My new lamp arrived on Tuesday and I have to say that it does work.  The lamp that was sent is a Philips GoLITE BLU which is portable which is great because it means that I can take it on long haul trips to help my body cope with jetlag, it comes with a variety of plug fittings which helps.  The lamp emits blue LED light which is quite soothing and it certainly helps during these horrible dark mornings because I have noticed a marked difference in my mood – no longer grumpy but more energised and happy.  The light can be used as an alarm clock too so that it can be set to wake you up in the morning and bathe you in a pool of light.

One of my friends is an avid user of SAD lamps and she asked me whether or not the light settings can be changed because sometimes they just aren’t bright enough – I was pleased to report that this has 3 light settings on it so that it can be bright, brighter still and very bright.  She is very keen to get one and thankfully Bzzagent had sent me some money off vouchers so my friend could save £100 on the retail cost of this lamp.

I must admit that I have only just discovered how to attach the right plug to the adapter as this was not immediately clear and I kept trying to push the adapter into the plug without success, it was only going online to a chat forum that I discovered that on the charger itself there was a white button saying open and when pressed it would shoot off the flat pin adapter and allow you to fit the correct adapter.  This is the failing of the lamp – they need proper instructions.

I am loving the fact that I no longer have the winter blues..being grumpy and crabby is not nice.

The lamp that I have can be found on the Philips website and is listed as HF3330 – www.philips.co.uk

Onwards and upwards they say there is no time for looking back -that time has past now I am looking forward and will be continuing with my morphing into Denise Meredith Event Management – this girl is going places.

Business people do read other websites and blogs and I am sure that the majority of us will learn from them rather than blatantly copy and paste things into our own sites. When we blog then we have the sense to ask permission first or at the very least acknowledge the original source of the material we want to copy, we don’t just copy and paste and pass the work off as our own.  Although this person hasn’t stolen anything from me, personally, I feel incensed that they have blatantly copied from one of my friend’s sites and even copied blogs from http://www.hubspot.com which is an American based company.

The aggrieved individual hasn’t posted on the business forum since they were caught out other than to offer a lame apology and yet they continue to copy and paste with glee whilst all the time committing professional suicide.  It saddens me that there are people out there who are willing to set up a business and steal all their content from others and at the same time mislead their clients into thinking that the work they are paying for is original when more than likely it has been stolen from someone else.  I know this individual has been blogging about anti-social bullying yet seems to have forgotten that people are warning each other about this individual’s blatant thievery because more and more is being uncovered.  Their view now is that fora are littered with anti-social bullies who ruin innocent businesses yet the opposite is true.   An innocent business doesn’t blatantly steal unless of course you are a bridal business based in China selling fake Maggie Sotterro wedding dresses for £50 when the real thing would set you back around £1000 thus selling sub-standard and shoddy goods.

I have proof that internet fora can be great places and the people that use them can achieve great things.  Earlier this year  one of the business women and member of the 4networking.biz forum was diagnosed with terminal cancer when we found out and discovered that she had never had a holiday with her boyfriend, amongst our groups we decided to do something about it and raised money for her to have her holiday.  To me, she was a face on the forum and someone whom I had never met but after reading her blog and following her on Twitter, I thought she was very brave indeed and not only that, someone whom I could have been good friends with.  I know that her blog touched other people too as I found out when I went to a party in East Sussex and one lady had travelled from Blackpool and she was telling me about Pash and how she was sad to hear that she had passed away at a young age yet her spirit had helped this woman no end as she was also fighting breast cancer.  More recently the same forum helped another member after her home had a fire and was then flooded – no sign of any bullying just genuine offers of help.

Last night on BBC1 the programme DIY SOS was shown – this is a programme where people ask for help updating their houses after they have done something bad like ripping out a boiler and not re-decorating afterwards and leaving it for years’ on end but the house featured in this programme was different entirely.  I think it must have been two years’ ago now that this chap appeared on http://www.moneysavingexpert.com with a desperate plea for help – he was at rock bottom due to a rogue builder who had turned his tiny 18th Century cottage into an uninhabitable hovel because he had fled with the money he had been given to restore the cottage.  It was through the power of people on this forum – all of us strangers who helped this chap with emotional support, advice and eventually physical labour.  DIY SOS was a culmination of the work of strangers on an internet forum  because we got the BBC to re-build the cottage so that it was a wonderful home again for Mike and his boys.  Now Mike has a lovely home, he can start rebuilding his life and this is no small part to a group of anonymous strangers on an internet forum.

I think that we can all learn from these stories – how to help someone in need and how not to commit professional suicide by building a business on good old copying and pasting which has its place when you are editing a word document but not for stealing what others have written.  If you have no confidence in yourself to perform the services that you are selling then perhaps you should stick to being an employee instead of setting up your own business.  This may sound harsh but I think it is a fair comment to make because if you are not honest with yourself how can you be honest with your clients?

