The Motion Sensor Phone – What it is and How it Works
January 27, 2012 | 
Author Ever wished your telephone could spy for you? With a motion sensor phone, you’ll have a very effective and relatively affordable monitoring and security device. This is just one of the many technologies you can use today to create an effective monitoring system for your home or business use.
What is a motion sensor phone?
A motion sensor phone is actually three gadgets in one: it is a phone, a microphone and a motion sensor in one device. What it does is that it senses any movements within a specific area in proximity to the phone. It will then alert the user via a phone call in case a movement is detected. This ingenious device allows you to listen in on the room where the phone is stationed.
Motion sensor phones can be very effective tools for monitoring a certain area, such as an office or a room in your home. In case an intruder comes in and passes next to or near the phone, the motion sensor will pick up the movements, silently send you a signal by calling your mobile phone or another alternate phone number. You can listen in, decide if the intruder is dangerous and call the police.
How it works
The telephone feature works like any other ordinary phone, in that it can receive and make calls. It is rigged with a condenser microphone, which is used to allow you to hear any noises in the room. The microphone is built into the device and contains an amplifier that can increase the sounds that it picks up. This comes in handy when you have to monitor the sounds in the room from a remote location.
The motion sensor, which is at the heart of the device, is powered by passive infrared or PIR. This technology works by sensing movements or changes in the ambient heat within the room where the phone is located. If an occupant is nearby, the heat signature of the room will change, triggering the device. It will call you and you can listen in on what’s happening. If it’s an intruder, you can hang up and call the police.
The range for this motion sensor phone is about 30 feet, and the width of the area in which it can be triggered is about 20 feet.
Any concerns about the efficacy of the device?
Motion sensor phones can only be effective if the user understands their use and limitations. The range mentioned above, for example, means that in order for the phone to detect the presence of an intruder, it must be placed in an area where an intruder is most likely to pass. If it is located in a hidden area, it probably won’t work.
Who needs it?
If security is a concern in your home or office, then a motion sensor phone will help relieve you of your worries. Home owners on vacation can leave this device in place to alert them if a break in occurs. Businesses can be alerted if their shop is broken in to during non business hours.
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Hidden Cameras and the Cheating Spouse
In the last 50 years, the rate of infidelity has increased and this is the single most important reason that accounts for the high number of divorces. Infidelity can be an issue with either of the partners or spouses and sometimes even both of them can have extra-marital relationships. Increasing loss of trust in relationships has also increased the requirement for hidden cameras or in some cases spy cameras. It is difficult to get accurate statistics of cheating spouses because it is difficult to arrange for and manage such statistics.
Some Infidelity Statistics
There are some research and survey companies who have spent a great deal of time to find some amount of data on this issue and here’s what they found:
Cheating Spouse Statistics:
According to a research, it has been identified that one of the prime driving factors of infidelity is the Internet. Since the time internet messaging, chat forums and social communities became popular over the Internet, infidelity has been on the rise. According to a statement made by the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, there are almost 40 million Internet users who are involved in infidelity and pornography over the Internet in the United States. In fact, according to NCPCE, “sex” is the most searched for term over the Internet.
According to different research organizations like Buss and Shackelford, in the United States the estimated percentage for infidelity among married people vary from 30 to 60%. The sad outcome is that more than half of these marriages lead to divorce.
Research also states that an average of 2%-3% children is born from infidelity. Cheating spouses never have the courage to reveal the truth to their partners. Infidelity is growing and most cheating spouses are in the age group of 25-30 years.
So what are the options? The options like counseling etc., can be possible only if you can catch your spouse cheating. The best and most discrete way to catch a cheating spouse is through hidden cameras.
Hidden Cameras and What They Can Do
Hidden cameras are easily available in the market these days and you can even pick one up from the Internet. Not only that, hidden cameras are available in different shapes and sizes like wall clock hidden camera, smoke detector hidden camera, pen hidden camera and much more. Any hidden camera fixed inside another device like a clock or a pen is movable and can be placed in any place for monitoring activity of cheating spouses.
The different types of hidden cameras available include:
Hidden cameras for peeping toms: Of course, this type of hidden camera has been developed for peeping toms and is largely used for pornography. But this camera is quite obscure and can be used even on cheating spouses. These hidden cameras can be placed just about anywhere from a hotel washroom to your bedroom.
