Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Dear New, Out of Touch Head of Microsoft

I could look up your name but Microsoft has never bothered to get to know me, in fact I feel like the forgotten computer user so let me introduce myself.

1. I am the solo-entrepreneur

2. I need to be able to run programs without your annoying ‘This program is not responding’. When that happens you cost me time.

3. I would like you to realize that the forgotten computer user is a reasonably intelligent person. I don’t know as much as my computer geek people, I am not a twenty something gamer but I know more than the housewife in Podunk.

4. I long ago gave up on asking you for help with a problem because after making my way through your frustrating online forms the answer reflected one of the stereotypes mentioned above. That is when and if you do reply.

5. As a coach I use my computer mainly for business – I have a website, blog and a presence on web 2.0. The majority of my business is done by phone sessions and I want to expand to web conferencing. All this means that I will spend money to keep my computer, virtual presence and company running efficiently.

In closing I want you to know that I have over the years sorted my through the maze of useless/unnecessary programs that you have shoved at me. I now use a mixture of what works for me………the solo entrepreneur. In case you are still confused this also means that I don’t have ‘people’ and your Small Business promotions are usually worthless to me.

As I start to research my next computer purchase (to meet my growing needs) I am so glad to hear the Vista is proving to be the same time consuming frustration that Windows XP was. But then I don’t exist. Well, maybe you won’t either in 2008, I think I will look into Macs. Of course my research will be done through Google as MSN search results are as always inadequate.

Thank you for your time.

Jill Crossland, Business & Life Coach

I see that Chatelaine has managed to go through another editor. Sara Angel is citing “personal reasons” but that explanation is as weak as the magazine’s generally lackluster content .

Like many readers I let my subscription lapse a few years ago but I do pick up a copy every now and then in the hope that it is finally starting to have a sense of direction.

Until it does get a sense of where it is going Chatelaine will continue to turn over editors and staff. The powers that be need to recognize that today’s woman is not the housewife of the past, she is instead sophisticated and well rounded. Probably running a successful business from her home office, raising two kids and trying to meet the needs of her aging parents. She wants to be well informed, know what other women are up to (not just those in Ontario) and yes, she is also interested in make-up & clothes that will give her quality and not break the budget. She tries to put a quick but balanced meal on the table (and doesn’t have time to bake those cookies that you are always pushing) before rushing off to her book club or her daughters soccer game. And she needs an article complete with related resources on where she and some girlfriends can go for a weekend in February.

With Chatelaine’s budget & experience they should be able to pull together a magazine for today’s Canadian woman. In January, I am taking my online magazine and reshaping it into an autonomous business and website separate from my coaching company. It has grown not by blindly pushing content at my readers but through listening to them. While I will honestly admit that I am hampered by lack of time and money (I use income from being a Coach to support the publication) ……… what is Chatelaine’s excuse?

Now that Jill is blogging actively, we’re trying to get her blog picked up.

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Don’t get me wrong I think newsletters are a good thing, heck I put one out myself. Every so often though I clean house. See which ones I am actually reading and are still relevant to me either personally or professionally.

I am amused, well not really at how difficult some make it to cancel.

• I cancelled one was told to ‘click here to continue’ which took me back to the page where I could sign up for the newsletter that I just cancelled
• Some do the waiting game, where you click cancel and just sit there waiting and waiting, watching the turning hourglass. They probably hope that you just give up.
• There are the ones that don’t make it easy to find the cancel link. Oh, yes there it is a the very bottom of the page in teeny, tiny letters.
• Another favorite is the follow-up email asking you to confirm the confirmed cancellation

Well, you get the point. One newsletter owner even email me to ask why. I told them the truth as I assume that is what they wanted. Never heard back, maybe they didn’t like being told that they were ’stale and generic’.

Think I will check on the copy for my next newsletter, to make sure that it is fresh and specific!

There has been a bit of an upset recently because ‘The Bay’ is now under American ownership. While I too am sorry that this old Canadian institution is no longer truly Canadian I cannot say that I am surprised. Both the Bay and Sears are a shoppers nightmare. Their websites aren’t much better; antiquated in design and limited in selection.

I was in a Sears store on Sunday using up a gift card that I got for Christmas.
The store was messy and badly stocked. Finding sales staff impossible and when I did she was curt and unhelpful.

American department stores on the whole do it well. Bright decor, a wide range of goods and available sales staff. Their websites have embraced the 21st century in terms of selection and being user friendly.

It is just a shame that when those business were struggling the powers that be didn’t get out of their boardroom and really work to upgrade and develop proud Canadian companies. Maybe they should have started by visiting some of the stores. Here is a unique concept, observe how the store looks and runs and then try actually talking to your customers.