_24/7 wall st. recently published an article  about the 10 most hated companies in America.
A quick look at the names on the list ensures me that I am not alone in my opinions.
I can't help but notice a connection to what I have been recently referring to as poor customer service.
The economy has affected us all. Higher prices, Lower value, Un-stability, is the bulk of the daily new's.
But change is on the horizon. consumers have become more aware about what is important to them.
Price & Quality will always head up the list, but customer service is of equal importance & retailers are in many cases learning the lesson the hard way. Many consumers are spending less, but many more are spending elsewhere. I know as for myself & many I have spoken to the shift is often based on service.

Many of the larger companies put there financial genius to work for making the most profit.
They look for way's to cut spending, increase profits, lower overhead, and attract customers.
All things that any smart business person would do, but the problem is that many of them look at it from an entirely financial viewpoint and forget what should be the golden rule of business.
Put people first & the money will follow.

With everyone looking for the best deal, competitive pricing has helped level the playing field among many retailers. making it that much easier for consumers to take there business elsewhere based on a bad experience. I live in an area where shopping for anything is just around the corner. Choice is plentiful, for you Walmart fan's I got 5 less than 10 minutes away in different directions.
However throughout the years I only frequented a few select stores, until recently that is.
Walmart for example 3 of the 5 locations near me I would rather be tortured than ever return.
A good example would be my local grocery store, for years I was content purchasing most groceries from them. there prices were fair and the service was always great. and the faces were familiar among the shoppers. but a few months back they decided to install several self checkout lines & reduce the physical cashiers. annoyances with the self checkout caused many to avoid it creating long lines & well after a few occurrences I began avoiding them & began shopping elsewhere. now several months later I have begin seeing familiar faces again at my new favorite grocer, those of the other shoppers I seen at my old favorite grocer. But I guess I'm not the only one that decided that service is just as important as savings.

The same can be said for other companies who choose to impose fee's, change the rules, or not keep the best interest of the customer in mind before they make their decisions.

_In an internal memo to employees, Sears Holdings Corporation CEO and President Lou D’Ambrosio said that the retailer had not generated the results they were seeking during the holiday.
The company's stock  dipped to their lowest point in more than three years during the first few minutes of morning trading.
Kmart's  sales decline reflects decreases in the consumer electronics and apparel categories and lower layaway sales.  while Sears sales decline was primarily driven by the consumer electronics and home appliance categories, with more than half of the decline in Sears Domestic occurring in consumer electronics.  Sears apparel sales were flat and Lands' End in Sears stores was up in the mid-single digits.

Sears said it will no longer prop up “marginally performing” stores in hopes of improving their performance and will now concentrate on cash-generating stores.
They intend to implement a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust their asset base, and accelerate the transformation of their business model.

I can't say the new's comes as much of a surprise, nor a little ironic.
weakness in the economy,  depressed wages, & increased competition from online competitors, has made it difficult for brick & mortar retailers like Sears and Kmart as in my last post.
Sears Holdings Corp.  has yet to determine which stores will close but said it will post on http://www.searsmedia.com when a final list is compiled.

_Long checkout lines during the holidays is nothing new.
Since the commercialization of Christmas many years ago, holiday shopping has meant longer lines.
But many consumers are beginning to take long lines out of the holiday equation.
Shopping on-line is nothing new, but more & more consumers are turning to the Internet for better customer service.

Let's face it, with all the technology that has went into Point of Sale Systems, & the lessons learned through years of shopping trends being studied, you would think that retailers would have it figured out.
But unfortunately many of them have forgotten the most important rule of all.
Make the customer experience a positive one.  So they will want to come back.

Retailers  don't need cashiers standing around with no customers waiting in line.
However on the flip side, customers don't need associates standing around while they are in line.
Allow me to paint a little picture for you. I'm no artist but I am sure you've seen it yourself already.