The Nightcam: The salient feature of this hidden camera is that it can record even in low light conditions and is ideal for night use. Most nightcams have built-in infrared capabilities and hence, can see just about anything in the night. One of the popular nightcams is the 580 line resolution 48 LED Camera, which can give you sharp pictures in the daytime as well as nighttime. It has been built for both indoor and outdoor use and is weatherproof. Some of the other infrared nightcams include the invisible LED camera. This is a 940nm Infrared LED camera that is almost invisible to everyone else except you especially in the darkness. It is ideal for use in store rooms, sleep clinics, warehouses, hotels, and nursing homes and any place where you don’t want the night camera to work effectively even in pitch black conditions.
Nanny cams: Nanny Cams have been devised specifically for watching over nannies but it can be effectively used for cheating spouses as well. It is used by people for even low grade sting operations. The camera will provide you with a full video of the happening within the house and around the house or place where you have put the camera. The hidden nanny cams are available in different sizes as well as shapes like a weather alert radio, desk calculator wireless camera, cube wood clock radio, wireless wall clock, air freshener camera, air ionizer DVR camera, carbon monoxide motion detector, coffee mugs, digital camera sunglasses and much more.
Traditional Spy Camera: This is the mother of all hidden cameras – the traditional spy cameras that have been used for ages by spies as well as different people from different backgrounds. Over the years, these cameras have become more advanced and can be fixed anywhere from a shirt button to a wrist watch. The spy cameras are available in different categories like body worn cameras where the camera is built-in to an object that can be carried or worn on the body. Some of the most common body worn spy cameras include button cameras, pen cameras, etc. Then there are the plugged cameras, which are the best for cheating spouses. You can plug them to an electrical source and these are normally built-in into clock radios, music systems, radio, and any appliance that works on electricity. A body worn camera can cost you anywhere from $150-$200 while a plug in camera can cost you anywhere from $250 – $500.
Police Car Cameras: These cameras are normally used in police cars or at traffic junctions and are normally hidden cameras. You can use them to get video footage of any outdoor activity. You can hide it in the trees in your lawn and comfortably get the entire video footage sitting in your room. The only thing is that you can use this type of a camera only if there is enough places to hide it because these are bulky cameras that can stand out if they are not properly camouflaged. The police car and traffic cameras are also very expensive verses the normal spy cameras.
Surveillance cameras or systems: The surveillance cameras are mostly used for providing security to a home but they can be used for cheating spouses as well. Some of the surveillance cameras can be hidden within your home while some of them have to be in the open. If you are installing hidden cameras for cheating spouses then you need to go for discrete surveillance cameras like the color dome security camera. Some of the advantages of this camera are that it can be extremely discreet and is definitely most suitable for applications like infidelity. This is a perfect camera for using it in places and for situations without getting noticed. These dome cameras are attractive and come in a compact design, which makes them absolutely ideal for applications like monitoring home entrance, shopping malls, offices etc. You can install them on a ceiling or even on a wall.
Wireless Cameras: The wireless cameras are also useful cameras when it comes to monitoring cheating spouses. The wireless cameras are available in different categories like B&W cameras and color cameras. The only disadvantage of these cameras is that they need to be hidden behind something because they can be spotted with the naked eye with ease.
Hidden Cameras, Do they really work?
Yes! All hidden cameras work unless they have run out of battery or are not connected to the power socket. The concept of the hidden cameras is to record any unusual behavior or incident without getting noticed. Hence, most of the modern hidden cameras are so small that they can be fitted into the button of your shirt. So you can walk into a restaurant and sit in one corner without being noticed and yet record the activities of your spouse. All hidden cameras have a built-in range for recording and you need to check the range before you pick one up.
Experts believe that hidden cameras are best for infidelity because they will provide you with valid proof. The only thing to remember is the placement; the right placement can get you the right moment. It is always a better option to use a hidden camera in a radio clock or a smoke detector because they are least considered as suspicious. The type of hidden camera to buy should depend on the following factors:
What and where you want to monitor: If you want to monitor the activities of your spouse when you are not at home or do you want to monitor the activities when your spouse is in the car etc. Accordingly, you will have to place the hidden camera.
