Happy Holidays to All!

From all of us at ES Computer Training to all of our friends, clients and readers:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!   

We wish you all the best for a truly wonderful holiday season and a happy & prosperous New Year!!

See you in 2013!!!

And, for you to enjoy, here’s a comical version of the classic, “Twas the Night Before Christmas”:

Politically Correct Santa

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...                

How to live in a world that's politically correct?

His workers no longer would answer to "Elves",

"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.

 

And labor conditions at the north pole

Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,

Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.

And equal employment had made it quite clear

That Santa had better not use just reindeer.

So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,

Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;

The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.

And people had started to call for the cops

When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops.

Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.

His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."

And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows,

Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose

And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,

Demanding millions in over-due compensation.

So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,

Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life,

Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,

Demanding from now on her title was Ms.

And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion

That making a choice could cause so much commotion.

Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,

Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.

Nothing that might be construed to pollute.

Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.

Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.

Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.

Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.

Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific.

No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.

Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.

And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,

Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.

For they raised the hackles of those psychological

Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt;

Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.

Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;

And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed;

He just could not figure out what to do next.

He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,

But you've got to be careful with that word today.

His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;

Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might

Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,

Each group of people, every religion;

Every ethnicity, every hue,

Everyone, everywhere...even you.

So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...

"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."

Notice:  This poem is copyright 1992 by Harvey Ehrlich.  It is free to

distribute, without changes, as long as this notice remains intact.

All follow-ups, requests, comments, questions, distribution rights, etc

should be made to  mduhan@husc.harvard.edu .  Happy Holidays!

How NOT to Respond to Customer Complaints on Social Media

Okay, I read the following Facebook posts and after I stopped giggling like a 12 year old schoolgirl, I thought, “Oh, what perfect material for a blog topic regarding how not to respond when a customer complains about your services via social media.”  

So, without further ado, here’s a truly perfect example of what you shouldn't be doing…

Pretty much self-explanatory, right?  The reasoning for not talking to people in the manner illustrated above?  I know it can be tough to take criticism, and while the lady who wrote what she did in this post used all the tact of a raging bull, the chef at Pigalle Boston still, as a business owner, should never have responded as he did - so harshly and with such colorful language!

Even though you might not like what one or two people have to say, you should keep in mind the big picture, and remember once again, that what you post on Facebook (and other social media platforms) is there for the world to see - the world that includes clients and prospective clients.  Other than for the entertainment value, no one really wants to see callous, not-so-well-thought-out comments.  They’re not a great reflection of you and the way you do business.  When posting on social media for business purposes, it’s always best to maintain a sense of professional decorum.  Swearing and name-calling don’t really fall into that category, and while it might seem like a good idea at the time: Always think before you post!!!

So, you want to tell your critics to jump off a cliff - but how should you actually handle put-downs and negative criticism?  Simply let the person know that you are sorry to hear that they’re dissatisfied with the service.  Ask them how they feel you might make their experience better the next time.  Accept it as constructive criticism, and learn from it.  Bottom line:  You can’t please all of the people all of the time.  Just remember, do your best, and keep your customer care/service skills honed so that, even if you’re tempted to, you never respond to negative comments in the manner illustrated above!