We take pride in our ability to not only become those people who ‘makes sites and print stuff’, but truly work together and build working relationships.

Nothing feels better than when a client emails to say hello, or when they refer people to you having nothing but good things to say. It’s been an amazing few months of relationship building, which inspired us to bring back to life one of our back-burner projects – TheMcAllenmetro.com.

The McAllen Metro is a directory of people representing businesses who go out of their way to become more than a product or service provider. They are the best at what they do, many give back to the community, others wouldn’t admit that they do.

TheMcAlenMetro.com is still in its early stages (a few days old,) but will be lookin’ nice and become fully functional soon. It isn’t a list of people we’re playing promoter for, it isn’t a list anyone can get on. It’s a list of businesses and organizations spearheaded by people who care and do the best at what they do even if it doesn’t make it into the paper, or the blogs, or beyond them.

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A) Open .htaccess file

B) Add these three lines:

Options All -Indexes

AddType x-mapp-php5 .php

AddHandler x-mapp-php5 .php

And enjoy.

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Question: Diversity also applies to listening styles and attention spans; how have you dealt with folks who can’t handle people’s differences? Do you embrace the jargon lovers, or keeps things as simple as possible?

About Ivan Silva: Ivan holds a BA Journalism with an emphasis Advertising/Public Relations, in years leading up to now he spent nearly all of his work life in middle management overseeing hundreds of employees. You can find his resume on his site, http://www.IvanSilva.com

About the interview: The multipart interview took place this January as part of the curriculum for a management course I (Luis) was enrolled in. It was good enough to earn me an A and high praise, so now it’s yours to read.

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Complaints and grievances can’t be avoided, but as a supervisor, how do you handle conflicts between individuals when they are personal and not work related?

About Ivan Silva: Ivan holds a BA Journalism with an emphasis Advertising/Public Relations, in years leading up to now he spent nearly all of his work life in middle management overseeing hundreds of employees. You can find his resume on his site, http://www.IvanSilva.com

About the interview: The multipart interview took place this January as part of the curriculum for a management course I (Luis) was enrolled in. It was good enough to earn me an A and high praise, so now it’s yours to read.

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This weekend marks the launch of my brand new joint project –McAllen Metro Jobs. McAllen Metro Jobs is a local solution to job hunting in the McAllen – Edinburg – Mission metro area.

Bridging the gap between local job seekers and employers McAllen Metro Jobs launches regional employment website and job board

Local graduates and entrepreneurs recognized that finding a job becomes a job in itself with no pay and a high cost, their site provides an answer.

Rio Grande Valley, TX, February, 2010: McAllen Metro Jobs opens its web site in its initial beta offering to job seekers who are hungry for an easy, efficient and local venue for finding the right fitting job. “Local working solutions – a fit for you in the McAllen area.”

Looking for a job is hard and expensive. You have to become your own staffing agency and your own recruiter – MMJ offers: FREE resume submissions, FREE job searches, allows employers to place job listings targeting local candidates, resume service (review, do-overs, creation and customizing), professional advice and job market insight, career and job related blog which provides data on local job market as well trending career topics.

McAllen Metro Jobs is off to a great start; two days into our launch we’ve already received 475 visits from 15 countries (admittedly 97% of those are from the McAllen metro area, which is awesome!) and have gotten great feedback from some of our hundreds of social media friends and fans. Cutting the ramble short, I’ll direct you to McAllenMetroJobs.com and invite you to follow us on Twitter, Myspace, or Facebook; and to visit the other working half of this project Ivan Silva at IvanSilva.com

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After my latest WordPress update (which as a manual one, with a whole lot of  mysql issues!) I finally got my blog up and running again, only to find all my apostrophes appearing as “â€TM” –stupid junk characters. After going into panic mode for about two minutes, I figured out the solution, at least in my case.

It was quite simple, jump in my wp-config, and comment out two lines.

# define(‘DB_CHARSET’, ‘utf8′);

# define(‘DB_COLLATE’, ”);

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There have been a few too many times in life where people around me speak about winning the lottery, or coming into a large amount of cash some other way (rich-uncle on the verge of kicking it?) Each time folks get into this sort of conversation I sit and listen. Everyone has dreams, hopes, and simple aspirations –I know I do. Everyone always starts with the “I’d buy…” list, and then some move into the “I’d start my own…” list, and when its folks my age there’s always the “I’d get out of college and…” [ruin their life, I’m sure] list.

