The Refresh Orlando Heirs

We hope that the following article (a short extract from one of
my first manuscripts, HOW TO CONQUER STRESS AND NERVOUS TENSION
may be informative and helpful to your ezine readers, or on your
web site. (There are some amendments to this previously
published piece, so replace, if you wish). You have permission
to publish (formatted to 60 characters, approx) electronically
or in print. If my article helps out others in any way, then I’m
very happy.

HOW TO HANDLE LIFE’S PROBLEMS (BUSINESS AND PERSONAL)

by Craig Lock

Try to enrich your life at all times. Your life is a gift - so
enjoy it to the absolute fullest. But when things are going well
(or so we think), suddenly things go radically wrong and our
whole lives get turned upside down.

Why is it that certain people have fewer problems and are less
ill than others. They are happier people; because their OUTLOOK
ON LIFE is different. I think so. They seem to have a power and
control over their own lives. Something I don’t seem to have at
the moment - enough negative thoughts, Craig!

The mind influences how we feel, how our body reacts to certain
events and chiefly how successful we are in work and play.
Therefore, it is a very strong force in our lives. When we first
encounter adversity or severe trauma, it is our mind which has
to cope with the unexpected. We first feel an intense shock,
then there is disbelief, an overwhelming numbness,
disorientation, consuming pain, panic…and finally exhaustion.
These are very real responses for you in a major life crisis,
which are difficult for others to understand. These reactions
can vary in intensity and duration, depending on your
personality make-up. Are you highly strung and an intense and
sensitive “little soul”, like me? The power of the mind is
exemplified with placebos (nice word, that!). An ineffectual
glass of water or a pill WILL make you feel better, when you
believe it has medicinal properties and CAN help you (this is
known as a placebo). They can also relax you more, help you to
feel less anxious, fearful and enable you to sleep better.
People with cancer can outlive the predictions of the medical
fraternity, when they have faith and BELIEVE they will get
better. On the other hand, on diagnosis of cancer some patient’s
conditions deteriorate drastically. They have now lost hope of
ever getting better. It really is all in the mind (our health
and everything that happens to us) and depends on our ATTITUDE
to life. A positive attitude helps greatly in health and in
happiness. If we rather see hardship as a challenge, it will
greatly help us to pull through. That’s what keeps me going
here! I believe that people with strong minds can even postpone
death. However, what normally happens in our daily lives? We
usually tend to make excuses and find scapegoats for our
condition, our “poor” situations. However, I definitely believe
obstacles do not have to be insurmountable roadblocks on the
pathway to achievement, success or happiness - because the mind
is a very powerful tool. If used properly, it can be a very
strong positive force in our lives.

Our reactions come out of our feelings and our feelings come out
of what we believe about ourselves.

Even in the midst of the biggest life problems and severest
human crises, you still have a CHOICE: You have FREEDOM to
choose your thoughts, to THINK what you want. So,

EMPOWER YOURSELF BY GAINING CONTROL OF THE MIND… and BELIEVE
IN YOUR UNIQUENESS AS AN INDIVIDUAL - THE SPECIAL QUALITIES YOU
POSSESS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE ON THIS WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL PLANET
EARTH.

BE HAPPY Craig Lock “When you can see no light at the end of the
tunnel, light your own candle and let your light illuminate the
world, like the radiance from a window at midnight.” - - Craig
Lock

http://www.craiglock.com

Success begins with a personal dream that is bigger than the dreamer is. There is success achieved through sheer force of will and success that brings peace of mind and authentic joy. Achievements that create a better world bring authentic joy to the achiever.

Here are twelve reflections on achieving success with authentic joy.

1. There is more to success than reaching goals…. Success must also include a joyful appreciation of living—an authentic joy that pulls us toward the next episode of our life’s purpose.

2. The ultimate recipe for achievement is working cooperatively with others to improve the quality of life for all.

3. To get where we want to go, we need to be honest about where we are now.

4. No action is too small; no choice is insignificant. Together they are the brush strokes that create the final masterpiece of our design.

5. Life is not just reaching peaks. Part of it is moving from one peak to the next. If you rest too long in between, you might be tempted to quit. Leave the past in the past. Climb the next mountain and enjoy the view.

6. Persistence is a common foundation beneath the achievements of every successful man and woman.

7. It is more naive to risk nothing and gain nothing than to risk failure and gain experience.

8. Setbacks are included in the price tag of success; they teach tenacity and provide experiences that let us achieve our goals with compassion and dignity.