Where do you want to hide the camera: If you want to hide the camera in the garage then you can have it in a music system but if you want to monitor activities in the bedroom then you can have a radio clock? The type of camera you buy will depend on where you want to place it.
Remember, like any surveillance device, hidden cameras can catch a cheating spouse in the act, but the emotional trauma may be too much to overcome. So be prepared!
Effective Ways To Prevent Theft
Employee theft is one of the worst problems a small business faces. In order to achieve success and make profits, small retail businesses have to stay theft-free. Statistics show that almost two-thirds of loss in a store is caused by theft perpetrated by dishonest employees. The losses cause harm to people who are not involved in this – the customers, by driving prices up. Eventually customers will refuse to do their shopping in the store affected. Therefore, businesses will enjoy less profit. Undoubtedly, every business must strive to prevent theft.
Each small business has the goal to make profits and must do its best to prevent theft. The percentage of employee theft varies for each business. It depends on the type of the store, the type of the products and so on. A store that sells expensive products such as computers, stereos, and televisions will have bigger losses than a store that sells food for example. In such stores, steps must be taken in order to prevent theft.
Because of all these troubles, executives have to find effective ways to prevent theft. The only way to avoid problems with employees is by developing a method to prevent theft. The first thing one can do to prevent theft is to make sure that he or she has hired honest employees. An honest employee is the best treasure you can discover. An honest employee is worth his or her weight in gold. Anyway, no matter how confident you are that you have hired honest employees, effective methods to prevent theft are necessary as well. In order to be successful, employees have to be assured that you are taking all the necessary actions to prevent theft.
Before you hire an employee, make a brief search of the employee’s labor background. Do a credit check. Look into personality and psychological testing. These will be the first steps you must take to prevent theft and these will be the most effective steps you will.
When you are hiring someone, you have to make sure you can rely on him or her. No matter how skillful, a dishonest employee is able to ruin your business. You need to be demanding when you are searching for employees and employees should not be offended by your strict selection. Strict selection is necessary if you wish to prevent theft.
Here are some tricks that may help you:
o Supply employees with uniforms that have no pockets;
o Share the combination to the safe only with those that must have it;
o Install security cameras over the cash-drawers;
You may think that implementing these things will be expensive, but just think of the losses that you will prevent if you fail to prevent theft.
Let me suggest to you one more important thing. First of all, you have to be honest as well. Would you expect your employees to be honest when you are not honest? Be honest in all your contact with employees, customers and vendors. If employees see you are honest, they will try to return you the favor. Do not make any unclear points in your everyday dealings. Develop clear rules and reasonable expectations for your employees. Prevent theft by imposing a fine on employees who do not follow the rules. Encourage those whose job performance is excellent. No employee will have the desire to work hard without appreciation for his or her efforts. It won’t be easy but you simply have to prevent theft.
Breaking News – WiFi Hitting the Security Cameras Scene
Do you know what the latest development in wireless security cameras is?
The latest revolution in security cameras doesn’t involve the sensor or the lens, it involve the transmission signal.
Wireless security cameras are now going WiFi.
Looking at the latest technologies, it is no surprise that WiFi is welcomed in to this field. Many wireless surveillance cameras are now available to make any surveillance system highly efficient and functional.
A wireless security camera can perform many functions such as remote viewing, motion detection and recording, and the best of all is that it is battery operated.
To understand why wireless surveillance cameras have become so popular, you must first understand what WiFi stands for and its functions.
WiFi is short for wireless fidelity refers to a set of wireless networking technologies and more specifically referred to as any type of 802.11 network, 802.11b and 802.11a and dual band. The word WiFi was built by an organization named as WiFi alliance. A product that undergoes the WiFi alliance analyses is given the name WiFi certified.
WiFi is a wireless technology that handles the networking/communication between devices. WiFi is caused by Radio waves that are transmitted from an antenna and WiFi receivers pick them up. These signals are then broadcasted to the device with WiFi connection.
WiFi equipped consumer electronics range from automobiles, cameras, computers, camcorders, mobile phones, video games, GPS systems, DVD players, printers, and many more. Security cameras now have joined the growing list of WiFi devices. The reason is attributed to many homes now having WLAN (WiFi local area network). You would just have to connect the wireless security camera to the network to give coverage of wider areas.
