Guaranty Association Benefits Company

Much of what we do every day boils right down to common sense, and that includes phone etiquette. It does not take a PhD to understand common courtesy phone, such as the stop typing when you take a call or ask if there is anything you can help with before ending the call. These are the courtesies we would have extended to us and we should always extend to our customers.

Here are some tips to help you with good phone etiquette :.

1. Watch Paying attention to the needs of the caller and understanding of phrases that could frustrate them is very important. When a caller is already upset, avoid phrases that may disrupt more like, "I'm sorry, that's not my job."
2. Empathize. It is important to remember that the caller may be facing a difficult situation, therefore empathize and extending the same courtesy that you would like to spread you will help provide excellent customer service.
3. Remember courtesies. remember common courtesies like "please" and "thank you" will make the caller feel that you care.
4. Avoid jargon / slang. Avoid using acronyms or business jargon that confuse the customer. It is also important not to use slang like "yep" and "is not." the use of slang can make us appear unpolished and unprofessional.
5. propose solutions / alternatives. Finally, to propose solutions to the customer, even if it is only to say that you research the issue and give them a call. The customer needs to feel confident that they will be addressed. It is OK to ask for more time to research, but always make sure to reconnect with the timely customer.

For more advice on a wide label phone and business service front-line customer Customer Service or Back to Basics Advice services to customers. Do you have telephone advice of the label you want to share?

The holidays are here and everyone is buzzing about cooking, shopping, cleaning and pointing ... ! For many, the holiday season is a time of joy, peace, fun, and family. But for others, the season can create stress and feelings of loneliness or sadness extra. People can be very emotional, maybe in a bad mood, and even saying at this time of year. If you are a customer service professional like me, you might need to remind you of this fact so that you can empathize with the less-than-jolly customers!

Here are some ways you can handle the stress of the season and have a happy holiday.

• Set priorities and stick to your gift budget
• Volunteer to help others.
• not to schedule yourself.
• Stop to enjoy your hard work.
• spend time with people who care about you.
• Stay active.
• Allow time for yourself.

We all want to offer an incredible vacation experience for our family. What we must remember is that for them, we are the most precious gift. So enjoy, eat, be merry, and let excessive stress! Click here to learn more about how to "let go"

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With a massive blizzard on the East, I thought maybe it would be a good time to share some tips on how to prepare for a power outage in the cold weather. Strong winds and two feet of snow could mean power lines downed, fallen trees, and more. Here are some tips to help you prepare for Mother Nature's fury.

• Put new batteries in all flashlights and portable radios and place them all in a central location for easy access. Also charge your electronics in advance of the storm.
• Keep on hand extra batteries for your electronic devices, including phones and laptops. You can also purchase a solar hand crank charger to charge your electronics. Another idea is to also have car chargers for these items so that you can load in your car if you have no power
• For those with well water, fill your bathtub with water sanitation purposes. This can be used for toilets without power.
• Set your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest settings. Do not open the doors of the refrigerator or freezer without any power and this will keep your food cold for up to 24 hours. A fully packed freezer can last up to 48 hours.
• Make sure you have plenty of fuel. If you have a secondary heat source, like a stove stove fireplace / wood / pellets, make sure to supply fuel for these heat sources to keep your home warm all without power. properly ventilate the room where the stove / fireplace is located.
• cover windows with plastic or against installing windows and caulk and weather-strip doors and windows to keep the cold air and warm air.
• Wrap pipes in insulation or layers of newspaper and let the faucets drip drip to help prevent freezing. To learn more about preventing frozen pipes, watch this video.
• Buy a generator and have an electrician install so you can run the basic necessities of your home while without power. Watch this video for more information on the use of a generator.
• Make sure the your vehicle gas tanks are at least half full. Service stations need electricity for their pumps to work.
• Stock articles on bottled water and food that does not require refrigeration.
• Gather all the blankets and keep them in an easily accessible place.

Storms can be frightening, especially if you lose power for a period of time. The tips listed above will help you weather the storm until the threat has passed and the power is restored. To learn more about preparing for severe weather, visit the storm season is here ... Are you ready? and cold weather and frost warning tip sheets.

