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We’ve all had friends in our circle who were known as “Mary & John”, and when “John” split “Mary” was alone. Mary was the “odd” number at the dinner party and we were all concerned about her. Well, today it seems that the union of Customer & Service have had a breakup. Service has split and Customer is on his/her own.

Today, let me tell you a story that many of you will find humorous but is all too common. I can tell you this without fear of our local editor getting sued because it’s about me, but business owners take note that you don’t fit the profile of company “X”.

Four weeks ago I decided that I needed another green recycling can from my trash pickup company. We’ll call them Brown Keg Trash Pickup, an anonymous company in the interest of avoiding litigation. I called their Customer Service number, and as an environmentally conscious citizen requested my extra recycle can. The cheerful voice on the other end of the line chirped, “Of course, we’ll have one delivered in 48 hours.” After giving her all the pertinent location information, I hung up the phone with the satisfied feeling of a good citizen.

I arrived home about 5 p.m. the next day and I was happy to see another green can at the mouth of my driveway. When I looked again, I noticed that I had another green can - but it was without a lid. I quickly dialed my cheerful telephone voice at Brown Keg Company thanking her graciously for the rapid service and then told her about the missing lid. Just as cheerfully as the first time, she told me to leave it at the end of my driveway after my usual trash pickup and they would replace the entire unit since they didn’t have extra lids. I agreed, and after hanging up the phone I pondered their plight of having lidless cans but no extra lids. I conjured up all sorts of scenarios that explained where all the lids to the lidless cans went, and sympathized with their predicament.

Well, 3 days went by and there sat my poor, green, lidless can at my driveway’s mouth and a replacement never arrived. Feeling empathy for this green plastic waif, I returned it to the side of it’s brother that had a lid. I called my cheerful Customer Service voice again, and reiterated the plight of my poor lidless can and after a chuckle she assured me a complete unit would be forthcoming. I found it necessary to make use of my lidless friend, and put it out the next pickup day filled to the brim. Fortunately, it wasn’t windy and all the contents remained inside it. That was 2 weeks ago, and life being what it is other more important tasks have occupied me until this morning when facing another pickup day I thought of my lidless friend.

Once more I picked up the phone and called my trash pickup company, and this time I listened to a litany of choices of buttons I could punch and chose my cheerful Customer Service button again. I was transferred, listened to a brief melody when there was a “click” and I expected my cheerful voice to chirp “hello”. The next thing I heard was another click, silence, and then the dreaded dial tone that means you’ve been disconnected. Not being one of the “fainthearted”, I simply redialed my number. Again there was the litany of button choices, my choice and the music, and just when I began to feel that all was right with the world I heard - “click”, “dial tone” and nothing.

This was not the morning for the phone to be playing games with me, so I made one more determined effort and REDIALED! “NASA, we have lift-off !” I once more heard the litany of button choices, but this time I outfoxed that monotonous voice and punched “0″. I asked for the Manager of Customer Service, I was given her name and was transferred. What greeted my eager ear was, “You’ve reached the voicemail of ……., please leave your name and number and she’ll return your call.”

So here we sit - my lidless, green can and I facing another pick-up day. This eager-to-serve plastic green waif must bravely face another dutiful day half-clothed.

You must admit that is an amusing story, and one that far too many of us have lived through, but what a sad commentary it is about our business community. Doesn’t it make you wonder if our language has changed so drastically that what we interpret “Customer Service” to mean - is not what today’s business owners mean. It makes me wonder when the marriage of Customer and Service broke-up, leaving us all the lonely ones.

Entrepreneurs and business owners take note! If you’re going to have a number for your customers to access your Customer Service, please follow these rules.

* Have the phone manned by an employee that can hear thunder and see lightening. * Give that employee training in helping the caller and not shuffling the problem to another desk. * Have an overseer, who can also hear thunder and see lightening, check that all incoming complaints were handled appropriately.

