Honey Bee

It's a little known fact that there is a honey bee shortage in the United States. Farmers need the bees to pollinate their crops. The House Appropriations Committee approved $10 million for bee research to find out why there a so few bees. Knowing this it was great to see a little honey bee hard at work gathering pollen at the Butterfly Garden in Memorial Park in Nyack, NY.

Wild Rabbit

My family found this adorable little rabbit at Nyack Beach State Park (NY). You cannot tell from the photo but the poor thing had a bite mark on the other side of his neck. He was very comfortable with us getting close to him which I found interesting.

Customer Service Comes First!

We all have experience when it comes to customer service. Whether it’s the waiter at your favorite restaurant or a clerk at the return counter in a local department store. Sometimes we are fortunate to experience service that goes above and beyond our expectations. Other times the experience is so horrible that you feel jaded and you lose confidence in the business that didn’t treat you well.

When you are dealing with your own customers, how seriously do you consider your customer service practices? Do you treat your customers the same way that you would like to be treated?

Customer service is the number one thing you can do to not only retain your current customers, but also to help build your customer base. When a customer is pleased with the products and services they received from you they are more likely to spread the word about your business to family and friends. Word of mouth advertising is one of the best forms of advertising you can receive for your business. Not only is it free, but people take recommendations from those they know to heart, and if a current or past customer is pleased with you, those they tell are more likely to do business with you than with another company.

What are some things you can do to improve your customer service practices?

Let’s look at a few.

You should always remain professional when dealing with a customer. A customer does not want to hear that their order was delayed because you have a cold, or because you had to run other errands that day. Even if you are working from home you always should keep your practices professional. If you were unable to fulfill an order on time take responsibility without burdening your customer with unnecessary personal information about yourself.

We have all heard the expression “The customer is always right.” That still holds true today. You should never argue with your customer. If you happen to have a very unhappy customer, go the extra mile and do what you can to find a resolution to their issue that will make them happy. It’s not always about you or what you want the outcome to be. The focus needs to be on your customer and what you can do to turn around a bad situation and make it better. Remember, treat your customers the way you want to be treated. As an added bonus, if you end up making a disgruntled customer happy he is more likely to tell others about his positive experience with your business.

Always meet your commitments to your customers. If you promise to have their order fulfilled by a certain date make sure that you do what it takes to follow through with your promise. If you need to set an appointment with your customer make sure to leave yourself ample time in case you encounter a situation which could cause a delay. Don’t ever make promises you cannot keep.

You customers are people too. Just like you, a customer can have a bad day and sometimes they just want someone to listen to them and acknowledge them. Don’t take anything they say too personally. Even if a customer has some unfair things to say about your business or products, don’t take it to heart. Just listen to your customer, acknowledge their feelings, and ask them how you can resolve the issue to make them happy. When you cannot give customers exactly what they want, suggest alternatives. This shows your customer that you are willing to help resolve their issues. Customers want you to be understanding, friendly, and fair.

Customers always appreciate businesses that go out of their way to make their customers feel special. If possible send them a card on their birthday or anniversary. Or send them a holiday card along with a special discount or sample. Customers love “freebies” and chances are they will leave your customers wanting more of your wonderful products. An added bonus to keeping in touch with your customers is that it keeps your business fresh in their minds. Taking extra steps in customer service will make your customer feel special.

If you deal with customers face to face always remember to dress professionally, greet them with a firm hand shake and most importantly – SMILE! There is nothing more comforting than a warm friendly smile. When speaking with customers on the telephone make sure you are using a friendly, pleasant tone in your voice. Even if your only communication is through emails you can still come across as being friendly by the choice of words that you use such as a kind greeting or wishing them a wonderful day.

Always be easily accessible to your customers. There is nothing more frustrating than having a problem with an order only to reach a voicemail or receive an auto responder instead of an actual email from you. Make sure your customers can reach you right away should they need to contact you. Make it a habit to check and reply to your emails several times a day. And if you must use voicemail for your telephone be sure to check messages regularly and return phone calls promptly. It’s also a good idea to post your contact information where your customers can easily find it. Knowing that you are easy to reach and when they should expect a reply is always comforting to customers.

In this day and age, where everything is automated, and you cannot speak to an actual customer service person on the phone unless you endure half an hour of “easy listening” tunes and a never ending series of “press this” and “press that” recordings, it’s a welcome relief for customers when they come across a business that puts customer service as their number one priority. When you go above and beyond to treat your customers the way they would like to be treated you will be rewarded with a very satisfied customer for life.

