Monday, December 5, 2011
Portal East reaches out to Visayas market
Monday, November 14, 2011
The Watch to Watch Out!
Suplado Tips, Stanley Chi’s most recent book, has sold thousands of copies in less than three months. As the book continued to exceed expectations, corporate giant UniSilver Time knew better than to shrug it off as a mere fad. UniSilver Time came out with a watch that just might become as iconic as the book that inspired it: the Suplado Watch by Stanley Chi. The Suplado Watch is a digital timepiece available in black and white, with the tagline “Suplado is the new sexy” stamped on the strap.
To match the brazen humor of the timepiece, the ad poster shows local celebrity Iya Villania chasing after Stanley Chi, apparently made irresistible by his Suplado Watch.
The many retorts in Chi’s book, Suplado Tips, show off an unapologetic candor that is relatable yet funny, making suplado the new “it” thing. Being suplado (roughly translated as “standoffish”) has become an unorthodox trend in Philippine pop culture. It dares to stand on the edge of convention, a way to vent frustrations by walking away from what would have been a compromising situation, with one’s head still held high.
Because of the success of Suplado Tips, the country’s pop culture watch birds soon took notice. Spot.ph, a top online news provider in the Philippines, lauded Chi as an unconventional hottie. To quote, “Stanley's hot factor recently jumped from being simply nerdy college-boy crush to sexy hard-to-get hottie when he started dishing out Suplado Tips that apparently drive Pinays wild.” FHM, one of the country’s leading men’s magazines, also featured and depicted a few of the suplado tips from Chi’s book. Undeniably newsworthy, Chi’s iconic book was then featured in Yahoo! Philippines.
Chi’s suplado campaign is arguably the most sellable concept to grace the Philippine market this year. People who want a copy of Chi’s book often find themselves empty-handed; despite being available at all National Bookstore outlets nationwide, Suplado Tips is usually sold out. And if everybody starts wearing the Suplado watch, it will come as no surprise.
As Chi says with pride, “Daig ng suplado ang gwapo(Suplado beats being handsome).” Owning a Suplado Watch is then a way for a suplado to show off without saying a word. Who knows? It may even have special powers to ward off bullies and other evil spirits. The Suplado Watch by Stanley Chi is now available at unisilvertime.com and all UniSilver Time stores nationwide.
For more suplado stuff, visit http://www.stanleychi.net.
* This article was written by fellow bloger Stef dela Cruz
Stellar opens new facility
Mr. Edmund Macaso, CEO of Stellar Philippines, Inc |
Sunday, October 9, 2011
7 Habits of Highly Effective Call Center People
The call center industry is largely a tough place to survive in. Most find it hard to adjust with schedules, regulations and general demands of working in an organization where efficiency is vital and team work is essential to reach target goals.
In one interview I attended a few years ago, I was struck by a statement by the interviewing director which really summed up what a call center is. He said the industry is simply a "business of effective communications". It really made sense. We are in the business of talking, encouragement and team work. These are the 3 factors where my 7 Habits of Highly Effective Call Center People revolve around.
These 7 points I'm about to deliver below are not only applicable to a certain group of individuals within a call center organization but it encompasses everyone in order to be a cohesive unit that delivers results.
I. Comes to work everyday - As simple as it is, it is also the hardest thing to adhere to. Working in a call center, all people experience some form of stress and in varying degrees. It may sound funny to some people, but adhering to schedules yields a lot more positives than some people realize. Coming to work and being there for your co-workers and managers lightens the load of everybody concerned. It also gives everybody a chance to interact with one another, help and motivate each other. In the long run, this habit can boost camaraderie and teamwork while realizing that anybody can count on everybody to be there for support.
II. Enhances morale - Working as a team in a call center setting is like attending a support group. Ideally, Managers help everybody down to the agents, supervisors help managers and agents in one way or another, agents help managers, supervisors and each other in a complete circle where accessibility should be a direct line. Simple realization of this ideal situation should already be a morale-boost by itself. Actively enhancing confidence is an attribute not inherent to everybody. They say leadership by example is the way so this means in order to foster a supportive environment, leaders must show the way. Care for your employees translates to better service for your customers in return.
