Ballymore required a super-fast development turnaround of The Embassy Gardens website and together with creation of a new iPad App for the Hong Kong launch, it has been all hands to the deck to ensure everything could be completed in a mere 5 days.  The website and App are now up and running and available for prospective purchasers to register their interest in this beautiful new development set in a prime location. http://www.embassygardens.hk/

Other locations coming soon.

Providing excellent customer service is a goal for everyone, not just for salespeople.

Sometimes I wonder if people forget this fact.

Consumers can and will hire the services of a different lawyer,  caterer, podiatrist etc if they find that they are being mistreated by rude frontline staff.

When hiring reception staff it is imperative that you hire someone who will not only keep your day book in order, but understands that her role also involves selling you and your services to anyone who walks through the door. That can look like explaining what your services are in a polite and  friendly manner or ushering elderly people to a nearby waiting room chair. It means going the extra mile to ensure that your clients are happy and enjoy their time in your office.

Think back to the last time you encountered a frontline worker like the one illustrated in the comic above; what thoughts ran through your head? Did you get a little irritated? Did you want to complain? Did you go home and tell your friends or family about the man behind the desk who didn’t even bother to look up at you when you approached, let alone smile or make eye contact?

With the popularity of location based social networks on the rise, this is even more important. Now, in the heat of the moment an angry or dissatisfied prospect can check in on Foursquare or Yelp and leave a tip explaining that your intern is a dragon lady who rolled her eyes and made you wait for ten minutes when you asked a question or tried to reschedule appointments. Is that the kind of reputation you want your office to have? I didn’t think so.

Train your front line people in the art of excellent customer service. Explain to them that the more business you do, the better off everyone will be and that he or she is the ambassador for Company X and must remember that his or her actions will affect the entire team. Offer an incentive such as a bonus, gift certificate or an employee of the month style appreciation for whomever creates the friendliest atmosphere or garners the most positive comments from clients. Remember the Law of Attraction; whatever we are putting out there, we will receive. If you and your staff are creating a hostile environment then you will attract troublesome people to your business.

So make it an obligatory condition that your secretary or doorman smile, offer coffee, a helping hand, or a warm and friendly greeting. Your wallet will thank you.

We are of course lucky to have such lovely clients who were happy to say lovely things about the work we do.  And for that, we’d like to say thank you to all of them who took the time to provide feedback.

So, whilst we might not have managed to lift an accolade this year, we have been recognised for being in the top 1% of great digital agencies nationally, and for that we are really chuffed.  As they say, onwards and upwards for the small agency with big talent and we already have our noses back to the grindstone doing great work in anticipation of good things to come.

Are knee injuries in dogs as common as sports’ athletes?

The short answer is yes. The anatomy of the knee in humans and dogs is very similar. One of the most common sports-related injuries in human athletes is an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear. In dogs, the same ligament is called the CCL (cranial cruciate ligament) and injury to it can cause significant lameness in your dog.

If you notice your dog becomes suddenly lame on a leg, it is best to have the leg examined by one of our veterinarians. If the lameness is in a hind leg, the most common site of the problem is the knee or CCL. Diagnosing a torn CCL can be difficult. Some dogs show severe signs of pain while others show only minor signs. The CCL can be partially torn or completely torn. Normally, an exam under sedation and/or radiographs (X-rays) is necessary to confirm a torn CCL. We often advise bloodwork as well, because dogs with CCL injuries require pain medications to increase their comfort.

Most CCL tears require surgery to correct the problem. We recommend this surgery be performed by a board-certified veterinary orthopedic surgeon. There are a number of types of surgeries to repair the CCL and referral surgeons are most up-to-date on the latest techniques. Most dogs return to normal or near-normal function following surgery, but significant care and rehabilitation is necessary at home to ensure a successful recovery. Unfortunately, about 50% of dogs that tear one CCL tear the other CCL in about 6-12 months.

The most critical component of recovery following surgery is rest and rehabilitation. At Green Valley, we offer laser therapy which has been shown to help surgical incisions and joints heal faster and increase mobility following orthopedic procedures. If we diagnose a CCL and need to refer you for surgery, we will be sure to speak with you about laser therapy and the different packages available to speed your friend on the road to recovery.

Meet CoCo:

CoCo is a 9 year old Chow Chow mix who came into us a few months ago showing signs of a torn CCL. She was running and playing in the yard, and then suddenly was holding up her right hind leg.