9. If you have made a positive difference in one individual’s life, you have succeeded in making a positive difference for many!

10. Whether it takes ten minutes, a hundred plans, or a lifetime, we can achieve our goals only if we take a stand and begin. Our Creator provides the talent, desire, and a limited number of chances to show up at the starting line. Today is another of those chances.

11. Passion behind a clear goal is a powerful force. You can gain enormous control over that force by focusing on one small step that you need to take.

12. The Creator placed the seeds of success in the exact place we would need them; they live inside of us, waiting to germinate, grow, and blossom.

James Allen (1864-1912), wrote, “Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be. Your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.”

Can you remember a moment when a dream first came to life within your heart and mind? Perhaps you have a new dream tugging at you now—a desire that you cannot forsake.

If so, focus your attention on your vision. You have the first ingredient for achievement, a dream. Your dream—the blueprint of your future—is all you need to begin.

© Copyright 2005 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, motivational author, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Get the next issue by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com

As we all have values that we live life by, whether we live up
to these values is determined by a series of rules that are
attached to the value. For example, we may value success, and
the rule that we have attached to success is that to be
successful we must earn more than $1,000,000 a year. Another
person may have a rule for success saying that if they wake up
each morning then they are successful. Yet another person may
have a complex web of rules relating to success that ensures
they never are successful by their own rules.

Most of these rules are lodged in our subconscious and we are
never really aware of them on the conscious level. So you can
see that it is incredibly useful for us if we become aware of
these rules. It is even more beneficial for us if we can become
aware of these rules and then change them to ensure we meet our
values.

When changing a rule it is important that you choose rules that
are achievable, but also give you room to grow and move
forwards. So let’s start by finding out what some of your rules
are. Write out your rules for each of the following points. You
are writing down what conditions need to be met in order for you
to feel a success, a failure, or so on.

* For success

* For failure

* For being loved

* For being happy

When you have written these down, write out what rules you
would like to have for these. One person I know had this rule
for being happy, “If I wake up each morning able to breath.” Now
that’s an easy rule to meet isn’t it? Many of our rules are
complex, hard to meet and often contradictory.

By defining these rules we can gain a valuable insight into the
way our minds work, which allows us to take control of your
life. If you have the time and inclination, why not write down
some of the rules in other areas of your life too?

Remember also that other people have rules, so when you are
dealing with people their rules apply too. For example, your
partner will have rules for being loved within a relationship,
your boss will have rules for you being successful, and your
children will have rules for you being a good parent and for
their success. If you can find out other peoples rules then you
can use them in your dealings with them to be more fulfilled and
clear in your communication.

Cascading Stylesheets become more and more important in today’s
webdesign.

But before you decide to get started using CSS you should know
why CSS is so important and what its advantages are.

1. The content is separated from the design

Because you are able to create a separate Stylesheet and link it
to all your webdocuments, you have great control over how your
website looks. So if you want to change a certain aspect of your
page, you only need to alter one file: your Stylesheet!

This Of course, generates some great flexibility. This
flexibility is not available when your website is using tables
for layout, inline font tags or inline defined colors.

A single CSS file can contain positioning, layout, font, colors
and style information for an entire web site.

2. You site uses less bandwidth and loads faster

Because stylesheets are so lightweight, your website will load
much faster. The main reason is because you do not need table
layouts anymore for the positioning of elements. Since text
loads really really fast your website will be visible in a
flash.

This means that visitors will be happier when surfing your
website. They only have to download the Stylesheet once, and
it’s automatically reused for every page. So the only thing that
needs to be loaded is the actual content.

On average a website will load five to ten times faster if it
makes use of cascading style sheets.

3. Your website will automatically gain better search engine
results

With CSS, you can position any element, anywhere you want. So if
your menu is at the bottom of your HTML document, you can bring
it up using absolute positioning. The reason this is useful is
to make sure the search engine spiders pick up the main content
first.

Another advantage you automatically gain is that your HTML code
is much cleaner. So the search engine spider will not have to
separate the junk code from the real content.

So make sure you put your logo text and your menu at the bottom
of your HTML document at put it at the top using CSS!

4. CSS is compatible with newer browsers

Because more and more browsers are used other than Internet
Explorer on a Windows machine, you need to be sure that your
website is accessible by all major and newer browsers.

By using webstandards, defined by the w3c, you are making sure
your content is viewable in the future.

Because there are so many browsers these days, it is impossible
to test your website in all these browsers on different
configurations. Coding to standards is then the only practical
solution.