III. Resolves issues completely - Handling a leadership role in a call center setting occasionally involves pacifying noise. Noise is any internal or external factor that acts as a disruptive element affecting agent-customer interactions. As important as you regard each and every customer interaction to be concluded in a satisfactory manner, leaders also need to make sure they eliminate noise or at least keep it to a minimum level as much as possible while committing to resolve any pending issues in a timely manner. Satisfied employees translate to satisfied customers. It’s as simple as that.
IV. Always updated - The call center operations floor is an environment of ceaseless change. Most changes in policy and procedures come from the leaders and cascade to rank and file. Ensuring each and every soul is on the same page and checked for understanding eliminates the possibility of confusion that can possibly escalate to a bigger problem. To be an effective person on the ops floor means each and everybody will have to play an active role in making sure everyone is kept abreast with changes.
V. Sets goals and aspires - a major responsibility of a call center leader is to guide employees towards a clear and defined path towards a more meaningful and personally fulfilling endeavor. People that manage people need to aspire for a better future for their team members. In the same light, employees also set goals for themselves and aspire to be better in their chosen careers. Constant coaching, well-documented progress reports and personal awareness helps ensure everybody is in the right direction. Being aware that you have a goal and somebody is helping you reach it is one way to get the best obtainable performance from everybody.
VI. Participates, Cooperates and Suggests - all three are bunched in one concept because they fall under one key factor which is effective communications. Suggestions, participation and cooperation to resolve an issue are 3 things that are not only seen within team interactions but should also be seen within an agent-customer interaction. Encouraging creativity to solve problems within a working environment also fosters your front liners to be resourceful in their approach to solve customer issues. Many companies have gained more customers and retain existing ones because people who solve their customers' concerns have been innovative in their approach.
VII. Recognizes - getting recognition should always be part of any working environment. Sadly, this is not the reality we see in every office. You may find a group of people feeling left out and unappreciated. Though most would agree that credit should always be directed where it is due, failing to at least acknowledge a few, no matter how small their contribution is, breeds an attitude of indifference towards your goals and worse to customers. People are motivated in different ways. However, failing to recognize contributions can unravel a team working towards a goal. Small and/or occasional pats on the back wouldn't hurt. Celebrating small successes is a call center best practice that plays a major role in getting the best performance from everybody.
You may have noticed that the points I mentioned above all seem like they have one thing in common. In fact, you are correct. They all seem to have one common thing or share a common goal. This is precisely an analogy I want to include in this article. Like these 7 habits of highly effective call center people, everyone within a call center organization shares a common goal, should have the same things in mind and improves each other for better understanding. In a call center office, people interact with customers only as good as they interact with each other.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
19 Hilarious Tips for Call Center Survival
2. Huwag magbabad sa internet.
3. Huwag makipagrelasyon tapos kapag split na, magre-resign na.
4. Konting contentment lang. Hindi yung kapag nabalitaan na may magandang bigay sa iba lipat agad.
5. Kumain ng maayos. Hindi puro yosi at kape lang. Wag din puro donut at hotdog.
6. Vitamins at tubig.
7. Maayos na jacket at yung paminsan-minsan nakakatikim ng laba.
8. Toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash.
9. Spill-proof mug
10. Mabilis na daliri para pindutin ang mute. Hindi po release.
11. Maayos na pakikitungo sa immediate supervisor. Siyempre pati sa mga ka-team.
12. Kung bawal ang cellphone sa floor sumunod na lang sa patakaran. Maghintay na lang ng break. Or gamitin ang restroom break (kung meron).
13. Gamitin LAHAT ng breaks. Wag magpaka-martir.
14. Wag magpa- NCNS. (no Call no Show/AWOL)
15. Kung absent at nag call-in ka at sinabi mo na may sakit ka tapos hindi pala. Huwag mag-post sa social networking sites. Sabihan din ang ibang taong kasama mo na wag ka i-tag.
