfolios. The lessons and the workshops that you will eventually go through will hone you to the kind of person that a customer expects you to be, in the same way that you can mold yourself to who you want to be to your customers. Here are some of the benefits of proper customer care training:

1. You will be able to handle almost any kind of situation. You don’t feel nervous, anxious, uneasy, worried, concerned, and even stressed every time you’re already in front of your PC and telephone, and calls start to come in. Rather, you look forward to these occasions. After all, you are feeling more confident that you have the power and the ability to handle every concern.

2. You can eventually calm down a customer and puts him/her at ease. In as much as every John and Jane would like you to provide an answer to their every question and solution to their every problem, you’re not the ultimate know-it-all. What you can do, though, is to put them at ease and bring their confidence level up, especially when it comes to the services of the company. You can not only console them, but you can basically provide them with the things you will do—which you can keep, anyway.

3. You will last longer in your job. Being a customer service representative is not an easy job. At all times, you’re tasked to carry the image of the company to your customers, even when you’re already under pressure. With proper customer care training, you will be able to handle every level of difficulty well, have more appreciation to your work, and, most of all, last longer in your job.

4. You will be a source of pride of your company. The company is basically depending on you, especially when it comes to dealing with customers. When you have customer service training, you will have better chances of performing well with your tasks. In turn, your company will definitely recognize your efforts and reward you in different ways, such as bonuses, incentives, raises, and even promotions.

These benefits you can only enjoy when you have undertaken customer service training. Fortunately, there are a lot of training organizations that can provide you with one, particularly when you’re in Dublin. All you need to do is to give them a call and inform them of your intention to join their customer service training.

About Author:
Sheila Mulrennan is a business author and journalist who regularly contributes articles on Management, Personal Development and customer service training to leading business publications. Visit customer care training

Come to think of it, there is no industry that does not involve customer service; reason why this course was created to help entrepreneurs and employees to understand customer service and its importance.

Customer service is a process whereby a representative of a company provides services or products to a customer in a satisfying manner. Undergoing a course on customer service can drastically change the direction your business is going. It increases customer satisfaction and in the long run yields customer loyalty.

Customer service can occur practically anywhere. The following are just some of the examples:
Personal or face to face
Telephone
Order-taking
Complaint handling
Bills, payments, documents
Online and/or via email

This customer service course aims to give you a quick run-through on how to improve customer service skills. First, one must understand that no amount of course on customer service can teach the following:
Attitude – having the right attitude is something innate, something that makes up the whole personality of the person.
Commitment – as an entrepreneur, you can’t force an employee to be committed to the job. It must come from within.
Happiness – this trait depends on the person and when you are happy, everything else that’s good follows. You have a positive disposition in life.

Let’s discuss a few simple steps on how to improve customer service.
Smile – an act as such gives a feeling of satisfaction to the customers. Most likely, customers will have an impression that the establishment has good customer service.
Know the customer’s name – customers appreciate it when their name is mentioned by a company representative. It somehow gives the feeling of personalized customer service
Be courteous
Ask for feedback – this way, a customer feels that his/her opinions matter.

A basic customer service course usually includes:
Definition of customer service
Forms of customer service
Achieving excellent customer service
How to deal with different types of customers
How to improve listening skills
Responding skills
Developing personal action steps to improve customer handling

A good customer service course must be personalized according to needs of the participants. They also must learn techniques on how to handle different tricky situations. Another point to be tackled in a good customer service course is to relate to different types of customers and different communication styles. It’s also beneficial to teach non-verbal cues that are ideal as well as how to read the customers’ body language. More often than not, body language speaks more than words. It would also be very helpful that a course on customer service can teach the participants how to empathize with the customers so they can gain the customers’ confidence. Excellent customer service is simple as long you know the basics and you have the passion to achieve it. Without that passion or commitment, you can never succeed in anything in any industry.

About The Author:
Sheila Mulrennan is a business author and journalist who regularly contributes articles on Management, Personal Development and Customer Service Course to leading business publications. Visitwww.professionaldevelopment.ie

A different way of immigrating to Canada is through the Live-in Caregiver Program. The Live-in Caregiver Program allows qualified individuals to apply for permanent residence in Canada while living and working in Canada.