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Although the forthcoming wedding is cause for some excitement there have also been some backlashes with regard to cost because the UK taxpayers are already taking a hit with increased VAT next year and all the public service cutbacks that we are forced to endure due to the poor money management of the last government which brought the UK to its knees with their spend spend spend attitude which has plunged us into debt.  I hope that the wedding won’t be too ostentatious like previous weddings have been because I think that would be a little too much to bear.

Bridal designers are already speculating on the dress which they expect to be high necked with a hand beaded boddice and maybe a bit more figure hugging unlike the huge meringue that Princess Diana wore back in 1981.  The wedding is due to take place either next Spring or even in the Summer – in some ways I hope we are granted a day off so that we can be glued to the tv to watch.  Jewellers are also saying that brides are now wanting the same ring as Kate and I can remember the same furore when Diana was first presented with the ring by Prince Charles.

The announcement got me wondering whether or not they will take out wedding insurance or whether or not Prince William had to ask his commanding officer if he could take time off to get married.  Will they live on an estate in Anglesey where William will be based for the next three years or will they live on an estate with other military families?    Will they use the services of a wedding planner or will they utilise the staff at Buckingham Palace?  I am sad to report that no call has been received asking me to organise the wedding for them – I feel sure I could save them some money

The purpose of the breakfast meeting was to bring social enterprise businesses to the forefront so other businesses can use their services.  I admit that I have been a bit ignorant of social enterprises but not any more because I came across a few that I hope to work with in the future.  I am after textiles – maybe some nice bags made from recycled fabrics or some smart cushions and soft furnishings (I know that brides certainly think of soft furnishings when they start home building), fancy cupcakes as well as printers and even a meeting venue search co-operative.  These social enterprises plough all their profits back into the community to help those who are disadvantaged.

I know that business people are always on the look out for venues especially small ones for smaller meetings and if they are in Birmingham then they should look no further than using www.thinkvenue.org - all the venues advertised on the website are provided by charities, voluntary organisations, academic institutions and other not for profit groups.  The meeting room delegate rates are favourable too and are certainly more favourable than using some of the bigger hotels.

At the meeting, we were advised that if we wanted to tender for a council contract then those of us who utilise the services of social enterprises will be looked upon more favourably than if we didn’t.  I am now looking at ways in which I can incorporate suppliers from social enterprises into my business.

Instead of thinking that social enterprises are a waste of time, I think it is time that businesses took off their blinkers and considered using them and giving something back.  It is far better to support someone like the Jericho Foundation who provides work for former sex workers, drug addicts, by giving them opportunities to work via training etc.  Even big corporate giants such as Wates Construction will use social enterprises when building homes.

If big corporations can have more corporate responsibility then so can we all.

I went to see him at his shop in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham and promptly walked into the door forgetting that in the Quarter shops keep their doors locked and you have to be buzzed in (please don’t tell him I did that because I sound like a klutz..it can be our secret).  The shop is light and airy and the staff are really friendly but they are not pushy..as you go in on the left hand wall by the door is a small gallery of framed pictures of all the brides and grooms who have had their wedding rings made by Steven…I thought it was a nice touch.  The rest of the shop contains display cases of the most exquisite jewellery to suit all pockets.

I was invited upstairs to see Steven – he is such a lovely person and even took me into the back room where a polishing machine and cleaning machine were set up, I was asked to handover my star ruby and diamond ring and to be honest I was a bit loathe too at first because I was worried that the diamonds may fall out but I was reassured that if the diamonds did fall out then they were in a basket inside the machine and not falling out in the street.  You may think it strange that I felt a bit wary but that is the way I am when it comes to my own jewellery.  All I can say is wow..my ring gleams now and the tiny diamonds have their sparkle back.  After having my ring cleaned we returned to his office to have our meeting.  Steven was a little taken aback because I had done my homework and found out about him..I like to do that with all my suppliers because I like to work with the best.  He and I got on like a house on fire.

Steven explained that he works with the customers and will make wax models of rings because an engagement ring may not sit well with a wedding ring and it is better to make wax models to see how they fit rather than making the items first out of platinium or whatever metal is being used.  Good manufacturing jewellers will make wax models.  Steven showed me his shop window too – so I ventured out into the cold to have a look and the display..he has gone for the less is more approach so that you can clearly see the engagement and wedding rings – these can either be bought off the peg or you can have something made to your own specification.  The window display was unlike many in the Jewellery Quarter which are too cluttered and there can be so many rings in the window that one seems to blend into the other and the one that you like can be hard to spot.  When you buy your precious item from him then as part of the service you can get the item cleaned when it needs cleaning.