After learning how to find your customers and what they want; after getting them committed to doing business with YOU; and after wooing them to keep them as your customers - WHY WOULD YOU LET “SERVICE” DIVORCE “CUSTOMER?”

If your customers aren’t getting the service they require from you - your competitor will be only too happy to help them!

Loans, business, credit, and finance drive the world as we know it today. But when things go awry in the formula, topics such as foreclosing a house come to light. Consumers have both much to lose and gain from the prospect of a foreclosure, depending on the perspective of the situation. But this legal procedure can be far from easy to understand, as consumers well know.

When a borrower can’t find a way to make a payment of a loan on time, the lender may request payment at a later date so as to be lenient, or they can opt for the foreclosure option. In the legal process of a foreclosure, the lender attempts to repossess the house that was held as collateral and tries to sell or auction the property to recover any assets they might have lost in the failed loan situation.

If a borrower does indeed default on a loan, which is to say they don’t pay it on time, they will likely have to go through the act of foreclosing their house. But in a court of law, the act can be reversed if the borrower can make up the debt on a prompt time and place. This will of course require a financial lawyer in order to proceed with the case. A lawyer can help with all the legal terms and laws that the normal consumer will know nothing about, and thus, one should not avoid obtaining a lawyer in such a process.

The most important part of obtaining a loan is reading the fine lines- as this can prove to save a consumer should they default on the said loan. Although there might not be much to save the consumer at this point, there are often special clauses or terms of agreement that can help aid the consumer in once again obtaining their property, as well as coming to a firm agreement with the lender in regards to the defaulted loan.

For the borrower, the auctioning of the house can be a very sad ordeal. But for those who are looking for a home or a good investment property, it is common for foreclosed houses to sell below market value if the loan difference is made up. Otherwise, lenders will commonly declare the auction a loss and try to sell the property via other means. Nevertheless, foreclosed homes are always worth investigating should one be present.

In Conclusion

Going through a foreclosure can be quite depressing, but often times there are loopholes and ways to better the situation should consumers wish it. Others who may be interesting in investing in a real estate property or looking to obtain a home for below market value should investigate public foreclosure auctions where necessary. While the lender may officially decree that the minimum has not been set, often times lenders will take low bids regardless so as to “wash their hands clean” of the matter and get back to everyday business.

In the end, this should be a life lesson for those who go through the foreclosure process- never sign something that one can’t commit to, and always have a backup option just in case.

A home equity loan is a loan in which the borrower uses the equity in their home as collateral. Medical bills, major home repairs, and college education are examples of what home equity loans can help finance. A lien is a type of security interest over an item of property to secure a payment. Why do you need to know this? A lien is created against the borrower’s house, and actually home equity is reduced through a home equity loan.

Home equity loans may be a first, second or third position lien, but it is most common that they are a second position lien. When you are trying to get a home equity loan you should have reasonable loan-to-value and combined loan-to-value ratios. You will also need a very good credit history as it is required most of the time.

Closed end and open end are the two forms of home equity loans. Generally the both of these are referred to as second mortgages. The reason is because they are secured against the value of the property, like a traditional mortgage. Home equity loans may have a longer term than first mortgages but generally they have shorter terms.

Closed End Loan

A closed end home equity loan is when the borrower receives a lump sum at the time of the closing and cannot borrow anymore. The factors that determine the maximum amount of money that can be borrowed include: appraised value of collateral, income, and credit history. It is not unusual that you will be able to borrow up to 100% of the appraised value of the home; in fact there are lenders that will go above 100% through an over-equity loan. Some states may, however, have a limit on the amount you can borrow.

Open End Loan

With an open end home equity loan a lender sets an initial limit to the credit line based on factors such as credit history and income. Not only that, but the borrower can choose when and how often they borrow against the equity in the property. A home equity line of credit, HELOC, is also known as an open end home equity loan. Just like the closed end home equity loan, it is possible to borrow up to 100% of the value of the home. The lowest possibly monthly payment you can have can be as low as the interest only. The interest rate is most commonly based on a prime rate plus a margin.

