Social media as a customer service tool

Image via CrunchBase Finally a lazy Sunday to catch up...well as lazy as a Sunday can be around here. Kids are up before dawn, husband is spending the three day weekend finishing up our landscaping, I'm playing online working on the dining room re-design and then there is the usual cooking, cleaning and never ending "will you play with me" questions that I hate saying no to. :)

I've been pretty MIA from cyber space lately. My sister in law is now a Mrs. and weekends are now no longer dedicated to wedding plans, Alex is officially not in preschool any longer (OMG how did my baby turn into a Kindergartener??) and Liv is walking...plenty to keep me busy. It's funny how attached we become to our information sources. I use Twitter to stay up on news and to interact with friends, and lately also as a venting outlet for crappy customer service issues.

I hate dealing with customer service numbers. It never works out well for me. I end up in a never ending loop of hold music and lack of answers. Boy does that make me mad...enough that I had pretty much given up on calling anymore. Instead I got mad and shot my mouth off on Twitter. I had a rough day, McDonalds screwed up my coffee, Target wouldn't let me enter a prescription online (well they would, just at the end of the process they kicked it out since the person it was for was 9 months old and needed an adult...seriously like my prodigy 9 month old was entering it herself), Lumber Liquidators wouldn't refund half my money for a product I had never picked up for some unknown reason, and Sam's Club had double charged me and messed my order up and I was stuck in an endless loop of them insisting both issues were fixed because they refunded the overcharge. Not my best day and perhaps I can be forgiven for getting a little testy and shouting off on Twitter.

Imagine my surprise when I almostly immediately got direct messages back from Sam's Club, McDonalds and Lumber Liquidators. Direct messages asking me why I was frustrated (kind of hard to explain in 140 characters but I did my best). Direct messages flew back and forth and ended with me giving them my phone number. Within minutes my phone rang and without a minute on hold I was speaking with an awesome customer service rep based here locally. To keep this post out of the novella range suffice it to say that the morning ended with all my refunds being processed (plus some! Rock on Sam's Club for offering a 200% money back guarentee on flowers LOVE THAT), and McDonalds sending me out a coupon for free coffee.

Who knew how powerful venting on Twitter could be and closely some stores watch their brand. Target was the only store to never respond at all and believe me, I'll call 3 out of 4 a win win!

Working with children at home

I have to admit, 2 weeks ago as we approached the end of the school year I was very worried about how to keep my kiddo busy while I worked. Working from home is probably very tough for a toddler to understand. Mom is home, available and should be ready to play right?

Normally I would have arranged for a summer camp, but none will take a three year old, even a potty trained, articulate, just finished Pre K one. Too bad cause this little guy hums with energy and I would gladly hand over some green to find the soccer came that would wear him out! Since there were no takers on a short camp option over June, Camp at Home began.

Week One: Getting in routine. Learning the ropes took about a week. There were a few tantrums, not a lot of TV and a good bit of "but Mrs. Pack says" (his teacher and the end all authority figure in his book). Not a lot was accomplished other than my learning that Alex has a terrific memory and amazing talent and love for puzzles.

Week Two: Camp out week. We had mini sub sandwiches made from hot dog buns, turkey, cheese,and fixings. Spritzers with juice and sprite, set up a tent in the playroom and napped in it, and set up our earning system for TV and computer time. So far things are going great and without jinxing myself I find that I'm optimistically looking for additional things for him to do.

I checked out a great book called "When the Kids are Home from School" and it's filled with advice and ideas that have inspired me to plan a little ahead and ensure he has lots to do during the day.

Adventures in Telecomuting ...Day 2

So yesterday was the first day my son was out of school and home with me. He's on summer vacation, ready for the pool, playtime and never ending fun, and I've got work to do! I've adjusted my hours, am working hard and fast and spending time in the evenings plotting out things to keep him busy. It's just to bad his attention span is so short.

I have to admit though, so far so good! I'm able to work a steady 7-3 with minimal interruptions that I like to think of as "Smoke Breaks" since I don't smoke by my old office mates do. I know they take those every few hours so I don't beat myself up about mine!

With 29 days to go before Liv's due date, my maternity leave and a whole summer of fun with two kiddos before me I'm working to clear the decks and it is taking organization like I've never had to have before!

Shout if you have any suggestions for self-entertaining, not wrecking the house kind of activities for little ones! I'm looking for anything I can get my hands on!

Work Life Balance Words of Wisdom

I started this blog as my journey into a comfortable balance of work, family and fun, but throw pregnancy into the mix and everything else goes out the door. We're nearing the end of this pregnancy and have hit the sleepless nights, can't get comfy, crazy dreams stage. I can't wait to meet my little girl and at this rate I'll probably get more rest when she gets here...maybe!