It never ceases to amaze me how modern life seems designed to make us overlook what is really important. One of the things that millions of Americans neglect is also one of the most vital and primitive biological functions :. Drinking water

Human ingenuity has produced a wide assortment of beverages that serve as alternatives to a good cleaning, glass, refreshing of 'water. Needless to list them all here; we are all familiar with them. Most of them contain a certain proportion of water, but they also contain a number of ingredients and harmful chemicals that we could really do without!

What is really surprising is the number of common health complaints that can result from not drinking enough of the substance. Some of the symptoms are obvious, such as increased thirst and dry mouth, but some of them are not at all clear

• Fatigue or sleepiness
• Headache
• dry skin
• Vertigo
• little or no tears

But that is just beginning. Acute dehydration can cause:

• Dizziness or lightheadedness that does not allow a person to stand or walk normally
• A sudden drop in blood pressure when a person tries stand
• rapid heart rate
• Fever
• Poor skin elasticity
• Lethargy, confusion, or coma
• before
• impact

what is also interesting to note that the time you feel thirsty or dry mouth, you are already in the territory of dehydration. So be proactive. When you see a water fountain, enjoy. When you are in a restaurant or in the drive-through, water control in place of the pop (coke, for those south of the Mason-Dixon.) When you're at home, keep a glass of water close and make a habit of frequent recharging. And before rushing to the doctor to cure your headache or dry skin, try a pint of good, old-fashioned, God-given H ₂ 0!

Do you have any tips or tricks to increase your daily water intake? If so, please share!

With the recent snowstorm activity across the country and warmer temperatures just around the corner, we will soon be in the middle of a major snow collapse. Sump pumps become a key piece of equipment in your home. This reminds me of my own experience with my sump pump.

He started on a rainy Friday in December. My family, including my mother-in-law, left for vacation to see Mickey and Minnie later tonight. The whole family was excited, impatient of the trip and some warm weather.

I left for work early this morning while my wife finished packing for vacation. Two hours later, I received a frantic call from my wife, our basement was full of 6 to 8 inches of water. The sump pump had malfunctioned and water continued to flow into the basement. I was at two o'clock so I tried to calm her. Then she asked two very important questions. First, do we have an insurance cover for the incident of water? As someone who works in the insurance industry, I quickly and proudly answered, yes, we do! However, the second question was not as easy to answer. Why not replace the sump pump after you told me he was wearing down and make noises? Let's just say that I really do no good answer to that one.

As I pulled into the driveway, I saw that Servpro was at home cleaning up the mess. At the same time, I see my mother-in-law pulling into the driveway with four police cars behind it. I quickly rushed and talk with officers who say she hit a car at a red light and never stopped. The car that she hit called 911 and the police pursuit ensued for four miles, ending at my driveway.

So here I am with a woman who is ready to kill me, a brother-mother who is willing to be arrested, Servpro and the insurance adjuster who want my attention, and three children ask me when we start to see Mickey and Minnie! I said, "How could I have avoided this mess?"

To save you in the same situation, here are some of the most common sump pump problems and what you can do to avoid flooding of the basement (# 5 says it all for me)

1. power failure your primary sump pump is no different from any other electrical device in your house - .. without power, it is completely unnecessary. As a safeguard, invest in a high quality backup sump pump.
2. switch was blocked. There are several types of switches sump float. Plumbers prefer vertical floats attached because floats are known to be on the side walls of the sump pit that may result in a flooded basement.
3. pump was submerged. All pumps are created equal. In life, you always get what you pay for. Minimally, you need a sump pump 1/3 power capable of pumping 35 liters of water per minute. If your house is located in a high water table as my home, I suggest you switch to a 1/2 power pump (which can typically pump about 60 gallons per minute). And to be completely safe, buy a backup pump battery!
4. sump discharge pipe froze. This is very common especially with newer Northeast winters. If the hose is not launched correctly, water will collect and possibly freeze, causing blockage. Because what goes up must come down, water falls directly into your sump. When the pit continues to fill, the water has no place to go but around your basement.
5. Old age. "If it is not broke, do not fix it" is a bad practice sump pumps you could end up with a basement full of water. Sump pumps need to be replaced every five to seven years to be reasonably safe. In my case, my pump was five.

I now replaces our sump pump every three years, no matter what, and a backup battery. If you are wondering if we all did so to Disney, we did and we returned several times since. But before you go on vacation, we always check the sump pump to be sure all is well and the backup system is in perfect working order!