At the end of our meeting, I stayed in the shop for a little while having a browse whilst chatting to his staff.  One thing that Steven didn’t tell me was that he was a member of The National Association of Goldsmiths and that their grant of arms was displayed on the door.  I saw some lovely dress rings (costume jewellery) and fell in love with what I thought was a sapphire necklace..I was amazed to learn that it was made from Cubic Zirconia – I still liked it and may just wait until my birthday at the end of the month to go back and treat myself.

You can view Steven’s fantastic jewellery at www.stonejewellers.co.uk - he cares about his customers and is passionate about jewellery.

4networking used to meet at Studley Castle until we started being shoved in a conference room with no opportunity to break out to have our 3 x 1:1 appointments and the indignity of having to carry hot breakfast plates several hundred yards from the restaurant back to the designated room, we felt unwanted to we found an alternative venue.  Fortunately, my Area Leader had left Studley Castle’s email address on his listing and he received a call asking why we no longer used their hotel for our breakfast meetings – this lead to a meeting with the newly appointed General Manager.  As I am the Group Leader of Redditch 4Networking, I tagged along to the meeting because I wanted to meet the new Manager to hear what he had to say – firstly he apologised for the way in which we had been treated before – he didnt have to take ownership of that problem because our poor treatment occurred under the previous Manager.  The new Manager talked about the way he worked and how he wanted his staff to work and we could see that he was passionate about his hotel and the staff who work for him.  The hotel needs huge sums of money spending on it but the atmosphere has been greatly improved by the addition of a few pictures and a lick of paint here and there – one room has been rescued from its former life as a general dumping ground for junk and has been transformed into a lovely private dining room with separate private lounge.  We were advised that many staff had left with the old Manager and that new staff had been employed and the whole atmosphere in the hotel had been lifted.  I noticed it when I first walked in – everyone was friendly and wanted to be there – the previous atmosphere was rather oppressive, the change was really noticeable and I commented on it because I mentioned to the Sales Manager, whom I knew from before, that she had got her zing back.

We were told that we could have the new private dining room and adjacent lounge area for our meetings and that we were free to break out into the garden or the main hotel lounge for our 1:1 meetings.  I must admit that we both felt confident about returning but we didn’t tell the hotel straightaway – we talked about it on the way back to our cars and then I went back into the hotel to confirm that we would be returning.  I rang the General Manager that afternoon because I thought it was only polite to let him know myself – he told me that in the 10 weeks that he had been there he had discovered a 9hole pitch and putt golf course out back..this course had lain dormant for 6 years but it had now been reinstated and will be a good selling tool for the hotel…I know that 4N members like to play golf so a 9 hole would suit them.

The morale of the tale about Studley Castle is that people should be given the opportunity to put things right and to take ownership of past mistakes even if they didn’t happen when they were there.  You may be surprised because that customer that you thought was lost may well come back to you.

Another example of good customer service is my recent experience with Fenn Wright & Manson within Selfridges, Birmingham – I purchased a skirt in August/Septembeer and had ditched the receipt long ago – I bought this gorgeous black skirt  with crystal flowers and other crystals from the knee down – the skirt cost me £169!  I first wore the skirt on the Tuesday (the same day as the meeting at Studley Castle), the skirt fitted perfectly, however it had a design fault that when you sat down the crystals popped off..needless to say I was quite miffed.  I took the skirt back to Selfridges the next day and explained that I no longer had the receipt – I was expecting to be sent away with a flea in my ear but the member of staff remembered me buying the skirt in the first place and I was offered a replacement, I decided against having another skirt the same in case the problem recurred so I spent time trying on dresses to go with the black jacket that I had bought at the same time as the faulty skirt.  I found 3 dresses and had to make a contribution of my own towards them because they were over the £169 value.  One dress is a jersey dress with pockets and 3/4 length sleeves – this is more of a casual dress and I have worn it a fair bit this week, the second is another jersey dress but this has no sleeves and has a crystal decoration on the V-neck – this dress was divine and I knew it was the one when I put it on, the other dress was half price in the sale – this is black and white with a pattern on it and has no sleeves.  I am a regular customer in Fenn Wright & Manson and was told that I was allowed to exchange my skirt because I was a regular customer of their’s.

Again, this is an example of great customer service – I felt as though I was an important person and treated with respect – as a result of the service I received, I have spoken to all my friends about my great experience, however, had I had a bad experience I would have spoken to my friends and would have suggested that they didn’t buy clothes from them.

I would advise that you should always do what you can to appease the customer and if you can’t appease them then at least leave things on amicable terms as they will remember that and will be more likely to use your services again, if your staff are rude to the customer then it is likely that that customer will have gone for ever and will ensure that you lose more customers by telling their friends/colleagues about their bad experience with you.  When dealing with people over the phone – ensure that your staff all smile before they answer the phone because although it sounds wierd the smile will travel down the phone line and the person on the other end will hear the smile in the voice – if you answer the phone in a grumpy manner then that has the opposite effect and the customer at the end of the phone knows they are in for a difficult time as it will immedately put their back up.