10 Ways to Get Your Child Involved in Your Community

A common complaint most parents have is that their children do not engage in more meaningful activities. Many children would rather play the latest Nintendo game or challenge their friends to games on their Wii’s.

As parents we want our children to experience all that life has to offer and for them to become productive members of our society. One of the best ways we can accomplish this is to get our children involved in our community. The experiences they gain will not only teach them about the world around them but it will also help our children to learn compassion and good will towards others.

If you have a child approaching college, community service is essential for them when filling out college applications. Most colleges do not only look at a student’s grades, they also want to know what kind of community service a student has performed over the years. Many scholarship applications ask students to write about their community service experiences.

There are many ways you can get your family actively involved in the community. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

1 – Have your child volunteer their time at your local library. Many libraries have a need for student volunteers. The volunteers help to read stories to the younger children and help out at library events. Most libraries have sign in sheets to keep track of student volunteer service hours. Children can volunteer at some libraries as early as sixth grade.

2 – Volunteer at your local animal shelter. You’ll have to check with the shelter about age requirements. For the most part volunteers help to walk the dogs and socialize the dogs and cats so that they are suitable for adoption. Shelter employees will make sure that young volunteers are not put in harms way or have them work with dangerous animals. Your child can also help with fundraising efforts by collecting blankets, food and other supplies the shelter needs.

3 – Have your child gather up unused toys, books and clothing that no longer fit and donate it to a local charity. Places such as homeless shelters, children’s homes and battered women’s shelters are always in great need for such donations. By doing this it will enlighten your child to the plight of people who find themselves in dire circumstances to help them gain compassion for those less fortunate then themselves. Remind your child how happy they will make another child by donating their toys to a child who might no otherwise have any toys to call their own.

4 – As a family collect non-perishable foods and donate them to a local food bank. During these hard times more and more people are finding it harder to cover their basic needs, including food. Together, as a family, collect a few extra cans of non-perishable foods each time you go food shopping and drop them off at a local food bank. This is another great way to teach your child to have compassion for others.

5 – Teach your child all about Random Acts of Kindness (RAK’s). Explain to your child how even the smallest act of kindness can make a big difference in someone’s life. Explain to your child how easy it is to do something nice for others such as holding the door open for someone, assist an elderly person with their packages or take out the trash for a neighbor. For more information you can visit the Acts of Kindness site. (http://www.actsofkindness.org/).

6 – Have your family get involved in a charitable activity such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) “Walk for a Cure” or the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life”. It is a great way to help raise money and awareness for a good cause. Walks and relays are also a great form of exercise.

7 – If you have younger children you can get them involved by having them color and draw pictures and mail them to Color a Smile (http://www.colorasmile.org/). The organization takes the drawings and coloring pages from children across the country and mails them to nursing homes, shut-ins, hospitals and other places where people can use a smile. Even a very young child can learn about being kind and giving to others by donating their wonderful artwork to bring a smile to someone else’s face.

8 – A great learning experience that will last a life time is to teach your child to be more environmentally responsible. Teach your child about recycling and alternatives that are healthier and safer for our environment. Educate your child about the effects our actions have on our planet and how even little things can have a huge impact. Have your child commit to doing at least one environmentally friendly act on a daily basis.

9 – Have your child join an organization such as the Boys Scouts, Girl Scouts, Student Government, church Youth Group or 4-H. Most of these groups do many community service programs throughout the year.

10 – Help your child find a cause or issue they are passionate about such as save the Polar Bears, which are an issue my daughter feels strongly about. It’s very important for your child to understand and recognize issues outside of the realm of their day to day lives. Brain storm with your child and find out ways you can help them. Invite other children and family members to get involved. Set up play dates with other children so that they can come up with ideas on how they want to help bring awareness to their cause.

There are many ways in which your child can become an active member of your community. The key is to find something your child is passionate about or that your child enjoys doing and research available opportunities for your child to get involved in.

Wild Flowers Along the Hudson River

Here is a shot of some of the wild flowers I found along side the marina near the Hudson River.

Lonely BIke

I found this bike this morning in the weeds near the side of the Hudson River. I'm assuming it was abandoned. It looks like it's been there for a while.

The Green Movement: What does it mean to go Green?

