Archives for May 2012

The Art of Taking a Secondary Role

May 22, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

When you attend an event as an invitee, can you relax and just enjoy the event? I struggle – big time – just sitting and relaxing!

Recently, my son’s Sunday school teacher graciously planned a party for the first grade students and their families.

His teacher planned time for play, games, food, and entertainment. The party was well planned, but I still struggled with relaxing.

Struggle Arises

For me the hardest part was relaxing during the meal. After gathering food for my children and me, we ate. I then began perusing the room identifying trash can locations, mapping a direct route from the food to the kitchen, and checking to see how far along the guests were to finishing. My husband watching my movements, whispered, “You don’t have to worry about cleanup.”

How nice to have someone, who understands me, snap me back to reality. It was at that moment that I realized that the event planner in me was at work. I rarely attend an event where I am not coordinating or assisting. In these times of attendance, I really struggle to relax.

Evaluating Myself

My personality is to organize while using time wisely. I do not try to be organized; God created me organized. It’s who I am. I cannot refrain from organizing and planning, so I need to learn to take a secondary role.

Changing my Focus

When the event is not within my leadership, I am still trying to solve their problems and plan the next activity. At this event, I chose to go down to the gymnasium to watch the kids play while other adults stayed to help cleanup. Though choosing cleanup would have been easier for me, I needed to practice taking a secondary role and relaxing.

Though I need more practice, the art of taking a secondary role is a learned skilled. As I continue to practice, I hope to find attending events more enjoyable and relaxing. In the meantime, I am thankful for those, who know me, jarring me back to reality when I get distracted. Happy relaxing!

Question: When you attend an event, do you struggle to relax?

2012: Spring Yard Work – Part 1 of 3

May 21, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Since last fall, the weeds, from what seems like the entire neighborhood, have come to stay at our house. The edgers around our flower beds received a coating of weeds and unwanted grass.

Though the project is still underway, between nights of soccer and weekends of family outings, we have begun cleaning up our front yard.

Living in a cookie-cutter neighborhood, our total amount of land is less than one acre. Our front yard consists of 3 beds in front of our house and a bed around our one tree. We also have a walkway, driveway, and sidewalk.

Keeping our yard looking nice is always a challenge with all the weeds and the different grasses: Bermuda in the front and fescue in the back. It probably doesn’t help that we do not spend lots of time in our yard, so keeping weeds out of our mulch beds is a chore.

After completing our garden in the backyard, we focused on the beds in the front yard. These BEFORE pictures show you how awful our front yard looked. The growth really took off quickly, so we moved fast to make it beautiful again.

We purchased mulch from Lowe’s on sale – 4 bags for $10. To cover all our beds, we purchased 12 bags of mulch. On a warm, sunny day, Paul got to work.

Remove Edgers

With the edgers buried under last-year’s mulch and dense weeds, Paul removed all the edgers from our 4 beds in front of our house.

Careful of bugs and ant piles, he dug up the ones deeply buried in the bed. Though he was careful, he still received a few ant bites from certain members of the ant colony that live under our tree. Ouch!

Clean out Beds

Paul then trimmed all the bushes and raked into piles all the old mulch, trimmings, and weeds. He then filled up trash bags with all the debris.

This yard work is very labor-intensive resulting in sore arms and lower back. Though the work is cumbersome, seeing the empty dirt floor creates a starting point for the work ahead.

Next week, I will share how we prepare our beds while continuing our spring yard work. (I’m using “we” liberally here as Paul has done all this yard work alone. :-))

Question: What plans do you have for your yard work this spring?

Dental & Vision Insurance: Dental Documents

May 20, 2012 by Tracy

If you are following my document organization series and keeping up, then you are over halfway done organizing your insurance documents. Congratulations!

Thus far in Box 2, we have our personal, life, major medical, tax-favored programs, and prescription insurance documents.

With a total of nine categories in this box, today begins category six – dental and vision insurance.

Dental & Vision Insurance

Dental insurance documents

Vision insurance documents

Dental Insurance Documents

Summary Page

The first item in this eighth file opening is my handy-dandy summary page. (The handy-dandy comment comes from watching Blue’s Clues with my toddler. :-)) My summary page includes the benefits administrator’s contact information along with our policy numbers and insurance provider contact information. For more details on my summary page, I dedicated this post with an explanation.

Dental Insurance Documents

The details of our dental insurance coverage are in our insurance benefits guide housed in our major medical category. However, I have a couple other items that I keep within this file opening.

1. Copies of the front and back of our dental insurance cards, and

2. Correspondence from dental provider about activation, claim processing, and contact information.

These pages are paper clipped together and placed behind the summary page.

In using time wisely, I gathered these documents and keep them in this eighth file opening. When I question a claim or need to contact the company, I come to this file opening and quickly gain that information which saves me energy and time. Keep up the great work as you continue organizing your important documents. Happy organizing!

Question: Is your dental care insurance joint with your major medical insurance?

How to Address Pricing Discrepancies – Part 1 of 2

May 19, 2012 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (James Brooks)

As you check your receipt from a purchase, does your face change when you find a discrepancy? Obviously mine does.

My son enjoys watching my face as I scan receipts after a transaction. He likes to forecast whether we will leave the store or head to customer service. 🙂

In part 1 of this short series, I will share how I address pricing discrepancies before leaving the store.

Next week, I will share how I handle these issues when I discover the discrepancy after leaving the store.

Using this five-step plan makes this process relaxed without aggravating or aggressively attacking the customer service representative.

STEP ONE: Identify the Problem

If you notice that you paid more than you calculated, then find where the error occurred before heading to customer service. Were all your coupons deducted? Did the item ring up incorrectly? Did you get the wrong item?

Going to customer service stating, “My total was incorrect; It should have been $50, not $70” does not help the customer service representative solve the issue.

On the other hand, going to the representative stating, “These frozen vegetables are in the weekly advertisement as buy one, get one free, but they rang up full price,” will point the employee to the problem to solve. Knowing where the error occurred helps the representative solve the issue.

STEP TWO: Greet the Customer Service Representative

This employee is at work. He or she has family and friends. This person probably had nothing to do with your problem. By beginning your conversation with a friendly, soft-spoken, non-confrontational greeting will set the atmosphere for solving the problem. Kindness goes a long way, and there is no need to get nasty or furious.

STEP THREE: Wait for a Solution

Present your problem and wait. Giving the representative time to think, check the weekly sales advertisement, or call a manager will aid in his or her response. Stepping back to let them work gives you both space to assess the issue.

STEP FOUR: Listen to the Solution

Allow the representative to give you the solution or the options before responding. If you need an option clarified, then repeat what you understand and ask any questions.

STEP FIVE: Choose a Solution

If you agree with a solution offered by the representative, then take it. If you disagree, then ask to speak to a manager. If you do not get the solution you want, then you still have these options:

1. Leave the store

2. Ask for the district manager’s contact information

3. Request the company’s corporate customer service number

When you notice and address a pricing discrepancy, identify the problem, kindly greet the customer service representative, wait for a solution, listen to the solution, and choose a solution. Throughout the process, be kind, direct, and professional.

You may or may not solve the problem at that time. If the problem gets solved, then thank the representative and leave. If not, then you have more options. You can leave and address your concerns with a district manager or the corporate office. Whatever the outcome, be polite and firm and continue stretching your dollars while using time wisely.

Question: Do you find customer service representatives helpful with your concerns?