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Writing and Publishing

Login Fatigue

Do you suffer from “login fatigue?” I know I do. Login fatigue is that overwhelmed feeling produced by having too many computer login names, passwords, and codes to keep track of. (A Google search for “login fatigue” resulted in 75,400,000 entries, more than a hundred times higher then when I last checked. I am sure […]

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Call Center

Embrace SaaS Flexibility

Tap Internet Provided Services to Maximize Outcomes By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. SaaS (Software as a Service) is a subscription service that provides software solutions from a centrally located host. It also goes by other names, with some vendors making distinctions between various offerings. For our purposes, however, we’ll look at the concept generically. SaaS […]

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Writing and Publishing

Contest Conundrum

I have paid to enter some contests. It’s okay when you win, but it’s a double hit when you don’t. Contest Fees I’ve paid from $1 to $20 to enter contests, and each time they gave a compelling reason why I needed to compensate them to consider my work. And each time I’ve felt duped […]

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Writing and Publishing

Avoid Big Word Syndrome

Selecting the right word is important for writers. In fact, aside from using the correct punctuation to frame those words, it is the only thing. This may seem shocking but at the most basic level, all we do as writers are figure out what word comes next. Then we insert punctuation for clarity. The words […]

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Healthcare Call Centers

Tips to Deal with Angry Callers

Prepare How to Best Handle Abusive Callers By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD People today, it seems, are more demanding and less tolerant than they once were. They want immediate answers and have little patience to wait. This unfortunate trend may be even more pronounced when speaking to someone over the telephone. This is the reality […]

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Writing and Publishing

What’s the Difference Between a Category and a Tag on Your WordPress Blog?

Part 5 in the continuing series on using WordPress for blogging: a platform-building, book-selling tool. WordPress categories and tags are confusing. They seem to do the same thing and offer similar results. WordPress Category A category is like a file cabinet drawer for your posts where you place related content. Categories are general groupings of […]

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Writing and Publishing

Benefits of Writing Short Stories

The main benefit of writing short stories before writing a novel is to identify and learn how to fix problems with our writing style and voice. And every writer has them. Here are some other benefits: For those who write nonfiction, the same rationale applies to writing articles, blog posts, editorials, and so forth. In […]

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Telephone Answering Service

Does Your TAS Do More Than Take Calls?

Answering Services Should Seek to Diversify Their Service Offerings By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I’ve often encouraged telephone answering services to expand their service offerings. One option is to become a multichannel provider. A wise approach that aligns with the core mission of facilitating client communications is to handle additional channels. This can include email […]

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Business

How to Deal with Difficult Customers

A Personal Note to Frontline Customer Service Staff By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Anyone who’s worked in a support role knows how difficult it can be. Yes, some customers—hopefully most—are easy to work with and appreciative of your responses. They may even thank you for your help. Celebrate each one of these wins and use […]

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Writing and Publishing

The Power of Podcasting: Four Reasons to Have an Author Podcast

It seems people are jumping on the podcasting bandwagon. They want to grow their audience and build their platform in order to sell their books (or whatever other product or service they have to offer). This makes sense. Look at the recent surge of interest in audiobooks, with people who “read” books by listening to […]