There are several fees that can come with a home equity loan. There are appraisal fees, originator fees, title fees, arrangement fees, stamp duties, closing fees, early pay-off, and other costs are often included in loans. There are also surveyor and conveyor or valuation fees, but they may be waived. It is possible to reduce the costs of this fee by finding your own licensed surveyor to inspect the property.

In conclusion a home equity loan can be used for things such as a repair on your house. It is possible to get up to 100% or over of the value of the home. There are closed end and open end home equity loans. Your credit history and your income are major factors in determining how much you can borrow. There are also a number of fees that may be associated with your home equity loan.

Bad credit loans are loans that can be acquired by a person who has bad or poor credit. It is actually possible for a person with bad credit to get a normal loan but the interest rate would be much higher for them than compared to that of a person with good credit. The most common type of bad credit loans are known as payday loans

Payday loans are loans that cover a borrower’s expenses until their next payday. These loans are also referred to as payday advance or paycheck advance. Payday loans are most commonly between $100 and $500 and are due in two weeks, or when the borrower is paid. The interest rates of payday loans are generally high and can go up to 400% APR. You can get payday loans through retail lending and internet lending.

Retail Lending

Through retail lending a borrower goes to a payday lending store and secures a small loan that they must pay back on their next pay day. The payday loan will generally come with finance charges ranging from $15 to $30 per $100 borrowed. This means the rates range from 390% to 780% APR. The borrower will write a check to the lender in the full amount of the loan along with fees and will normally pay it back in person when the payment is due. The lender can process the check through the borrower’s checking account if they choose not to make the payment in person.

The borrower will receive a bounced check fee from their bank if they do not have the funds to cover the payment. Additional fees may also be charged to the borrower from the lender such as an increased interest rate. In the case that the borrower cannot pay they will be offered an extended payment plan for no additional cost by members of the national trade association.

Internet Lending

With internet lending you fill out an online application or you can fax a complete application that requests personal information, employer information, social security number, and bank account numbers. A copy of a check, recent bank statement, and signed paper work is then faxed by the borrower. The online lender will directly deposit the loan in the consumer’s checking account and electronically withdraw the payment and charges on the borrower’s next payday. The best way to find internet payday loans is through, paid ads, referrals, e-mails, and by searching online.

In conclusion a credit loan that someone with poor credit can get his considered a bad credit loan. People with bad credit can still get normal loans but the interest rate will generally be much higher than for someone with good credit. Payday loans are the most common loans that are considered bad. Payday loans come with high interest rates and high APR. You can get a payday loan through a retailer or through the internet. If you fail to pay back the loan on your next payday then you will have some extra fees to cover. Also if you fail to pay then you will be offered an extended payment plan for no additional cost.

Health insurance is an insurance that can be used to pay for a person’s medical expenses in the case of an accident or illness. Health insurance is purchased as premiums. A person can purchase insurance sponsored by the government as social insurance, or receive insurance from a private company. Plans can be purchased by individuals or in groups, such as when company’s use insurance as benefits for the employees. Health insurance prices are estimated by the likely hood an insurance holder has to be in need of medical help. For example a healthy young insurance holder will probably pay less for insurance than an older or sicker insurance holder.

The estimated price of healthcare is found by the likely hood that the customer will be in need of medical attention. A healthy young insurance holder will most likely pay less that an older sickly insurance holder.

Health insurance was founded by Hugh Chamberlen in 1694. Accident insurance was the label originally given the idea. It was run similarly to the way disability insurance is today.

The process of health insurance works by an insurance company selling a policy to the insurance holder. A policy is the contract between the insurance company and the individual purchasing the insurance. The contract can be renewed monthly or annually. The amount paid by the insurance holder to the company is called the premium.