5. CSS can be used to display the same content on different
media.

Because you are able to define different stylesheets for
different media you have great flexibility in presenting your
content.

The printer for example, is a medium on itself. If someone
prints out your website, you will be able to modify the look of
it. Add an extra black and white logo, remove the advertisements
and change the colors to black and white values. It’s all done
easily by using cascading stylesheets. And the best thing is,
visitors do not even have to know you created a new Stylesheet
especially for the printer.

Stylesheets can also be created specifically for PDA’s and such.
As you will understand, this adds some great flexibility to the
presentation of your web document.

Conclusion

Cascading Style Sheets are created to make things easier. It
gives you great control of your website and makes your visitors
happy when they are surfing your website.

You are prepared for the future and will gain better search
engine results automatically. Start using CSS to its full
potential today! It will suit you well.

There are a lot of different types of Anti-Spyware programs out there. You will not only have to decide whether you want a Spyware blocker or a Spyware remover or a program that combines these two features. You must also decide if your want to pay for the Anti-Spyware program or if you prefer a free program. When it comes to Spyware Removers, some are very expensive, some comes with a small fee and there are also totally free spyware removers available. Most computer users choose to begin with one of the totally free spyware removers available online. Some are lucky enough to find the one of superior totally free spyware removers available on the Internet today, and will stick with this totally free spyware remover. Other chose to upgrade one of the not-so-good but totally free spyware removers available, to an enhanced but more pricy version of the program.

By starting out with one of the totally free spyware removers available online, you can try out several totally free spyware removers to find out which one is most suitable for your. Totally free spyware removers available off-line is hardly ever heard of, since it would be too expensive to distribute them. Instead, the programs available on the market today is found online where you can download them directly to your computer - easy and convenient. Despite the enormous amounts of online advertising about this type of programs online, it can be hard to actually find a totally free spyware remover available online. When you read the fine print, you will usually find out the products marketed as totally free spyware removers available online is actually not at all totally free. Sometimes the program it self will be totally free, but the necessary updates costs a lot of money. Since all spyware removers need to be updated regularly to learn about new types of Spyware, such programs will soon turn out to be not-at-all totally free spyware removers available online. Other programs claims to be totally free spyware removers available online, but are only free during a trial period - sometimes for just a few days. As soon as the trial period is over, you will have to buy one of their not-at-all totally free spyware removers available online. The third kind of bad totally free spyware removers available online are those that are so basic that they offer hardly any protection at all against new and clever Spyware.

You should also be aware, not all sites with totally free spyware removers available online are run by sincere Anti-Spyware companies. When the public knowledge about the potential dangers connected to Spyware programs grew, the computer users started to install spyware removers to combat the Spyware. The companies that gain from Spyware countered this by offering phoney spyware removers available free online. These false totally free spyware removers available online will not at all protect your computer from Spyware. Instead, a lot of them will even install Spyware on your computer and start sending information back to their owner. False totally free spyware removers available online can seem great, but will actually do more harm than good once you have installed them. Always use a critical eye when you check out a web site that offers totally free spyware removers available online. Only download free spyware removers from web sites that you know have a good reputation.

New forms of malicious Spyware and Adware are constantly created and in order to protect your computer from infestations you must choose a high-quality program and keep it updated. Supportcave.com offer a selected number of the very best totally free spyware removers available programs available for immediate online download

Are you bored listening to the same ring tone that rings on your mobile phone? Ring tones are soon becoming a trend among mobile phone users. Whenever the phone rings people want to try something different each time.

It’s not possible to download new ring tone each time. To overcome this problem today one can find number of sites that provide free ring tone download. These sites offer different varieties of Polyphonic ring tones; Monophonic ring tones and True tones ring tones for your mobile phone. All you have to do is relax and select the tone that best suits your personality.

1) Free Monophonic Ring tones: Monophonic ring tones are basically one note ringers. You can download latest monophonic ring tones for your Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Siemens, Philips, LG, Sagem and Panasonic handsets. To download Monophonic ring tone on your mobile phone always note that your cell phone account should be internet enabled. You can also download monophonic ring tones using an SMS service.

