Man with headphones facing computer monitor (Photo by Andrea Piacquadio)
The Coronavirus has led to significant changes for the entire world. For many businesses, the epidemic has created a climate of uncertainty and a battle for survival. During these tough times holding onto customers is even more of a challenge than ever before. Consumers are likely to be extra cautious in their spending, and their loyalty to particular brands will be over-ridden by their desire to save money. Operating a business in this climate requires increased sensitivity to the needs of customers.
Limited face to face customer contact and your employees working from home, can make it particularly challenging to deliver a high standard of customer service. It is crucial to address this issue and to find a way to provide high-quality customer service remotely. Without a robust customer service offering, your business may struggle to compete in these testing times.
So, how do you deliver high-quality customer service remotely?Here are some tips to help:
1. Introduce a Live Chat Function
While delivering customer service face to face may not be possible, technology has the next best solution. Implementing Live Video Chat into your customer service offering will enhance the customer experience and set your business apart from your competitors. Live video chat has many benefits, but one of the most significant is the ability to offer your customers a personalised online experience tailored to their needs. Live video chat is an excellent way to bridge the gap between customers and your support team and deliver the best customer experience possible.
Many live video chat services are available, so it is best to do some research to find the best live video chat software. Choosing the best chat software will minimize the chances of glitches, which could harm your customer’s experience when using the service.
2. Focus on Response Times
Have you ever tried to get in contact with a company via their contact form and then waited for days, weeks, and months with getting a reply? If so, you will know how frustrating it is for customers to reach out to a company only to be ignored. Not receiving a response to a message via a contact form can leave customers feeling under-valued and unfairly treated. Dealing with customer queries is a task that should be carried out promptly to show that you are competent and that you value your customers.
Setting an agreed response time with your staff and making it part of the daily workflow to check for customer messages should mean that they never get overlooked.
3. Offer Seamless Customer Service
Customers that become frustrated with your service could quickly begin to look to your competitors to receive the level of customer service that they expect. To address many frustrations experienced by customers, it is necessary to find ways to make your customer service offering seamless. As well as incorporating the live chat function into your customer service offering, you may want to introduce a customer relationship management (CRM) system into your business for a fully joined-up approach.
Young woman browsing laptop in living room (Photo by Ketut Subiyanto)
Direct Car Insurance Providers come in all shapes and sizes, and their fees match accordingly. Finding the right provider can save you time and money.
On the downside, if you are struggling to find a suitable car insurance provider due to past misdemeanours relating to car convictions, you may then have your work cut out to find an insurer who will even give you the time of day.
Searching the internet can be a minefield of potential dead ends, but once you’ve found the right place to grab the opportunity to get yourself some freedom.
Car insurance is essential, and finding a quote is the best place to start your journey ahead.
Saving Money
You can save money, but you may need to shop around to find the best deal to meet your needs. Try not to fall into auto-renewal; don’t limit your options to find cheaper car insurance.
Take the time to compare quotes, and it may take time. Consider increasing your excess; this can reduce the cost of your car insurance cover.
The Impact of COVID19
You do not need to contact your car insurance provider about any changes in your driving habits. There is currently a temporary system in place by the ABI until 31st December; if you need to make changes with your car insurance provider, you should be able to after this date. For example, a reduction in using your vehicle due to changes in your circumstances, Lockdown and restrictions can be easily addressed.
If you need to self-isolate, but want someone else to drive your vehicle, please do not despair; as long as your helper has their own fully comprehensive car insurance that includes driving other cars, you should be covered. You may not be covered if your vehicle is involved in an accident.
You may also reduce the cost of your car insurance premiums by switching to paying by a monthly direct debit.
During COVID19, you could use a telematics insurer via a downloadable app to track your driving via GPS. This type of insurance requires you to have a black box installed that monitors your driving. Currently, there is a backlog due to COVID19 restrictions.
Comics and Cars
Even comic book heroes have to invest in car insurance. Kia And Comic Book Giant Join Forces To Make Superhero Cars. But your rich rewards may come at a price if you don’t have the right insurance or creative resources, don’t give up hope.
Thinking outside the box may also help you find the right solutions, and keep you heading in the right direction towards success and financial freedom.
Driving forward, you can find the opportunities to stay safe, move ahead, and keep motoring. Although the world is now starting to grind to a halt once again, you need to keep a positive mindset - rise above your fears, and set yourself on the path to readily embrace success.
Sean Connery: the first Bond, and for many people, the best. (PA/PA Archive/PA Images)
Coverage of the passing of Sir Sean Connery has inevitably been dominated by his legacy as the screen’s first – and best – James Bond. Connery’s “Bond, James Bond” moment near the beginning of Dr. No (1962) is one of the iconic moments of cinema history and has spawned countless imitations and parodies.
