Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping (also known as secret shopping, performance evaluations, front line evaluations, etc. ) is a way for companies to quickly and effectively evaluate business practices and the performance of employees. Mystery shopping companies hire folks to evaluate the quality of a wide variety of businesses -- restaurants, retail stores, gas stations, financial institutions, etc.

As a mystery shopper, you will, for example, dine at an assigned restaurant and file a detailed report noting such things as the quality of service, the ambiance, cleanliness, and food quality. The mystery shopping company will then reimburse you for the cost of your meal. Some assignments will pay you in addition to reimbursing you for the cost of your meal.

A reputable company will never charge you to sign-up as a mystery shopper. Check out http://www.nationalshoppingservice.com/ if you are interested in becoming a mystery shopper. You can dine-in at restaurants, have pizza delivered, shop at retail stores, and get other assignments. After writing a report and furnishing them with proof of purchase, they will reimburse you for your effort. Pretty cool, eh?

Friday, April 6, 2007

Freecycle.org

I've just discovered a wonderful website/organization! Check it out: www.freecycle.org. It's a global network of individual groups who are giving and getting things for free. It is a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping things out of landfills that could be useful to its members. Check it out and see if there is a local group in your town. What a brilliant, eco-friendly idea!

Crossword Puzzles Boost Mental Fitness

Research has shown that doing crossword puzzles, sudoku and other logic games helps keep the mind sharp. Indeed, the phrase, "use it or lose it" applies to the mind as well as the body. This is particularly good news for the elderly, as mental capacity declines with advancing age. Urge the senior citizens in your life to take up crossword puzzles and/or other logic games.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Conversation 101

The ability to converse well will benefit you both personally and professionally. The following principles will dramatically improve your ability to start, sustain and politely end a conversation.

Starting a conversation - You can begin a conversation by either paying the person a compliment or asking a question. For example, if you admire their shirt or blouse or hairstyle, tell them so! Alternatively, you could ask a question. Suppose, for example, that they are carrying a book. Ask them about the book. Are they enjoying it? Do they recommend it? There are no limits to the use of this technique. Get creative and use your imagination. Have fun with it!

Sustaining a conversation - You sustain a conversation by asking open-ended questions. An open-ended question is one that cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." Open-ended questions typically start with how, what, where, when, and why. For example, How did you get into that line of work? Why did you move to Boston? Questions like these draw out the person with whom you are conversing, and provide opportunities to ask additional open-ended questions. Using this technique, you can sustain a conversation indefinitely.

Ending a conversation - You can always end a conversation with a good exit strategy. Wait for a natural pause or lull and politely excuse yourself. For example, if you are at a party and you have been nursing a drink, you could say, "I think it's time to freshen up my drink, will you excuse me?" Or you could simply say, "It's been nice talking with you."

So there you have it. Three principles that will help you to become a brilliant conversationalist. Good luck!