In WiFi surveillance cameras, the video signals go over a wireless LAN and then to a video server or PC. You can install a WiFi surveillance camera much faster than a traditional wired security camera. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that the WiFi security camera can be remotely controlled by laptop or phone with Internet facility and the picture quality is uninterrupted. But the disadvantage lies in the security of the video transfer. If it is not encrypted, it can easily be tapped and create security problems.
How are WiFi surveillance cameras better than regular wireless RF security cameras?
RF wireless surveillance cameras use radio frequency wireless technology similar to some high-end cordless phones to transmit and receive wireless video signals. It has many advantages such as being mobile and can be set up anywhere. A major drawback of wireless RF security camera is that the radio signals used to transmit video can be interrupted by electric motored products such as AC, fluorescent lighting or cordless telephones which affect the picture quality.
Where should you use a WiFi surveillance camera?
A WiFi surveillance camera is made for indoor use, whether for a company or home use. It must be placed at locations with minimum RF interference.
What do resellers need to be wary of when listing WiFi surveillance cameras? As a seller of WiFi surveillance cameras, you must list the compatibility properties of these cameras with the different types of networks like 802.11b or 802.11g WiFi networks. This helps the customer make an informed decision and avoid unnecessary problems of refunds and returns. You become a trustworthy seller as opposed some sellers, who claim that the surveillance cameras are WiFi enabled but they use radio waves for wireless transmission and create network issues for the customer.
How To Adjust A Upvc Door And Prevent Possible Damage To The Lock – Saving You ££
UPVC doors are extremely common in parts of the uk due to their relatively high levels of security along with superb draft proofing and low maintenance properties.There are quite a few problems that can occur over time and most can be prevented or sorted fairly easily.If problems aren’t sorted and left to get worse you may end up having to change the whole locking mechanism which can easily cost over £100.
A lot of the problems we are going to discuss are caused by various things like lots of dry or wet weather making the property move slightly.Weight of the door causing it to drop, especially when large glass panels are fitted.Loose frame fixings or just poor adjustments from new are other causes of problems.
Most upvc door locks operate by lifting the handle to throw the multiple bolts etc then you turn the key.Some locks operate by turning the key only and others by just lifting up, which automatically locks everything.We will assume you have the standard lift up type for these problems but most of it applies to the other types too.
The most likely problem you will encounter is when you go to lift the handle up and it seems “stiff”. If this is happening please try to fix the problem or call in an expert.If you continue to carry on using the lock there is a very good chance the lock will fail and the worse case scenario is it fails in the locked position when your outside.This will mean getting a locksmith to not only get you in but also most likely change the whole locking mechanism, not a cheap scenario.
What could be the cause of this is a few things. First up open the door and try to lock the door in the open position, if it works fine then the problem is with the keeps or door adjustment, the lock is fine. If you find the handle doesn’t move take a look at the face of the lock near to the latch and see if there is a small plunger sticking out.This would normally be depressed when the door is closed so to check the lock push this in with your finger and then try lifting the handle, if its easy to use then your locks fine.
If your lock is stiff in the open position the lock has the fault, it may only need lubricating so a few drops of 3in 1 oil along the strip may help, PLEASE DON’T USE WD40. This is for cleaning away oil etc and although in the short term may work it wont help long term. If the oil hasn’t worked it may be several other things but there too many to list in this article, please ring a locksmith for help
If the problem is with the keeps on the frame take a good look at them, look for shiney spots which indicate wear.Some keeps have adjustment built in to them , others require the keep is moved.At this point don’t adjust anything. If it appears you have more than 2 keeps “rubbing” it may be easier to adjust the door.Some doors have adjustable hinges,adjusted with an allen.Others dont but in both cases doors can be adjusted by a technique called “toe and heeling”. This another subject and quick google will bring up lots of sites discussing this in depth.
If you wish to adjust the keep first use any adjustment screws.If you cant adjust the keep undo the screws and remove it, now try to lock the door.If the door locks fine you know only that keep is a problem.If its still stiff remove other suspect keeps until you eliminate the bad ones. Refit the removed keeps one by one and test the door each time you fit one. It may take some time to do this and its where experience can make the job a lot quicker. If your getting stuck call a locksmith
If these tips don’t solve the problems it could mean the frame is loose or some other problem and we advise you call a professional
Hopefully you should now have a fully adjusted door fit for a few more years of easy use.