This article is not legal advice, but rather is merely informational. It is accurate as of November 20, 2005.

The basic rules are simple: you need a certain amount of schooling, you must have educational or practical experience as a caregiver, you must have had work offered to you in Canada as a live-in caregiver, and you need a certain understanding of English or French. If you are reading this article, it appears that your English is good enough to qualify.

A “live-in caregiver” means that you work and reside in the home in which you are providing care. The Live-in Caregiver Program was developed due to the shortage of Canadians available or willing to work in such a job, and therefore the market was opened to international workers.

After two years of employment as a live-in caregiver within three years of arriving in Canada, you may apply for a permanent residence through paying the proper fees and completing and submitting the appropriate forms.

In 2003, it was reported that 1,074 permanent residents in Canada were drawn from the Live-in Caregiver Program. This number includes not only the live-in caregivers themselves, but also their spouses and dependants.

The Live-in Caregiver Program may be recommended for those who want work experience in Canada, or for those who are unable to qualify for immigrate to Canada through the Family Class or Skilled Worker Class.

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For a person attempting to understand a conflict, the question that could start every investigation is “how is the accuser hurting?” or “why does the accuser feel a need to make an accusation?” It may be wise not to widen the scope of a dispute until the circumstances of the accusation are understood. To accuse, there must either be a moral principle at stake, an interest that has to be defended, or an anger than seeks an outlet. Initially before shifting focus to the accused, establish the balance between these three.

If possible, search back through events (Harris and Harris, 1986) with the accuser to trace any source of emotional hurt (remembering that it may come from somewhere else in the accuser’s life and is not necessarily the outcome of their relationship with the accused). If you cannot shed any light, start to involve the accused. Initially, you are still trying to understand the reason for the accusation from the point of view of the accuser, not the accused. If you bring the parties together, let the parties be emotional as it provides information. Avoid taking sides: the objective is not blame. The objective is to stimulate dialogue so that you, and they, can understand the source of emotional hurt and shed light on the hidden dynamics of the conflict.

If you find yourself displaying emotions, consider how the outcome of the dispute affects your own interests. Does your emotionality betray a desire for a closer relationship with one party? Is one party particularly important to achieving your own personal (or organisational) goals and objectives? Talk to someone outside the dispute about your own emotions to shed some light on them. No-one is completely impartial and you may still be the best person to mediate.

If it is a gender dispute, remember that most men want close relationships with women more than with other men, and women want close relationships with men more than other women (except for lesbian and gay women and men). “The other” is often perceived as the source of emotional hurt but this does not necessarily mean it is true. Hurt is a reflection of our own desire, our own sense of loss. We hurt most when we cannot fulfil our desires (and the bigger the gap between our desires and reality, the greater our hurt). Find out, if possible, what event changed the relationship. What did each party say to the other? Could it be an outcome of changes outside work?

If somebody is deeply distressed, establish if it comes from a sense of loss, remembering always there is a 60% chance in the case of a woman, and possibly also in the case of men, that they will not divulge their sexual feelings (McDowell, 1985; India Today, 2003). Talk carefully. On a one-to-one basis, ask them to describe the relationship from the beginning. This will give you a sense of how the relationship evolved and changed.

Support people through loss. If no loss is found, find out why people feel violated. Does the person need protection? If not, then mediate as soon as possible. If yes, then seek professional advice.

Both women and men hurt - it is not women’s or men’s problem alone and is best resolved together. Men fear showing their feelings, not always because they are ashamed, but because experience has taught them that expressing feelings will lose them the respect of the woman (or women) they currently want to love them, or their male friends and colleagues. Women and men teach men this by calling them “losers”, “wimps” or “sissy” whenever they show feelings that reveal their vulnerability. Men and women, on the other hand, teach women to be submissive’ by rushing to comfort them when they become distressed. The more beautiful the woman, the quicker people will seek to help. Bear in mind that these responses are fairly automatic internalised during childhood/adolescence (in much the same way as Pavlov and his dogs). They are continually reinforced during courtship and through films, TV programmes, magazines, books and stories (Farrell, 1986).

