Moon Petal

In this day and age, in this economy, customer service has become more important than ever before.  People today are very careful about what they spend their money on, and with which companies they choose to do business.  Add to that, the vast array of options now with shopping online, and businesses really have to step up to the customer service plate so to speak.  In days past, there may have been one retail shop to buy ambient music for example.  People need  music, and they would continue to purchase them from that one spot, even if the owner or the sales people were rude.  They just dealt with it.

Now however, it is no longer necessary to “just deal with it”.  The competition has raised the bar, and consumers will simply walk away from those establishments which do not provide excellent customer service.  Not only will they not return to do business, they will tell others as well.  And a business will fail in no time at all.  On the other hand, an establishment that provides quality customer service has the chance to not only satisfy that customer one time, but they will often times gain those customers for life.  And in today’s business world, that is one of the surest ways to success.

As stated before, people do not have to become loyal to one company…there are a plethora of online companies to choose from.  But one thing that many online companies do not offer, is the human factor.  Believe it or not, even in this computer driven and convenient world, consumers still have a basic need to connect with the humans behind the products or the services.  When a company chooses to focus on providing top rate customer service, via customer service software, they are taking their business to next level.   When a consumer is treated with kindness by a knowledgeable staff, they are getting more value for their dollar, and they will come back time and time again.

It’s one thing to be at the top of your game, where one perfect pitch turns into another. That’s called being on a roll, and it’s a pretty good feeling. Most of us work toward it, and those who have been there know that it’s the aim, but there’s no sure measure of how to get there, and once there, there’s no measure of success on how to stay at the top. In the final score, there really is no top, and it often just comes down to how you feel about what you do.

But being ready for anything is essential in this world, and executive training seminars can give the competitive advantage. The techniques are proven, and tried over generations and in many different places, so their applications have been tested in plenty of circumstances, and still stand strong. In fact, they are more applicable today than ever before. Having the right kinds of tools can be rewarding not only in obvious ways, like increased success and efficiency, but can also be rewarding in terms of the inner life that’s playing out.

Knowing that one is ready for any situation offers a kind of preparedness that speaks to a future that is approached with open arms. There may be barriers between a successful idea and its successful implementation, but positive thinking can make the barriers entirely surmountable. This has more to do with approaching competition and objection with confidence. It’s a way of turning adversity into an advantage.

Expectations play a big part in success as well as failure, and it works in business just as much as in art or even relationships. Sometimes it’s not a clear measure, but has more to do with our own definitions. If we are playing with a sense of fairness, along with a sense of joy, and there is a smile on our face , then success is already here. Success in the moment, when it’s approached like this, always attracts more success, and that’s a formula that deserves repetition.

Rome is one of the world’s city’s the continually entices tourists and gains attention from people from around the globe. And with all major historic city’s, particularly one that has held such a prominent role in the world’s continued evolution and development, not all of the attention that is bestowed on it is positive. Since mass media and broad information spreading first began, Rome has been surrounded by tremendous intrigue, awe and respect as well as controversy. Much of the controversial aspects that are part of the city’s history also contribute to the amount of interest people have in it.

Tourists love to consider stories like that which was involved with Da Vinci Code and other conspiracy oriented pop culture as well as more clandestine information outlets. However, the majority of Rome’s tourists , as well as those at other major world cities, understand that the story behind The Da Vinci Code is fiction and it simply falls into their interest and entertainment perspectives on certain aspects of the city. Most of the time it increases a personal interest in the locations and settings that occur in that book and other works of fiction.

The actual plot of The Da Vinci Code begins with a murder at the Louvre Museum in Paris . The consequential investigation leads to a conspiracy involving the Catholic Church and a secret relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. And of course nothing as controversial as the subject matter of this book, or most references to the Catholic Church can escape bringing up the city of Rome and Vatican City . Both Rome and the Catholic Church have existed for centuries and neither is unfamiliar with the plethora of intriguing stories associated with them and these somewhat controversial intriguing reasons for some people’s visits. However, regardless of your reason for being fascinated with Rome and Vatican City and even some of the art, you are welcome to tour the facilities as long as you maintain appropriate behavior and are respectful.

It has been a long few months or more of hard work and endless stress and now it is time to pack up the car and go for a long drive. There is something special about hitting the highway with your comfortable sedan like the Mercury Sable or maybe something with a little extra pep like the Pontiac Grand Am. No matter where one lives in this beautiful country there is always a great highway on some open plain or curving mountain to let yourself and your vehicle unwind from the up tight city life.
When you are packing up your sedan make sure you check to see that you have a mercury sable repair manual or the pontiac grand am repair manual along for the ride. One never knows what might happen on a long road trip in between stops. These two vehicles a surely in great shape and running well but sometimes there are other reasons to have a manual. There are often tips on how to change a tire or drive in certain driving conditions that may be new to you. If you’re used to driving in a city without much weather then heading to the closest mountain range for a ski trip may put you in some very different conditions such as ice on the road. If you have head out from the cool breeze of the western coast and are heading inland to the heat of the desert you may run into some issues of overheating and need some coolant fluids added to your engine.
There is always more peace of mind when there is a good manual in the glove box and maybe it goes that if you bring the manual then nothing is going to happen, if you don’t then a problems would more than likely arise.