After some X-rays and getting started on some pain medications–we referred CoCo down to PVSEC (Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center).

Shortly after her consult, CoCo had surgery to repair the torn CCL. Just a few short months later, CoCo is doing so much better–and when she was in to visit us for some vaccines, you would never know she had been injured!

A mixture of diagnostics, medical attention, and TLC from her Mom had CoCo back on her feet in no time at all!

Work Life:  OK, I admit it.  I’m a number geek.  My most exciting post of the week (from my perspective): “Woo hoo! I LOVE when the numbers tie out!”  Also, I love when clients are so happy they rave about me online.  That is best!

Another thing I love about my business: our SFTP server.  It’s a secure way to transfer sensitive, financial documents to/from clients.  Better yet, it’s free to our clients and I don’t have to pay or trust an outside source for this convenience and piece of mind.  Thank you to my tech guru!

Parenting Funny:  After hearing the popular song “Sexy and I Know It” on the bus, our 7 year-old daughter sang some of the lyrics for me.  She sang, “I’ve got Fashion in my pants and I’m not afraid to show it.”  LOL!

Exercise:  I had a hard time accepting that I had an injury (x-ray said toe was not broken despite nurse’s guess that it was).  It was hard to take time off, not only because I’m trying to lose recently gained weight, but because it’s my release, Me Time.  So I did take a couple of days off, then switched to upper body and ab work to avoid using my foot.  Thankfully, it was just a toe  issue and it was not broken.  By the end of the week, I worked up to slowly running again and I returned to karate, which was great.  Next up is the Jean Bean virtual race and one month to my 1st local 5k race.  Woo hoo!

So, how about you?

• What are your workout goals this Spring?
• What do you love about your business/work?
• Parenting highlight to share?

“I hired Laura to organise my bucks party. We only had three days in Bali and wanted to make the most of my last days of freedom.
Laura made us feel like VIPs. She took care of all aspects of our trip. From reserving the best tables at the best bars and restaurants to arranging our own private security guard!!
For the whole trip we felt like royalty, all the entertainment was very tasteful and classy, nothing was too much trouble and even the small details were taken care of. I have been to Bali numerous times, and getting someone like Laura to take the hassle out of planning the trip made it a dream.
I would highly recommend Laura for any type of trip or occasion you were planning in Bali. She really took care of us and made sure I had a buck’s party to remember for a long time to come!!”

In early January, I saw a 2-year old female tortoise-shell kitty named Kiki because the owner had noticed she was losing weight and her skin was turning yellow. When I examined Kiki, she was very jaundice (yellow), weak, dehydrated, and thin. I discussed with the owner that there was likely a problem in Kiki’s blood and it was causing damage to the liver. When we performed bloodwork on Kiki, we found that she was very anemic and an infection was present in her blood. We also performed X-rays and found her liver was larger than normal.

I spoke with Kiki’s owner and told her Kiki needed to be hospitalized and started on IV fluids and medications. I also discussed with her owner that Kiki was very sick and might not survive the infection. Since Kiki was so young and the treatment was fairly simple, we decided to try. Kiki left the hospital after two days when she finally began to eat on her own. We sent her home with a number of medications including antibiotics, fluids for the owner to give at home, vitamin supplements, anti-nausea medication, and steroids. Kiki’s owner was very dedicated and I spoke with her on the phone at least 1-2 times per week to make sure Kiki was making progress.

After about two weeks, Kiki started to begin acting like her old self at home. Her appetite increased and she started to play and look less yellow. We are happy to inform everyone that Kiki is now back to normal. We are still weaning her off steroids but it appears the infection has cleared and she’ll be able to lead a normal life.

Blood parasites in cats are most often transmitted by flea bites. It is very important – even with indoor only cats – to use a topical flea preventive recommended by your veterinarian to prevent your cat from getting fleas – and the disease they can transmit.

–Dr. Dohanich

For those of you who haven’t heard, we spent the last week and a bit working on a variety of digital media for an overseas sales exhibition. We created a beautifully engaging touchscreen application, a 3D CGI animated screensaver, launched a shiny new website and an interactive sales application for a few ipads. All this (and a few extra bits and bobs) were shipped over to Singapore early last week in preparation for another overseas sales expo.

Well the weekend is over, the sales guys have worked their socks off and aided by the digital media we created the results are amazing.

The biggest sales result in the last 3 years from an overseas expo!

The cherry on the cake is a lovely email from our client saying thank you. It really is our pleasure.

