Cruz Views

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Saving Money

Apparently saving money is the new "in thing" for people and businesses.

Here is a list of websites and blogs that focus on cost-saving measures:

Dollar Stretcher - www.stretcher.com

All Things Frugal - www.allthingsfrugal.com

Spend Matters - http://www.spendmatters.com/

Money Talks - http://money.blogdig.net/

Frugal Hacks - http://frugalhacks.com/

Being Frugal - http://beingfrugal.net/2008/06/11/start-your-own-business-frugally/

Frugal Freelancer - http://flbyu.blogspot.com/

Saving isn't new, it is something that every smart business does!

What's a business to do?

The economy is going down, business is going down, morale is going down.

What's a business to do?

Go back to your core values.  What made you successful in the first place?  Customer service?  Quality products?  Value?  Cost?  Focus on those things that are most important and hang tough.

This "new economy" will be a good lesson for us all on surviving in tough times.  But the U.S. economy is one of the strongest in the world and we will make it through this.

Confidence is critical right now - confidence in the U.S., confidence in the market, confidence in yourself!

Laura

NYT & WashPost Free on Kindle for Election Day

FREE New York Times November 3-6

11:58 PM PST, November 2, 2008

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Once the dust of the election frenzy has settled, remember that all new subscriptions to a Kindle newspaper start with a 14-day free trial. So, if you want your Times delivered wirelessly every morning, come back and check it out! For now, enjoy your free paper and get ready for November 4th.

 

FREE Washington Post November 2-5

1:17 AM MST, November 2, 2008, updated at 1:19 AM MST, November 2, 2008

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Civility

Tomorrow is the election.  It is time to remember that we are a civil society established on the premise of civil government.  Is it too much to ask that no matter what the results are, that we accept it with civility and graciousness?  Put aside petty differences, the ugly smear campaigns, the hostile comments and nasty nuances and work together to improve the economy and end the war!

Familiarity

Does it seem as if everyone wants to be your friend these days?  No matter where you go, you are no longer "Ms. De La Cruz" or "Professor De La Cruz" - instead you are "Laura" like we are best friends. 

There was a time when no one addressed anyone by their first name until given permission.  This was particularly true for those in professional positions such as doctors, teachers, etc.

The old saying of "Familiarity breeds contempt" is very true.  When people think they "know" you, they treat you differently - and often it borders on contempt.

It is time to go back to manners and decorum - Janet Jackson was right - call me "Ms. De La Cruz!"

Airline Customer Service

In late May my daughter came to visit from St. Louis. When we went to the airport to drop her off to leave on that Tuesday, her flight was cancelled. When I returned to the airport to pick her up, she was standing in a line of 200 people who were also from the cancelled flight. Two airline employees were “assisting” passengers in rescheduling flights.

After about 30 minutes in the line, which was not moving, my daughter went to the counter to try and get the 800-number so we could call and try to get another flight. The customer service rep responded to her “Can I ask you a question” with four “This line is closed” comments before she finally got him to listen and give her the number.

Apparently, he had a stack of sheets with the 800-number and dialing instructions. Not only that, but the airline had been working on rescheduling all the passengers and they had three choices for my daughter when she got through (which only took about five minutes).

What I want to know is:
1. What happened to customer service at the airlines?
2. Why leave customers in a line when all it would have taken was someone to go up and down the line with the stack of sheets with the 800-number. If 49% of the WORLD population has a cell phone, what were the odds that everyone in the line had access to a cell?
3. Why not give out the phone number and get all those people out of the 3-hour line they were in and make them happy in the process?
4. Finally, doing this would have opened up the line to the other people trying to get to their flights on time – people who were NOT going to make it because the line was so long due to passengers from the cancelled flight – so again, why not do it?

This is a ridiculous situation that not only should not have happened, but not been ALLOWED to happen!

Hello!

Welcome to Cruz’s Views! This is the first of many blog posts I will make here. My name is Laura De La Cruz and I have worked more than fifteen years in marketing and I have taught as many years at the college level. I teach government, healthcare administration and business courses, including marketing. I recently bought the Amazon Kindle and love it! The most exciting thing about it is its self-

publishing function which allows writers to self-

publish for the Kindle. As a result of that discovery, I am writing a series of articles for the Kindle on how to market and promote a book written for the Kindle. I want to discuss all the various ways you can market and promote to this niche and relish the idea of feedback and ideas.
Furthermore, I love all aspect of marketing and I will be blogging on it, as well as other business issues like government regulation, customer service, strategic planning, leadership and management.
Please come by regularly and post comments – I love a good debate and I don’t expect (or want) everyone to agree with me! Tell me what you think, even if it is in total disagreement with what I said. You can also email me and I will strive to respond in a timely manner. I love open discussions and really want to hear from you!