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Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

Milestones

Lessons in Customer Satisfaction: Milestones Canada

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A few of y’all know that in a previous life, I was a Customer Satisfaction Specialist for a world-renowned Fortune 100 Company.

What does this mean, exactly? Well, for the particular company that I worked for, our “customers” were actually employees; hence, we were measuring their satisfaction with the internal services we had in place, such as employee benefits, pension, payroll, accounts payable, etc.

Are you yawning yet? Sorry, stay with me.

So, I helped develop surveys and statistical benchmarks, and was responsible for deploying, collecting and interpreting data. Then, I helped develop training plans to increase satisfaction wherever our scores were low. Finally, I trained those employees and re-surveyed their “customers”, to ensure our training efforts made an impact on the overall satisfaction score.

And then I became a blogger. Natural career path, right?

Okay, so I took the roundabout way of completely reinventing myself. However, the reason that I tortured you with the details of my corporate past was to underscore one point:

I know what good customer service is. 

I know what it takes to delight your audience, whether it be customers at a fast food joint, clients of a law firm, parents of a school child, or even a passenger on public transit. Because when it comes down to it, the one thing that sets a business apart – in terms of service – is the ability to consistently, positively and creatively surprise its customers. Oooh – that calls for a bolded statement:

The Service-Oriented Business: consistently, positively and creatively surprises customers.

Of course, without a real-life example, this would just be another training session in a stuffy boardroom. Ta-da! I just happen to have a recent experience I can draw from. Now pay attention food and entertainment brands, because this is how it’s done.

A little backgrounder info. Months ago, I fell into conversation with Milestones on Twitter (@MilestonesCA), letting them know that my husband and I met for the very first time at a Milestones – in fact, it was a blind date!
milestones convoEr – 2006 is a typo – our first date was actually in 2005. Which my husband totally caught, and totally made me miserable over. He now has a free pass to forget a birthday or anniversary. Not that he ever will; but according to him, it’s the principle of the matter. You’ll see below I redeemed myself with the date… but the damage was done. Men. …

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Random Milestones on a Wednesday Morning

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Last night, I was tinkering around my website trying to adjust my security settings. (Side note, when was the last time you refreshed your passwords? I do so at the beginning of each quarter – it’s a good habit to get into!)

Anyhoo, I came across an admin setting which showed that I had published 2,499 posts. Hence, this post… the one you are reading at this very moment… is my 2,500th post. Woo hoo! And since my 5-year blogiversary is just around the corner, my elementary school math skills tell me that I publish just over 500 blog posts per year. Crazy, right? That’s a LOT of words on paper. Er, on screen.

So I began thinking that this post should have some significance; I should write something heartfelt and poignant in an effort to immortalize this milestone. But when it came down to it, the only thing I wanted to write about is how proud I am of this little guy.

My Ryder, who grabbed his lunchbag off the kitchen counter and fearlessly jumped in the car. My Ryder, who when we reached his school, waved goodbye without a backward glance and followed his teacher inside. And when school was over, my Ryder greeted me with a smile, running down everything he had accomplished that day. He was happy.

This is the same little boy who cried hysterically on the first day of school last year. This is the same little boy who has crippling social anxiety. This is the same little boy who is growing up.

And… this is the same little boy whose grandma had to let out the hemline on his pants by two inches. Two inches of growth since the same time last year. Two inches of growth, measured in maturity, emotional development, an evolving personality, and a morph into boyhood.

My 2,500th post is dedicated to Ryder, who inspired the creation of this blog in the first place. Because if he hand’t been such a great napper when he was six months old, I’d never have had the opportunity to begin putting thoughts on screen.

That’s all. Random milestones on a Wednesday morning. And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Milestones, Master Moves & My Mini-Me

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When I first met my baby, my sweet little Reid, I fell hard – and fast.

Perhaps it’s because he was so tiny – at 6 lbs, he was on the lighter side for a full-term (40 weeks) baby. Or maybe it’s because he was just such a good little boy: he latched on with practically no assistance from me (I was sleeping off the c-section drugs, and woke to find a little baby breastfeeding while the nurse held him to my bosom. Talk about a self-starter!). Could it be because he slept through the night with no fuss at 4 weeks? That might be it.

But to tell the truth, the REAL reason I fell completely, head over heels for my baby boy? It’s because that first day, when he opened his big, shiny eyes and stared at me with love and wonder, I said to my husband,

“He looks like E.T.”

And so I made a vow then and there to protect my little alien child, whose future would surely be filled with requests to phone home and make bicycles fly.

Of course, Reid outgrew his awkward little extra terrestrial phase, and turned out to be a very cute little dude. Seriously, he’s one of those kids that all strangers smile at – because they really can’t help it. He’s just got that face. And I’m proud to declare that he’s my Mini-Me! Yup, we call him Little Leno (pronounced Lee-no) around here, cause he’s the spitting image of his mama. Lena and Leno, we make a great combination.

Of course, he did get some traits from his daddy – namely, his coordination. Let’s just say that if I go through the day without tripping over my own feet, it’s a good one. I’m sure you’ve seen me post videos of my budding Baryshnikov here and here – trust me, he gets it from his father.

Speaking of his father, yeah, that’s him <<- busting a move on the dance floor at a party. My husband has been cultivating Reid’s love of dance ever since he first expressed the tiniest interest – shaking his little bon bon to the oh-so-catchy (shoot me now) tunes of Treehouse TV. It’s my husband who takes him to toddler dance class every Saturday morning at the ungodly hour of 8:00am, guiding him through the moves and perfecting his routine.