16. Mag-ingat sa mandurukot. Pati na rin sa stalker.
17. Huwag sigawan ang caller. Professionalism ehem.
18. Huwag kalimutan ang ID at access card. Hassle kapag naiwanan sa bahay. Sayang kapag nawala.
19. Makipag-kaibigan sa ‘real people’.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
BEST DIVORCE LETTER EVER
Dear Wife, I’m writing you this letter to tell you that I’m leaving you forever. I’ve been a good man to you for 7 years & I have nothing to show for it. These last 2 weeks have been hell. ... Your boss called to tell me that you quit your job today & that was the last straw. Last week, you came home & didn’t even notice I had a new haircut, had cooked your favorite meal & even wore a brand new pair of silk boxers. You ate in 2 minutes, & went straight to sleep after watching all of your soaps. You don’t tell me you love me anymore; you don’t want sex or anything that connects us as husband & wife. Either you’re cheating on me or you don’t love me anymore; whatever the case, I’m gone.
Your EX- Husband
... P.S. don’t try to find me. Your SISTER & I are moving away to West Virginia together! Have a great life! ——
Dear Ex-Husband Nothing has made my day more than receiving your letter. It’s true you & I have been married for 7 years, although a good man is a far cry from what you’ve been. I watch my soaps so much because they drown out your constant whining & griping Too bad that doesn’t work. I DID notice when you got a hair cut last week, but the 1st thing that came to mind was ‘You look just like a girl!’ Since my mother raised me not to say anything if you can’t say something nice, I didn’t comment. And when you cooked my favorite meal, you must have gotten me confused with MY SISTER, because I stopped eating pork 7 years ago. About those new silk boxers: I turned away from you because the $49.99 price tag was still on them, & I prayed it was a coincidence that my sister had just borrowed $50 from me that morning. After all of this, I still loved you & felt we could work it out. So when I hit the lotto for 10 million dollars, I quit my job & bought us 2 tickets to Jamaica But when I got home you were gone.. Everything happens for a reason, I guess. I hope you have the fulfilling life you always wanted. My lawyer said that the letter you wrote ensures you won’t get a dime from me. So take care.
Signed,
Your Ex-Wife, Rich As Hell & Free!
P.S. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but my sister Carla was born Carl. I hope that’s not a problem..
Thursday, September 29, 2011
5 TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID CALL CENTER HOPPING
Testing the waters isn’t really a bad thing, but do recognize when resigning is becoming a habit. If you find yourself in your 4th callcenter job within a year, then analyze if you are just having extremely bad luck, or, it might be your attitude — chances are, it’s your attitude!
Many agents find the negative side of everything.
My uncle taught me that a career is like a seed in a plot. Once you plant the seed, you need time for it to grow. Once grown up, only then can you transfer it to another plot. If you transfer a small sprout, it will never grow big.
I personally know some callcenter hoppers, some are now 35 years old and they still have no stable careers. Make constant career shifting a habit and you will reap it when the time comes.
So here are some tips to help you fight the temptation of writing that resignation letter!
1) Research before getting hired
Rather than getting hired first then regretting it later, make sure you do proper research on your target company. Go to Pinoyexchange and find discussion threads about the callcenter that you are eyeing. Find people online and offline who can talk to you about your prospective workplace. Be wary of false information though, because some callcenter agents tend to exaggerate and give false feedback. Putting effort in gathering information is way better than getting hired — only to be discouraged once live.
Here’s the link to PinoyExchange and look for the Callcenter thread.
http://www.pinoyexchange.com/
2) Know what to expect
When the final interview comes and the interviewer asks you “if there are any questions”, then fire away and ask. Ask about the salary, the schedules, the environment, growth, metrics, how cold the aircon is etc.