We hope this article was of use to you
Regards
College Campus Safety Tips
While out on a date
The unfortunate statistic is that 90 percent of rapes occur between people who already knew each other and that approximately half of rapes happen on dates. This is commonly known as “date rape” or “acquaintance rape.”
While sexual assault and rape by an attacker is never the victim’s fault, there are a few things women can bear in mind:
Take your time in getting to know your companion or “date.” Don’t spend time alone with someone who makes her feel uneasy or uncomfortable. This means following your instincts and removing herself from situations that you don’t feel good about.
Stay with a group of people. Avoid risky areas, such as deserted areas.
Avoid excessive alcohol. According to the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, more than 70,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 have been victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
Be alert for possible use of “date rape drugs” such as Rohypnol, which is illegal in the United States. Someone can slip it into a drink. It causes drowsiness, a loss of coordination, dizziness and memory loss. Never take drinks from other people and don’t leave your drink unattended.
Tell someone you trust your date’s name, destination and planned time of return.
Take money for a phone call and taxi fare with you.
More campus safety tips: While walking around campus
Survey the campus after dark to see that buildings, walkways, quadrangles and parking lots are adequately secured, lighted and patrolled.
Avoid walking alone if possible.
Walk with an air of confidence and stay alert.
Walk in lighted areas.
Keep your hand free, not overloaded.
Have your keys ready.
If you are being followed: cross the street, scream, run to an occupied residence or store, or flag down a car.
At dorm rooms
Doors and windows to your residence hall should be equipped with quality locks. Room doors should have peepholes and deadbolts.
Do not loan out your key. Never compromise your safety for a roommate or friend who wants the door left unlocked. Replace locks when a key is lost or stolen.
Use caution admitting strangers.
Have good lighting around entrances.
If you are a woman and live alone or with other women, use only your first initials on your mailbox and, when possible, in phone directories.
Report suspicious activity to campus police–or to the police if you live off-campus.
While in your car
Keep windows up and doors locked.
Park in well-lighted areas and travel on populated, well-lighted streets.
Never pick up hitchhikers.
If you have car trouble, signal for help by raising the hood or tying a white handkerchief to the door handle.
Preparation and awareness are the keys to safety in any situation. Non-lethal self defense and personal protection devices are proven to deter most attackers. Consider carrying self defense devices such as pepper sprays, stun guns, or personal alarms. Learn the correct way to use these types of devices and be committed to using them should a dangerous situation occur. A variety of products are available to meet the needs of most everyone. Through preparation and awareness you will enjoy increased “peace of mind” and confidence knowing you are protected!.
Video Surveillance and Surveillance Laws
The dependability and prevalence of video surveillance cameras has increased dramatically in the past decade. Numerous home and business owners have integrated video cameras into their security systems to ensure safety, crack down on regulations, and catch criminals in the act. Surveillance is considered covert when the cameras are hidden or aren’t identifiable. Security Cameras are largely legal in the United States, as long as it doesn’t directly infringe on a person’s fourth amendment right to privacy.
Uses of Covert Surveillance
“A picture is worth a thousand words.” This saying rings true in court. According to a recent study, when a jury is presented with surveillance footage, it is twice as likely to convict as when not shown video surveillance evidence. The strategic placement of covert surveillance cameras aid in the detection and prosecution of vandalism, theft, child abuse, elder neglect, stalking, and harassment.
Some of the more common places to use covert camera surveillance are: Homes, Casinos, Police Stations, Nursing Homes, Construction Sites, Prisons, Hospitals and Retail Stores.
Monitoring the activities of nannies and household help with covert surveillance cameras is a growing trend. Due to recent advances in technology, cameras are now small enough to be hidden in many home items such as teddy bears, house plants, clocks, and wall paintings.
Surveillance Laws
Most camera surveillance is legal in the United States. The majority of surveillance laws concern the invasion of privacy with the use of covert video surveillance. The use of covert surveillance is particularly controversial in areas in which a high level of personal privacy is expected, such as: locker rooms, dressing rooms, bedrooms, and bathroom stalls. There are some general guidelines to follow to ensure the legality of your camera surveillance system.