All policies have limits and exclusions. Not all services are covered by the insurance company. If a situation in which a medical expense is not covered the policy holder will be forced to pay the bill with their own money. When the medical expenses of the policy holder surpass the amount agreed upon in the policy the holder will be forced to pay the remainder of the bill.

All policies have exclusions and limits. Not all services are covered by the insurance company. If a situation occurs in which the medical expenses are not covered the insurance holder will be forced to pay the entirety of the bill out of pocket. When the medical expenses of the insurance holder exceed the amount agreed upon in the policy the holder will be forced to pay the remainder of the bill.

Out-of-pocket maximums are almost he opposite of coverage limits. This maximum is the amount that a policy holder is allowed to pay out of pocket, after this amount is exceeded the holders obligation stops. Capitation is the amount of money paid by the insurance company to the health care provider. A provider on a list of healthcare providers that are selected previously by the insurance company is called an in-network provider. When a healthcare provider is used that is on the list the policy holder can receive discounts or additional benefits to their policy.

One of the largest problems with health insurance is the moral hazard issue. Moral hazard occurs when the healthcare provider and the insurance holder agree to tests that are deemed unnecessary by the insurance company. Most of the time the insurance company is still forced to pay for the expenses but this can cause problems between the company and the insurance holder in the future.

When purchasing a car one must not only consider what type, model, and brand suit them best, they must also ponder upon what type of insurance coverage is best for them. Auto insurance also known as vehicle or car insurance and all state require individuals to carry at least liability insurance. There are three main types of coverage liability, comprehensive, and collision. Car insurance is to protect individuals from liability injury or any other losses afflicted from a car accident.

Liability insurance protects individuals from third party claims and is the minimum for of insurance required by all states. If at fault in a automobile accident payment is not made to the individual on the policy rather it is made to the party who has suffered a loss.

Comprehensive insurance is full coverage no matter what happens. Comprehensive insurance covers all potential hazards anything from fender benders to flood, vandalism, and even theft. Your car may be safe from any and all unfortunate happenings but you will feel this in your pockets as comprehensive insurance is also the most expensive type of coverage.

When one is in an car accident and finds themselves at fault, collision insurance will pay for any damages done to the car of the insured party and the party who had fallen victim to the accident. Collision insurance is most times comes with a deductible which is the amount the individual must pay before the actual insurance policy takes over.

Compulsory excesses are the minimum payment and insurance carrier will accept on a given policy. Compulsory excesses vary pending on ones driving record personal accounts and insurance carrier.

Voluntary excesses are payments that are higher than the compulsory excess that and individual agrees to pay incase of a claim on ones policy. A bigger excess varies directly with a significantly lower premium. A large excess reduces financial risk for your insurance carrier.

Premium charges vary by individual, insurance carrier, and jurisdiction. When determining ones premium gender and age are of capitol importance, typically males travel more miles in a life time and are more apt to accidents so their premiums tend to be higher. Teen drivers premiums tend to be higher than individuals over twenty-five because they have no driving record and little experience. Teen drivers can lower their premiums by doing well in school.

When a driving accident occurs and the party at fault is not insured or has a insurance policy that does not cover liability UM/UMI insurance is available. UM/UMI insurance is protection in case of a wreck with and individual with little or no insurance. Roadside assistance is a type of car insurance covers the cost of a tow when a car accident happens this however does not cover individuals with mechanicals failings, recently insurance carriers have changed policies to include mechanical mishaps in the protection.

It is most common that if you are going to purchase a new or used car that you will be taking out an auto loan. Before you can get a loan you have to qualify first. If you have had credit mistakes, late bill payments, and low income then your chances of getting a loan won’t be as good as they could be. It is possible that you can still qualify for a loan even with poor credit.

A good way to qualify for a loan is to prepare ahead of time. You should limit your purchases with credit cards. You should also pay off any remaining balances before you apply for the loan. Doing this will boost your credit rating and lenders will see that you are responsible with your money. Hold off on making payments with your credit card until you receive the loan or else it could hurt your chances of getting the loan.