List of free monophonic ring tones includes:

• Monophonic Ring tones - Oldies
• Monophonic Ring tones - Love
• Monophonic Ring tones - Religious
• Monophonic Ring tones - Latest
• Monophonic Ring tones - Pop
• Monophonic Ring tones - Classical
• Monophonic Ring tones - Christmas

2) Free Polyphonic Ring tones: You can download thousands of latest polyphonic ring tones for your mobile phones. A Polyphonic ring tone is downloaded by using an MMS or WAP service

List of Polyphonic ring tones that you can download free are
• Polyphonic ring tones - Oldies
• Polyphonic ring tones - Love
• Polyphonic ring tones - Religious
• Polyphonic ring tones - Pop
• Polyphonic ring tones - Classical
• Polyphonic ring tones - Latest
• Polyphonic ring tones - Christmas

3) True tones Ring tones: True tones have real sounds which sounds great on your mobile phone. No matter it is a Pop tone or a classical tone, true tone ring tones deliver the best. True tones are compatible to all new WAP enabled mobiles phones. There are many websites that provide free true tone ring tone download.

List of free True tones ring tones includes:

• True tones Ring tones - oldies
• True tones Ring tones -Classical
• True tones Ring tones - Pop
• True tones Ring tones - Religious
• True tones Ring tones - Love
• True tones ring tones - Latest
• True tones Ring tones - Christmas

Isabella Rodrigues writes for 4freecellphone.info,
offering the latest information on cell phones, visit them today and get the
latest information on different types of free cell phones.

Visit today: www.4freecellphone.info

.

If you’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) you are not alone. It has been estimated that over 2 million people in the United States suffer from this form of mental illness which involves episodes of both mania and depression.

Although bipolar disorder usually begins in childhood or early adulthood, it is often not recognized as an illness. And, because it is sometimes misdiagnosed, individuals who have it often suffer needlessly although treatment is available. Left untreated, those with bipolar disorder sometimes experience serious complications, including an inability to keep a stable job, abuse of drugs and alcohol, marriage problems, and even suicide.

Symptoms of mania can include: decreased need for sleep; excessive feelings of euphoria; extreme distractibility; racing thoughts and rapid talking; decreased need for sleep; drug abuse; and a denial that anything is wrong. Depressive symptoms, (the flip-side of mania) may include: difficulty sleeping; loss of appetite; feelings of hopelessness; decreased energy; persistent sad mood; loss of interest in pleasurable activities; and thoughts of death or suicide.

It is important to recognize the various mood states experienced by individuals with bipolar disorder so that they can obtain effective treatment. Unfortunately, this illness often goes unrecognized by everyone involved, including family, friends, physicians, and even the patient.

An early stage of this illness often manifested is hypomania, in which the person suffering from it shows a high level of energy, excessive moodiness or irritability, and impulsive behavior. Ironically, hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it. Unfortunately though, if left untreated, bipolar disorder tends to get worse, and the person typically will experience episodes of full-fledged mania and clinical depression.

Fortunately, most people with manic depressive illness can be helped with treatment, specifically medications and therapy.

Medications play an important role in helping to stabilize the mood swings often found with this type of mental illness. Lithium has been shown to be very effective in helping to control mania and in stopping the recurrence of both manic and depressive episodes. Several types of antidepressant have also been found useful in combating the depression aspect of bipolar disorder. In severe cases, electroconvulsive therapy is often helpful in treating severe depression that fails to respond to medication.

Therapy from a qualified provider can also be helpful in educating the patient and providing support and guidance to all family members involved. It is important to remember that bipolar disorder is recurrent, and, as such, long-term preventive treatment is indicated in most cases.

Finally, it is important to know that bipolar disorder is a legitimate illness, and that it will not “just go away” if given enough time. Treatment is necessary to help keep the disease under control and a maintenance regimen (including both medications and therapy) may be required over the length of a person’s life.

About the Author

Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on bipolar disorder, and depression in general, have appeared in print and on many websites.

You can find more of these at www.bipolardisordercenter.info

In this article, you will learn how to design and develop a
simple online chat room with PHP and MySQL. This tutorial
explains every steps of the development, including both database
design and PHP programming. Basic computer skills and knowledge
of HTML and PHP are required. Ok, let’s begin now.

Step 1: Design Database Table. Create table “chat” in MySQL
database to store basic chat information: chtime (chat time),
nick (user nickname) and words (chat message, less than 150
characters)

mysql> CREATE TABLE chat

-> chtime DATATIME,

-> nick CHAR (10) NOT NULL,

-> words CHAR (150);

Step 2: Design Structure. This simple online chat room includes
the following four sections: user login, message display,
message input and a main frame integrating the display and input
sections. Thus, it needs the following four files to work:
login.php, main.php, display.php and speak.php.