It's amazing how many people I've talked to lately have issues with work-life balance. A college roommate working up north, my Mother in law, my husband (although he would like a little more work in his balance)have all complained recently about the balance they have. It makes me wonder what about today's culture is driving us to make work our life instead of a means to support our life.

Don't get me wrong I love my job, but it is a job. J. O. B. Something that I do to support my family, pay my bills, and contribute to society. However none of those reasons are good enough to ignore my growing family, miss an important event or lose my personal time with the ones I love.

Working at home was a tough transition with this since I was suddenly in the "office" 24 hours a day. But whether you physically shut an office door at 5 pm or close and lock away the computer (pregnant women work from the couch around here!), you have to set limits and establish a quitting time when you shift from working bee, to your at home self.

My top 5 rules for working from home:
1. Set your schedule and STICK TO IT...If you have trouble with this, physically lock the computer away, turn it completely off and schedule an activity for yourself right at quitting time. Just a walk around the block will get you out of the house and back in a personal mind frame.
2. Get up, get dressed, and pretend you are going to the office. Your commute may have shrunk to 15 seconds, but you are still going to work. It will be much less tempting to turn on the TV and channel surf while you work if you are up dressed and at your desk at a normal working time.
3. Establish office space in your house. Having a place for your office supplies, computer, to work, will all make you more productive and give you somewhere to "leave" at the end of the work day.
4. Don't work weekends. Unless it's an emergency and you would be going into the office to handle it, don't work after hours and on weekends from home. If you do, co-workers will get used to having you available at all hours and will not hesitate to call. A polite but firm, "I'll handle that when I get to the office tomorrow", should let them know that you are offline and no longer working if they manage to catch you.
5. Work hard, but recognize that you are working...A lot of new telecommuters have trouble rationalizing not working crazy hours since they are at home. They take a break to throw in laundry or set a crock=pot for dinner and see it as a reason to need to work overtime. However in an office co-workers would take a coffee or smoke break, visit over cube walls, in other words, use the same amount of time in office social niceties that you are using in productive non work related matters. Cut yourself some slack, take a normal amount of break time and then get back to work so you can confidently call it quits at the end of the day.

Words of Wisdom from a Veteran Telecommuter! :)

The Great Google Takes A Tumble...

Image via CrunchBase

at least with me! I'm a huge google fan and generally use just about all their services. I mean they are free, usually right on the money with what consumers want and work well.

Or did until today. Late yesterday I got an email from my Mother in Law telling me my blog wasn't working. I went to check and sure enough it wasn't. Apparently Google Apps, the entity I purchased my domain name through, didn't bother to email me that it was up for renewal. Now there is nothing to be done except pay a good chunk more than the yearly renewal fee to pull it out of redemption status, or wait a few days and try to beat anyone else to it on the open market. Grrr all the way around.

I've reverted back to the blogger provided, free url for the time being, but have to say Google Apps has definitely achieved Buyer Beware status for me after a little research showed this was an EXTREMELY common issue.

My advice to Google, STEP IT UP! How hard is it to set up auto emails to go out on this kind of thing!

On a slightly better note the Gluten Free Asian Shredded Beef that's been slow cooking in my kitchen all day smells delightful and I can't wait for dinner!

Telecommuting, Toddlers and Pregnancy

Did you know that U.S. workers actually spend more time commuting to work than vacationing each year...how depressing is that!

If I still lived in Dallas and commuted just 25 miles round trip into the office, Commuter Challenge estimates my commuting costs me $3821.04 per year. I could do a lot of things with $3800 dollars! Makes me glad I work from home, have my son at a school right down the street and only need to fill my small SUV up once every three weeks or so.

Having an overactive toddler, a husband who travels and a new baby on the way makes me one grateful momma that I work from home. Yes it's a challenge and I hear time and time again...I couldn't do that, I would be to distracted. Well not to revert back to toddler hood but "can't never could." It takes effort, but so does leaving the office group chit chatting around the copy machine to go meet a deadline in an office. As a very social person I actually get more done at home with out the social distractions of visiting with peers.

I have also, over the last 20 weeks had multiple opportunities to be grateful that as a soon to be new mommy I could clock my hours in a flexible fashion. Some days the baby just demanded a nap at lunch time, and others I was too sick to work first thing in the morning. Working from home allowed me to work when I was best able to and not be held to a 9-5 mentality.

I have become friends with several telecommuters over the last three years, many virtual friends from Twitter and Facebook. For anyone working from home or considering it I just started the Work From Home Handbook by Diana Fitzpatrick and Stephen Fishman and am really impressed. Unlike many books that tout the benefits from an anecdotal point of view, this book has the statistics and information to wow your boss when you pitch telecommuting. From job satisfaction ranking higher among telecommuters to a cost benefit analysis of working from the office vs home, it's a must read.

