Having been in sales for all of my working life, I can truly say that I have dealt with just about every type of customer.
The polite one, who asks you if you'd like a cup of coffee while you wait, the rude one who keeps you waiting with no apology for an hour, the ugly one, who says nasty things like "if you have the cheapest price I might consider your company" .
It has made me immune to some of the less pleasant encounters, taught me how to deal with "certain" types, and always, most importantly helped me to be me, and not change who I am or react negatively to a negative situation.
Fortunately I am selling plants and plant service, which in of itself is a product and service that is considered good, healthy, aesthetic and for the most part, important. If I am lucky enough to get a property or office manager who likes plants, even better! Common ground!
Artscape has some of the best customers I could wish for. I often think it's because we were attracted to each other -the law of attraction indicates that thoughts influence reality. My book keeper Julie always says to me "whenever you say you are going to get that customer or account, sure enough you do! Perhaps I am just lucky (do you believe in luck?) or I know how to "hull out the seeds from the fruit".
The customer is always right. I'm sure we have all heard that over and over and over. At first, I thought "what the heck? that is not true!" But over time I have realized, it IS true.
Because if a customer perceives something to be true, it is true to them. Therefore we must address it as truth. MUCH easier to solve a problem when you approach it from that angle.
That said, there are some plants in the back of the warehouse I'm going to go visit- good ones, bad ones, and ugly ones.
GO FIGURE!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Dog Days of Summer
The other day, someone used the phrase "the dog days of summer" so of course I had to google it, being fairly certain that it did not mean my dog was enjoying the hot summer days.
Webster defines it as the period between early July and early September that usually occur in the northern hemisphere. The second definition is "a period of stagnation or inactivity" ...probably because it's too hot to move!
But where does the term come from? Why do we call the hot, sultry days of summer “dog days?”
In ancient times, when the night sky was unobscured by artificial lights and smog, different groups of peoples in different parts of the world drew images in the sky by “connecting the dots” of stars. The images drawn were dependent upon the culture: The Chinese saw different images than the Native Americans, who saw different pictures than the Europeans. These star pictures are now called constellations, and the constellations that are now mapped out in the sky come from our European ancestors.
They saw images of bears, (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), twins, (Gemini), a bull, (Taurus), and others, including dogs, (Canis Major and Canis Minor).
The brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius, which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. In fact, it is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it. Look for it in the southern sky (viewed from northern latitudes) during January.
In the summer, however,Sirius, the “dog star,” rises and sets with the sun. During late July Sirius is in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the dog star.
The conjunction of Sirius with the sun varies somewhat with latitude. And the “precession of the equinoxes” (a gradual drifting of the constellations over time) means that the constellations today are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome. Today, dog days occur during the period between July 3 and August 11. Although it is certainly the warmest period of the summer, the heat is not due to the added radiation from a far-away star, regardless of its brightness. No, the heat of summer is a direct result of the earth's tilt.
(quoted from wilstar.com)
Webster defines it as the period between early July and early September that usually occur in the northern hemisphere. The second definition is "a period of stagnation or inactivity" ...probably because it's too hot to move!
But where does the term come from? Why do we call the hot, sultry days of summer “dog days?”
In ancient times, when the night sky was unobscured by artificial lights and smog, different groups of peoples in different parts of the world drew images in the sky by “connecting the dots” of stars. The images drawn were dependent upon the culture: The Chinese saw different images than the Native Americans, who saw different pictures than the Europeans. These star pictures are now called constellations, and the constellations that are now mapped out in the sky come from our European ancestors.
They saw images of bears, (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), twins, (Gemini), a bull, (Taurus), and others, including dogs, (Canis Major and Canis Minor).
The brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius, which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. In fact, it is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it. Look for it in the southern sky (viewed from northern latitudes) during January.
In the summer, however,Sirius, the “dog star,” rises and sets with the sun. During late July Sirius is in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the dog star.
The conjunction of Sirius with the sun varies somewhat with latitude. And the “precession of the equinoxes” (a gradual drifting of the constellations over time) means that the constellations today are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome. Today, dog days occur during the period between July 3 and August 11. Although it is certainly the warmest period of the summer, the heat is not due to the added radiation from a far-away star, regardless of its brightness. No, the heat of summer is a direct result of the earth's tilt.
(quoted from wilstar.com)
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