Covert surveillance is illegal when: Audio surveillance is also taking place, without the consent of those being monitored and the person being monitored by the video surveillance has a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Covert surveillance may be illegal when: The video surveillance encourages an illegal activity and the subject under video surveillance has a right to counsel, as when being questioned by law authorities and the person in charge of the premises have not given permission for video surveillance.
If you opt to incorporate a covert video surveillance system into your home or business, consult with a lawyer or your local law enforcement agency to ensure your compliance with local, state, and federal video surveillance laws.
Many independent studies in the United States and United Kingdom have suggested that video surveillance acts as a powerful deterrent, stopping crimes before they happen. Studies also show strong evidence that video surveillance systems can be an extremely effective tool in detection and prosecution.
The Importance of Customer Care in Business
In business, customer care is paramount. Happy customers will become loyal customers who return for more and will spread the good word about your business to their friends and family. Customer Care is not just about having a good customer care team, but includes many other elements. Start with a high quality product or service, which is a good value for money, provided quickly and efficiently by friendly and courteous members of staff, where necessary including a good after-sales service and you already have an excellent grounding for caring effectively for your customers.
Policies and Values
Its important to have customer care policies set-up so staff and employees know the core values and principals, ensuring that customers get the best possible service from your company. Part of this will involve training employees so that they interact with customers in the best possible way, professionally and politely and thus present the best image for the company. It’s important to have certain principals in place in order to provide the best service:
Publish clear and help information on the services you offer
Respond to any complaints quickly and politely.
Make realistic promises
Seek and encourage customer feedback
Provide a safe and secure environment
Educating staff in certain concepts will help the business no end. Train them to do with customers. Always remaining positive, never giving negative replies or telling customers that they cannot help them (but instead offering to find the answer to their queries).
Being Clear and Concise
It’s important to be clear and concise about the services that you offer to avoid confusion. The reasons are two fold. Firstly, if potential customers know what they are getting they will be more likely to buy a service from you and hopefully become one of your loyal customers. Secondly, things like misleading adverts, badly written web-pages or unclear marketing campaigns might well cause you to be subject to legal action if someone reports you to the Advertising Standards Agency. The Codes on what should and shouldn’t be included can be found on their website.
Feedback
It is important to regularly contact customers and see what they think of the service and how it can be improved. Ensure a customer service team is in place to deal with complaints and queries. One of the best and most simple methods for encouraging this is by the use of NGN’s. Non-Geographical Numbers (or NGN for short) are telephone numbers that are not linked to a location. These are broken down into various types but the most common are 0800 numbers and 0845 numbers, with which we are all familiar. These numbers are important for various reasons, the most obvious of which is the fact that they give a “national” image to even the smallest company. Generally members of the public are under the impression that national companies are more interested in customer care and have more money devoted to it, so in this area, image is everything, yet it is only half the story. NGN’s can be set-up to divert to your standard telephone number or even a mobile number and thus you can keep your standard, local number private where necessary.
In the same vein, every modern company needs a web presence. A well designed website can help your business no end. Once again giving the impression of a professional national company it will also allow customers to easily get your details if they need to contact you. A good website also incorporates a contact page with email forwardingfacilities, this allows customers to fill out a web form and send you an email automatically without having to open their own email client and risk mistyping your email address. This has the added benefit that you can specify subjects and headings under which the customer is contacting you (e.g. question about deliver or a question on how to return a faulty product) as well as specific other details like the customers phone number and home address (where relevant). For online based companies a contact page is especially important. More and more companies have an online chat system so customers can communicate quickly with members of the customer care team without having to use a phone or wait for a reply to an email. This is preferable to replying to emails within 24 hours, although, even a speedy reply such as that is key.
To make the customers life easy it is also a good idea to have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your website. Work out what the most commonly asked questions are that your customers might ask and compile them into an easy to search page. This will allow customers to help themselves as much as possible and saves any delay in response to their queries.
Giving customers the chance to voice their opinion is an important measure. Setting up a customer satisfaction survey or questionnaire can be helpful in finding weaknesses in your company and improving them where possible.