Step 3: Write the code

1. login.php (just a HTML form)

Please input your nickname and enter

2. main.php

setcookie("nick",$nick) //use cookie to store user nickname

?>

3. display.php

This file is used to get message records from database and
display the results. To keep the size of database, old messages
are deleted and only the newest 15 messages are displayed.

//connect to mysql server, server name: main, database username:
root

$link_ID=mysql_connect("main","root");

mysql_select_db("abc"); //abc is the database name

$str="select * from chat ORDER BY chtime;" ;

$result=mysql_query($str, $link_ID);

$rows=mysql_num_rows($result);

//get the latest 15 messages

@mysql_data_seek($resut,$rows-15);

//if the number of messages<15, get all of the messages

if ($rows<15) $l=$rows; else $l=15; for ($i=1;$i<=$l; $i++) {

list($chtime, $nick, $words)=mysql_fetch_row($result);

echo $chtime; echo " "; echo $nick; echo":" ; echo $words; echo
"
";

} //delete the old messages(only keep the newest 20 only)

@mysql_data_seek($result,$rows-20);

list($limtime)=mysql_fetch_row($result);

$str="DELETE FROM chat WHERE chtime<'$limtime' ;" ;

$result=mysql_query($str,$link_ID);

mysql_close($link_ID);

?>

4. speak.php

If ($words)

{ $link_ID=mysql_connect("main","root");

mysql_select_db("abc"); // abc is the database name

$time=date(y).date(m).date(d).date(h).date(i).(date(s); //get
current time

$str="INSERT INTO chat(chtime,nick,words) values
('$time','$nick','$words');" ;

mysql_query($str,$link_ID); //save message record into database

mysql_close($link_ID); )

?>

//the following is the message input form

Now, you have finished the design and coding of a simple online
chat system. Put all the files into your website root and see
how it works,

No matter your title, industry or application, BlackBerrySource.com has a case that will meet your requirements and budget. You want a BlackBerry case that will combine style, protection and freedom, and we have a host of cases that fit those criteria. Choose from leather, silicone, aluminum and other styles of cases for any BlackBerry model you have.

Our leather cases feature magnetic closures and embedded magnetic sleeper switches that conserve battery life. They also have cutouts for external headset jacks and LED lights. These casual cases are strong enough to provide the protection you need while also capturing the fashion sense you want to project. A myriad of colors—such as executive pink, mobile green and powder blue—will allow you to pick a case that matches your personality and stylistic side.

We have aircraft-grade aluminum cases as well. These lightweight accessories have an easy-open latch and a neoprene lining that will snugly hold your device. The clamshell case offers the protection you need without limiting freedom of movement or accessibility.

A silicone case will shield your BlackBerry from harmful drops, bumps and scratches. Your entire handheld device is covered, saved for precise cutouts that allow access to crucial functions. You can attach the case to your belt with a quick-release, 360-degree belt clip that will keep your device handy at all times.

We even offer special carrying accessories such as boas, AquaPacs and eGrips kits. Boa cases exhibit impeccable workmanship, making use of hand-selected, premium materials. A matching magnetic money clip/key ring is included with every beautiful, functional boa case. The AquaPac is 100-percent waterproof, thanks to an all-plastic, quick-action, easy-access sealing system. Not only will this case protect against mud, sand, snow, dusty and dirt—it even floats! The AquaPac includes an adjustable neck strap and a carabineer clip. The eGrips custom-made grips are constructed of durable, high-tech, silicone material that guards against scratches and scuffs. These easily applied pads leave no residue and easily absorb the shock generated by drops.

Whether you are looking for vertical or horizontal pouches, swivel holsters, flip cases or other types of accessories to transport your handheld device, BlackBerrySource.com is your one-stop shopping source. Maybe you work outdoors in high-impact environments or perhaps most of your time is spent in boardrooms hammering out business deals. No matter where your career brings you, we have a case that will deliver the functionality, accessibility, protection and class that you covet for your communication tools. We physically test every accessory with every device that goes with it, so you can be sure that your new case is completely compatible with your handheld.

Find the case that best fits your needs, then place your order online. Contact BlackBerrySource.com at 1-847-991-7190 if you have additional questions.

This article brought to you by www.blackberrysource.com

The buzz is all about customer service and call center outsourcing, also known as BPO (Business Process Outsourcing). According to Gartner, the outsourcing market in Europe has grown with over 6%, BPO with 10%. The market for offshore outsourcing (to low wage countries) is growing with a whopping 40% this year! However, the subject of outsourcing is not without controversy. So what’s it all about?

