10 Do’s and Don’ts Of Customer Services by Nancy P Redford

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Email etiquette is the key to help calm down anxious and impatient
customers. People assume that once they press the “send” button
that we will get everything sorted out in an instant!

Of course we all know that this is not an accurate representation
of how things work. However, you should prepare yourself for
the occasional hot tempered emails, regardless of whether their
comments are unreasonable or not.

Five Do’s Of Good Customer Services

1. Thank them for contacting customer support in the opening
sentence of your reply messages.

2. Ask for further clarification if you are unsure of their
requirements. Suggest some extra details to answer their
query more effectively.

3. Address the support question within 24 hours of receiving
their message to avoid unnecessary confrontation and
dissatisfaction.

4. Offer further support if they require it and provide a
sincere thanks for their custom. Also confirm that their
message has been received and when they should expect
a response..

5. Be apologetic to their needs and offer complete support
and reassurance. However if a customer is still unsatisfied
with their order offer them a replacement or refund.

Five Don’ts Of Customer Services

1. Don’t use abrasive words in your email. Always remain calm,
courteous and professional.

2. Don’t leave the problem unresolved or unanswered because you
are offended by their tone or for any other reason whatsoever.

3. Don’t neglect your customers by repeatedly delaying your
response times. This will lead to negative feedback for your
company and will inevitably cost you sales and damage your
companies reputation.

4. Don’t allow a customer to bully you into doing something
irrational or unethical just to please them.

5. Don’t lie to a customer about your product. Make sure your
description and terms are clear and are easily accessible
on your Sales Page, Thank You Page and receipts.

Summary

Provide valuable information about your commitment to providing
high levels of support by supplying your dedicated email address,
fax, telephone number and mailing address. Place your companies
customer services details on your Sales Letter Page and the
Thank You Page (after orders are paid for and completed).

This helps to reassure the customer that they will be able to
contact you for ongoing help and support throughout the order
process and after sales. Once you have established a customer
services support details you must ensure that all enquires
are handled quickly and efficiently. If the enquiry needs
more time to look up an order then send a confirmation email
to let customers know that you have received their message
and will get back to them in good time.

Unreasonable delays in response times can irritate customers
so it is important to address problems any questions within
24 hours to avoid negative feedback.

Nancy P Redford shows you how to Take Online Payments
for any web site without a costly merchant account.
Stay safe on the Internet by getting wise to Online Scams
and Shams. Plus get some of the best business tools and
resources for your home-based business here at:
http://www.miriadz.com

Feel free to reprint this article as content for your web site and
newsletters. You may join our Miriadz Affiliate Program for free to
replace “Take Online Payments” and “Online Scams and Shams”
with your affiliate links. No other links or words may be changed
without express permission from the author, me, Nancy P Redford.

Join our Miriadz Affiliate Program here…

10 Compelling Benefits of Having A 3rd Party Merchant Account by Nancy P Redford

If you have been wrestling with the idea of applying for your own
3rd party merchant account then take a look at the following compelling
benefits of using a 3rd party provider to mange all of your credit card
processing needs.

1. The most inexpensive way to accept credit cards with hassle free,
quick application process and set up.

2. New start-up businesses, sole traders and home-based businesses
individuals are very welcome.

3. Incredibly low fee structure considering there are no application
fees, leases, no monthly fees, no statement fees and no extra
charges for software.

4. No charges are needed for payment gateway fees to a third party
company as this is already provided at no extra cost.

5. No exclusivity restrictions meaning you are free to have other
3rd party merchant accounts with other credit card providers.

6. Freedom to pick and choose your credit card processing company
to suit any variety of different business needs.

7. Able to set up a complete online storefront with little or no
HTML programming experience. Simple online step-by-step tutorials
and free assistance provided for set up.

8. Free customer services to handle orders, security, fraud prevention,
automated payments and other essentials duties on your behalf.

9. No special requirements to open up a business bank account.

10. Offers the flexibility to use your own regular checking account
for payment of earnings.

I’m sure by now that you can see the benefits and advantages of having
access to your own 3rd party merchant account to automate your online
payments for the convenience of your customers and to increase your
business profits.

You would probably find that there are so many more great benefits
of accepting credit cards without taking unnecessary financial risks.

