Celebrating Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday

Nelson Mandela's Birthday

• "Rolihlahla Mandela was born into the Madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei, on July 18, 1918, to Nonqaphi Nosekeni and Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela, principal counsellor to the Acting King of the Thembu people, Jongintaba Dalindyebo."

Thembu people

• "The Thembu are one of the handful of nations and population groups which speak Xhosa in South Africa. In Xhosa the name is abaThembu, aba- being a common prefix for peoples. In the 19th century they were frequently known as the "Tamboekie" or "Tambookie" people. The most internationally famous Thembu person is Nelson Mandela, whose father was a reigning nobleman from a junior branch of the Madiba clan of kings. Walter Sisulu was also of Thembu descent, on his mother's side.[1] The land in which they lived was historically known as Thembuland."

Xhosa language

• "Xhosa /ˈkoʊsə/[3] (Xhosa: isiXhosa [isikǁʰóːsa]) is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said with a rising or falling or high or low intonation. One of the most distinctive features of the language is the prominence of click consonants; the word "Xhosa" begins with a click."

Sources: wikipedia and the Nelson Mandela webpage:

http://www.nelsonmandela.org

Nelson Mandela and South Africa

The youtube video, made by the e news channel of Africa, briefly explains the visions of Mandela's work and some of his governmental issues.

• AIDS: How the disease is becoming a national epidemic and what needs to be done in order to stop it and help those affected by it.
• CHILDREN: Mandela's empathy and love for children and the foundations his government made for the needed children.
• EDUCATION: The way South Africa education system is failing their citizen and the work he has done to restructure it for a better one.
• LEGACY: What Mandela means for South Africa and the world.
• POVERTY: His views of poverty and what he achieved and what needs to be done.
• MAGIC: The power of sport as a common ground and what it means for our political health.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuqJpnSO1jc

How to Handle Difficult Customers by Myra Golden

How to Handle Difficult Customers by Myra Golden

Way to start conversation with an angry customer:

-10 first seconds are crucial
-Take control
-Listen to customer
-Limit responses
-Acknowledge anger: channel emotions

Customer's actions and customer service way to handle it:

-If a customer vents the customer services representative has to listen carefully:

-Give full attention
-Offer simple reassurance, not interrupting for a small period of time(20 secs), no more, it will make it worst.

-Acknowledge emotion :

        Is the customer angry, why.
        Is the customer confused, why.

Understand also why and find a communication chain. USE FEEDBACK, ask questions.

-Understand customers expectations and solve them, help them and make them your task for the moment and solve them in the most professional and easy going way, as fast as it can be, as efficient as it can be.

Use some ideal phrases to connect with customer.

-Channel customers emotions and frustrations and transform them into resolutions and solutions; emotions are irrational filled with some personal feelings, understand that customers dont want to deal with some problems and that things happened, shift those emotions into rational thinking, it will make the customer acceptable when finding a solution. Make the customer think and realize that things will change and improve with cooperation.

-Ask simple questions in order to ease the irrational emotions, and then solve the problem, make the experience a changing experience and solve the problem, make the customer satisfied with the experience.

-Personal: study all customer service related problems, and think their problems and solution, also be aware of all kinds of the companies regulations and rules.

-Important: let the customer vent, understand their issues and solve them.

-Some important words to remind those in the area of customer service when dealing with irate customers are to: START<STOP<CONTINUE.

START to talk and take control of the situation in a simple and professional way.

STOP and listen to the issue

CONTINUE to ask some questions in order to best help the customer's issue and resolve it in the most simple and professional way.

Remember that customers will be angry at you because that's the only way they can be angry at somethings they dont fully understand, the goal of a customer service is to provide help and guidance in order to solve and satisfy the customer, in their continuation of the product or service.