Customer Training?

I went to Kinkos today. Oops, I mean “FedEx Kinkos.” I had to fax something, and I can never figure out my fax machine at home. So, off to FedEx I went.

I approached the counter and cleared my throat. The young (as in mid-20s) clerk magically appeared, so I presented my one page fax enthusiastically, thinking he’d be all excited to see it wasn’t a huge print job that involved collating.

Instead, I heard: “Oh no. What you need is right behind you.”

Hmm….Really? I whipped around looking to find that hot young stud with my winning lottery ticket. Instead, I stared down a fax machine on the other side of the store. It didn’t look happy to see me.

Could someone please tell me when and why every single thing is self service nowadays? Where oh where have all the friendly greeters gone? I just wanted to run in and out of there, get my fax faxed, and get on with my day.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not lazy, and sometimes I actually prefer self service.  But what I prefer even more is having a choice.

So, I huff and puff my way over to the angry machine, knowing that this was going to turn into an ordeal. And I also noticed that Joe Kinko was following sheepishly behind, as I'm sure he could tell I was less than thrilled.

First, he said I needed to insert my card. I thought he meant my FedEx Kinkos Business Account card which he encouraged me to sign up for during my last not-so-short visit to FEK. After digging through every nook and cranny of my wallet, I finally find it. Swipe it.  And naturally, it's no go.

Oh, he meant my credit card.  I guess customer service reps don't even have to ring you up anymore.

So I find that, swipe that, and then dial the fax number. This is the point when he chimes in that I’m one of the few customers who knows to dial a one.  Hmmmmm, I think to myself, I guess those customers must need some customer service.

We wait for a good three minutes while he goes on to explain that this fax machine is a weird one, it doesn’t make any noise whatsoever and that silence confuses all of his customers.  Hmmmmm, I think to myself again.  He then reads a message on the machine that my fax apparently didn’t go through.

Surprise. Surprise.

“It’s probably just busy, try again.”  I oblige and listen to him go on about how faxing to law firms usually doesn’t work on the weekends b/c they turn their machines off.  One, I’m not faxing to a lawyer. Two, can we listen to the mute fax machine please?

My patience is really starting to wane now that I'm going on about 12 minutes in the FEK store. Under my breath, I blurt, “For crying out loud, why does something so easy have to be so hard? I just wanted you to fax my fax.”

“It’s called customer training,” he says. 

Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 

“I don’t need customer training. You need customer service.” 

I’ve always hated fax machines. And I still do.

Especially ones that require "customer training" to function properly.

Three Week Update

It's been three weeks now since HireMeAspen officially launched, and I hit the town promoting it.  Boy, have I already learned a lot about website launches!

Gameplan: Phase 1 ~ Filling Up Database of Workers

To date, we have about 55 unique profiles equalling 700+ cross-referenced profiles in our database.  My goal is to get to 100 uniques by the end of the month.  Agressive? Yes.  But doable if I really hustle!  I've got to keep the momentum going, and hopefully with 1. our launch press release being distributed tomorrow, 2, friends of friends finding out about the site, and 3. your continued support...we'll get there with ease. 

For a FREE profile, register here using code: CH01100. This code will be valid for a few more weeks only, so take advantage of it now!

Gameplan: Phase 2 ~Targeting Partners

Once I reach the first goal of 100 unique profiles in my database (or roughly 1250 profiles appearing in over 165 job categories), I can begin to focus new efforts on Phase 2 which is targeting Silver and Gold partners. You can view details about our Partner Program here.  We've signed up about 20 silver partners thus far which is better than awesome!  Once The Hive (the worker bee / members-only area of the website) is launched at the end of July, members will be able to see the Silver partner offers listed in The Honeycomb section.  First week of August, I'll start sending out membership cards so our worker bees can take advantage of these partner offers and start saving money! 

I've formulated an exciting gameplan for the Gold partners: creating an irresistable and valuable promotional package consisting of not only a business profile for all website visitors to see (including hirers), but unique promotional opportunities with other businesses in the valley like Qittle's Local Deals.  Plus, Gold Partners will receive display advertising opportunities on the site, preferred partner mentions on the site (ie. Partner Spotlight), social media marketing, and much, much more.  Stay tuned.  I've got more exciting things on the horizon for the Gold Partners.

And I've already met so many wonderful, interesting and supportive locals!  I'm finding that Facebook is a great way to generate brand awareness, so I've been playing around with several versions of targeted ads -- It's fun to see the results!  Lots of people come up to me indicating that they've seen my logo around town....from our gorilla marketing efforts of blanketing parking lots with info cards to community board flyers to hats and signage.  This feedback is great considering no press, no advertising, yet. 

Spread the Word

Become a fan on Facebook.  Follow us on Twitter.  And, if you're reading this post via FB/Twitter, please retreet/resend it to your friends.  Help me spread the word so I can help the hard-working locals.  Tell your friends/business partners we're looking for sponsors.  HireMeAspen is just what the Roaring Fork Valley locals need!

I'm jazzed for success, and I define success as: "locals ... getting hired, making money, saving money, being connected and having fun doing work they love!"

Thanks for being a part of the HireMeAspen community.  Let's get this snowball rolling!

The HireMeAspen Beta Website Launched Today!

After a little more than a year of extremely hard work, I am thrilled to announce that today marks the day that my website comes to life.

It's amazing to think of all the events that transpired in order to get to this point, and I'm extremely proud that my team and I stayed the course and created a worthwhile website for the Aspen locals.

A Little History...

The idea came to life a little over a year ago...when the perfect storm occured. I had been dating a guy who needed to promote his independent contractor business, but how could he get the word out on a limited budget? With the economy tanking, commissions from my corporate job dried up so how could I earn extra money on the side? And Craigslist had just announced earnings of $100,000,000. I thought "wow" b/c that site sure is ugly, but functional.

As a former Director of Media Sales at a Fortune 500 company, I'd called on all the top media companies ranging from The New York Times to USA Today to CNN Money, licensing content which could be monetized. I learned a lot during this gig. Mostly, I learned that local content is king.

I was fortunate enough to experience a work from home situation in that position, so I moved from NYC back to Aspen where I always was happiest. At that time, I knew I wanted to bring my knowledge and expertise to the local community, but just needed to find the perfect opportunity. So after many late nights, creative brainstorms and lots of laughs, my company, Sharing Profiles, was born.

HireMeAspen is the first of many local websites planned, so stay tuned!

I intend to stay true to my vision of offering websites that connect and help resort-town locals.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me in this endeavor to date. I am eternally grateful.