Feel free to reprint this article as content for your web site and newsletters. You may join our Miriadz affiliate program for free to replace “Take Online Payments” and “Online Scams and Shams” with your affiliate links. No other links or words may be changed without express permission from the author, me, Nancy P Redford. Join our Miriadz affiliate program here…

7 Key Steps To Reduce Refunds and Chargebacks by Nancy P Redford

One sure-fire way to loosing out big time on your
business profits is from incidences of excessive
refunds and chargeback requests. If the number is
high in any period you could risk loosing your
third party merchant account altogether.

So what do you do when there are some who will
request a refund within 15 minutes of purchasing
your product?

Or even pettier are those who will wait until
the last possible moment to request a refund. Well
not all is lost because merchant account providers
are very well informed as to the credit card numbers
of persistent refund and chargeback claimants. Just
like their list of fraudulent credit card users,
stolen credit cards etc they have a database of what
I call “Refund Junkies”.

There appears to be no end to the unethical tactics
some people will use to get your product for free.

Use the following tips to further safeguard against
refunds and expensive chargeback costs. The good
news is that refunds are easy to process and do
not carry any additional fees.

However as a merchant you want to ensure that refunds
are kept to a minimum.

1. Clearly State the Billing Name

First and foremost state the name of your third party
credit card processor on your sales pages and include
them in your terms and follow up email receipts so
that customers are fully aware of what company name
will appear on their billing statements. This will
reduce the number of customers who do not recognize
the billing name on their statements from contacting
their credit card issuers for a chargeback.

This one factor can lead to an unprecedented number
of chargebacks claims.

2. Provide Your Customer Support Details

Provide your email address so that customers can
contact you regarding any queries about their order.
Make sure that you answer them in a timely manner to
avoid unnecessary delays.

If a customer is not responded to promptly they are
very likely to make a refund request.

3. Offer Lifetime Updates

Offering your customers lifetime updates to your
product and services to add value and will encourage
them to remain customers in the knowledge that they
will always receive your most current edition of your
goods.

4. Reward Loyal Customers With Exclusive Privileges

Offer your customers a product that can be used freely
as long as they are fully paid members, as part of a
membership site. Or use a tool which is only available
to customers and cannot be accessed after a refund
request is made. As long as your offer is valuable to
your customers and members you are will substantially
reduce the number of refund requests.

5. Provide The Best Guarantee

Your guarantee could become a thorn in your side if
You have a very short time span before customers can
test out and use your product. But studies show that
the longer the guarantee period the less refund requests
are made because customers are more comfortable with
their rights to cancel if the product or service does
not meet their needs.

This is at your discretion as a merchant so testing is
important to work out what is best for you. Remember
to take into account that some third party processors
have a limit on the maximum refund time their merchants
can issue to customers.

6. Accurate Product Descriptions

Avoid making bold claims that are “too good to be true”
if you cannot deliver the results. You could be setting
yourself up for a big fall and your customers will request
refunds if your product description does not fulfill their
needs. You could also be breaking the law and be liable
to charges if a law suit is brought against your company.
Make sure your sale letter accurately reflects your
goods for sale and highlight the TRUE benefits of owning
the goods.

7. Surprise Bonuses

It is a great surprise when you buy something and receive
additional unadvertised bonuses. This can warm your
customers to your company and can only please them.
It also demonstrates that you do not need to publicize
your bonuses because you believe in your product so much
that it will sell on its own merit.

Dispelling Myths

All too often I have read articles and statements claiming
that with third party merchant accounts there are no
chargeback fees and that you never have your company
name display on customer statements. These claims are
inaccurate.

The facts are that some do not have chargeback fees. I
have personally researched 90+ third party processing
companies and have contacted them to verify certain key
points in their terms of contract and fee schedule.

There are some third party processors that do not issue
chargeback fees or refunds, such as can be found with
some digital gold currencies. In this case the merchant
must initiate a refund directly to the customer.

There are some third party processors who do not levy
chargeback fees but you will find that these are very
few in number and they will typically have a higher
processing fee to cover their costs.

Don’t be mistaken in thinking that third party processors
do not pass on chargeback fees to their merchants. You
only have to read their terms in full to find out exactly
what you can expect to be charged for per chargeback
incident. I highlight these important facts in my book
The A-Z of No Merchant Accounts for your convenience.