I remember not too long ago I was typing away at my computer listening to the TV which was on in the background. I don’t remember what show was on but they were interviewing a man by the name of Steven Kazlowski. Steven is a photographer who spent over eight years photographing the Polar Bears in the Artic and the effects that the Global Warming is taking on these beautiful creatures. His book is called “The Last Polar Bear”.

As I sat typing away I found myself drawn to the plight of the Polar Bear and how the effect of Global Warming is destroying their environment and how they could quickly become extinct. The thought of that made me stop what I was doing and sit for a moment and think about what he said. I couldn’t imagine a world without Polar Bears. I couldn’t imagine a world without a North Pole and the Artic. It made me re-evaluate the dire consequences of our every day actions. It made me think about the whole “Going Green” movement.

Every where you look these days you will see “Green” products and “Green” programming. There are “Green” cookbooks, “Green” clothing and even “Green” pet products. I have even seen “Green” toys for kids. But what does it mean to be “Green”?

Going “Green” to most people means being more environmentally responsible and making better, healthier choices for yourself, your family and our environment.

Some might worry that they have to make drastic changes in their lifestyles in order to be “Green”. Others might see this as just a fad and a passing trend. The terminology might be a passing fad, but the whole concept of being more socially responsible and making better choices is here to stay.

There are many little things you can do to make an impact on our environment. Maybe not individually, but as a whole society those little things add up to big changes.

Here are a few things you can do today that will make a difference in our environment when combined by the efforts of millions of others just like you.

- Unplug unused electronics and appliances when not in use. Did you know that even when not in use these items still continue to draw electricity? Some of the worst offenders are automatic coffee pots, microwaves, TV’s and clock radios.

- These days when the cost of gasoline has reached an all time high it makes better sense, both for our environment and your wallet, to walk or car pool whenever possible. I’ll be the first to say the idea of walking a mile or two down the road to get stamps doesn’t thrill me much, but even just walking to the bus stop instead of driving makes a difference. Another great tip is not to let you car idle. If you are stopped for more then a minute or two turn your car off. Idling just wastes gas and pollutes our environment.

- Use re-usable water bottles. I know it’s very easy to grab a bottle of nice cold water in any deli or convenient store, but each one of those bottles ends up in our landfills. Each year tons of water bottles end up in our landfills. You also need to consider all the power and pollutants that are utilized to create the water bottles and the fuel it takes to deliver them to all the stores. A much healthier and less expensive choice would be water from your own kitchen faucet. If you happen to have water that is not very tasty you can always get one of those affordable water filtration systems like Brita and Pur. You can purchase inexpensive reusable water bottles just about anywhere these days.

- Reduce waste whenever possible. Instead of taking a plastic spoon to eat your lunch with use a regular spoon from home and wash it when you are done. Use sandwich boxes instead of bags. You can even purchase reusable sandwich wraps. Make your own snacks, for example pudding, and put it in a reusable container instead of purchasing pudding cups from the store. It’s cheaper and it saves our environment too.

- Buy locally grown and produced products. Support your local farmers and farmer’s markets. When you buy local you save our environment from all the fuel that is used up to transport foods from one area to the next. Granted you can not buy every product locally but you can find a vast majority of fruits and vegetables from local farms. They cost less then traditional grocery stores too. It’s also important to support local commerce.

- Become a Yahoo Groups). Instead of tossing out that unwanted bike or those golf clubs you no longer use list them on Freeshare/Freecycle and pass them along to someone else who can use them. It helps to keep more items out of our landfills. You might also get something you have been looking for too for free.

- Eat less meat. Even eating one meatless meal a week can make a huge impact on our environment (not to mention it’s a healthier option for you). Did you know that 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock? That is more then what is emitted from the various forms of transportation. Another benefit to our environment is the less meat we require the less trees are destroyed. Each year thousands of acres of land in the Amazon are deforested to make room for livestock. Millions of trees are destroyed each year and as you know trees help to keep our air clean.

These are just a few ideas to get you started on the road to being more socially conscious and environmentally aware of what you can do to help save our environment. As an added bonus you’ll even save some money too.

“Going Green” is something everyone can do. All it takes is committing to doing one environmentally friendly act and continuing to do that on a daily basis.

We only have one Earth. We must all make the commitment to do our part to take care of our Earth before it’s too late. Even the smallest act can have a great impact. Make the effort to do one “Green” thing today.