Author: Evangeline R.

Fun Activities to Celebrate Customer Service Week in the Office

  1. Raffles. Customer service week is fun when the whole company gets in on the fun. One idea is to place golden stars randomly around the whole office. Place them under people’s desks, in the lunch rooms, and even in the bathroom. Each gold star represents one raffle ticket towards great prizes. That whole week, stars will be continually placed around the office during different points of the day in order for everyone to collect some. On Friday or the last day of the workweek, the drawing is held.
  2. Educate. Customer service should not be treated lightly. For every day during customer service week, send out a company-wide e-mail with a tip on how to provide the best customer service possible. Another alternative to this idea is to provide a fun workshop individuals can attend to refresh them on the importance of customer service. Attract more signups by raffling off something at the workshop.
  3. Thank them. Show gratitude to your employees by saying thank you. One idea here is to round up the customer service team into a meeting. During the meeting, showcase messages from the company leaders and even some customers thanking the customer service representatives for their hard work and dedication to service. This is a nice pat on the back for all, especially after a busy but productive time on the phones.

Fall Company Outing Ideas

Kashmir in Autumn 5Fall is the last chance for any company wide outings to be planned before winter hits and the cold keeps people from wanting to go out at all.  Some Fall specific outings that should definitely be at the top of your list include pumpkin picking, baseball games, football games, etc.

Pumpkin picking is tons of fun as the season starts, with Halloween around the corner everyone’s already in the spirit for it so it doesn’t need much hype.  Recently it’s been getting more and more popular so more and more farms are opening up to the public for pumpkin picking.  A lot of them feature other attractions and fun events as well like hay rides, corn mazes, contests, etc.  If your staff is looking for some lighthearted seasonal fun pumpkin picking is perfect.

Volunteering is another great outing idea, as it builds bonds between workers and with the community, the company reputation benefits as well.  There are the usual soup kitchens and community centers you can check out, however in the spirit of the season there are actually different farms and orchards that use volunteers to run their pumpkin picking, farm markets, hay rides, etc.

For those with a passion for sports, it’s the perfect time, baseball, football, hockey, etc. all have games underway throughout Fall.  This takes care of a lot of the planning problems associated with other outings as the only issues if any are transportation and tickets.

Taking advantage of the last warm days before winter to take your company out for a fun and beneficial experience is a great idea.  Here’s hoping you all get the chance to do so and enjoy any of these activities.  Enjoy your Fall!

Send Your Business Holiday Cards As Soon As You Can

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The first time my employer sent out Holiday cards was 3 years ago. He was just starting out, the business had only been operating for about 4 months when I was hired. One day in early November we received an envelope which came to us from someone the owner had come into business contact with recently. It was a holiday card. Once he looked at it he got very excited and said “We’ve got to do this too!”

I called the company we got the card from and was given many options. Personalizing the card was more intense than I imagined. I never knew there were so many different types of holiday cards or realized how much thought can go into sending a business holiday card. I ordered a catalog and some samples to be mailed to us. We received the mailing and he decided what he wanted.

In the meantime he also contacted that business associate who sent us the first holiday card. He asked him some questions about how this helped his business. He then explained why you should send your business holiday cards as soon as you can. He was in business over a dozen years and in his opinion you get more visual advertising time for your money the longer these unique, beautifully personalized cards are on display in your customer’s office.

With all the chaos at holiday time, he decided to do it as soon as possible. It was very interesting when we got our first holiday card and we displayed it in a very visible area. Being the first one to send the cards out can help to start an opening dialogue point with some of your newest clients.

10th Annual Create a Greeting Card Scholarship Contest – Round 2 Winners Announced!

Congratulations to our Second Round Winners!

Holiday Cards for the Millennials

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Millennials were raised, for the most part, fully immersed in technology. This is why people commonly assume they would be disinterested in holiday cards; people think, “they grew up in this fast-paced environment, where everything gets to them immediately. Texts, emails; everything they send or receive is delivered in mere seconds. So why would they want holiday cards, which are such a dedicated and long process of buying, signing, sending, and then waiting even more to receive?”

But that long process is exactly why millennials would cherish holiday cards.

Millennials might be used to the world of texting and emails, but these things are very impersonal and don’t require much effort. It takes extreme effort and shows a lot of care to go out of your way to buy someone a card, make it out to them with a special, personalized message, and then going through all the effort of sending it early enough for them to receive it on a timely basis. This isn’t something most of their peers will be doing, so if you send a millennial a holiday card, you can be sure they will appreciate it twice as much as everyone else, just because of how rare it is.