When searching for a car you should look for one that is within your price range. You should include monthly insurance payments in your budget for your new car. Most lenders won’t grant loans to people who will use up to 60% of their monthly income on the car loan, other bills, and living expenses. Try to save some extra money to use as a down payment, if a lender sees that you will put up your own money they will be more likely to grant you a loan.

After you have done all of this you are ready to begin looking for a lender to give you a loan. You can normally find lenders through, banks, credit unions, auto finance departments, and online. If you belong to a local bank you should start there. Banks that you are already banking with will be more likely to work with you and they will already know your financial history. Local banks also tend to offer the lowest interest rates. If you belong to a credit union instead of a bank then you should try there. Credit unions also offer lower interest rates then other lenders.

If you don’t have any luck getting a loan at a bank the next step would be to try the finance department at the dealership you want to buy the car from. The finance department will work with several lenders to find one that will give you a loan. With the finance department you may have to pay a higher interest rate though.

The last choice for a lender is to look online. There are a lot of lenders online and most will want to work with you. Online lenders compete with other online lenders and traditional lenders too; this makes them want to offer you a better deal even if your credit isn’t the best. You need to research the online lender you’re thinking of before choosing them. Read all the contracts very carefully to make sure there aren’t any hidden fees they neglected to tell you about as well.

If you have good credit history then your interest rate won’t be so high. If your credit history isn’t that good then you can make the interest rate go down by providing a larger down payment. You can also pay off the car sooner than the original loans terms. If you don’t think you can pay off the loan in two or three years then don’t risk getting taking it out for that amount of time. Take a loan out for five years or even more if you think it will take you that long to pay back. The longer the loan the more interest you will have to pay but you can still make payments each month.

Always research your options and try applying for multiple loans before qualifying for an auto loan. Remember to pick a vehicle that is within your price range and try to straighten out your finances first. Remember to be patient and try different lenders if you have to because getting a car loan can be time consuming.

Today there are a variety of marketing secrets that you can use to find your own riches on the internet. Of course one important secret is building trust. Doing so can help you make sure your prospects purchase from you, instead of your competitors.

Trying to sell products online such as web marketing services? If you have, more than likely you are using some type of an affiliate program. These programs are often used and usually they are free as well. You may be thinking that this is free so you don’t have anything to lose as long as you use the provided tools to promote the product or services. However, you’ll find that many people new to the affiliate marketing business are not aware of all the ins and outs of how it works. Most people don’t understand that it can be very slow going to get good traffic coming to your site, especially if you don’t know some of the important traffic secrets. One important thing to know is that directly advertising doesn’t work. If you do so, then you’ll find that you never get the traffic or the sales that you really want.

There are many, many newbie affiliate marketers who don’t know the ins and outs of this business. First of all, they don’t know that getting the right traffic to your site can be very slow going if you don’t know the secrets to getting this done. For example, never advertise your affiliate program directly. If you do, you will not receive the sales or the traffic you desire.

Now, picture this: You spend lots of your time and advertising money to promote your affiliate site. After a few months, you finally get your first sale. You are a bit discouraged, as it took you this long, but you made $10 with this sale and are excited to make more. However, this affiliate program you are with only pays out when your amount due to you reaches $30. What a disappointment. Well, if you are in this situation, the key is not to quit, because there are some secrets to this business that you are about to uncover.

People like free things, right? So, offer a free product. What kind of products are people looking for? Information is a key one. People know that information and resources are valuable to them. You can give away free reports, e-books, etc. Now, the key to this, however, is not to give this information away until you have the person’s contact information. This would mainly be their email address and their phone number if you can get it.

Once you have done this and built up an excellent reputation and a good relationship, then you can show them what is working for you. Up until now you haven’t even revealed the service or product that you are trying to promote. All of the information you have given the person up until now should be relevant to the product and how it can help them, but you never mention the product. Let the affiliate site sell the product for you. Your job is to make sure you get them interested and wanting to know more about the product.