You have traversed the lot, sending thoughts of endearment to the owner of the SUV taking up 2 spots, & the wonderful person that left the cart in the only parking place you can find.
But you being the kind hearted soul that you are place the cart in the nearby coral & park.
You begin your journey to the entrance to the major retailer ( seen at too many to call one out) to discover that cart you put away would have been a nice companion. No worries, finding one just takes a little extra time. now that you have your cart it's off to shopping. You have your list, sales papers, your all ready to grab what you need & head on out. Toy's are the most plentiful on your list so you head on over to the toy department an quickly find most of the toys on your list. But where's that special doll Suzy wants? no worries, the group of associates chatting over there will know. Sure enough they knew that doll I wanted was on a special display on the other side of the store, & offered to show me the way.
Still having toy's to get but not wanting to be rude I followed them to where the display was.
I added the doll to my cart & decided to grab some items off my list in the clothing department nearby.
If only I could find the thermal undergarments in the sales paper that uncle George wanted.
But once again I was able to quickly find associates standing around that directed me to sporting goods.
I got my exercise, & found the extra staff the stores get around the holidays helpful for my cardio.
but at last I have all of the items on my list that they have in-stock & make my way to the checkout counters.

Now here is where the painting turns into something you can't really describe here.
A point where the retailer projects an image suggesting we perform an anatomically impossible act.
Portrayed by the vast amount of unattended checkout terminals the long line of customers get to gaze upon silhouetted by the associates that can be seen frolicking and chatting with one another throughout the aisle and congregated around the customer service counters.


When it comes to checking out, I am not patient, especially in stores that even after checkout you have to stand in another line to show your receipt before exiting.
Show me someone who prefers to buy things at a store that can be easily purchased online,
and I’ll show you someone who either has too much free time to kill or is very inefficient.
Time is money and more consumers are finding that purchasing on-line saves both.
The Internet may be considered impersonal but it don't paint the vision of poor customer service.

_Christmas memories are among our fondest & most heartwarming of all.
So why not capture those memories forever, in a scrapbook.
Scrapbooking can be fun for the whole family and create a memorable keepsake.
A well thought out plan can make your scrapbook stand out & tell a story on it's own.

no matter what your Holiday traditions are you should keep a camera and a journal handy to capture the memories throughout the holiday season  & record those precious moments.

Many family's enjoy cutting down there own tree for the holidays, photo's before during & after cutting, along with some notes about the experience could make a wonderful addition to a Christmas scrapbook.
Even if you get your tree from a lot, images of the event can bring back pleasant memories for years to come. And artificial tree's with the tweaking & adjusting can lead to some humorouss images as well.

Stop & click while your trimming the tree & decking the hall's as well.
A shot of dad all tangled in light's or mom with that tinsel in her hair would make a delightful addition.
& the joy on the faces of the little one's amazed by it all are a must have.
Holiday baking, or craft projects also make for good inclusion. take pictures as you progress and not just the finished product. And don't forget to capture the spirit in your journal.
You could include your favorite family recipes you used. and the fun of creating your masterpiece.
Wrapping presents,  as well as the excitement of unwrapping them will also add to the memories.

The fact is, when it comes to creating a scrapbook there are no rules, no instructions.
They are your memories & the design can be any you choose, & include whatever you wish.
Holiday cards, gift tags, stickers, hand written sentiments, gift wrap, let your creativity flow and capture your family's holiday memories in a scrapbook & create memories for a lifetime.

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Take a break from the holiday spending & enjoy some free holiday Idea's.
The holiday's can get hectic, & can be a stressful time of the year.
Children grow in excitement & energy as the holidays approach while we become more stressed and exhausted. But don't despair, what we want to share is Free, stress free, money free, well free free.
Need to keep the kid's entertained at home ? We were checking out northpole.com & they had all types of games, activities, & more to keep them busy for hours. They had stories to read, personalized, print out & color, have read to you, watch as videos, etc. They have a parents section, recipes, crafts, and all kinds of goodies. The site appears to have been around since 1996 & is worth checking out.