In case you would like some ideas, here are some Gallery Collection cards that might really appeal to the beloved millennial in your life:

1. Show off your own technological skills with one of our digitally printed cards which allow you to even customize the front of your cards – Ribbon Tree Christmas Card

2. Make them laugh with this sweet and silly holiday card, featuring special tips for Santa Claus – Tips for Santa Christmas Card

3. Millennials will definitely be able to relate with this funny card explaining exactly what happiness during the holidays really is – Holiday Happiness Card

4. This card is a bright and vibrant card that is sure to appeal to the millennials who prefer a more contemporary card – Bright City Lights Christmas Card

5. This is another humorous card that millennials will certainly be overjoyed to receive – Dear Santa Christmas Card

Tips on Writing a Thanksgiving Card

 

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More and more businesses and individuals are sending out “Happy Thanksgiving” cards instead of the traditional Christmas or Holiday cards. Personally, I think it is a great idea. You get these cards out before the hectic season and the thousands of other cards. Your card will be noticed and remembered. Now let’s make sure it is being remembered because of the special sentiments you write on the inside.

When writing your Thanksgiving cards, you should keep in mind that this is a time for giving thanks. Whether you decide to keep it lighthearted or sentimental, let your note be simple and direct. Use certain key words such as grateful, blessed and lucky to describe your connection.

Other key things to express when writing in your Thanksgiving card should include how much you appreciate them and how important they are in your life. You can mention that you don’t know what you would do without them and how much they have bettered your world.

If it is personal, being specific is also a great touch. Let them know exactly what you are thankful for. Is it the time you spend together, their friendship? If it is a business to their employees, let them you appreciate their hard work and effort in making your company successful. If it from a business to a customer, thank them for their business.

Whatever you decide to write in your Thanksgiving card, be sure to include words of the season and a hope of goodness throughout the Holidays and the New Year.

5 Tips to Ensure Your Employees Feel Appreciated

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Employees who feel appreciated and valued for their time and dedication at work are often those who go above and beyond job expectations. Here are 5 tips to ensure you make your employees feel appreciated:

1. Tell them when they’ve done a good job. We get very busy and swamped with work, but it’s important to give thanks for a job well done. A simple thank you e-mail is a nice pat on the back, but thanking someone in person goes a long way.

2. Be flexible. Some of the best managers are flexible in that they understand everyone learns a different way. Show your employees you care by being flexible with your schedule. Make time to answer questions employees may have and schedule one-to-one meetings in order to give each other updates on work projects.

3. Don’t always be above them. Along with a higher title comes more responsibility and more power. It’s important to be able to relate to your employees in more ways than one. Yes, you are the boss, but employees feel more appreciated if you think of them as peers. It’s okay to talk about things that are outside of work, so long as everyone is doing a good job, having conversations and different types of interactions is healthy for a productive work environment.

4. Create Opportunities For Them. Employees want to do a good job in order to get ahead. Part of helping them feel better appreciated in the workplace means opening doors for them. Sending them to conferences and workshops they are interested in are great ideas. Not only are you investing in them, but they’ll feel appreciated about it too.

5. Significant others and life outside of work. Many people are married with children. Those who aren’t have significant others and family to tend to. Find ways to include the #1 people in employees’ lives by organizing events that include them.

 

10th Annual Create a Greeting Card Scholarship Contest – Round 1 Winners Announced!

Congratulations to our First Round Winners!

5 Reasons Why Everyone Still Loves Greeting Cards

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1. They are tangible – Similar to a bouquet of flowers, greeting cards are real and show appreciation. When you receive a greeting card, you can place it on your desk and be reminded of it.

2. Shows that someone is thinking of you – A greeting card with a personal touch shows that your friend, family or company put some effort into showing you that they care about you and wanted to make you feel special.

3. Look better than E-Cards – Greeting cards beat out E-Cards out any day. Which would you prefer? A 2 dimensional cookie cutter card emailed to you or a gorgeous embossed card with stamped foil?

4. They are timeless – No matter what your age is, everyone associates greeting cards to special events such as Birthdays, Weddings and Christmas. In a sense, they are forever tied to gift giving!

5. Endlessly customizable – You can write, draw decorate your greetings cards however, whichever, whenever you want! If there is anything people love, it is something completely unique!