Every online seller knows that shipping insurance, proof of shipment and delivery are must-haves when sending high value shipments. These are important tools for fighting unjust payment disputes and credit card chargebacks, especially when using PayPal which offers Seller Protection when certain shipping requirements are met.
The problem with this is that what one party requires, another party cannot provide. In this case, I speak of PayPal and USPS. Continue reading
All internet merchants regularly deal with the risk of customer fraud. Many consumers, especially those purchasing non-essential items, are prone to impulse buying, overspending, and buyer’s remorse and resort to various forms of fraud to get what they want without paying for it. Continue reading
Our DBAs came up for renewal a couple of months ago so I sent in the forms, got the approval back from the county and it was time to publish again since we were adding a new name. As soon as we filed our DBAs, local newspapers (and other business services) started flooding my mailbox with offers.
One of them had a great deal on DBA publishing — just $25 for 2 DBA’s and 2 Partners for the required 4 weeks. Since we were in a bit of a financial pinch what with the recent economy, I went for it.
Turns out I was wrong about 3,700 post offices being considered for closure. I just got back from my local Post Office (currently an easy 2.5 mile drive), where I learned that the actual number is 16,000. In fact, the clerk who processed my Express shipments today is heading over to a meeting later tonight where they will be discussing the fate of our little Post Office.
It’s not looking good for our local post offices and we may soon be looking at a 40-mile (80-mile round trip) drive to the nearest post office. This would certainly mean the end of affordable USPS Express shipping for my customers.
Things are looking up for UPS, which charges me $12 just for a pickup … Continue reading
In the course of my customer service duties these past 6 years, I have observed a significant difference between the typical male customer and the typical female customer. And I have come to find the male customer the more self-sufficient, and therefore easier to deal with, of the two.
This is not to say that I dislike female customers; on the contrary, we get more female customers in our line of business than we do male customers and many are intelligent and nice people. I am not a sexist or a chauvinist. I don’t dislike women (in fact I am one), but when it comes down to it, I have to say that on average, the male customer makes my job a lot easier.
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