One way to talk about the product is to personalize it and tell them how it has helped you. People want someone who is genuine to sell them something. This builds their trust with you and leads them on to making a purchase.

So, if you have not yet been using these important secrets, you need to start using them for your web marketing services. In no time at all you’ll begin to notice that you make sales on a much more frequent basis and your profit levels are soaring.

Reading the stock tables in the newspaper can be very confusing when you’re just learning about the stock market. It’s important to learn how to read stocks, though, and it won’t take a lot of time.

There are twelve columns in the table, and you’ll notice that each stock has its own line in this table. To find out how the stock has been performing over the past year, look at the first two columns– these will be labeled something to the effect of “52W High” and “52W Low.” You’ll see the highest point the stock has achieved in the last 52 weeks in the “52W High” column. Its lowest value will be in the “52W Low” column.

The column after that you will discover the name of the stock and then the ticker symbol for that stock. You will probably recognize some of these from the tickers that run across the bottom of the screen sometimes on the cable news networks.

By the way, watching some of the financial shows could be a good idea. It will further your knowledge even more on how to read stocks and understand the way the market works.

There’s another column next to the ticker column, and it’s labeled “Div.” This column shows you the annual dividend the stock pays out for each share. If you see a blank space in this column, that means the stock doesn’t pay dividends right now. The same rule also applies to the very next column, “Yield %”, the percentage return on the dividend.

P/E is the price to earnings ratio, which is calculated by taking the stock prices and dividing it by the the earnings per share over the last four quarters.

The next two columns are “High” and “Low.” In the day’s trading, you’ll be able to see the highest and lowest points that the stock has reached. “Close” is the point at which the stock closed that day, and “Net Change” shows the change from the day before.

You’ll be able to move on and learn even more about the stock market once you have a basic understanding of how to read stocks.

To get Best Low Interest Auto Loan Rates you have to do a little bit of work, just a little. It pays to do a little research for car financing before you go car shopping. In fact this obvious first step, comparing auto loan quotes and interest from different lenders is often overlooked to the detriment of consumers who wind up with high interest auto loans and payments higher than they should be paying or can afford. So the obvious benefit of comparing auto loan rates is lower payments but there are others.

The purchase of a car or truck is for most of us the second largest purchase we will make in our lives, second only to the purchase of a home. Whether it is your first new car or a used car is irrelevant when it comes to the value we expect from your purchase. Since you will in most cases use your vehicle every day in some way, shape or fashion you want to get the best car that your money can buy.

Let’s face it, vehicles are quite expensive and a lot of people get an auto loan to pay for their car. However, as with all loans, interest rates come with it. When you are looking for the best options when it comes to an auto loan, you want to get the lowest interest rate auto loan you can find. Low interest rate auto loans aren’t that hard to find, so long as you know where to look for them.

Shopping for a car causes a euphoria, it seems, and in this state most people neglect to take even a minute to compare online auto loan rates or quotes. People often sign high interest auto loan contracts at the dealership without ever looking around for any better options for auto loans. The dealer is out there to make money on the car and… the financing so you most likely won’t be getting the best low interest auto loan rate available to you.

Before choosing to go with dealer financing, do a little research, just a little can save you a lot. Online you can quickly find numerous financial institutions and auto loan companies to compare who you offers the lowest auto loan interest rate quote. This makes it super easy to pick the one that is best for you in terms of interest and payments before you go to a dealer.

Of course in order to get the best interest rate available, you need to have good credit. If you don’t have good credit, you need to improve it. Lenders prefer people with good credit history; so if you have any pending things you need to pay off, pay them off as soon as you can.

You will have options when you do some auto loan comparison before you go to a dealer. Once you compare different companies auto loan rate quotes and choose one that fits your pocket book you can go onto the next phase of buying the car. This will put you in a position of not having high interest and be able to drive a car you want with payments that you can afford. You can achieve this easily when you compare for best low interest auto loan rates.