Some other Free things you might be overlooking on the Internet are printable's. Why not Print out a personalized letter from noella designs  & santaletter4you both allow you to print out letters free with no strings attached,
freesantaletters   & freelettersfromsantaclaus  are 2 more but ask for an email address before printing .(no confirmation required)
You can also find some nice holiday stationery online as well, here are a couple sites you can print from with no strings attached  1-computer-stationery  or multimediadesignbysandy
But don't forget the stamps and postmarks, you can print them free at santaletter4you

_Enjoy some family fun this year and bake your own ornaments.
Kid's love to help out in the kitchen when it comes to baking cookies, why not whip up a batch of handmade ornaments as well. A simple dough can be made with 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, & 1 cup of water. Simply mix well and roll out on wax paper as you would with cookies. A few drops of food coloring can be used to color the dough if you like, or the ornaments can be painted or decorated after baking. You can use cookie cutters or create your ornaments as you like. Remember to use a toothpick or similar to create a small hole in your ornament if you will be hanging it. Your ornaments will need to bake for 2 - 3 hours in a 250 -300 degree oven. High heat can cause bubbles in the dough, especially if it is thin so lower temperatures is best.
 
Stringing popcorn is a holiday classic  as well, & a fun family activity. You will want to start with plain, un-buttered, un-salted, popcorn. It is best to start with popcorn that has been popped a day in advance , it will not break as easily when pierced with the needle. a size 14 needle works well, & red or green thread can add a festive touch.
Vegetable dye can be used to dye the popcorn for that extra flare, &  cranberries can be strung along with the popcorn as well. And just think after the holidays you can feed it to the birds.

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_The Department of Justice has helped make cyber Monday a little safer again this year.
Operation in our sites, which began in June of 2010, led to the seizure of 150 more domain names belonging to website's accused of selling counterfeit or pirated merchandise.
A joint effort between FBI, Homeland security, & other agencies, seized the website's to coincide with Cyber Monday, as they did last year when they seized 82 website's.

As more Americans are turning to the Internet for there holiday shopping, More criminals are turning to it as well. They lure in unsuspecting shoppers by offering great deals on what often ends up being counterfeit merchandise.

 Visitors to the seized sites will now find a banner stating that the site has been seized by federal authorities & warning that willful copyright infringement is a federal crime.
A list of the domain names & sites that had been seized has not yet been released but
Reuters news & a few other sites have reported on the names of several sites.

As the Internet does often provide some great deals for your holiday shopping.
We just want to remind you to always shop from well known & trusted site's.
Or at least do your homework and checkout any site's you are unfamiliar with before making a purchase.

_For some people, decorating a Christmas tree seems a tedious drudgery.

But it really can be an easy painless process, let our handy tips guide you through it.
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_First, you need a tree.
 If you are using an artificial tree you will need to assemble it according to the instructions.
If you choose a live tree you will want to cut a slice off the bottom of the tree before putting it in the stand, this will aid the tree's absorption of water to keep it healthy.
Most tree lot's will trim the bottom for you, often free.
When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green, needles are hard to pull from branches and do not break when bent between your fingers. The trunk butt of a fresh tree is sticky with resin, and when tapped on the ground, the tree should not lose many needles.

Helpful tip for those who hate the cleanup and mess from live tree's.
Plan ahead, A large square of old carpet, small holiday blanket, decorative fabric, or similar placed under the tree can make cleanup much easier after the holidays. Tree skirt's and tree disposal bag's Are helpful, but are not always very affective at avoiding a mess. Removing lights from a tree that has become dried out can cause quite a pile of needles, as many of you know, I'm sure.
A square of carpet or material can be rolled or folded with all of the mess contained & removed easily.

once you have placed the tree in the stand DO NOT add water just yet.
If the tree was wrapped in webbing, or otherwise compressed allow it to rest for a couple hours or so to allow the limbs to drop back to their natural position.
Make sure the tree is standing straight in the stand, and well balanced to avoid tipping.
Determine the most prominent view, to determine placement of novelty lights & ornaments.
Even if your tree will be placed against a wall or into a corner you will want to keep it off of the wall if space allows, while installing the lights.

Now for the lighting
Check each set of lights, new or old, for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections, and throw out damaged sets. Tangled lights can be easily damaged while straightening them out, so it is important to check them to avoid fire hazards.