If you applied in a decent callcenter, then the HR personnel should answer your questions about the actual work. It’s their job to answer your questions after you pass the interviews. (You can also say that you want to know what to expect because you want to find a lasting career.) If they refuse to give information, then do not sign that contract! That company is not being professional, and it seems as if they do not care about your wellbeing.
3) Stop looking for better work
You want a job where you can be happy? A job where you can make friends? An easier job where you can make petiks, or where the avail time is longer? Somewhere where you are allowed to browse or take endless breaks?
These jobs do exist, but if you chase after them all the time, then what does that say about your character? A Job is something that was never meant to be easy.
4) Aim for maturity and discipline
No working conditions are perfect, but if you find that the work is something you can live through – then go for it! You will learn discipline and maturity when you face challenges. It may be hard, but overcoming hardships builds you up as a person.
5) Know when to Quit
Quitting is not bad — just make sure you are quitting for the right reasons. There are a lot of bad callcenters out there. (This is why I did suggest that you research first before signing that final contract.) But if you’re really are stuck in a career where you cry every single day and regret coming to work, then write that resignation letter.
Do remember, that there is a thin line between nag-iinarte ka lang and the job is really bad. If qutting is becoming a habit, then chances are nag-iinarte ka nga.
You only quit when:
1) There is no possible growth or the compensation is really bad.
2) The bosses are evil to the extent that they will personally harass you.
3) The company does not follow the labor code.
4) The environment will damage your health and mental wellbeing.
Any other tips you can think of?
Saturday, September 24, 2011
7 Tips of Making Your Blog Entertaining
1. Headlines
This is a visual thing that basically just makes your blog easier to read. By using headlines effectively, things like H1 or H2 tags, you can break up your blog post and make it more readable. The easier blog post is to read, the more retweets and comments you will get.2. Images
This is the same as #1, I almost have images with ALL of my blog posts. Very few don’t have any. Another reason for this is that most of my images if the reader clicks on them will take them somewhere that I want them to go to. Also if anyone shares my actual blog post, say over facebook, it will have a nice image associated with it.3. Tone of Voice
Blogging is an innately personal thing, even if you are building it for your business. I mean it could be a blog on fitness gloves for all I care, it still needs a personal tone to it. Without the personal tone you lose one of the greatest powers of the blog, which is binding people to you closer and building relationships with these people. The relationship is what leads to people coming back to your blog over and over again.Which builds your audience and as well as your marketing power (From the retweets and facebook shares etc.)
4. Stop focusing just on keywords
A lot of people, including me, when they first start blogging are obsessed with keywords. They all want free traffic from the search engines after all. Which is great, but it is not going to happen just overnight especially when your blog is new. A lot of people blogging today try to make their keywords feel natural, creating a blog post that sounds really weird.Instead of focusing just on keywords, write what also comes to your mind. After all, my post on Why Orcs are Better than Elves definitely had no real keyword value. Though it had the entertainment factor there for sure!
5. Being Totally Transparent
This is something that has grown on me over the weeks of learning more about blogging and getting this blog more noticed. That is, your audience loves it when you’re being real with them. When you’re not just telling them a story, but a TRUE story. They also love it when you share with them not only your successes so they may applaud, but your failures so they may also relate with you.It is something I want to do a lot with my facebook marketing reality show that I mentioned in my New Years Resolutions post.
The more real you can be, the more entertainment value your blog will truly have.
6. Switching It Up
Most blogs, this one included, almost every post is just written in words. Very few blogs do audio posts or video posts despite the huge demand for them. This is something I plan on doing more, as I love doing audios personally – though not so much video – and it will diversify my blog up more. Allowing people who aren’t into reading 600-1,000 word long blog posts into still devouring my content.Keep it different having mixed posts between audios, to videos to text. Or combine all 3 in a single post to see what the effect is.