Perhaps the most persistent myth about Connery, who was 90, is that he was an “unknown” actor who was plucked from obscurity by Bond producers Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, who reportedly cast him against the wishes of author Ian Fleming and distributor United Artists. But this is to ignore the fact that Connery had already established himself as a television actor, drawing critical plaudits for lead roles in a 1957 BBC production of Requiem for a Heavyweight and in the 1961 TV production of Anna Karenina, but also appearing in a number of meaty co-starring roles in Hollywood films, including opposite Lana Turner in Another Time, Another Place (1958).
It was reportedly his appearance in Disney’s fantasy Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959) that drew Connery to the notice of Broccoli’s wife, Dana, while the British crime drama The Frightened City (1961), in which Connery as an underworld enforcer steals the picture from its nominal star John Gregson, was also evidence of a star in the making.
Nevertheless Connery was inspired casting as James Bond. Connery made the role his own to such an extent that it is now impossible to imagine any of the other actors said to have been considered – including Cary Grant, David Niven, Patrick McGoohan and even Roger Moore – stepping into the shoes of “the gentleman agent with the licence to kill” in 1962.In this context an important point to remember about Bond is that Fleming’s character was not an Old Etonian establishment figure: he is even described in Moonraker as being “alien and unEnglish”. Connery’s working-class Scottish roots – he was born and grew up in Edinburgh, where his early jobs had included milkman, bricklayer and coffin-polisher – imbued his Bond with that sense of “otherness”.
To this extent Connery’s Bond has as much in common with the outsider protagonists of the British new wave – Laurence Harvey, Albert Finney, Richard Harris – as the tradition of British screen heroism incarnated by stars of the 1950s such as Richard Todd and Kenneth More.
Sean Connery and co-star Honor Blackman in a publicity shot for the film Goldfinger (1964). (PA/PA Archive/PA Images)
Connery’s performance in Dr No is edgy and brusque: he really settled into the part in From Russia With Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964) where he commands the screen with that indefinable quality of star “presence” that means all he has to do to dominate a scene is to be in it.
Beyond Bond
Bond brought Connery fame and fortune. He was paid a mere £6,000 for Dr No, four times that amount for From Russia With Love and a then-record US$1.25 million for his first Bond “comeback” in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever (George Lazenby had taken the role for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969).
The lucrative remuneration meant that Connery was able to pick and choose his roles outside the Bond pictures. Indeed his non-Bond roles demonstrate just how versatile an actor Connery was. Alfred Hitchcock cast him against type as Tippi Hedren’s conflicted husband in Marnie (1964), and he excelled in two films for Sidney Lumet, as the rebel-with-a-cause in the hard-hitting military prison drama The Hill (1965) and as a vengeful policeman in the much underrated The Offence (1973).Connery was particularly good at playing characters older than himself, including the potentate standing up to Teddy Roosevelt in The Wind and the Lion (1975) and an ageing Robin Hood reflecting on his own myth in the beautifully elegiac Robin and Marian (1976). He paired with Michael Caine as soldiers of fortune in 19th-century Afghanistan in The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and was one of the all-star cast of suspects in Sidney Lumet’s lavish adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express (1974).
Screen gods: Sean Connery and Michael Caine in The Man Who Would Be King (1975). (PA/PA Archive/PA Images)
There was, inevitably, the occasional left-field choice, but even the science-fiction oddity Zardoz (1973) now has something of a cult status. Connery famously said that he would “never” play Bond again after Diamonds Are Forever: hence the ironic title of his second Bond “comeback”Never Say Never Again (1983), a rival production outside the Eon Production series mounted by independent producer Kevin McClory.
Connery won his only Academy Award, a popular choice as Best Supporting Actor for his “Irish” street-cop in The Untouchables (1987), after which his career enjoyed a second wind as the world’s most bankable sexagenarian film star in a sequence of superior adventure and caper movies including The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Rock (1996) and Entrapment (1999).
By this time Connery’s refusal to disguise his accent had become something of a trademark, whatever the part. When Steven Spielberg cast him as Harrison Ford’s father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), it captured the idea that Connery’s Bond was the symbolic “father” of a later generation screen hero.
Feet of clay
Most stars turn out to have feet of clay: Connery was no exception. He attracted controversy for a remark made in an interview with Playboy in 1965 that legitimised hitting a woman (“An open-handed slap is justified if all other alternatives fail”). His Bond did this on screen in From Russia With Love and Diamonds Are Forever.
He also had a public falling-out with Broccoli, suing the producer and MGM for alleged non-payment of profit shares in the Bond films. Against this should be set Connery’s charitable work: he used his fee for Diamonds Are Forever to found the Scottish International Education Trust to provide financial assistance for Scots from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend university and college.