Beginning at the top of the tree, wrap them evenly around the whole tree spiraling downward.
For standard traditional Christmas lights they should be centered midway on the branches.
If  using newly purchased lights, keep them in the package and remove as you apply to avoid tangling,
For novelty lights like lanterns, candles, or lighted ornaments you will need to place accordingly.

One common cause of holiday electrical fires is overloading  wiring.
Check the boxes or instructions that come with your lights to tell you what the safe limit is for number of strings connected to one cord or one outlet, do not exceed that limit. If you don't have that info, good, conservative limits are to use no more than three standard-size sets of lights plugged together in series.

Garland or other strung decorations ,if any, should be applied next, in the same manner.
Garland may make a tree look bigger than it really is, and can help fill in a not so full tree. 
Not to mention you can use it to hang your ornaments on as well.
Once your finished with the lights & garland, slide the tree into it's proper position.
Insure that your tree is stable, and that there is no chance of tipping.
Keep it away from fireplaces and radiators, as well as forced air vents, the blowing air will speed drying.
When you are sure it is properly aligned & all lights are working, you should add your water.
Your tree will often absorb quite a bit of water at first, so you should check it often.

Now for the Ornaments
Now that you have decorated your tree with lights and garlands, it is time to dress it with ornaments.
You'll need to take a look at all the different styles of ornaments your going to use.
Ornaments can mean many things to many people so just follow thee'se simple rules.
Begin with your tree topper, make sure it is aligned properly now to avoid problems later.
Make sure that the smallest ornaments remain near the top of tree & closer to the front.
While the larger ones are  kept closer to the bottom of the tree.
Don't overload branches, you can always use wire or two hooks linked together in order to get ornaments in that perfect spot. Or to support heavier ornament to keep them safe.
If you have several of the same style ornaments you should use them first. It will make it easier to insure that they are equally distributed.

Remember to leave room when placing presents under the tree to allow access to check and add water as needed. Don't forget to turn off or unplug your lights before going out, as well as extinguishing any candles. & most importantly to have a safe and joyous holiday.
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Well it doesn't seem to matter now what your opinion is about the stores beginning there black Friday sales on thanksgiving itself, or at the strike of midnight as in the case of many stores, because like it or not it's happening.
Many consumers, & retail employees voiced there opinions in disapproval of the early openings. Some even went as far as to collect petitions in protest of the decisions. But despite the outcry, If you plan on scoring some of the incredible deals this year, Chances are you will be staying up past your bedtime, or getting up extra early.

I'm sure many of you have been keeping up with the black Friday deals as they were being released. But for those of you that have not, or those just feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the changes, fear not. Numerous website's, such as BFAds.net, Gotadeal.com, and TheBlackFriday.com offer extensive collections of Black Friday deals.
If you are going to be among the frenzy of shoppers scouring the parking lot, looking for a place to park, braving the crowded aisles, & waiting in the long lines, we have some tip's to make it easier. But even if you decided not to venture out you shouldn't worry, retailing trends suggest that the opportunity to score a great deal won't end this weekend.

The first thing you want to do is keep your sanity. Long lines, excited & often rude people, confusion, are among the many challenges you will likely encounter in search of your deals. Be prepared, to avoid the stress that theese & other annoyances can cause. Make sure you have what you need to keep yourself comfortable. Bottled drinks, & snacks are always a good idea, you know how you get when your hungry or thirsty. MP3 players, or a good game on your phone can help relieve the pain while waiting in line, just remember to charge them before you leave.

Remember, unless you are a fan of self-punishment, the whole point behind heading out for black Friday madness is to get deals that you can't get elsewhere or at a more convenient time. Consolidating your shopping to one or only a couple of stores often offers greater savings. Mentally and financially it just makes sense, if most items on your list can be purchased at only one location, often the slight savings by running around to different stores can be lost in fuel, not to mention aggravation in over crowded parking lot's, stores aisles, & waiting in additional checkout lines.

