Shirk

You probably think I am going to say something like, "The customer is always right." Right?? Wrong.

I have many philosophies when dealing with customers, but I definitely do not believe that the customer is always right. However, when the customer is wrong, you must handle the situation delicately.

There are many types of customers and each one needs to be treated with respect and consideration no matter how difficult they may be. I have found that most (not all) people can be soothed out of their "nastiness".

I used to work at our local casino and I would get all kinds of customers to deal with. Most of them were very pleasant as in the IM business, but there were a few that were very difficult. There was this one night when I came in contact with this particularly difficult lady who, of course, was having bad luck. She was just a bit**in" and blaming the casino!!

I calmly yet firmly talked to her in a reassuring and respectful manner each and every time I came around. I noticed that each time I did talk to her she became more and more relaxed and controlled. Until finally, later in the evening, I went into the Ladies Room and who should be there, but the difficult lady! Well, as I came in, she burst out, " There she is. There's that girl who was so nice to me all night long and made me feel so much better"! She could not have been more grateful. ;-)

Now this will not happen everytime you run into a difficult customer, but it could happen often. Treat people with respect, kindness and consideration and more often then not, you will be able to calm down a dissatisfied, belligerent customer. Listen to the customer and let them know you will do everything possible to get the problem resolved. Show them that you care!

You need to actually care about your customer and care about making sure they are satisfied with you and your service and/or product. Do not just think of the customer as another sale.

If you get the eternally nasty customer who will not be consoled no matter what you do, do not lose control or sink to their level. Remain calm but firm. The customer is not always right no matter how much they think they are. Be courteous and polite.

Since I have been online, I have only encountered about three customers of the eternally nasty type. ;-) I did my best, but to no avail. So I had no choice but to send them on their way. I stood up for myself and for MOE and did not insult them in any way. But as we know, there is just no pleasing some people.

I would say that 99% of the people I have encountered online have been absolutely wonderful! They make it easy to treat them with respect and courtesy. I, who has been painfully shy most of my life, love working with people and enjoy interacting with them online and offline. I think all (well, almost all) people are good in one way or another and deserve to be treated as such.

This is why I do business by the motto: Treat others as you would like to be treated and Be true to yourself and your customers!

About The Author

Terri Seymour owns and operates MyOwnEzine.com

You can contact Terri at mailto:ter02@newnorth.net

Marriage is more than a piece of paper. It confers numerous benefits, such as health, disability and life insurance, pension funds and tax refunds for spouses. Many gay couples desire to marry to be able to share these benefits but have been denied this right. Should gay couples be denied the right to marry?According to some individuals, America is the greatest country in the world. It is supposedly filled with opportunities for everyone, not just financially but an opportunity to live one life as exactly as one wants. This is not true. Everyday, millions of people are denied a right many take for grant. Gay couples in most states cannot marry because it is illegal to marry someone of the same sex and that is not fair.

Marriage is a legal commitment between two consenting adults. It is about sharing, love, trust, and legal status. Two adults who make this private personal choice to form a life-long commitment should not be denied the right to marry just because they are gay or lesbian. It is illegal to discriminate against gay seeking employment, education or housing. Gays keep communities safe as firefighters and police officers, staff hospitals, and pay taxes. Denying gay couples the right to legally marry takes away legal right in employee benefits, government benefits, and other benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy.

A person's sexuality should not be an obstacle to whether he or she wants to marry someone of the same sex. A gay person has the same needs and desires as a heterosexual individual. The only difference is the way he or she has sex. If two individuals fall in love and wants the same economic advantages that marriage offers heterosexual couples, they should not be denied that right based on their sexuality.

Although American society denies the right to marriage to gays, it glorifies heterosexuals who make a mockery out of marriage by marrying and divorcing a succession of partners. This practice is called "Serial Monogamy" and it is sickening and very hypocritical of American society to stand judgment on gays for their lifestyles but sanctions heterosexuals who do not have good judgment or morals. Most people who are opposed to gay marriage often bring up the Bible, saying that the Bible does not condone the gay lifestyle and that marriage is strictly between a man and woman.

However, these same individuals are often involved in extra-marital affairs, are cohabitating without the benefit of marriage or are gay themselves, hiding behind pious words of morality. Gays are just like anyone else and they deserve to partake in the economic advantages that marriage has to offer. Instead of denying the right to marriage to gays, American society should concentrate on fixing the widening economic gap between the wealthy and the poor and figuring out why America and its society is the laughing stock of the world.

There's an age old debate about which sports have the most participants or attract the most spectators. We take a look at some statistics to see if we can find the answers.

Judging from the number of followers of the game, football (soccer) is the most popular sport of all. With more than 3 billion fans worldwide this is the sport that dominates all others.

Estimates suggest that the last football World Cup final was watched live by almost 1 billion people - a quite astonishing figure. In the UK alone there are almost 50,000 registered football clubs, with up to 3 million participants.

Leading football clubs attract attendances of considerably more than 50,000 spectators on a regular basis, with the Spanish heavyweights of Real Madrid and Barcelona often drawing massive crowds.

Football truly is the global game.

Next up in the listings is a sport that might surprise many: cricket. Although cricket seems to have failed to have caught the imagination in large parts of the world (North America, China and South America being examples), participation and viewing figures are extremely high.

These figures are largely boosted by the popularity of the sport in Asia, where India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are all significant cricketing nations.

Elsewhere in the world, England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies all have international cricket teams, while the sport is growing in some parts of continental Europe (notably the Netherlands and Denmark).

The third most popular sport in the world is harder to judge, with figures conflicting. Some suggest basketball, undoubtedly the American sport with the largest global appeal.

Other leading contenders include tennis, field hockey (once again, a sport that has enormous appeal in the Indian sub-continent) and swimming.

A recent report in the UK suggested that the largest sports, in terms of participants, were walking and fishing. Although walking by not be classed as a sport by many, the inclusion of fishing on such a list may come as a surprise.

Though there is little agreement and such things are difficult to measure, it seems undeniable that football (soccer) remains the world's most popular sport.

Keith Barrett has written about cricket and cricket gloves for a number of publications. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.