Customer Call Centre Tips

Calling Customer Call Centres can be stressful - pressing various numbers to get connected, waiting on hold for someone, being passed from department to department and then action you thought had been agreed not happening. So here are some tips to help you through the process.

•  First make sure you have all necessary paperwork to hand - e.g. invoices, receipts, order forms, bills, statements, etc.
• Beat the automated phone menu system by using www.pleasepress1.com - just look up the company you want to contact and you'll get a sequence of numbers you need to press to get you to your chosen department.
• Get an app to queue for you as you wait 'for an advisor to be free'. Try using WeQ4U free app for iPhone and Android phones which will stay on hold for you. Dial with the app(skip through the menu with shortcuts as above, then when you are in a queue, press 9* - the app will phone you back and reconnect you the moment an advisor answers.
• Once the matter has been sorted out, ask them to read back their notes and also to make a note on the system of what has been siad and agreed, then get them to read back that note to you.
• If they are sending written confirmation (e.g. an engineer appointment) as for it as an email and get them to wait on the phone till it arrives. Always open the email and check the details before ending the phone call.
• The first advisor you speak to may not be able to deal with the issue, and when they transfer you to another advisor may not fill them in on the issue, or even be the right person to deal with it. If you have to be transferred to someone else, ask the first advisor to stay on the line when they connect your call and to explain your issue to their colleague to avoid the pass-the-parcel saga.

Mostly from a feature in Glamour, February 2015

Create Animated Videos and Presentations

Q. Apart from Powerpoint presentations and Prezi, are there other tools I could use instead?

A. Try a resource called Powtoon www.powtoon.com/. You can use it to create animated videos and presentations, and it's great for marketers, small businesses and educators/trainers. It's free (though there is a commercial version available) and quick and simple to learn how to use. It comes complete with clip art, animations, music, etc.

Phil Bradley in CILIP Update Dec/Jan 2014

More Fructose Facts

The current medical advice is:

• Max added sugar calories per day = 100 for women and 150 for men (American Heart Association).
• Max added sugar intake per day = 9 teaspoons for men, 6 for women and 3 for children (Australian sources)

Different fruits have different levels of fructose:

• Low: kiwis, grapefruits, honeydew melon, blueberries, raspberries.
• Medium: satsumas, plums, peaches, strawberries, oranges.
• High: grapes, cherries, apples, mangoes, bananas

Safe sugar substitutes:

• Glucose (dextrose) - weighs half as much as sugar but takes up more fluid.
• Rice malt syrup - should only contain rice and water, so avoid any with added sugar.
• Stevia granules or drops - the drops are more potent than regular sugar whereas most granules you can use as you would sugar. So 200g sugar = 200g granulated stevia or 1 teasp. liquid stevia; 1 tablesp. sugar or granulated stevia = 6 to 9 drops liquid stevia; 1 teasp. sugar or granulated stevia = 2 to 4 drops liquid stevia.

Many foods are better frozen - tofu stir fries better, nuts are crisper, many starchy vegetables such as sweetcorn and peas since the freezing process stops the starch breaking down into sugar.

Sarah Wilson recipes are mainly gluten free and grain free as she feels that starches from grains can feed the sugar addiction and are best minimised if you have issues with sugar.

Some more facts from I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson, Macmillan UK 2014. See the website https://iquitsugar.com/

I Quit Sugar

I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson
Published by Macmillan UK, 2014

The author began her research in an effort to address her own health issues, in the process finding much recent scientific research that fructose, a form of sugar, has many damaging effects on the human body. [See post on Fructose Facts] Having weaned herself off sugar, with benefits to her health, in this book she sets out the facts about fructose and how you can follow her example with an eight week programme. Sarah advises quitting all sugar for the first two weeks to allow your body to recalibrate, with fruit and 'safe sugar alternatives' being re-introduced later on. Do read the whole book, which comes with lots of tips and recipes, but here's a quick overview.

• Week 1: Experiment with paring back sugar. Become more aware of which products and foods contain sugar, and cut down where you can (half a teaspoon or none in coffee where you had a whole teaspoon before).
• Week 2: Replace sugar with fat (e.g. unprocessed fats and quality protein, like eggs, cheese, nuts and coconuts - your natural 'fat full' hormones will tell you when you have had enough - but you'll need to start listening to your body saying'I'm full'. Many fats are vital and needed for immune health, digestion and metabolism, act as antioxidants and get rid of heavy metals and toxins in our systesms. [The 1950s study that lead to 'fat is bad' was flawed; it reported results from only the 7 of 22 countries that suggested a link and ignored results from the other 15 that disproved it.]
• Week 3: Quit all sugar to allow your body to readjust. Eat products with less than 3g to 6g of sugar per 100g or 100ml. With dairy products the first 4.7g of sugar will be lactose, so subtract that from the amount stated. A standard drink is 350ml, so the per 100 g/ml figure must be multiplied by 3.5. Avoid Thai food as it is heavy in sugar. Wine, beer and spirits contain minimal fructose (it has largely been converted to alcohol). Tonic water is high in sugar, so use soda water as a mixer. Useful foods for 'pick-me-ups' are: cacao, chia seeds, cheese, chicken, cinnamon, coconut oil (very sweet) - coconut water (sweet but negligible fructose), and coffee.
• Week 4: Face the demons - others may try to sabotage your efforts and you may be finding it difficult. Remember that 1 glass of apple juice or cola contains 10-12 teaspoons of sugar, 1 apple is 2-3 teaspoons, 1 banana 4 teaspoons. Low fat products (e.g. yoghurts) are usually higher in sugar.
• Week 5: Get creative and experiment with meals. If you do lapse, tomorrow is a new day to start again. Avoid the negative (I must quit chocolate) and find a positive (I must eat more healthy foods).
• Week 6. Add some sweetness back in with small amounts of low sugar vegetables and fruits, safe sugar substitutes and other spices and flavours.
• Week 7: Accept any lapses and start again the next day.
• Week 8: Moving forward. You have broken the cycle. Go easy on the fat, but by week 8 your body should be telling you what it needs.

Sarah now tries to keep to foods with less than 3g to 6g per 100 g/ml of sugar where possible. She eats 1 or 2 pieces of fruits a day (mostly berries). She has the occasional treat of 85% chocolate.

Check out Sarah's website iquitsugar.com

Ginger

Ginger is a useful spice, which will keep for a week at room temperature and about a month in the fridge.

• Use a teaspoon to peel fresh ginger - it removes the skin and leaves the flesh intact.
• Alternatively, freeze ginger whole and grate it straight from frozen (no need to peel first).

It is also useful in a healthy diet.

• Use it to pep up drinks, savoury dishes and desserts.
• Drink 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger dissolved in a cup of hot water. Over the next 6 hours you will burn 43 more calories than usual; you are also likely to feel less hungry and eat less during the rest of the day.

Did you know? In the 14th century, 1 lb of fresh ginger cost as much as a whole sheep.

Various sources