7. The Most Entertaining Value…
The biggest form of adding entertainment with your blog is if you think about every post before you actually begin to write it, and ask yourself how is this going to help the audience I am trying to reach out to? How is this going to help build that relationship with my readers that I need?If you make sure every blog post you give adds value to someone’s life, then typically you’re on the right track. There is so much garbage out there people are always reading, it is like this huge breath of fresh air when they get to read something that is actually good. Or something they can implement RIGHT away with.
So go for the goal… the goal of value.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
3 Simple Tips to Drive Instant Traffic to Your Website or Blog
1) Article Writing: This is one of the best methods of pulling large amount of traffic to your website. You have to make the article interesting to the readers. This will make the readers wanting to get more from you alone. There are many article directories you can submit your articles to. You can Google “article directories” and you will be surprised by the large numbers of article directories you can submit to. You have to writing new articles on regular bases and continue submitting them to article directories. Most people find it hard to write new articles. But that should not be an excuse for not writing. There many sources online where you can pick ideas from. You can pick an idea from online forums, magazines, newspapers and so on. After picking these ideas, you must be able to come out with your own articles. Many people always want to play smart by copy other person’s articles and using them as their own, that is a big mistake which can affect their ranking in search engines.
2) Pay per Click Advertisement: You can set up an Adword campaign for example with Google. You will set the amount of money you want to pay per click. It can ranges from $0.01 to as high as $70 per click. It depends on how competitive your niche is. After setting up the campaign, you can start seeing traffic within 24hours of setting it. But let me quickly inform you that it is also one of the easiest ways to quickly lose your money. The reasons may be as a result of some lapses like bad landing page, high cost of product(s) you are promoting, highly competitive niche and so on. For you to see any significant results from your campaign, you have to make amendment to the above lapses. Without doing this, you can lose all your money set for the campaign within some minutes. That is why it is advisable to always consult those people that know how to set the campaign and let them teach you.
3) Social Networking Sites: Most people have not tap into the use of social networking sites as a source of traffic. Social networking sites can generate hundreds of thousands of traffic to your sites if you know how to go about it. Let us take facebook for example; facebook has millions of users on its platform. You can take advantage of this by setting up a fan page or group for the website you are promoting. But you should not make it glaring that you are promoting you website. If you make it glaring, people will consider it as spamming which may lead to the blockage of your account. You can also buy an advert space on facebook. This will make your website gets to large audience as you can easily set the geographical location you want your advertisement to be viewed.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
7 Best Reasons To Go To Work Naked…
1. Ur boss is always yelling, “I wana see ur ass here by 8 am.”
2. Can take advantage of computer monitor radiation to work on ur tan.
3. “I love to chip in but I left my wallet in my pants.”
4. Gives ‘bad hair day’ a new meaning.
5. To stop those creepy guys in Marketing from looking down ur blouse.
6. People stop stealing ur pens after they’ve seen where you keep them.
7. No one steals ur chair.
Friday, September 2, 2011
11 Differences between those who dream and those who act:
1. Wanna-be’s obsess about ideas.
Entrepreneurs obsess about implementation.
2. Wanna-be’s focus on positive thinking.
Entrepreneurs plan for multiple contingencies.
3. Wanna-be’s want to get on TV and get famous.
Entrepreneurs build their list.
4. Wanna-be’s seek a perfect plan.
Entrepreneurs execute and adjust the plan later.
5. Wanna-be’s wait for their lucky break.
Entrepreneurs engineer four, five, six plans and execute them in tandem, wagering that at least one plan will get traction.
6. Wanna-be’s fear looking stupid in front of their friends.
Entrepreneurs willingly risk making fools of themselves.
7. Wanna-be’s shield their precious ideas from harsh reality, postponing the verdict of success or failure until ‘someday’.
Entrepreneurs expose their ideas to cold reality as soon as reasonably possible.
8. Wanna-be’s put off practicing basketball until they’ve got AirJordans.
Entrepreneurs practice barefoot behind the garage.
9. Wanna-be’s believe what they’re told, believe their own assumptions.
Entrepreneurs do original research and determine what paths have been already trod.
