Category: Business

The customer says the pizza tastes bad, but the customer ate half of it.
The shopper asks for a refund for a shirt that has clearly been worn and worn out.
The caller says the gadget he bought was broken on arrival. It has been six months!
In small business, when you’re running close to the margin, customers who want your product for free are not only annoying but also expensive.
How should you treat this situation?
Give them the benefit of the doubt, says CXService360. Small business has a huge investment of time and money in each customer. You generally want to keep the customer, if there is any chance the customer is telling the truth. Customers return to a company where they’re treated with respect. Not only do these customers come back but they also tell their friends, comment on social media, and discuss positive experiences with family and friends.
That means treating even the unlikely complaint with respect and professionalism. Agents can thank the customer for calling or showing up and then point out the shirt looks well-worn and make an offer that is somewhat less than a refund. To make this work, the agent or sales person has to be trained.
Some customer service situations occur because the customer is angry, not about their current complaint, but about something else. Customer service representatives can make polite chat about how often they shop or use the service and whether they have had other complaints. It could be a learning situation.
If the business does make an exchange or refund on an item in which the credibility of the customer is suspect, a record should be made. You don’t have to keep a dishonest customer. All you have to do is keep your temper because losing it usually goes badly.
While some companies are terrified of bad talk on social media, remember that while happy customers talk you up, and unhappy customers can talk you down, dishonest customers pass the word around. If you are too easy, there is a slice of humanity out there who will exploit it. Some larger retailers make 100 percent lifetime quality guarantees and they have accepted routinely dishonest customers as a cost of business. But talk to the customer service reps and they’ll tell you: the word gets around. If you aren’t a giant retailer, that’s a word you may not want out there.

To start a small business, most entrepreneurs tap into their funds first, even when they also plan to procure debt financing in the form of a small business loan, equity financing from angel investors, or a venture capitalist.
Otherwise, virtually every lender expects the person seeking a business loan or equity investment to make a personal financial contribution.
If you don’t have ready cash, look to your personal assets as potential sources of startup money. These sources include real estate, vehicles, retirement accounts, stocks and bonds, or any other asset that can be mortgaged, sold for cash, or used for collateral.
According to the small business website, home equity loans are among the most cost-effective methods for borrowing. Compared to other types of financing, their interest rates are meager, and financial institutions are prepared to lend up to 80 percent of the value of a home.
At the same time, credit cards are a familiar source of startup money for asset-poor entrepreneurs despite the soaring rates of interest.
The next most prevalent source of small business startup funds is family, friends, or a combination of both. This sort of small business financing often takes the form of a personal loan.
Statistics indicate that about half of the investors in businesses are family members, 30% are friends and neighbors, and the remaining 20% are colleagues or strangers.
Of course, one of the main advantages of family and/or friend financing is flexibility. Family and friends are much more likely to seek a lower rate of return on their investment and wait longer to get their money back. They are less likely to require collateral and scrutinize a business plan as would a financial institution.
Even so, borrowing money from family and friends is not without its potential pitfalls. Loans from one or more family members to another can produce jealousy or resentment. Family or friends who’ve invested in the business venture may feel they have a right to make or participate in the owner’s business decisions. Even worse, if the business fails and the owner is unable to repay the money owed, his or her relationship with the family members and/or friends may be forever impaired.

Since the introduction of cubicles to the workplace a half-century ago, the pros and cons of their existence have been well-debated.
But today cubicles are being compared, often favorably and sometimes fondly, to open work spaces.
Open work concepts save floor space and encourage camaraderie, they also convey a false sense of productivity, in which movement and sound translate to only intermittent concentrated quiet, according to the International Facility Management Association.
On the other hand, open work spaces are often most suitable for telecommuting employees who only visit offices occasionally.
But those who work in the open office tell IFMA surveys that privacy is at an all-time low and 74 percent of workers are concerned about it.
The question is whether gains in office communication, brainstorming and camaraderie justify the open space. According to Business News Daily, a cubicle environment can also foster a sense of community, motivation and accountability. Open offices and cubicles also are easier to manage.
Separate office space ranks highest in terms of concentration, privacy, and personalization. But ranks lower in community.

Owners of small businesses might not realize that Uncle Sam could become a valuable customer through government contracting.

But, to bid for government contracts, you have to be certified, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Each year, there is around $100 billion earmarked for spending through small businesses to help them compete amongst larger companies. To qualify as a small business according to the government, manufacturing companies can have up to 500 employees, and non-manufacturing companies should have annual receipts of less than $7 million.

Signing up to be placed into the pool of businesses that sell or want to sell to the government requires applying for a Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) number to verify that there is a real physical business.

There are additional opportunities with separate spending earmarks for companies that are women-owned, veteran-owned, disadvantaged, or working in particular urban or rural areas that are part of HUBZone.

Once you are on the government list, you’ll have to learn how to write applications targeted to certain projects or goals.

The SBA’s 8(a) program can set up a small business owner with a mentor-protege program to help navigate the contracting system and give them an edge over the competition.