We’re all absolutely delighted to be one of the Recommended Agency (RAR) finalists for the Best in Digital award, wow!

Our clients have been asked to anonymously rate our service, creativity, delivery, strategy, and a few other key factors. This information has been downloaded and analysed by the crack team at RAR and the top 10 scoring agencies in each category are then shortlisted as finalists for the national awards…. That means us!

We’ve made the top 10 Best in Digital and we’re over the moon.

Obviously a lot of care, attention and hard work goes into each of the projects we work on and we’re feeling hugely appreciated by our lovely clients.

Cream cakes and a glass of bubbles are definitely the order of the day.

My name is Bailey and I am a 13-year old Golden Retriever. This past summer I was diagnosed with a degenerative neurologic disease in my back and spine. Unfortunately, this disease caused me to become paralyzed in my hind legs. To put it plain and simple, one day I woke up and was unable to walk or even stand. I could no longer move my back legs. Everything else with me was fine, especially my passion for life and my drive to continue to be part of my human family.

Speaking of my family, I have the best one ever. They never gave up on me. Because of my family, my veterinarians and nurses at Green Valley Veterinary Hospital, and modern technology, I am able to walk again! I use a custom-fitted cart that raises up my back legs so I can get around.

I remember the first time Dr. Dohanich at Green Valley fitted me into my cart. I was very scared and did not know what he was doing. I had no idea why I had all these straps and bars attached to me. After all, it had been well over a month since I lost the use of my back legs and I was lying around a lot. But with some determination and practice, I figured out that the cart allowed me to move around and it became easier each day.

I got so excited about the cart that I even got a flat tire when I went off-road one day. Luckily, the guy at the bike shop was able to repair my tire. I am not sure what tomorrow holds for me but I do know one thing. I am going for a walk with my family today!

Thanks Green Valley,

Bailey

If you have a senior pet with special needs, or need guidance on senior pet care, we are more than happy to help you. Please call our office to discuss your pet’s unique needs as he/she ages.

http://www.itsthaihometaurant.com/

Hooper presented on 12/12/2011 for sudden onset of lethargy and not eating for two days. Even though Hooper had a few minor health scares in the past, his owner knew something wasn’t right with her friend.

Upon physical exam, Dr. McElhinny was alarmed when his heart rate was only between 28-30 beats per minute (normal 80-140 beats per minute). Dr. M immediately advised Hooper’s owner to begin diagnostics. His blood work showed elevations consistent with kidney disease; radiographs showed changes in his lungs; and EKG revealed 3^rd degree AV block (the top part of the heart and bottom heart chambers are not communicating properly). As we continued to try and improve Hooper’s condition, Dr. McElhinny advised it would be in Hooper’s best interest that we transport him to PVSEC (Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center), where he could be provided with a veterinary specialist and 24 hour nursing care.

Upon admittance to the emergency department, he was transferred immediately to Cardiology. It was there that a temporary pacemaker was surgically placed to get him through the night. From there, his heart rate remained steady at 60 beats per minute. The following morning a permanent pacemaker was placed into his right jugular vein.

The exact cause of Hooper’s disease is unknown, and has resulted in a slower than normal heart rate. Prolonged pauses in the rhythm can lead to weakness, collapse, and sometimes sudden death. If Hooper would not have received prompt medical attention and a pacemaker, there is no telling what could have happened.

Because he is a young, active dog Hooper will most likely outlive the battery of the pacemaker. But no worries, that is easy to replace!

On January 23, 2012, Hooper returned to Green Valley for his annual exam and vaccines. The staff and his owner can best describe his attitude that day as a “typical terrier”, energetic and jumping around the room. We are so happy that Hooper has returned to his normal, playful self and that him and his owner are able to rest a little easier!

“Great Customer service!! Derek and Leslie took great care of me. Low stress and easy goin!!! Buy from Glendale Nissan!!” Jasmine W.

Cool. Just gonna say it one more time, we appreciate you so much. You are responsive and on top of the market. I can’t express to you how much it helps calm my nerves knowing that you are keeping up with the market and are knowledgeable about what is going on. This experience is night and day, the communication, the marketing, the awareness of the market…all of it. I can honestly say that I trust your judgment and I no longer have the concern that I know more about selling a house than the realtor, which is a HUGE relief for me. I know I say it a lot, and trust me I am not usually effusive with praise, but I am so glad to have you right now.

Tasha ;o)

This is why most of what I do is repeat and referrals !