Key Performance Indicators
It’s a good idea to have systems in place to identify how satisfied your customers are. Tracking things like customer complaint levels, product return rates (or refund requests), returning customer orders or levels of marketing material sent out versus revenue generated because of them can help show how well your company is performing in the customer care arena.
Loyalty Schemes
Providing your loyal customers with rewards is a good way to strengthen relationships and encourage new ones. Keeping your customers coming back is cheaper and easier than seeking new business so using loyalty discount schemes, recommend-a-friend schemes or other related marketing strategies will only help to improve your business and elevate customer satisfaction. You will have to look at your market and the service/products you offer and consider the best possible options for you.
Security
If you have a work place or place of business where members of the public will pass, security is an important part of customer service. CCTV monitoring will hopefully prevent and deter theft while at the same time providing an air of confidence to both customers, staff and partners that might be visiting the premises.
Other Customers?
Take care not to be closed-minded when it comes to your customer base. Remember that partners might well be customers too. Depending on your business type, distributors, advertising agencies, suppliers and many others whom you interact with in order to carry out your business will need to be treated with the same level of customer care. Upsetting a supplier or distributor could damage your sales and your business. Even colleagues within your business might well be seen as customers in certain circumstances, especially in larger companies where various teams interact to provide the end result.
Hints and Tips For Customer Care Staff
Dealing with difficult customers – If dealing with abusive or rude customers, keep your cool and if you find you cannot, try involving another member of staff in the situation.
Telephone calls – Answer telephone calls quickly, being polite and courteous.
Letters of complaint – When replying to a letter of complaint keep it short and to the point, but be polite and personal, don’t send out standard template letters.
Positive Response – Always give positive responses. Even if you don’t know personally or cannot help, direct the customer to the right department or let them know that you will find out for them.
The Points To Remember
It is important to remember that customer complaints are only one end of the spectrum. Provide the best service you can and you will minimise the levels of complaints that will come in. Remember that people who complain will be the minority, but they might well be voicing the thoughts of the masses in general. Take complaints seriously and use them as an opportunity to improve your business. Remember in setting up your business that The Company Warehouse is here to help you on the path to success. Order a non-geographic number to help give your company a “national” and professional feel, even when you are just starting out. Potential customers will be far more likely to ring a freephone number both to place orders or to complain. Both sorts of phone call are valuable to your business. We can provide you with a domain name and a well designed website with a contact page. These pages include a contact form to allow customers to send you an automated e-mail with easy and speed. Be sure to answer these quickly to meet your customers need and grow a loyal customer base. Well designed Logo’s, letterheads and other corporate identity items will help give your company a professional feel and appeal to customers. All these elements are part of caring for customers.
How to Get Free Subway Sandwiches
Do you want to be able to wrap your hands around a free Subway sandwich? There are ways that you will be able to get Subway sandwiches for free that you will be interested in learning about so that you will be able to take advantage of some good free food. Subway is a healthy alternative to eating at some fast food restaurants and it has become the favorite place for a lot of people to eat lunch. If you are tired of paying for your lunch and want to eat for free then make sure that you learn how you can get your free Subway sandwiches.
One way that you will be able to get a free sandwich from Subway is by finding coupons that you can use. Almost every restaurant and business that has anything to sell has some type of discount that will offer you an incentive so that you can get some free food or some other free item. You might find Subway coupons for free sandwiches without having to make an additional purchase, or you might find ones where you will be able to get a Subway sandwich free with the purchase of additional items such as a drink and a bag of chips.
Another way that you can get free Subway sandwiches is by keeping a lookout for market research companies that conduct surveys relating to Subway and other fast food restaurants. Often these companies will give away gift cards to those who take part in their research study. If the study is done in person then cash may be offered as an incentive and you can use that cash to pay for your Subway sandwich, but if it is done online you will be able to get a gift card mailed to your home and use it whenever you eat at Subway.
If you want to be able to get free Subway sandwiches then you will want to make sure that you follow one of these two methods. Either keep a look out for coupons that have offers for a free Subway sandwich or keep a lookout for market research companies that are giving away gift cards to those who take part in their research study. Either way you do it, you will be able to eat healthy for lunch or dinner and you will be able to do it without having to pull your wallet out.
How to Make a Time-Lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera
Getting the most out of your digital video camera can mean being able to create some really cool stuff. You just have to step outside the manual a bit and find the cool things you can do with your digital video camera and your editing software.