Avoid temptation, or at least look before you leap. Un-advertised deals and offers will be abundant, even on black Friday if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Just because you can pick up a 42" flat screen for $200 doesn't mean you should. While brand loyalty is a bad idea, so is buying a brand you have never heard of. Buy one get one, free with purchase, rebates, even deal's featuring cash back for signing up for programs may sound like a great savings, but fine print, interest rates or other charges, & countless other factors can make thee se deals less appealing in hindsight, so keep your savings mind sharp before considering a deal.

A point to ponder before you go...
Thanksgiving is a time that most people look forward to gathering with family, friends, & others they care about. Football, Parades, & other traditions are important to many. But the retailers decisions to begin there sales much earlier than they have in the past, is not only an inconvenience for many consumers, but let us not forget about the cashiers & other associates in the stores where you are shopping. The outcry from many of them and the petitions started by them clearly should remind you that they are sacrificing there holiday traditions for you, the consumer. So if they give you the impression that they don't want to be there, cut them a little slack and as the holiday implies, be thankful, They have families & would like to get in on the savings as well. Most retailers have strict policies restricting employees from shopping while working.

If by some miracle you have been following our page or blog, or even if you just read some of the other post's you may notice that most of what has been written has been pretty much straight to the point.
Well today I decided I have had just about enough of what I can only describe as poor customer service.
So today I just decided to blow off a little steam about an ever increasing annoyance.

As most of you that would be reading this article, Saving money is a routine part of life, & store loyalty does not always fit in with the whole savings plan.
However true this may be, I'll be honest, for several years now I have been doing 99% of my grocery  shopping at only 2 stores.
A bargain priced grocery chain Featuring only infrequent name brand merchandise, but featuring full time value priced alternatives, & what until my last visit, which will be my last visit, at least until they decide to start putting the customer first & stop with the poor customer service.

Shopper's food, has for quite some time been my preferred grocery store.
I have found them to have a good balance of selection & pricing.
And my local store has always had some of the nicest cashiers, & other associates that you could ask for.
Even on my last visit I had an associated at the deli counter go out of her way to save me some money by pointing out over a 50% savings on something I was buying just to be kind.
But really I was not surprised, as I said in the past years I have always appreciated the wonderful staff at my local store and have never once had a bad experience with any of them.

So why am I complaining about poor customer service you ask?
My problem is simple, I am tired of going to the store and traversing the well designed aisle's, stopping to get my lunch meat from the wonderful deli workers, fresh baked bread from the delightful staff at the bakery, some fresh packaged meat from the ever helpful butcher, and finding every thing else I need in the well stocked supermarket, only to reach the checkout & find the one fantastic cashier scanning her little heart out in an effort to service the long line of customers with there bulging carts of groceries.

Now don't get me wrong, her's is not the only register that is open.
I always have the option to play leap frog at the several other open register's.
You know the one's I am talking about, there is one person in each line trying to checkout, while the next person stepping up in the line quickly divert's off to the next as they notice that little red light on top start blinking .


Over the past few years,  self-checkout technology has become popular in the retail industry.
The problem with this self checkout technology is that it requires a large investment for retailers, which they make up for by removing physical cashiers.
Personally I feel that self checkout kiosk's do have there place, however technological problems and  flaws often frustrate many customers, myself included, and have caused many to avoid them.

The idea of self checkout kiosk's as a quick alternative for those consumers buying a handful of item's  is a great idea, & could be a beneficial edition to many retail establishments.
But unfortunately I feel that the technology was introduced in a full steam ahead approach that is causing what I feel is Poor customer service.

I don't want to single out Shopper's, CVS also made my list of " I am done with " store's because of the inconvenience that the self checkout kiosk's have caused me at an ever increasing rate lately.
The unfortunate part for the retailers is that they need to pay for there expensive new innovations & are almost forced to keep there number of human cashiers to a minimum, making it a loose, loose,  situation for the retailers.

For this consumer however, I would have to say it is a win,  win, with a side order of loss.
Nothing is as important as family, & that hold's true to the many family owned grocery stores that are only slightly less convenient than my regular shopping spot's.
Many offer even greater saving's, as well as offering more desirable coupon policies.
I will however miss some of the pleasant employee's, but am looking forward to finding a new bunch, where the customer still comes first.