Feel free to reprint this article as content for your web site and newsletters. You may join our Miriadz Affiliate Program for free to replace “Take Online Payments” and “Online Scams and Shams” with your affiliate links. No other links, words or the resource box may be changed without express permission from the copyright owner, author, me, Nancy P Redford. Join our affiliate program here…

Mike Filsaime and Carlos Garcia Give Away Their Outsource Secrets For Free!

How can so many top marketers launch so many products without an office load of employees? You’ll find the answer in this free package of audio transcripts valued at $195.00. But if you hurry you can get them for free and also find out about making money with them.

You’ll be given free resell rights just for visiting the site. If this sounds too good to be true all you need to verify this invitation is to go to the site and get hold of your own copy of Outsource Secrets now.

Ewan Chia’s Underground Interviews & Free Membership Site

It’s not everyday that you get something free from some of the top internet marketers. That’s why I have provided some really eye opening reports from Ewan Chia. You may want to download a few or all 7 reports. The decision is yours.

I have not listed them in any particular order, so go ahead and read through them to gain some valuable advice and great marketing tips. To view each report you will need the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader file available from their official web site.

Click on the text link or the image link below to download the latest version. Compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems.

Ewan Chia’s Underground Interviews in PDF format. RIGHT CLICK on each link to save to your desktop:

1. Underground Interview with Graham Hamer

2. Underground Interview with Jason Lewis

3. Underground Interview with John Delavera

4. Underground Interview with Larry Dotson

5. Underground Interview with Patric Chan

6. Underground Interview with Rob Taylor

7. Underground Interview with Tinu Abayoni-Paul

Join Ewan’s free membership site for more great products here…This unique offer is for a *limited time only*, so get in while you can.

Ewan Chia’s New Grab URL - Shorter URL Service

Ewen Chia announced his new shorter url web service today. If you are not familiar with Ewen’s work you will be able to view his web sites at this site from the links.

Shorten those ugly long affiliate links and web addresses with Ewen’s drag and drop Grab URL service. By dragging the toolbar to your browser you will always have the service ready whenever you need it.

As with all free services there is a tendency for some users to abuse the system by using unethical practices. READ the terms of use before going ahead and using the service or you could be banned!

Important Update:
As of November 2005 the Grab URL site has been redirected to Ewen’s Super Affiliate web site.

View some more shorter url web sites here…

Hurricane Katrina Long Term Relief Program

As the above headline suggests this post is to bring attention to an ambitious project that came about due to Hurricane Katrina disaster. Read the following article to get an insight into what I believe is an appeal for help and aid well worth contributing to.

Dear Readers,

Sometimes we just can’t turn our backs. This is such a time.

This morning, while you woke up in your bed, in your home,
tens of thousands of exhausted and confused fathers, mothers
and children, at best, woke up in strange surroundings in
makeshift shelters filled with total strangers and their cries
of hopelessness. Innocent victims of the merciless Katrina.

Many more thousands are not even this fortunate with nowhere to
go, nothing to eat and no hope for tomorrow. The situation in
Louisiana and Mississippi could only be summed up as, well,
desperate!

This suffering will linger a long time. Tears will fall for
years. Simply getting life back to where it used to be will
perhaps take decades!

Overdramatic? Hardly. More like drastically understated!

Perhaps you did as I did when you first heard of Hurricane
Katrina and rushed to make a donation. That’s wonderful but
the need for what can only be described as a very long haul, is
greater than that. Far greater.

One only has to turn on almost any station on the tube to
realize the suffering is beyond comprehension. The scope of
this rescue-and-relief-and-rebuild effort is quite simply,
unimaginable.

There is great need now; there will be just as great a need
next week and for months and years to come. Long after the
media has shifted it’s attention to the next disaster, and then
the next, and public attention has quickly faded away.

There’s a woman, a very popular woman in the Internet business
community, who happens to live in Louisiana and had for the
week after Katrina struck been silently purchasing food and
supplies and personally looking into the eyes of the displaced
victims she delivered them to.

Her name is jl scott, and she is the founder of the
International Council of Online Professionals
(http://www.i-cop.org), a respected online community of
e-business professionals dedicated to conducting business on
the Internet with honesty and integrity.

jl did not want it known publicly what she was doing in the
background, however, it was this exhausting experience that
made her realize that this was indeed a "long haul" and that
she could make a much larger "dent" by using her online
influence to raise desperately needed donations.

