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...r on telephones, and prearranged ambulance services for any emergency are avai...

...ived at the hospital from a long ambulance ride, the pain medication she had b... not to her. Perhaps the bedpan operators, rather than the other professio...

...t you should have at hand: 1. Ambulance 2. Fire rescue 3. Poison control ...

... Trip!11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM by John Graham This content has not been rated yet. AVOIDING THE DANGERS: IT'S NO TIME TO TRIP! by John Graham It happened on Thursday after lunch as I ran up five steps to the office holding a cup of coffee. On the second step, I tripped. Instantly I knew what happened. "Call an ambulance," I shouted. It was a complete quadriceps tendon tear; this time on the right thigh. Four months later, the surgeon's final checkup concluded with these words of caution, "Don't trip." Those words also make good business advice. While "Don't trip!" is a powerful message, it can be ignored, even at a time when it's easier than ever to ... that say about the company? A well-meaning company has a Web site promoting its annual clothing drive. Unfortunately, the dates of the drive were missing. A highly regarded insurance company sends out e-mail messages with grammar and spelling mistakes. Minor matters? Perhaps. However, they fuel the way we perceive companies. Don't kid yourself. Just as more customers are embracing self-check out at supermarkets, other operators are rejecting it. They maintain that they want to interact with their customers, particularly in the check out line. Really? Haven't they noticed that many cashiers are texting, talking to other employees, and yawning? Haven't they noticed the way some of them handle the food, with bread and tomatoes stuffed in the bottom of a bag? Why not give customers a choice? All too ...

... . Finally, there are federal, state, and local government lists. They're generally free or next to free and can be highly targeted to a specific type of business. Lists of individual consumers are also available. WHERE TO FIND GOVERNMENT LISTS The main problem with government lists is that they're hard to find. My company developed a marketing program for an Emergency Medical Service (EMS), or ambulance service, in Texas. When we first began looking for prospect names, we called the state government offices in Austin. We began with a phone number that provides general information. The people there directed us to the Texas Department of Health. After talking with several people about what we were looking for, we learned that the department had a list of every EMS provider licensed in the state ... lists this way because the process is much harder that it sounds at first. For another program, I was able to obtain a list of the Workers Compensation policy information for all the business in a particular area. But getting it took more than six months and many phone calls! The first place to start looking for government lists is your state's Information Offices listed in the phone book. The operators at these offices usually are trained to handle information requests from people who don't know where to go within the state bureaucracy. If you're not successful, try these: Governor's Office-Because the responsibilities of various state offices often overlap, it might be helpful to begin your data search by contacting the governor's office. Every state has a central switchboard to field inquiries regarding state business, but the number is ...

...rgency Medical Service (EMS), or ambulance service, in Texas. When we first be...fices listed in the phone book. The operators at these offices usually are tra...

...-aid materials, emergency, fire, ambulance, rescue squad, and doctor's telepho...

... year. We generally take three people-myself and two other producers-and that's very expensive. But we've seen a good return on that investment. The people in this field like to see you, slap you on the back and buy you a beer. The best advertising is word-of-mouth, and the conventions are one way to get that. Regnier recently added two more dbas to her agency-Municipal Services Agency of Texas and Ambulance Insurance Services of Texas-after CIGNA opened two new markets: municipalities with less than 10,000 people and privately owned ambulance companies. Nobody wants to mess with small municipalities, but after Glatfelter designed a program for them, ' she says. We think this will let us pick up a few of the fire departments and emergency organizations that have to be insured through their municipalities, too. That ... who had just opened her agency in 1982, heeded the warning. She just recently turned her existing commercial and personal clients over to another agency and concentrated on niches. It was an absolutely, fantastically wonderful thing to do, ' she says. I'm not sure where we'd be today if we hadn't done that. In 1985, Regnier purchased Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services (VFIS) of Texas , which operates as a Regnier & Associates dba. In the first eight months, the agency doubled its premiums. Regnier & Associates has an exclusive marketing agreement with the national VFIS organization, a subsidiary of the Glatfelter Insurance Group of York, Penn. CIGNA underwrites VFIS programs. The secret to any niche is to identify what people need and want, ' says Regnier. No one was doing that for ...

...l Services Agency of Texas and Ambulance Insurance Services of Texas-after C... of injury. It also found that camp operators were frustrated by wild fluctuat...

... your Common Sense (read the signs), especially in situations where the people you work with or who "work on you" don't. Episode # 2 — Unmet Needs Motivate. Pyschologist Abraham Maslow was a bright guy. His pyramid of human needs began with Survival, followed by Security, Social Acceptance, Self-Esteem, and Self-Actualization. Shortly after my mother-in-law arrived at the hospital from a long ambulance ride, the pain medication she had been given wore off. She started to hurt. When she asked for pain medicine, the hospital staff (who had been alerted about her pending arrival hours earlier) announced that the doctor hadn't ordered it yet. The system might have anticipated that an 80-something-year-old traveling in an ambulance for more than 12 hours might need pain medication when she arrived (while ... how smart you are, I want you to recognize and celebrate how smart I am. It's not about your ego; it's about mine. In all too many cases, I observed intelligent, highly trained medical professionals missing the communications boat by talking down to patients in language they didn't understand and at a pace they couldn't retain. The most effective communications occurred with the housekeeping staff and the bedpan operator — perhaps because these professionals had more time, less ego, and by the nature of their jobs made a more intimate connection with the patient. They were doing something for the patient, not to her. Perhaps the bedpan operators, rather than the other professionals, should teach/facilitate communications and customer service classes. Episode #6 — Dream, Dream, Dream. Dreams can be ...