In the 90s, growth was the motto for organizations. Eat, or be eaten. Through the continual increase of stock value this could be easily financed. As a result, businesses were acquiring activities that are, on the surface anyway, only loosely related to the original business goals, and to each other. The demise of world economy and the burst of the Internet bubble changed all that.

In these days of tight budgets and heightened attention on ROI (Return on Investment) and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), companies are taking a good look at what they are in business for, and what they are best in. This focus on the core business has lead to the selling of complete branches of companies. Now, businesses go even further by taking a look inward, in search of generic processes to outsource. Finance, Human Resource and Customer Service are now the focus of outsourcing, which was more or less the playground for IT support in recent years.

Outsourcing, the utilization of resources outside an organization, is not a new thing. Barter trading, the oldest form of trading, was in fact just that. One person traded a skill (or a product made through that skill) to get access to another person’s abilities. In the old days, it made perfect sense to let an activity be done by the person most skilled. And old becomes new, as they say.

Benefits of Call Center Outsourcing

It makes sense that a company who’s core business it is to organize and execute a call center, is more likely to do a better job at it (although that’s not a given)! It’s like hiring someone to put a floorboard in your house. You may be able to do a decent job yourself, but they are a lot quicker at it! So efficiency is a clear benefit.

Being in the call center business, call center service providers are more likely to be able to hire skilled and experienced personnel. And, since a service provider (usually) services more than one company, there is more support personnel to go around. This helps continuity, as your service isn’t jeopardized if an employee decides to leave. Also, since the customer service reps are probably working for more than just your company, you can benefit of lessons learned from other contracts.

Ah, didn’t I mention the money? The #1 reason for outsourcing is, of course, to lower costs. Outsourcing companies can have lower rates because of the greater efficiency, but also through economies of scale, which actually means that fewer personnel is needed for servicing the combined contracts than when each company would organize it themselves. Plus, they can easier mix more junior and senior staff, which is a near to impossible feat if you have just two customer service reps!

The money question is getting even more interesting if we take the possibility of off shoring into account. Outsourcing to low wage countries like India is bringing extra financial benefits into the equation (but also some pitfalls, as you’ll see later!). The different work moral is also often viewed as a benefit. For example, in India, workers are very disciplined, and organizing a 24/7 service is easier than in Western countries.

Outsourcing Pitfalls

Outsourcing projects often fail on unclear expectations at both the customer and service provider. When considering outsourcing make sure you yourself have a clear image of what the level of service is that you are expecting. Be as specific as you possibly can. Pick out the elements that are most important to you and think about how this would best be managed. Measurable performance indicators are better.

Remember that outsourcing is a game of trust as well as money. If, when negotiating service levels, you feel that you have to stamp out every eventuality in a contract, I’d advice against outsourcing. I would, however, put an opt-out into the contract, in case trust is lost between the outsourcing partners. Believe me, no partner would want to get stuck in a contract between two distrusting partners. For the rest, focus on measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and a clear payment scheme to protect your bottom line.

Anxiety for outsourcing is often fed through the loss of operational control. Remember, you no longer handpick customer service personnel, and you are much more limited in directing the service. Also, you may have to fit in the standard approach of the service provider. But the trade-off for the loss of operational control is more managerial control. But this trade-off only happens if you negotiate your service levels properly, as mentioned earlier.

And then off shoring… With the advent of off shoring, a lot of vendors are now operating the market. But if you’re selecting a partner, don’t rely on the reputation of the vendor alone, but do make sure that you deal with the people who will be managing your service. Take special attention to the level of experience of these people.

The cultural differences can be enormous, especially when outsourcing to India. Don’t make assumptions, but be very specific in your business needs. And India, although the buzz is all about it, is not the only low wage country in the world! You could consider outsourcing to low wage countries that are not so far away, for instance Spain or Mexico.

Another element to take into account is this: if your business is adding only minimal value or profit to the service provider, you risk receiving substandard service levels. If this is the case, it’s probably safer to steer clear of off shoring.

Conclusion

Looking at both the benefits and pitfalls of outsourcing call centers and customer service, it is clear that there are clear opportunities for reducing the level of costs for organizations. However, do not downplay the risks. If an organization is inexperienced in managing customer service, the risks for failing are very real, as tight management and KPI evaluation is very important. But in the end, it’s all a matter of trust. Ask yourself: do I trust a partner, this partner, with a piece of my business?

About The Author

Erwin Steneker is a senior support consultant with over 12 years of experience in both sales and IT support. Check out www.customerservicepoint.com for articles on quality Customer Service, CRM, help desk software tests and more.