Plus, she could ensure every donor, large and small, that every
nickel raised would go DIRECTLY to those in need. And, VERY
quickly.

So, she rounded up her charity program partner, Rick Beneteau
(http://www.RickBeneteau.com) and they went to work! Rick and
jl work every year for the Internet Toy Drive in conjunction
with "Toys for Tots."

They are posting reports on a regular basis at:

Katrina Long Term Relief

Now, here’s where YOU come in. You can make a dramatic
difference in someone’s life right now. And it will only take
a minute or two of your time.

A minute or two that, at the very least, will shed a bright ray
of much needed hope into the shattered life of a fellow human
being. It might even stop a tear. Or, perhaps it will cause
one to be shed: a tear of utter joy.

Please, I appeal to you to open your heart by clicking on this
life-saving link and taking a minute or two to help a total
stranger: Katrina Long Term Relief

In return, I promise your heart will be richly rewarded. Thank
you!

Again, here is where you are so desperately needed:

Katrina Long Term Relief

In Honor & Memory of The
AdMistress - Marion Stearns

The International Council of Online Professionals (ICOP) is an outstanding community of online businesses who strive to provide consumers with trusted web sites, information and uphold ethical standards of service. It is a place where members willingly agree to abide to high standards from operating scam free business through to maintaining good customer services.

It is also a place for members to communicate, network and contribute to the ICOP by providing their products and services at special discounts amongst fellow ICOP business members and so much more that I cannot possibly cover here.

I’d personally hold the work of ICOP in high regard and welcome anyone interested to join them. I have been a member for over two years now and can say with confidence that I would not give up my Charter membership status for anything. Besides where else would I get a one time charge to be able to access a great weekly ‘Trade Journal’ (official newsletters) , free downloads, dedicated forum.. .most of all by displaying the ICOP seal on my web site I am purveying my commitment to provide my customers with a safe and professional environment in which to shop and find useful information. I welcome you to join ICOP today.

Your Sincerely,
Nancy P Redford
ICOP Charter Member
["Honesty + Accountability + Integrity Equals Excellence" jl scott, ICOP Director.]

Hurricane Katrina Articles - Shelter From the Storm

I put together some excerpts from some articles relating to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. It makes good reading and may help you to stay informed to current news and efforts going on as well as some candid personal perspectives on the handling of Citizens of the Unites States (not refugees). Click on the headlines to read more.

Hurricane Katrina
From Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most destructive and expensive tropical cyclones ever to hit the United States. The hurricane’s storm surge caused several breaches in the levees protecting New Orleans, a city with a population of around 500,000, from inundation by Lake Pontchartrain. The subsequent flooding of most of New Orleans, a large part of which lies below sea level, resulted in catastrophic flood damage, many deaths, and a massive evacuation effort…

Seeing what Katrina has wrought
Posted by Bill Kilday, Google Earth team
[Using the innovative Google Maps to display satellite images of the Superdome area before and after the storm.]

A natural disaster brings out the need for up-to-the-minute maps and images, and Google Earth community members have created more than 100 overlays in the last 24 hours that tell the story of Hurricane Katrina’s effect. These overlays drape on top of existing satellite images, and NOAA has been posting these flyovers so people can actually see the incredible devastation…

Katrina: Why America Couldn’t Cope
From The Daily MindBender

There are deeper explanations for the New Orleans catastrophe than anyone has dared suggest. The roots lie in America’s deluded self-image We know, now, that there was not even a Prescott in charge in Washington. President Bush was exorcising heaven-knows-what demons by furiously riding his mountain bike in Texas - nobody, not even the Secret Service or a visiting Lance Armstrong, is allowed to pass him - while Vice-President Cheney was fly-fishing in Wyoming…

Why Couldn’t New Orleans Do It?
From The Horse’s Mouth
[A comparison of a government who looked out for their people versus a government who didn't!]

China evacuated more than 800,000 residents from the Eastern Coast in preperation for Typhoon Khanun…

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

CBS News coverage and updates

Technorati Blogs

Headliner

Shelter From the Storm
Watch from 1am U2 and a host of other stars rally for victims of Hurricane Katrina

I don’t know how long this video will be up at AOL but I found it very inspiring. Wish I had some of the US channels to watch the event live. If you saw it live or recorded it what was your experience?