10. Wanna-be’s believe they can do anything.
Entrepreneurs do what they’re gifted for and delegate the rest.
11. Wanna-be’s think about the world in terms of COULD and SHOULD.
Entrepreneurs think in terms of IS and CAN BE.Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Rules to Follow
I Think these are some rules that we can follow
15 na Nakakatuwang Salita
1. BAKTOL - ang ikatlong lebel ng mabahanong amoy sa kilikili, ang baktol ay kapareho ng amoy ng nabubulok na bayabas, itoy dumudikit sa damit, at humahalo sa pawis, madalas na naaamoy tuwing registration ng kahit ano dahil sa sobrang siksikan ng mga tao.
"Pu#$%*#, sinong nangangamoy BAKTOL sa inyo???"
2. KUKURIKAPU - libag sa ilalim ng boobs, madalas na namumuo dahil sa labis na baby powder na nilalagay sa katawan, maaari ding mamuo kung hindi talaga naliligo o nanghihilod ang isang babae, ang KUKURIKAPU ay madalas mamuo sa babaeng maallaki ang joga.
"Honey, maligo ka na kaya para maalis yang KUKURIKAPU mo."
3. MULMUL - buhok sa gitna ng isang nunal, mahirap ipaliwanag kung bakit nagkakaroon ng MULMUL ang isang nunal, subalit hindi talaga ito maaalis, kahit na bunutin pa ito, maliban nlng kung ipapa laser.
"How nice naman ur MULMUL!!"
4. BURNIK - taeng sumabit sa buhok sa puwet, madalas nararanasan ng mga taong nagtitissue lamang pagkatapos tumae, ang BURNIK ay mahirap alisin, lalo na kapag natuyo na ito, ipinapayo sa mga may BURNIK na maligo na lamang upang itoy maalis, Itoy kadalasan ding makikita sa mga amerikanong nag titissue lamang.
"Labs, alam ko kung ano kinain mo kanina!!!"
5. AGIHAP - libag na dumikit sa panty o brief dahil sa pagmamahal sa suot panloob, nabubuo ang AGIHAP kung ang panty o brief ay nasuot na ng hindi bababa sa tatlong araw.
"Nay! hindi nyo nilabhan mabuti oh, may agihap pa rin tong panty ko!"
6. DUKIT - itoy ang amoy na nakukuha kung isinabit mo ang daliri mo sa iyong puwet…. Try to prove it dats DUKIT.
7. SPONGKLONG - itoy isang bagong wika na nangangahulugan sa isang estupidong tao.
8. WENEKLEK - ito ang buhok sa utong na kadalasang nakikita sa mag tambay sa kanto na lagging nakahubad. Meron din ang ibang mga babae nito.
"Inay! Si itay, sinaksak yung kapitbahay natin kasi hinila un WENEKLEK niya!!!!!!"
9. BARNAKOL - ito ay maitim na libag sa batok na naipon sa matagal na panahon.
"Tsup tsup..Hon, ang alat naman ng barnakol mo.."
10. ASOGUE - buhok sa kili kili.
"Ang haba na ng asogue mo! Gupitin mo nga!"
11. KALAMANTUTAY - mabahong pangalan.
12. BAKTUNG – pinaikling salitang BAKAT-UTONG.
"Uy, George si maam BAKTUNG nanaman!!!"
13. BAKTI - pinaikling BAKAT-PANTY.
14. JABARR - pawis ng katawan.
15. BULTOKACHI - tubig na tumatalsik sa puwet kapag nalalaglag ang isang malaking ebak.
"Pare, ang lamig ng bultokachi sa CR ng SM!"
Nawa'y lumawig ang inyong mga nakakatuwang salita
Friday, June 3, 2011
Outrageously Simple!
Believe...and soon enough...you will achieve!
The amazing fact is...prosperity is all around us, and we just have to open our eyes to see it. Our universe is an abundant universe and there is enough for everybody and success is simply embeded in our system...we just have to be aware of it.