Proud ‘Scottish peasant’
Connery, who since the 1970s lived in Spain and the Bahamas as a tax exile, was proud of his Scottish roots. Ian Fleming warmed to Connery to the extent that he introduced a Scottish heritage for Bond into the later stories. Bond’s “I am a Scottish peasant and I will always feel at home being a Scottish peasant” – from The Man With the Golden Gun – might have been written with Connery in mind, although Bond was actually played by his successor, Roger Moore, in that film.
Unlike Bond, Connery did accept a knighthood, for services to film drama, in 2000. It is widely believed that his public support for the Scottish National Party had delayed his knighthood.
Connery’s last screen appearance was as Allan Quatermain in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), in which he leads a Victorian superhero team to save the British Empire. He confirmed his retirement when he was presented with the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.He died in his sleep at his home in Nassau, and is survived by his second wife Micheline and son (by first wife Diane Cilento) Jason Connery.
People Watching Football/Soccer Game (Photo by Tembela Bohle)
With football making the news because of the launch of Premier League Box Office, we thought we would delve into the archives and discover how much it used to cost to enjoy the sport.
A BBC report ten years ago revealed that Newcastle United was the cheapest Premier League team, whereas Arsenal was the most expensive. We take a look at each of the areas the BBC analysed in their report. You can compare this with the prices you are charged to see how the expenses really have super-sized in recent times. Of course, some of the clubs mentioned are no longer in the Premier League.
So, who was the cheapest football club to visit back then? On Tyneside, you could get an adult match day ticket for £15. This is the same price as Premier League Box Office games today! This means that Newcastle also provided the cheapest day out for fans as well. This is based on the accumulation of the price of the ticket, a pie, a match day programme and a cup of tea – which came in at £23 at St. James’ Park. Other clubs that offered a matchday experience under £30 include Aston Villa, Fulham and Wigan. Can you get a matchday experience for £30 today?
These prices are a stark contrast to Arsenal’s. The North London club boasted the most expensive day ticket at £126, the most expensive day out at £134.30 and the most expensive season ticket at whopping £1955!
In fact, Arsenal is the only team in the league which charged over £100 for a ticket a decade ago. The second most expensive day ticket could be found at Chelsea at a price of £87 and the third most expensive ticket was a trip to White Hart Lane at a price of £81. Of course, Spurs have since moved. Places where you could get the best seats for good prices include West Brom and Sunderland where their most expensive tickets are £39 and £40 respectively. Sunderland has moved down the leagues since, so if you’re staying in student accommodation in Sunderland, football is definitely a good day out to consider.
As mentioned, Arsenal boasted the most expensive season ticket as well. Tottenham were not far behind them as their most expensive season ticket costs £1,845. The two North London clubs and Chelsea make up the three clubs in the league that have tickets available for over a grand.
Furthermore, with regards to season tickets, it may not come as a surprise that Wigan offered the cheapest in the top flight. However what may be surprising is that the then champions, Manchester City, offered the second cheapest in the league at £275. Newcastle then followed behind at £322.00.
The Manchester clubs haven’t been shown to charge their football fans too much as of yet, but when it comes to a cup of tea it’s a different matter. You would pay £2.50 for a cup of tea at the Etihad or Old Trafford, this is the most expensive out of all the grounds in the UK. Wigan, Reading and Swansea offered the cheapest tea at £1.80.
And finally, pies! Wigan again offered the cheapest pies at £2.30. However, travel to Craven Cottage and you better expect Gordon Ramsey behind the counter because there’s costed a whopping £3.90 10 years ago!
#HalloweenIsHappening - 66% Of Americans Admit To Stealing From Their Halloween Candy Stash (Photo by Karolina Grabowska)
Do you open the bag of mini Halloween treats as soon as you get it home from the store? About two-thirds (66%) of people admit to enjoying a few pieces of Halloween chocolate and candy before handing the treats out to trick-or-treaters or using them for other Halloween activities, according to a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the National Confectioners Association.
Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors On Halloween:
74% of millennial moms and young parents say that Halloween 2020 is more important than ever. (The Harris Poll)
80% of the general public and 90% of millennial moms and young parents say they can’t imagine Halloween without chocolate and candy, and that trick-or-treating is irreplaceable. (The Harris Poll)
2/3 will participate in trick-or-treating, whether handing out the candy or going out with their children. (NCA)
79% of parents indicate they have taken candy from their children after a night of trick-ortreating. (Morning Consult)
66% of people enjoy at least some of their pre-purchased Halloween candy before using it for Halloween-related activities, like passing it out to trick-or-treaters. (Morning Consult)
80% of people believe that they will find creative and safe ways to celebrate the Halloween season this year. This is up from just 63% in July. (NCA/Morning Consult)
Fun Facts:
Most people in the U.S. enjoy chocolate and candy 2-3 times per week, averaging about 40 calories per day and just one teaspoon of added sugar per day. (NHANES)
What’s the right way to eat candy corn?