Neil Shearing’s Free Keyword Spider Research Tool

Not only can you use this powerful keyword software to help find the best keywords you can also donate as and when you want direct to the Red Cross here and from within the software application.

Tell your friends about it so they can download Neil Shearing’s Keyword Spider for free here.

The Best Online Article Directories

Here are a few place to add to your article submissions The current now up to 83.

Ezinearticles.com is my top choice for free distribution and is a great place for getting high PR backlinks to help your new sites get picked up quickly.

Go to the major search engines such as and submit your articles, such as WebProNews, AddMe and more. If you get published you will be exposing your name, business and expertise to hundreds of thousands of readers!

Full credit goes to Ian Canaway for such an extensive list.

Go to the yahoo groups.com and submit your articles to your particular niche.

As of Aug 10 2006 some links have been removed and some new sites added. Please leave a comment if any of the links are inappropriate or redirected to a different site. Thanks.

1. http://www.ezinearticles.com
2. http://www.goarticles.com
3. http://www.article-emporium.com
4. http://www.addme.com
5. http://www.webpronews.com
6. http://www.Content-Articles.com
7. http://www.365articles.com
8. http://www.warriorforum.com/forum
9. http://www.boconline.com
10. http://www.articlecity.com
11. http://www.ideamarketers.com
12. http://www.certificate.net
13. http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/BusinessArticles
14. http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingArticles
15. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/business_articles
16. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Content
17. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/publisher_network
18. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce
20. http://www.articlecentral.com
21. http://www.articlefinders.com
22. http://www.web-source.net
23. http://www.biz-whiz.com
24. http://www.xongoo.com
25. http://www.websitefuel.com
26. http://www.zinos.com
27. http://www.alumbo.com Most topics.
28. http://www.businesstoolchest.com Internet with some Business Articles. Watch out for the war of the popups
29. http://buzzle.com
30. http://www.amazines.com
31. http://www.internethomebusinessarticles.com
32. http://www.linksnoop.com
33. http://www.submityourarticle.com
34. http://www.articlefocus.com
35. http://www.articlesforwomen.com
36. http://www.articlesfactory.com
37. http://www.isnare.com
38. http://www.jorbins.com
39. http://www.mainstreetmom.com
40. http://www.family-content.com
41. http://www.fresh-articles.com
42. http://www.freezinesite.com
43. http://www.valuablecontent.com
44. http://www.marketingpitbull.com
45. http://www.searchwarp.com
46. http://www.constant-content.com
47. http://www.organic-rankings.com
48. http://www.workathomearticles.net
49. http://www.commonconnections.com
50. http://www.internethomebusinessarticles.com
51. http://www.tigrafix.com
52. http://www.allfreelancework.com/submitarticles.php
53. http://www.business-opportunity.biz
54. http://www.website-traffic.info
55. http://www.work-at-home-jobs-iowa.com
56. http://www.OpportunityUpdate.com
57. http://www.womans-net.com
58. http://www.reprintarticles.com
59. http://www.connectionteam.com
60. http://www.authorconnection.com
61. http://www.digital-women.com
62. http://www.hercommunity.com
63. http://www.freetraffictip.com
64. http://www.sales-masters-world.com
65. http://www.linksnoop.com
66. http://www.home-business-income.net
67. http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/
68. http://www.smartads.info
69 http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com
70. http://www.jogena.com
71. http://www.top-web-marketing.com
72. http://part-time-job.biz
73. http://Ultabiz.com
74. http://thephantomwriters.com
75. http://www.SubmitYourArticle.com
76. http://www.articlecity.com/article_submission.shtml
77. http://www.dime-co.com/articlesub.html
78. http://businessknowhow.com/newsletter/articleguidelines.htm
79. http://freezinesite.com/articles.cgi?action=add
80. http://www.powerhomebiz.com/termsofuse/articlesubmission.htm
81. http://www.web-source.net/syndicator_submit.htm
82. http://businessknowledgesource.com/submitarticle.html
83. http://www.ebooksnbytes.com [No longer accepting new articles until further notice]