When Life Gives You Lemons...

For me this summer has flown by. It's hard to believe my son will start second grade in a month. Seems like just a week or so ago he was finishing first grade. When you work for yourself one of the perks is being able to take more time off during the summer. This is especially true if you have young kids. But you also have to remember that if you're not working you're not getting paid-unless you're one of those successful Google AdSense millionaires I have heard about. That can present a problem when it's time to pay the electricity bill.

There are ways that you can still take time off during the summer and be able to pay your bills. For example, as you approach the summer months you can work more hours and try to increase your cash reserve. You can start cutting back on non-essentials to save a few dollars also.

Another way to work and have time off during the day is to work "off" hours. You can get up earlier than your kids, work a few hours and then still have time off during the day. Or you can work at night when the kids have settled down.


Some times we are forced to work at odd hours, whether we want to or not. Last week I was lamenting the fact that I had not done much work this summer. Just when I decided to at least try to work two to four hours a day I went out and bought a puppy for my son. He promised he would take care of her (although I know I'm going to end up doing most, if not all, of the work) so off we trotted to a breeder in Houma, La., a little town about an hour's ride from New Orleans.


Now mind you I knew in the back of my mind that there would be a period of adjustment for the new baby. Knew she would cry for her mom and the rest of her litter but she was just so darn cute and my son had been bugging me for a dog for ever. Well, I can tell you I have not had much sleep since we got her on Saturday. And during the day I have been so bug-eyed working is out the question (I'm trying to cut back on my java so I have been extra cranky and sleepy).

As I sat down to check my email yesterday with Minnie (Minnie Joy Turner is her name!) the cutest tan five-pound Cocker Spaniel you ever want to meet sitting at my feet and licking my toes ever so often, I realized that instead of bitching and moaning about not being able to work, I can take this lemon I've been given and make some ice-cold lemonade. When she's crying at night and I can't sleep, I can either put her in my bed to comfort her which I don't want to because I don't want to get her into the habit of sleeping with me or I can try to sleep with her howling like a wild coyote. Since neither of these options appeal to me I can also get my butt up and work. At least do things like check email, do research and yes, write this blog. I'm not sleeping anyway so why spend all night tossing and turning?

I was up at 3:30 this morning and worked until about 6:30. I was able to sleep until about 8 and then she was up again, along with my son.

Everyone says she will probably settle down in a week or so but for now I think rather than fight it I will give in and work the night shift. With all of her crying she's actually a lot quieter than my son!

Responding to Customer Complaints

Recently I logged on to Office Depot to order some items that I needed for my home office. I like ordering routine items for several reasons. First, if I order over 25 bucks the shipping is free. There's also next day delivery. But most of all I don't like to drive more than a couple of miles and the nearest Office Depot is about 25 miles away. Before Katrina blew into town I could walk to the nearest Home Depot but alas, the company has decided not to rebuild (at least for now) in my area. But I digress.

I placed my order after having some problems- the system was extremely slow. Initially, I thought it was my connection but after checking other sites I determined it was OD's server. As I was checking out a pop-up window asked if I would mind taking a quick survey about my experience. Bizrate was actually doing the survey, which they then send along to the clients. I gave OD a good rating but I also added a comment about my frustration getting my order placed. I added that I had been a customer for years and planned to continue ordering online even with the little glitch.


Later that day I received a really nice email from a fellow at Office Depot who apologized for the delay in placing my order. He said no one else had complained so he didn't think it was a problem on their end. As a token of gratitude he knocked 10%off my order.

I was impressed first by how quickly OD responded to my comments. I say comments and not complaint because I really didn't think I was complaining. I made sure I added that I was overall satisfied with my previous experience and even with the hold up I would return again. Still I was glad to know that the company had someone actually reading these surveys and responding in a timely manner.

How well do you respond to customer complaints? If you want to assure that your customers don't jump ship, you need to respond ASAP, the same day if possible, but definitely within 24 hours of their complaint. We know that a dissatisfied customer will tell others about a bad experience. We also know that a satisfied customer will also talk about it. I'm spreading the word through this blog and I've also told a few other people about it. I know that I can shop with ease because if I have a compliant it won't fall on deaf ears. That makes me want to buy from Office Depot, whether I need the items or not! So I ask you again, how well do you respond to customer complaints?