As a mom, a career woman and a loyal employee I find telecommuting to be a perfect fit!

Twitterholics, Facebook Fiends and Social Media Mavens

Image via Wikipedia

Ok I admit it, I'm a social media fiend. I love twitter, facebook, linkedin, and blogging, and all together these types of applications are known as Web 2.0.  There are so many great applications out right now that can make keeping in touch, or promoting your business so much easier. I've mentioned this guide to several of my friends and wanted to share it here for anyone looking for a great getting started guide for Twitter and business.

How to use Twitter for Business Guide by HubSpot

I'm working on several presentations for work and Web 2.0 and how to use social media for business is playing an integral part in each one. The age group with the biggest number of uses on facebook is 25-45.  Financial gurus who know are forcasting that Twitter's stock is fixing to go through the roof and the number of uses to quadruple. 

So if you are looking to dive into this new era of marketing and advertising I highly recommend checking out the guide above, trainings on Hubspot, and other free trainings like Googles Marketing Professional designation. These are resources that take nothing but your time and will drastically broaden your horizons on communicating with a wider audience.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Telecommuting Advocate

Over the last three years I have become a huge advocate for telecommuting as a flexible option for work. It saves money, it's easier to keep up when children have illnesses, and I flat out get far more done!

I recently decided to share what I've learned about working from home by writing occasional articles for an online site here in Austin.

You can check them out here, and see a preview of my introductory article.

What A Girl Wants

I spent last week driving around Central Texas with a co-worker delivering marketing materials to my accounts. As we drove we visited on various work projects, families, friends, but the most interesting discussion we had was on the lack of choice that society gives to mothers. It made me sit back and think about how I really feel about where I am right now as a mother, an employee and a person.

In a perfect world that didn’t having me owing far to much money in student loans we might be able to afford for me to stay home while we have young children. In reality though I work to make sure we can afford Alex’s school, groceries and the occasional splurge. Although we don’t live paycheck to paycheck we are a far cry from even considering being a single income household, and usually I’m okay with that.

Lately though I’ve been a bit frustrated with how Alex is reacting to changes at his school, the constant colds coming home and as my workload gets busier and busier, the need to spend family time occasionally doing work. I enjoy my job, my family, and my hobbies but my priorities fall with family first. I truly feel that being home with my kiddo would be to his benefit while he’s young, and luckily I’m blessed with a job that allows me to telecommute so the parade of colds and sick days don’t necessarily derail my work schedule.

But how do parents with less flexible employers manage this. My mother worked for a variety of companies when I was younger and at many of them she could only take off for extreme emergencies. She was a single parent doing the best she could and the deck was stacked against her. If we as a society want to tout that the children are our future we should be a bit more careful of who is rearing that future. Society sees motherhood as a part time affair and doesn’t always give credit where it’s due. Our children spend more time in daycare each day than they do at home, and even though I’m very grateful that my son has a safe and loving environment to be at each day, it makes me sad when I see all that he is learning that I’m not playing a part in teaching him.

Companies should explore alternatives for sick days that allow parents to be home with their children and depending on circumstances, to still manage some of their tasks. This is not to say if you have a puking child you should have to take phone calls, but there have been several days this year when my son was fine but waiting out a 24 hour fever free rule to return to school. On those days I can work and he can play outside thanks to my companies telecommuting policy. With phone forwarding, webinars, conference call lines, web cams and free online resources like google docs there are few reasons left to require a physical presence in the office at all times. Telecommuting, like staying home with your children is not for everyone, but for the most part I think it should be more of an option for those who want to pursue it.

Taking Your Work Home

Telecommuting is a growing benefit that many companies are using to hire great employees and keep those that would have once had to leave the office to move or stay home. This video is a great example of a company that is ahead of the game.



Even better, set me up with one of these babies! I love the idea but am not sure if my two year old wouldn't view this as a part of his outdoor playset. Check out the latest in the 10 second commute. Office Pods

Telecommuting Tuesdays

Image via CrunchBase

Boy is the world buzzing right now with a fascinating new way to save your company some money! The articles, posts and emails I've gotten lately touting telecommuting would make you think someone came up with this genius idea yesterday!

Business Week ran a nifty story that I enjoyed enough to forward to some co-workers (maybe I can subvert the entire office into working from home. Then I'll be the resident expert! WOOHOO.) Shortly after that crossed my desk I got some very interesting statistics about telecommuting.