We have all seen them in a movie or a TV show, those very cool shots where they speed up time and capture a long segment of time and condense it into a very short amount of video. An example is many of the TV news stations nowadays have a camera that captures the day’s weather and then they process it down to a 20 second clip to show the clouds and weather racing by on screen.
Well this technique is not just a tool in the hands of the movie makers or the big TV stations. You can do this with your digital video camera gear too. I will go into two ways that you can accomplish this effect and get some cool results for your next video project. This one is worth playing around with in order to find the right settings to get the most dramatic effect.
Technique number one is to use the camera itself to do the time lapse recording for you. Almost all digital video cameras have the ability to do an interval recording. What this means in a nutshell is that you tell the camera how long you want to record for and how long in between recordings and it will go on autopilot for you for as long as the battery lasts or the tape runs out. This is what those cameras at the convenience store do, they record a few seconds of motion every 30-60 seconds giving the overall view of the traffic in the store over time.
Now if you want to capture some time lapse in your digital video camera you will need to get into your cameras menu and find Interval Recording (or in my case Int Rec, as I use a Sony PD 150 for my camera) When you select this option you will decide how long of an interval between shots you want and how long to record each time. If you are trying to capture something that takes a long time to occur and in which not much happens quickly you will want to set the interval at around a minute and the record time as short as possible on your camera. An example would be if you wanted to record a day in the life of a flower or the clouds rolling by in the sky. Suppose however that you want to capture an event that has lots of action and occurs over a much shorter time frame. Then you would want to shorten the interval between recordings and increase the time of each recording. So in this case you might record every 15-30 seconds and record up to 2-3 seconds of video each time.
I used this technique to capture an afternoon of work being done by a team of carpenters on my house remodeling project. The result was a flurry of activity as workers raced hither and yon nailing boards, carrying equipment and building walls. I have added it to my photo collection of the project. (Hey I had to live through the project so I might as well have a great record of it for posterity!)
Now suppose you have one of the great software video editing packages on your computer to work with your digital video camera. Now you can do it in post as they say in the business. You can record any length of video you want (subject to the limitations of your tape length) and then import it into your editing program.
Sidebar:
I use Adobe Premiere Pro for my editing jobs, but I have also used Avid DV Express, Final Cut Pro, and others in the non linear editing world. These are all great programs and are very powerful products that can create some very professional looking videos. You don’t have to have these products to create your own videos but if you are serious about digital video editing it might be a good idea to take a look at these options.
I digitize my raw video of the scene I am doing time lapse on into my computer (big hard drive, video eats up GB’s of space) and then import the clip into my time line. From the timeline you can then select the clip with a right click. From there you will be given a menu with options depending on the software you use. Select the option that says “duration”, “speed” or something similar. Change the speed of the clip so that time will speed up considerably. If you have an hour of video in the clip and want to shorten it to 2 -5 minutes then you need to increase the speed of the clip to 3 or 4 thousand percent of normal. This will require your software to render the clip at the higher speed and may take some time top process depending on the speed of your computer.
Once you have rendered the video clip at the new speed you will want to play it to see if the movie flows evenly or if you will want to readjust the speed setting to make it better. Sometimes you may want to shorten your raw video and adjust the speed down somewhat in order to get a smooth flow of action. Once you have rendered the clip at the new speed you can now cut and splice it as you see fit with the speeded up action intact. There are some things you will record that might only need a slight speed change, take for instance some digital video of your kids playing sports. Double or triple the speed of the clip and show it to them and you might have them rolling on the floor.
You can also use these techniques to capture the growth of a flower or plant over the course of days or weeks. Simply set you camera in exactly the same place at the same time each day and record an interval that works each day fro however long you want to document. May be you get the seedling just breaking soil and follow it all the way through turning into a full grown plant.
Another interesting idea is to capture the path of the moon across the night sky. Set up your camera on a tripod in a spot that can see the path of the moon for several hours. Set the camera to interval record and put the moon on one side of the frame so that it will pass across the frame as the night passes. This one may require some testing in order to get the exposure and framing right as well as the right interval to record at. Most likely you would want to set the interval as long as you can and the record time as short as you can but do a test run first to see what works.