Complaints From Purchasing Departments – Do You Believe Them?

“The service I am receiving now is fine.”

What is “fine”?

The price is fine? Cheap I bet, but what does the service cost you? That’s when I hear – “what?”

Here are some questions that are tough to answer.

1. Does your company lose sales because of the poor service that your trucking company provides?
2. How much time is spent dealing with Transportation problems?
3. How many people are involved when the product does not deliver on time?
4. Is your product the cheapest in the market? if not, why do you look for the cheapest carrier?
5. Do you drive the cheapest car you can find? then, why is your shipping cost the cheapest you can find, and don’t cry when things go wrong.

When buying anything, we all want value, we all compare the difference between various makes and models, and we select the one that best suits our needs. In Trucking, the larger the carrier, typically the poorer the service. (no confirmation calls, no delivery apt’s no pick up/delivery requirements…)

I was having lunch with a customer of mine the other day and he asked me how Sales were, and I replied, “They are a struggle, as everyone tells me that their service provider was doing a great job”, then I find out it is a large company and I know that this company has little, or NO customer service at all. Are all these people lying to me? of course not, but they have come to expect mediocrity.

Mediocrity is NOT acceptable, and customers should not settle for it. The cost of knowing where your product is, will not only be beneficial to you, but also to your customers. If they receive their orders from you when you promise, that will lead to more business, and that is the ultimate goal.

Next time a Sales person calls you, think about the service that you are receiving, and don’t accept mediocrity, demand more.

Motorcycle 101 – Hi-Vis Vests

Motorcycle riding, while incredibly fun, is not without its hazards. In fact, part of the joy of riding is the thrill of danger. But just because the sense of possible danger is exhilarating, doesn’t mean you need to behave recklessly. There are many steps motorcyclists can take to improve their safety on the road. Smart cyclists will wear protective gear and learn to use their bike effectively, with proper turning, braking and evasive maneuvering. Unfortunately, even the most conscientious biker cannot control the biggest risk on the road… oblivious automobile drivers. Motorcycles are easy to miss because they are smaller than cars and fit easily in the “blind spot”. The agility of motorcycles often surprises unsuspecting drivers. And since motorcycles appear with less frequency on the road, they become a second thought. Many automobile drivers operate in a state of auto-pilot rather than heightened awareness, relying on habit to get them from point A to point B. All of these factors put motorcyclists at risk of being hit by an unaware driver. The best defense against these drivers, is making sure they see you.

The easiest way to increase your visibility on the road is by wearing hi-visibly safety vests. These vests are particularly important if you ride a dark colored bike, as darker hues tend to blend into asphalt. Most motorcyclists notice an immediate change when they start wearing a visibility vest. Drivers notice you more quickly and often give you more room on the road and at intersections. And since most cyclists spend hundreds of dollars on safety gear, such as helmets and jackets, this will be refreshingly inexpensive addition to your riding wardrobe.

The following is a list of things you need to look for when selecting the right hi-vis vest for you.

  • Quality construction. A quality vest is constructed of durable materials that can be machine washed. Fasteners such as zippers or snaps need to be easy to manipulate while wearing gloves.
  • Bright colors. Vests come in all sorts of bright colors and you can choose whichever suits you based on personal preference. Some believe that bright orange is best because motorists are conditioned to look for orange vests on roadside workers. Others think an unexpected color is better because it catches attention. Certain hues will stand out more when worn against your jacket’s color, so try on a few and select the best one for you.
  • Reflective strips. Your vest should feature reflective materials. It is recommended that you also purchase reflective arm bands, since the vest will not be able to reflect light on your sides.
  • Comfortable fit. The vest should be comfortably snug. If it is loose, it should have adjustable strips that allow you to cinch in. The vest should not restrict movement, so when you try it on, experiment with movements and various stretches.
  • Buy two. Always carry a spare vest for passengers. A reflective vest does little good if the back of it is blocked by your riding companion.

Some Basic Facts About Web Server

If you are one of them who do not really understand where or how their Website is sitting on a web server, therefore here in this article we are now going to see an overview of how it works. A web server is the combination of hardware, software and protocol. Therefore now here we are going to discuss about these three simple terms.

First we take the term of server hardware, it is alike to a normal PC hardware and the cost of web server hardware has come down well because of the competition in this market. You can define like this, a web server have a very fast processor with a large amount of RAM, huge amount of disk space and the as usual the connection to the Internet. Usually the server hardware placed inside the strong data center premises where many rack of servers are protected from any kind of a natural disaster with the climate controlled rooms. Most of the leading web hosting companies have their own data center infrastructure and generally they provides around the clock technical support with the best server monitoring system. Even they provides 99.95% server up time guarantee so customers can easily concentrate on their core business.

Second thing comes is a software, there are various types of operating system available in the market. The operating system play the vital role in your server, like if choose Linux open source product, your servers need to secured and an open source web applications. Even you will get the good range of the operating systems in Linux. Apart from this, Windows also come up with a good range of operating system, but it only requires a Microsoft genuine license. Web servers are also use the web based interface control panels, like c Panel/WHM and Plesk, normally c Panel/WHM comes with Linux and Plesk control panel comes with Windows platform.

The third one is protocol, to get your Website on the server you requires the file transfer protocol. This a client server application which helps you to upload Website web pages from your desk top. Apparently to share such kind of things you would requires to get it on your web server. It is also used to transfer files between your computer to other computer. This is a article which shows you the basic concept of the web server might helps you when you are going picking web hosting services for your Website.

What Should Rental Agreement Forms Have?

It is very difficult to draft the rental agreement forms, however you can obtain them from many websites for free or at very low costs. In case, none of these serve your purpose in the best way and you want to write one yourself, then this article may be of some help to you. The article offers a detailed information of what should these forms comprise of. Although, different states have different laws so make sure you seek assistance of an attorney after drafting your agreement, just to make sure that you have done it according to your state law.

These forms consist of the following points:

Names, signatures and contact details of the landlord and the tenant.

Property address that is to be rented out

Mention the rental amount that the tenant has to pay, on monthly basis as well as the down payment to be made. You can also mention here that who will receive the payment – – the landlord or any of his designated agents.

The lease term for the premises

The amount of security deposit and the date at which it has been received

The occupants who are allowed to use the property or live there

The tenant has to agree not to sublet the property to anyone else unless a written document is signed by the landlord

Tenant has to pay the utilities for example the gas and electricity bills

Where is the tenant allowed to park his car? This has to be stated clearly in the document.

Conditions of noise or disruptive activities

Landlord’s right of entry

Repairs by landlord

Late payments will be charged

Mention the termination of the lease – – the date and the duration.

At the end, there is a pledge that shows unanimous agreement to the entire contract.