The guys over at Undress for Success reported
• In response to high gas prices, almost one in four employers are planning to offer a telecommuting option for their employees within the next six months (8/08) and 42% already have. (Mercer’s 2008 Gas Price Impact SnapShot™ Survey)

I'm definitely seeing an increase in those telecommuting. My mother in law now works from home, my husband's field offers a lot of home based telecommuting opportunities, and a few of my co-workers are quietly edging their way out the office door. Although some employers still have a fear of Facebook stalking, slacker employees, most will find that losing the commute allows those of us logging in from home to accomplish far more from the couch than we ever did in the cube. And thanks to instant messaging services like Skype I can stay in touch with colleagues without the commute.

While I'm rambling about Skype let me just say that my husband travels for work and boy do I LOVE Skype for the weeks when he is gone. Our toddler can get a chance to see him, and even though he's hundreds of miles away, the video option (FREE, the whole darn service is FREE) means that he's always here for evening prayers.

Whether you already telecommute or are just trying to figure out how to get a little more flexibility in your day embrace the free services that are everywhere on the web for those of us logging in from home. Some of my absolute faves are:

• Skype
• Fax Zero
• Free Conference Calls
• Google for everything from forms, spreadsheets, tracking websites
• Free PDF Hosting
• Fake Phone Calls (has nothing to do with the business world but is freaking hilarious!)

Work work work

Image via Wikipedia

Telecommuting is more work than many office dwellers think. Not only are you doing the same workload you did before you left the office to work at home, but you are also doing the additional job of marketing yourself to the very company that hired you and continually promoting your capabilities to remind them why you should remain on the payroll.

Over the last three years there have been many times when work that would once have fallen to me by default has been passed on to a co-worker. Largely I think this is due to the "out of sight, out of mind" phenomenon that tends to affect telecommuters. Interesting enough a fellow telecommuter posted this article yesterday, and if you work remotely it has some great advice.

You also have to continually deal with what I call the mini mishaps. The computer trouble, internet going out, nuts knocking on the front door, the gold fish spitting rocks at you through the tank...all fun stories I'm sure will surface soon!

A Nutty Irishman Saves My Sanity

The rush of the holidays. Finishing up deliverables for the year. Two days until vacation.

These are all things that are occuring simulteanously during the last week of work before Christmas vacation! I work hard all year, and I work from home which means I work sick or not, so I am planning a bang up vacation for Christmas. I'll be out the door (theoretically :)) on Friday at noon and I'll be back sometime after the first of the year. So this week is nuts and today finds me at Kenny's Coffee having a Nutty Irishman, my absolute favorite coffee drink for a pick me up, to get the day jumpstarted. I can't tell you how many times I have been so happy to have a great mom and pop coffee shop with free wifi in my neighborhood. Anytime I need more noise than I have at home to get me to focus, they are ready and waiting with caffinne a plenty. Off to the grind now, but I can't complain too much since Pandora. com is rocking on my computer, the Nutty Irishman is soothing my lack of sleep that I can thank my toddler for, and I'm looking forward to a coworker lunch today! All in all the best of the best that telecommuters can look forward to!

Crazy Days

Life as a telecommuter varies for me. Some days, when I don't have a super pressing deadline, I have to force myself to focus and work steadily on tasks that are more monotonous than fun. Fortunately there haven't been too many days like that lately.

What there has been are the typical snafus that accompany working from a home office (or a desk built into the kitchen like I do :)).

Yesterday there was a parade of repair men tromping through my house. The first one showed up right on time around 2, he was the cable guy, and being completely into what I was working on I showed him to my husband's wall mounted new plasma TV and left him to fix the broken input. It wasn't until 10 minutes later when a team of Best Buy repair men showed up that I realized the cable guy was there to fix my phones, not my husband's TV. There was a bit of embarrassment on my end and chuckles from the various testosterone infused experts in the house when I went up to shuffle them around. After all that neither party could fix what they came for and both rescheduled service calls for next week. So the saga continues!

Today I woke up sick as a dog, took the day off work and dosed myself with DayQuil. After sleeping for a few hours I woke up feeling better. Having already taken the day off I decided to get some personal business done and am now feeling quite accomplished for getting my Craigslist listings up, packages mailed, books sent off for www.paperbackswap.com, a few groceries (mostly OJ and Superfood juice by Odwalla) and a tiny bit of housecleaning done.

Realizing what all I accomplished from a day free of general work (sick or not I got a few things done that have been cluttering up my desk for sometime), I am now determined to take 1 day a month off to play "catch-up" for the house!

The Drama, Dreams, and Disgusts that come with Telecommuting

I've been telecommuting for almost two years now and still there are funky hang-ups and distractions that make life interesting. Recently my "eyes' in the office, the one co-worker who didn't shun me when I left to work remotely, became a telecommuter herself. Being the literary minded person she is (and a child of the 80s, like me) she wanted to commermorate her Telecommuting journey and share it with anyone looking for a laugh!

Thus Adventures in Telecommuting was born.