They can also be unlearnt (see Berne, 1963; Holland, 1999). Gendered responses are not a good indicator of who is being truthful and who is truly hurting. Women may cry to avoid having to talk. Men may cry, but are more likely due to cultural conditioning to become angry as a way to get (or deflect) attention. Both crying and anger may be genuine or affected responses. They may be honest or a “performance” to win hearts and minds.

When we know that women are no more likely to be physically harmed in personal relationships than men (Fiebert, 2005), our attitude to both men and women changes. When we know that men’s feelings are hurt as much as women’s (Pease and Pease, 2004), but they do not show this, our attitude changes again. When we understand that women are more creative and convincing liars (because they cannot resort so readily to physical force to win their fights), and that men are less good at hiding their lies (because they are punished more readily and frequently for lying during childhood) our attitude changes even more (O’Connell, 1998; Pease and Pease, 2003). We start to understand that men need as much protection from tale telling as women need from physical violence or rape (Farrell, 2000).

Women who understand men are no more inherently violent than themselves will no longer feel a need for special protection. Although they will continue to fear violence from men more than from women, they will begin to understand this is the response of any person who desires to be with them, but cannot be so. Men who start to understand that women are as violent as themselves will no longer feel such a need to give them special protection. If they do, they will come to understand this as a product of their desire to be a hero to the women who watch them, and part of their own need to win approval from them.

The Case for Mediation

Mediation offers a solution that is consistent with the values and goals of both democracy and gender equality. It affords protection to all parties regardless of status, ethnicity or gender. Critics of mediation (or “restorative justice” as it is called in criminology) worry that mediation simply gives the perpetrator another opportunity to intimidate the victim. At the start of a dispute, however, it is not clear who is perpetrator and who is victim. The apparent victim may be the perpetrator - it is the mediation process that helps to determine this (Roche, 2003).

Mediation is hard work: it may involve participants coming to terms with deeply held prejudices, or face up to the full impact of their behaviour on others. But it also gives them a chance to explain their intent and for others to learn why they responded in a particular way. The process may not be quick or easy. The alternative, however, is a workplace culture and society generally that pays lip service to fairness and equality but takes refuge in defensive approaches to conflict.

To support change, build the process of mediation into employment and trading contracts so that investors and entrepreneurs, employers and employees, customers and suppliers, face penalties under the law for authoritarian approaches to conflict resolution. These laws are the ones we can create for ourselves, for our own organisations. They are not imposed by government statute. Consequently, no acts of parliament need to be passed for these laws to come into effect: they can be brought about by changes in management understanding and practice.

This way, existing laws will stop favouring the party who unilaterally withdraws and start favouring those committed to reconciliation. The laws will start to reward compassion and tolerance. Individual businesses taking initiatives to switch to mediation as a tool of social control will be entrenching democratic values without ever having to involve a politician! What greater incentive do you need?

If reprinting this article, please include the following citation:

Based on Ridley-Duff, R. J. (2007) Emotion, Seduction and Intimacy: Alternative Perspectives on Organisation Behaviour, Bracknell: Men’s Hour Books, pp. 228-232.

References

Berne, E. (1964) Games People Play, Penguin.

Farrell, W. (1986) Why Men Are The Way They Are, London, Bantam Books, Chapters 2 - 6.

Farrell, W. (2000) Women Can’t Hear What Men Don’t Say, New York, Tarcher/Putnam.

Fiebert, M. (2007) References Examining Assaults by Women on their Spouses or Male Partners: An Annotated Bibliography, California State University. http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm

Harris, T., Harris, A. (1986) Staying OK, London: PAN.

Holland, R. (1999), “Reflexivity”, Human Relations, 52(4): 463-484.

India Today (2003) Sex and the Indian Woman, September Cover Story.

McDowell, P. (1985) “False Allegations”, Forensic Science Digest, 11(4): 64.

O’Connell, S. (1998) An Investigation into How We Learn to Love and Lie, Doubleday.

Pease, A., Pease, B. (2003) Why Men Lie and Women Cry, Orion.

Pease, A., Pease, B. (2004), The Definitive Book of Body Language, Orion.

Roche, D. (2003) “Gluttons for restorative justice”, Economy and Society, 32(4): 630-644.