When walking in a workplace, I note housekeeping, look for enthusiasm work (or lack of it) because I think they are good indicators of whether they are a proactive team spirit and security. I also believe that culture starts with the attitude and behavior of management. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines safety culture as "the underlying principles of the organization, standards, commitments and values ​​related to health and safety of operation and the importance of safety compared with other goals in the workplace. "Each company or entity as its own values ​​and, ultimately, its own safety culture. This culture sets the level of risk that is in the "appetite" of the company - or how much risk they are willing to take -. whether they realize (intentional) or not (no specific direction)

If you are part of running your business, you should have an understanding of the level of risk tolerance that your business is ready to support. All levels of management should be communicating business objectives and support these objectives are achieved and maintained. But it is also important to provide guidance on how to achieve these goals. Failure to provide guidance, information on purpose, or a specific path or steps on how the objectives can be achieved can cost a company. Cost may include lower employee morale, bad decisions that are not aligned with the mission / company objectives, and lower profits / gains among other negative consequences such as injury and even loss of reputation.

According to Dave Fennell, senior adviser of security for Imperial Oil Limited, and Mike Williamsen, Senior Security Consultant with the security services Caterpillar there are factors that should be considered for risk tolerance, such as the person's ability to identify a dangerous situation and the ability of the person to understand that certain situations or actions are not safe or risky. If they are educated about the identification of a hazard or risk and they understand what could happen, then what is their decision? If the perception is that management tolerates the risk or even expects the employee to take the risk, the decision may be to take the risk. An example would be an employee who alters their electric pallet truck, so it will continue to roll as they gather product to load on their decision pallets. Williamsen and Fennell also indicate that other factors influencing the decision include the overestimation of his abilities, understanding the seriousness of the findings, personal experiences, how they are familiar with the task, the cost of non-compliance , overconfidence in protective layers such as PPE (personal protective equipment such as gloves), and the potential for profit or gain share.

Like the old saying "it takes a village to raise a child", it takes everyone on the team to "raise" the safety culture. A culture of security increases the chances that each worker can return home to their families so that less of this village is required.

Is June 29, 2012 ring a bell for you? This date will live in the memory of the insurance industry for years to come. Derecho is a Spanish term for a storm right, long, widespread and long term which comes with fast moving thunderstorms and rain. It may also give high destructive winds, hail big as golf balls, and tornadoes. He developed this definition was spot on! The June 2012 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest derecho was described by Wikipedia as "one of the most destructive and deadly complex of severe thunderstorms in North American history moving quickly."

as beautiful as the spring and summer can be, it is a time of year when we must be aware of the weather forecast and be prepared. one of my personal memories is the failure . current My own family has experienced a power outage for about 48 hours -.. much less time than many others we were lucky

When I think of a power failure, I think protect content freezer / refrigerator. an owner policy provides no automatic not endorsed coverage for the content. the good news is that most companies offer an endorsement to add this coverage to an owner's policy. It is relatively inexpensive and many riders have a lower deductible franchise policy (eg $ 100 deductible for contents fridge / freezer).

Typically, wind and hail are standard warranties in the forms of owners. Thank God! However, an insurance company can handle wind / hail applications in a variety of ways. Some companies may pay extra - extra - for claims wind / hail. Others do not. Some companies require different franchise options depending on the age of the roof, but others do not. Companies can also consider a claim wind / hail on its own merit and purchase accordingly.

storms affect not only your home, they can damage your personal self. If your auto insurance policy provides coverage for physical damage, you will have the coverage available for damage related to the storm as the wind and hail. Many companies offer a franchise if the loss affects both the home and business line automotive, applying the higher deductible of both

To illustrate :.

Hail damages your house and 2014 Mini Van

deductible owner - $ 1000

Auto comprehensive deductible - $ 500

in the example above, under the only franchise philosophy, the company will apply the $ 1000 deductible, because it is the larger of the two. With many companies, this is an automatic benefit if both sectors are provided with the same support

For more information on preparing and protect yourself against the next big storm, check our messages blog "Damage Tree. - Are you insured" and "Preparing a power failure?".

Enjoy your spring and summer, but do not take your eyes off this storm! Stay safe and protected.

The policy covers described above are in the most general terms and are subject to the exclusions and real political conditions. For specific coverage details and exclusions of the policy, refer to the policy itself or contact your independent agent.