From Fail Blog: Horrible, Sad Truths

Business, Jokes Computers, Relax, Work

Learn more about Occupy Wall Street

Business, Politics Justice, Occupy Wall Street

Tonight I received a phone call from an unfamiliar number. 1-647-478-8490. I reluctantly answer and there is a man on the other end of the line. Chris McCoy. “Congratulations!” he exclaims as he explains who he is.

Red flag.

Then he reveals information I filled out at the Scotiabank Buskerfest on a ballot for a chance to win a free vacation.

Hmm. If he was scamming me, why would he have my ballot from a Scotiabank event?

I indulged him.

He proceeded to tell me about the vacation. It all sounded lovely and completely itinerarized (I make up words… go with it).

The details include:

• Florida Bahamas Cruise Vacations
• Ramada (Ramada 1000 in Florida)
• Gold key accomodations
• Rental vehicle from Alamo – unlimited mileage
• All meals included
• 2-day cruise to the Bahamas
• Orlando / Fort Lauderdale
• Port  Lucaya
• $149 / person for government fees, excise fees, etc.

Whoooa… wait. I just won this contest and now I have to pay?

He reassured me it’s not a scam and that there are regulations that prevent them from covering such fees.

Red flag.

I told him I didn’t trust him and that if I was to even consider what he was offering I would first need ti check with Scotiabank and Ramada, companies I trusted.

He told I was I could make some calls to confirm (using phone numbers on his website… like that’s where I’d get my confirmation *insert sarcastic emoticon*) and that he would call me back in 5 minutes. His exact words were “I’m not pressuring you to make a decision, but I will need to know right away as this package needs to be awarded tonight.”

Aaaand red flag.

That’s when I told the guy I was not interested and hung up.

Once he was off the phone I looked a little deeper. Looks like this is indeed a scam and that it ensnares a good few honest people.

The booth itself was a scam from the start. They post logos from legitimate companies to earn your trust and then they collect your information.

Additional information from Report Your Complaint: Florida Bahama Cruise Vacations Scam – Cruise Vacation for only $299 per person? Is it real or a scam?

Business, Trips Chris McCoy, Florida Bahamas Cruise Vacation, Ramada, Scam

Hi all

As a regular reader of GregPike.ca (you ARE a regular, right? haha) you are already aware that I am attempting to grow my first mustache in an effort to raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer Canada for the month of Movember.

Every day I will be posting an update on my Mo’ as well as my Mustache Maverick of the Day.

For $100 you can sponsor me in my endeavor for the entire month.

You sponsorship will entitle you to:

• Banner advertising on GregPike.ca, something that has not existed until now.
• Advertising within each post about Movember (at least one per day).
• Occasional shout-outs on Facebook and Twitter.
• An official donation receipt for tax purposes.
• The goodwill of supporting a great cause.

The sooner you come on as a sponsor, the sooner (and longer!) you’ll receive your exposure.

Exposure on GregPike.ca at the moment is 250-500 visitors per day, most of whom are local (fluctuates based on what is posted).

100% of your money will go to Movember.com.

If you would like to donate please email me at greg@gregpike.ca.

Business, GregPike.ca Movember, Sponsorship

Google has been quick to learn that people either check their email frequently or leave it open all day. So why create a separate website for each application they build when they can make it accessible in people’s email.

And that’s what they did when they developed a phone calling application.

From the convenience of Gmail you an can click a link located in your Chat dialog that will open the dialer to the right.

The rates a cheap but calls within North America are free until the end of 2010.

I tested this out. It ain’t bad.

Unless I get a bill for $0.20. Haha.

Business, The Web Google, Phone

Social media and blogging have made good customer service imperative in ways that many business owners still don’t understand.

I have not done near enough articles on customers service, good or bad, since starting my blog, but of the businesses I’ve covered check out how well my blog ranks on Google.

Google Search: Kilmory Resort

Google Search: Marble Zip Tours

Google Search: Jungle Jims George St.

Google Search: Vogue Optical

This shows the importance of offering good service. I am just one person. Imagine all the comments on Facebook and tweets on Twitter. And blogs posts that are buried through all these Google results.

So listen up businesses! Do a good job on customer service and your customers will advocate on your behalf.

Poor service is inevitable and I am sure most of your customers understand that, but how you manage that service once it has been reported will be the difference between a customer’s good experience and a customer’s bad experience.

And customers love to chat about bad experience.

Business, Service Good Service, Jungle Jims, Kilmory Resort, Marble Zip Tours, Poor service, Vogue Optical

Be careful when trying to improve productivity in your office. Spying on employees does not lead to productivity, it leads to negativity and animosity.

Jenny wasn’t prepared to quit over it, but it pushed her to a point where all it took was one small comment.

And when she did quit, she quit with a bang. The kind of bang that makes here a GregPike.ca Hero.

Here’s Jenny’s photographic story:

From theCHIVE: Girl quits her job on dry erase board, emails entire office (33 Photos)

Editors Note: theCHIVE has come out and pointed out that this is a hoax.

Business, Heroes Jenny, Quitting

When will I ever post original content again? I don’t know. There’s so much other cool stuff I can’t keep up. This ad made my day.

It’s an ad for Adidas featuring the cantina scene from Star Wars with appearances from Snoop Dog, David Beckham, and Oasis.

Business, Comedy, Videos Adidas, David Beckham, Oasis, Snoop Dog, Star Wars

I thought this was a clever integration of two very powerful networks, SimplyHired and Facebook.

Business, The Web Facebook, Jobs, SimplyHired

Atlantic Business Magazine is currently running it’s Great Ad Experiment where ad agencies create three separate full page ads.

The first five all created three separate full page ads for three separate issues of the magazine whereas the last agency designed three consecutive full-page ads the lead into one another in the same issue.

There are three local agencies competing in this competition; The Idea Factory, NL Colour, and Spark Marketing.

From now until May 28th voting is open for you to select your favorite campaign.

From Atlantic Business Magazine: The Great Ad Experiment

Business Lawton's Drugs, NL Colour, Spark Marketing, The Idea Factory