Balloon Boy

Turns out he wasn’t in the balloon after all (might it be a publicity stunt!)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI6UONWCq7A&feature=popt00ca00[/youtube]

Baby Survives Being Run Over By Tram (Train)

It is my understanding this baby survived unharmed… unbelievable!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tlrMwWU5ZQ&feature=popt00ca15[/youtube]

If you believe Full Moons affect people, then I guess you are NO different than many Police Officers and Emergency Room staff all over the world. http://www.skepdic.com/fullmoon.html

The reality is, that once the statistics of Full Moons are applied to hospital room visits, extortion scandals, typhoons and even breast cancer, it is revealed that a harvest moon or full moon is just any other day of the year. You may have heightened awareness on these days, but statistically it isn’t any more weird than other days of the lunar phase.

No offense if you are Police Officer or Emergency Room doctor.

If you are a thrill seeker who is bored with jumping out of planes… you’ll want to do this!

For everyone else be prepared to hold your breath!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SftUYBXiVS4[/youtube]

The idea of writing a book called Is Customer Service Dead, came to me a few years back when I was completing a chapter in my first book entitled, ‘Bend Over & Apologize.’ In that chapter, amongst other things, I recounted a bad experience with a pair of Hush Puppy dress shoes that ended with me couriering my dirty footwear directly to the CEO of Hush Puppies, Inc. My customer service is dead story ended with me being a semi-satisfied Hush Puppy owner, but I know my story literally pales in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of personal stories, both good & bad just screaming to be collected into a book.

Let’s face it, we have all personally experienced, or at the very least, heard way too many gut wrenching customer service horror stories that usually end up fading away, and over time are forgotten. Even worse, there are great customer service stories that never get told, and that is a true shame!

Not anymore…

There are several ways I will be collecting people’s stories for Is Customer Service Dead:

(A)   People can comment on this blog post. If you or someone you know has a story to tell just click the comment button below and spill your guts. Make sure your email is valid, as if your story is selected for inclusion in the book, I will need to get in touch with you.

(B)   Soon people will be able to  comment on www.IsCustomerServiceDead.net (June 2009)

(C)  You or anyone can email your story to leeraito@gmail.com

There has to be some pretty crazy stories out there, and we are all dying to hear them. Even if you just want to answer the question, “Is Customer Service Dead?” I look forward to your response!

Do we trust the medical doctors, the naturopathic doctors, the FDA or do we trust people like Jenny Thompson who is neither? 

It  makes you wonder who you can REALLY trust as an information source on the internet these days. I don’t normally post information like this but felt compelled to see what other people think. I’m not vouching PRO or CON the speaker, but below is the video. I would also suggest you look at this article that claims the video is a mixture of accurate and inaccurate information. http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/gardasil.asp

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msoyRYSoSJk[/youtube]

What do you think?

Mahatma Gandhi was quoted as saying, “Be the change you want to see in the world!”

I agree and don’t know too many people that would dispute Gandhi. This quote has been an inspiration to me, but for some reason, has always seemed incomplete… So my deepest apologies to Gandhi but I changed it!

“To be the change you want to see in the world you must constantly be changing!”~ Lee Raito

Change is the one constant we can all count on. Whether it’s changing to an iPhone, changing your income, or changing your lifestyle…

YOU just have to decide to change and go for it.

Mahatma Gandhi would have loved the iPhone!!!

1. You ‘Secretly’ want to get rid of your computer, and sort of enjoy the fact that some pimple faced hacker genius teenager on the other side of the world can use your PC while you sleep to send millions of spam emails.
2. You have a crush on the technician at the computer shop and you feel the monthly $29.95 Virus Removal charge is more economical than the online dating site eHarmony! Oops… another Trojan horse!
3. You’re broke or just plain too cheap. (Guess nobody told you basic AVG was free!!!)
4. Your Mom works for Norton.
5. Last, but not least, you’re a Hacker and think it would just be DUMB to use anything that is legit.

For everyone else…

In business, we use our imagination to fill in the blanks when we don’t have all of the information, and  our customers do the same. What we think we see, is sometimes only partially true because our brains are hard wired to fill in blind spots and missing information with out us even realizing it. For example, an upset client conversation with your company’s representative goes bad, and after hearing both sides of the story you play back the recording. Wow! How could both the customer and the rep both been so wrong, do they actually even remember talking to each other. Yes, they each probably remember 10% of what was actually said, then their mind “Makes Up” the rest. Think to yourself, is there any situation that you could swear happened a certain way in your life only to discover you were completely wrong. You aren’t crazy…it’s just the way the mind works. We make up stuff to fill in the blanks.

Here is a cool demonstration to prove we all have blind spots, and by that I mean a part of your eye that you cannot see out of. The only logical, and clinical explanation, after seeing this is that every day our mind is forced to fill in the blanks. Our mind does a such good job of it we can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what our mind has conveniently filled in.

So the next time you are faced with that nagging thought of, “Did I think I just see that!” or “I can’t believe that conversation!” Remember, it might have been your mind filling in the blanks!

Print out the below picture and follow the instructions:

Instructions: ( Print the sheet out and hold it in your right hand with your arm fully extended. Close your left eye and stare at the plus sign in the diagram with your right eye. Off to the right you should be able to see the spot. Now slowly move the sheet closer to your face while continuing to stare at the plus sign . At a particular distance (everyone’s a little different), the spot will disappear (it will reappear again if you move the sheet closer or farther away). You have just discovered your blind spot. )

Here is a PPT file of the image: http://www.leeraito.com/download/BlindSpot.PPT

If you have seen any other good examples please post a comment!

Do you ever find you get side tracked and time just magically disappears on you? 

Maybe it’s Facebook that sucked you in to a 23 minute tangent, or maybe it was that funny video link your buddy sent you that forced you at gun point to go surf on YouTube for 30 minutes.  

Either way, I have found a new tool from Yahoo Widgets called Ten Plus Two that is so dead simple it works. It displays a ten minute timer on your screen and then gives you a little alarm when it runs out, then it gives you two minutes before it starts over again. They say it was designed to get up and take break every ten minutes, which is a great idea too, but I think it better suited as a consistent reminder to get back on task when you have been side tracked by mother internet. 

If you don’t have Yahoo Widgets already, you’ll need to first get the Yahoo Widget Software, and then just do a quick search for Ten Plus Two. Not only will you be cured of your bad internet habits, at least until you forget to start using it, but they have about 5000 other cool widgets you just might find pretty cool as well. 

http://widgets.yahoo.com/