The Shadow
Dear Readers: WINTER is here, and in some areas of the country it can get deathly cold. The most important hint is to be prepared by having lifesaving supplies in your car! A plastic bin with a lid makes a good container. Some items to have:
* Gloves, socks, hats and blankets.
* Bottled drinking water and a few snacks, like nuts.
* First-aid kit.
* A flashlight with fresh batteries, and flares.
* Cellphone charger.
* If applicable, baby food and diapers.
Visit me on Facebook and Twitter! Go to www.Heloise.com for direct links and hints, photos and more. Come join the fun! — Heloise
NEWSPAPER NEED
Dear Heloise: Take your old newspaper to the vet. Every time I take mine to the vet, people in the waiting room are amazed that the vets need old newspaper. Some vets have to buy newspaper for their kennels. — Linda in Poteet, Texas
Cabbie, our mini-schnauzer, agrees: “Woof, woof.” — Heloise
CALL-CENTER KUDOS
Dear Readers: The following letter concerns our ongoing dialogue about telephone customer-service representatives:
Dear Heloise: Call-center employees are tethered by headset to the phone, desk and computer for hours at a stretch, which can become stressful. I’ve worked at a few call centers. I’m sure that customer compliments helped me thrive in those positions.
Advice for all customer-service reps, if management permits: When a client or caller is particularly complimentary, make the offer to introduce or transfer him or her to your supervisor. You’re not fishing for the “attaboy” if it’s spontaneously offered.
This will allow the supervisor to check the record of your transaction to help document the compliment. I no longer work in customer service, but I try to include a compliment in my calls to call centers to brighten a representative’s day and in case a rep’s managers are monitoring. Remember also to compliment the service personnel you meet by telephone, email, mail, etc. — G.M. in San Antonio
You are right, and I’ve said this repeatedly! Give a compliment when warranted; it takes only a few moments. — Heloise
ADDRESS LABELS
Dear Heloise: I attended a funeral, and afterward thought about the big job the family had ahead of them with writing thank-you notes.
An easy way to simplify this is to enclose a mailing-address label with your address on it in your sympathy card. All they will have to do is stick it on the envelope, instead of hunting for an address. I read your column every day and love it! — Jane in Wabasha, Minn.
EASY MIX
Dear Heloise: I keep all my vegetable scraps in a plastic coffee bucket in the refrigerator (there are only two of us in the household). Once a week, I grind the scraps in my blender with water added and pour it onto my compost pile. It makes compost much faster than just dumping the scraps into the pile. — Marilyn in San Antonio
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise(at)Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.
(c)2011 by King Features Syndicate Inc.