Who enjoys candy corn the most?
Visit AlwaysATreat.com/HalloweenCentral for ways to celebrate a socially distanced but not socially awkward Halloween and join the conversation on social media with #HalloweenIsHappening.
We get it, exercising at home can be tough. It’s hard to find motivation at home and when you do, you often have to modify your practice because of space or noise restrictions. Thankfully, after months of gyms being closed, many are finally starting to re-open with limited capacity. While measures are likely in place at your gym to keep people safe, you should also think carefully about what you can do personally to eliminate as much risk as possible. Grab a pair of men’s or women’s supportive sneakers and follow the checklist below to ensure maximum safety for you and those around you at the gym.
Consider Your Risk Level:
According to the CDC, those most at risk of developing severe symptoms of Covid-19 are people who are 65 years old and older and anyone with health conditions. If you fall into either of these groups, it is recommended that you avoid going to gyms while Covid-19 is still at large. While gyms should take precautions like cleaning equipment frequently and taking everyone’s temperature upon arrival, there is still a chance that you could contract the virus.
Avoid Big Group Classes:
Instead of jumping back into crowded classes at the gym, opt for solo practices or classes of small groups with less movement. For example, you should avoid a jam-packed hot yoga class in favor of a small, eight person or less Yin yoga class. Swap an organized cycling class for an hour of solo cycling indoors or biking outdoors.
A Guide to Going to the Gym During Covid-19 (Photo by Tim Mossholder from Pexels)
Abide by the Six Foot Rule:
If your gym is following CDC guidelines, they should have separated equipment and blocked off machines so that people exercising are always at least six feet away from each other. Make sure you follow this six foot guideline anytime you are in a public place, especially while at the gym.
Wear a Mask When Possible:
Many gyms aren’t requiring a mask while you are exercising, as it makes it more difficult to breathe. However, at least when you are coming and going at the gym or doing a low intensity exercise, you should wear a mask.
There is an alternative to working out in your home that doesn’t involve going to the gym. Slip on a pair of women’s or men’s supportive sneakers and head outdoors for your exercise; whether to run, bike, or do a circuit routine. Even going for a vigorous walk or swim can break up the monotony of working indoors all day long and keep you feeling active and healthy. The bonus is that you can also soak up the sun and get a dose of Vitamin D, which helps ward off viruses by keeping your immune system strong.
#TrustedJournalism Campaign Launched to Help Slow Spread of Disinformation on Social Media Among Older Adults Ahead of US Elections
TheTrusted Journalism Partnership, a coalition of nonpartisan academic and media organizations, today launched a public information campaign focusing on people aged 65 and over, encouraging them to take a reflective pause and consider whether a news story is true or not before sharing it on social media.
One quarter of all Americans visited a website masquerading as a legitimate news organization, but was in fact peddling false claims.
The largest source of this internet traffic came from Facebook.
While most people did not share the misleading information, Facebook users 65-and-over posted seven times as many articles from such websites, compared with adults under 29.
#TrustedJournalism Campaign Launched to Help Slow Spread of Disinformation on Social Media Among Older Adults Ahead of US Elections
"We want to help people sort fact from fiction at a time when they are bombarded with disinformation," said Dan Shelley, executive director and COO at the Radio Television Digital News Association, one of the participating organizations. "Our campaign is a critical reminder that fact-based journalism is different from other types of media. Legitimate news organizations hold themselves to high standards of transparency and accuracy. "
The PSA campaign, which provides 15-, 30- and 90-second videos, highlights the Trust Project's 8 Trust Indicators to help people evaluate the source of a news story and determine its validity.
"Our 8 Trust Indicators provide an easy checklist for making decisions about what news comes from reputable news organizations and what might be intentionally misleading or just plain wrong," said Sally Lehrman, Trust Project founder and CEO, and a member of the Trusted Journalism Partnership.
To reach older Americans with its message, the Trusted Journalism Partnership is advertising on Facebook, the most popular social media platform among seniors.
"Technology has dramatically altered the way we consume information. But one thing has not changed: the difference between the truth and a lie," said Akhtar Badshah, distinguished practitioner, University of Washington Evans School and founder of Accelerating Social Transformation. "We are giving people the tools to help them discern the difference."
The campaign invites people to take three simple steps to support a healthy democracy:
Share the campaign
Learn the Trust Indicators
Sign a pledge to share only trusted journalism and curtail the spread of disinformation.
The campaign includes a social media toolkit and a collection of resources.
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