Columbia, MD, is not where I wanted to be at this moment, but the weather conditions dictated otherwise. I was on my way to Washington D.C. when an unexpected winter storm hit, rather I should say, unexpected to me, since I don’t follow the news. I managed to find a local hotel , which was extremely accommodating since I had no reservations. I asked the front desk how long do they expect the snow storm to last, and they smiled and said that it could last for a day or two according to the weather report. But, they did inform me that Columbia maintains their roads with a constant vigilance of snow-plows and salt, so if my plans require that I be in D.C. at a certain time, I should have no issues with driving on I-95.

I appreciated their information concerning road conditions, so I told them to book me for tonight only. I also asked them if there was a good place to have dinner, preferably some place catering to my french palate. They first told me about their on-site restaurant ‘The Great American Grill’, but for French cuisine I should try the Cafe de Paris , which was only a mile down the road. I also asked if there was a gym anywhere nearby where I could workout before dinner. I was very happy to hear that they have their own facilities and an indoor swimming pool! I went to my room and put on my swimsuit and went down to the indoor swimming pool to do several laps before I worked on the machines.

After about an hour, I went back to my hotel room, took a shower and dressed for dinner. The staff was correct about the road conditions in town, the roads were very well maintained, so I did not have difficulty driving to the Cafe de Paris. When I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised with free valet parking. When I walked inside, the atmosphere was that of casual and of a neighborhood restaurant. Luckily, I didn’t over-dress. I was seated and was treated to a complimentary glass of wine from the owner who was trying out on his new found wine on his guests. It was very light and not overbearing, which Rieslings have a tendency to do. So I ordered a bottle (what I don’t finish here, I will finish back in my hotel room).

Cafe de Paris’s menu offered French cuisine that covered many regions of France and a few dishes from Alsace and the Mediterranean. As I relaxed with looking over the menu, drinking a nice Riesling, I found myself feeling very much at home here. The staff was attentive and friendly and most of the patrons were jovial. My server told me to not rush, because the owner prefers everyone to savor every moment. For starters, I ordered the Terrine Du Chef Maison, which is Pate’ served with a small salad and cornichons. For my main course I ordered the chef’s special – Assiette De Poisson, which is pan seared salmon, shrimp prawns, crab cake, scallops with red peppercorn cream sauce served with Spanish rice and mixed vegetables. Each bite was a deliberate taste adventure. My palate was stimulated to the point of salivating. I was in heaven. After my meal, I sat back finishing my 3rd glass of wine and made a toast to bad winter weather.

Coming to another place, an island, where there is very little opportunity to see things that will remind me of the place I left, is always the perfect antidote for fire that has left. It is never easy to move with grace, not when the heart is so heavy as it is, but in time, with many wounds, it is possible to muster something that resembles a kind of elegance. But each time, it seems like a diminishment of the grace that I once used to carry, not a diminishment of the weight, which continues to grow with each year, and with each new adventure.

Coming to a place where there are these kinds of luxury hotels, Honolulu seems to offer something both inside and outside of memory. This is the fire I carry with me, and I find my way around the place where fire and water easily mix. A short coffee in the morning, and I start to remember some of the things that brought me here, and some of the things that I want so desperately to forget. There is a spirit here, or a band of spirits, that seem to want to whisper to me about all of the things that I ever lost in this world.

There are other worlds beyond this one. A lesson from Honolulu is that beyond the views that make great postcards, there is more. There will always be more, too, because there has always been more. I would see myself falling into the mystery here, wanting to imagine a life lived as a kahu , even if it does mean to purchase a ticket to some of the more reprehensible stories of how stories get taken away when they are not given their proper names. In Hawaii, there are traditions of fire that speak to the fire in my soul, and turn it back to water.

Are you a bird person? Do you like to find areas of the world that have large bird species and the people who know were they are? Hong Kong has lots of birds and the hotel room is not were you will find them. Your going to have to leave that cozy bed and warm bath to venture out into the forests and waters to see an array of beautiful birds. You may want to check with the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society to see what is going on with the birds in the area. Currently, they are trying to stop a railway from being built through Long Valley in the New Territories of Hong Kong. There are more than 200 species of birds in that area because of the wet flood plains that are there. It is the last wet agriculture area so it holds a special kind of bird heritage. It would be a great loss to the Hong Kong birds if they destroy it.

This society keeps an eye on birds located all over the near by area. The offer tours from one day to week long. There are about 450 bird species in the Hong Kong area so that should keep you busy all you need is a good guide, binoculars and telescope, notebook and pen. A camera if you can catch them fast enough would be great too. There is a great guide book by Clive Viney and Karen Phillips called Birds of Hong Kong and South China. It can direct you into some of the areas as what to look for. Bird watchers can start looking right in Hong Kong Park and branch out to Kowloon Park, many areas in the New Territories and other islands. So don’t forget your mosquito repellent, snacks and water for the longer outings and enjoy.