(Thankfully, Reid is too young to care that he is the only boy in the class; in a sea of tutus, I always make sure to dress him in Star Wars or monster machine-inspired tops.)

In fact, if there’s one milestone we’re looking forward to this year – beyond the normal goodies that a 3-year-old picks up, like language, potty independence and fine motor skills – it’s his continued sense of rhythm and freedom within dance.

So why is dance so good for children? Well, because dance classes are structured to help children continue to progress and build upon what they have previously learned, they are educational in nature and provide ample opportunity to develop a variety of both motor and mental skills. The learning environment of dance is key here.

Plus, in addition to the fact that dancing is an excellent form of exercise and all-around fitness, when it comes to the all-important fun factor, dance for kids is a very fun activity, plain and simple. (And having  fun is always a good thing!) Finally, did you know that dance and music has been shown to improve the ability to learn? It’s true – kids who participate in activities like dance are apt to do better in school. (Source)…

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Fisher-Price: Celebrating Milestones Contest!

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Who doesn’t love a good contest? Especially when it celebrates your baby’s oh-so-important achievements!

Simply register at FisherPricePlay.ca and you’ll have the chance to win a “Celebrating Milestones” prize pack of Fisher-Price toys valued at $200, plus a spa gift card valued at $200! There’s a prize every month until October, so link on over today!

Here are the contest rules:

*Contest open April 14 – October 31, 2011. Milestone story not required for entry. All consumers who register at FisherPricePlay.ca during the contest period will be eligible to win one (1) of six (6) prize packs from Fisher-Price (each valued at $400). Draws will take place monthly, starting in May 31, on the last day of the month, until October 31, 2011. Winners will be contacted directly by email, and may be asked to share a milestone story at that time. All non-winning registrants will carry forward and are eligible for subsequent monthly draws.

If you have a chance, be sure to share a milestone story – us moms love to ooh and aah over all those precious highlights! I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing a few milestones over the past month or so – little Reid turned 1 at the end of May (I think first birthdays are always a baby’s most celebrated milestone), he began to walk shortly after, and just recently he has started calling out “Mama!” when he wants to be picked up! It is such a joy to see the changes from day to day, especially since he was just a tiny little baby only a year ago.

As for Ryder, we just cleared a major milestone – after going over two weeks without a single accident, I can semi-confidently say he’s toilet trained! Of course, I know that there are relapses, random accidents, times of illness, etc. that can be a setback to toilet training, but for the time being we are insanely proud of our little man!

Be sure to visit FisherPricePlay.ca to find toys that help celebrate children’s milestones. As they play, laugh, and grow you’ll both enjoy countless milestone moments together, and Fisher-Price is there for each and every one of them.

I’m part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Cheerios Milestones!

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EDIT – Just a couple of days left in this contest! You can win a cute little Cheerios book – c’mon, tell us your favourite milestone!

*The following contest is open to Canadians only.*

“Milestones.”

Once you become a parent, the word is loaded with meaning. It can invoke joy, paranoia, and downright depression depending on how your child fares against the perception of when the milestone “should” be met. With Ryder, I spent too much time stressing over what he should be doing, quite contrary to his pediatrician’s advice:

“Don’t worry about it. Take a group of 5 years olds. Nobody cares when they took their first step or said their first word. On the contrary, it would be nice if they’d sit down and shut up. The point is, all kids catch up eventually, and at their own pace.”

I love that man.

Now that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Ryder’s milestones – and one memory that always makes me feel warm and fuzzy is that of Ryder discovering his first finger food: Cheerios. At around 7 months, I had been trying for weeks to get him to pick up and taste the delicious little O’s. He would push them around on his tray, lick one, put it in his mouth, and then gag. Sigh.

Of course, Ryder has always had a problem with new textures, so I just kept offering him the Cheerios, hoping that one day he would get the hang of it. And after a few days, he did! Since then, he has enjoyed Cheerios EVERY SINGLE DAY. It’s his favourite breakfast, snack, and before bed munchies. I love that there’s only 1 gram of sugar per serving; they provide at least 10% of the Daily Value of 14 essential vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid; and have no artificial colors or flavors.

Plus, they’re the perfect finger food! Cheerios are easily managed by little fingers and help develop motor skills because the O’s are easy to pick up, firm and resist crumbling. And they happen to be YUM!

Here’s Ryder at 7 months old enjoying his Cheerios!

If you have a Cheerios milestone to share, you could have your child featured on a special edition Cheerios Box and WIN $10,000 towards an RESP from TD Canada Trust! 

Simply provide a photo of your child’s Cheerios milestone, and write a short description of how Cheerios has played a special part in the early years of your child.

For full contest details, and to submit your entry, please visit the Cheerios Website. Contest closes December 15th.

Good news! I’m also hosting a mini-Cheerios giveaway!

One lucky Listen to Lena! reader will receive a Cheerios playbook, perfect for learning and fun! To enter, simply leave a comment sharing a story about one of your child’s milestones.

Blog followers – treat yourself to an extra entry! Remember, you must leave a separate comment announcing your follower status. I’ll draw for a winner at the end of October. Good luck everybody!

I am participating in the Cheerios Milestones program by Mom Central on behalf of General Mills. I received a gift card as a thank you. The opinions on this blog are my own.