My list also has most of that, I would buy myself a nice car right off the bat, I’d also start my own business, I wouldn’t leave college, but there’s more. From an early age I was taught that without an education (or some damn good skills,) you simply aren’t worth the air you breathe.. As I grew older I found that to be more and more true, so leaving college is out of the question.

Now here comes the part where I wish I had a few million bucks to spare. I’d love to go out into my community and others, to help empower folks. No cash give-aways, no free cars a-la Oprah, no PC’s in the classroom or libraries, no parks down the street –all of which are good, don’t get me wrong, but not what I’d do. At this point you might be wondering what on earth I have in mind, so here it is: Micro loans, small business training, angel investments, and guidance. Truly empowering folks to help themselves and help their communities for a long period of time.

If I don’t win the lotto some day, or I don’t make it big, I really hope I can accomplish some of what is on that list. Some I can start now simply based on what I’ve learned about business administration, start ups, marketing, and advertising –among other stuff I know and love. I try to go around looking or opportunities to help on a small scale (sometimes as small as helping with a simple press release); but there are a whole lot of thoughts that just spin in my mind after I ask myself how I could possibly make the world a little better…

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As a kid I grew up a Democrat, and from an early age everyone around me seemed to paint the political parties in a black or white, rich or poor way. Democrats help poor people, and the middle class; Republicans are all rich white people who only help their selves! –Two concepts that I bought into for the first decade of my life and never questioned. And then at the ripe age of 11, I realized there was more to it than folks had led me to believe.

During the 2000 elections, being a kid (Yes, I’m really THAT young,) I really had no political view. I supported George Bush because I thought he’d been cool as Texas’ governor, and because it was fun to play devils advocate (one of my favorite pastimes,) with the other kids, during their in-school mock elections. At some point I got darn curious, so I got online and read everything I could about what each party stood for. Education, abortion, taxation, and national security, as I took a closer look at what each party was trying to accomplish, I felt I was more in line with the Republican party. It was just that simple, from that point onward, I was a Republican; a quiet Republican. The terrible attacks of 9-11 only solidified this for me during the months ahead –national security got a bigger chunk of my awareness, and will always be the most important aspect of my political views.

By 2004 I remember being in my history class, and being asked who I supported during the democratic primaries. My answer of “George Bush” took my teacher and class by surprise; my first taste of liberal hate. (‘Liberal hate’ tastes a bit bitter, and pretty moist –which I attribute to drinkin’ haterade.)

Little has changed since then, I usually try tell them (the haters) why I lean right, and why I support the candidates I do, but they rarely listen. I also try explaining that I will vote for a Democrat if they are the better candidate –which is completely true, but they dismiss. So then I ask if they’ll ever vote for a Republican, and I usually get a “No!” or “Hell no!” –So much for open minds. If I have time, I tell them how I came to my position on the political spectrum. But it’s a long story, and at some point I’m usually interrupted before I am done.

Meanwhile, as time goes by that story gets longer and longer. At this point, I’m officially a Republican, but my views aren’t in line with those heading up my party, setting the agenda, and making MY party less inclusive instead of more. Years ago when I ran from the far left, I ran to the far right; while there, I realized it wasn’t the place for me. At this point, I’m just annoyed.

I’m annoyed at the way that my country, my party, and my vote aren’t what they should be. I’m annoyed with my new president, I’m annoyed with congress, and I’m annoyed by those in my party who only play inside party lines, as well democrats who do the same. After an elections dominated by promises of hope, change, honesty, and openness… almost no one is rising to the occasion. I’m frankly saddened by our government getting deeper and deeper into all of our lives, and all the bureaucratic nonsense to come. Like I said, the annoyance is building as our political parties are hijacked by the extremists.

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Up until about a few years ago my family had a favorite place to go out and eat in McAllen, Peso Bills on north 10th. The restaurant started off as “Bonanza,” and years later transitioned into “Peso Bills.” For years a huge chunk of my family got together for lunch or dinner at our favorite spot, and we weren’t the only ones who liked it.

Getting in during lunch was a pain in the ass. There were long lines to order, (yes, to order,) plus no space to sit sometimes –yet everyone didn’t seem to mind. We packed in to the horribly dated restaurant that featured some oh so sexy 80’s décor, and we genuinely enjoyed our time there. Meanwhile, the managers and crew had come to know most of my family by name over the years. The other folks who worked there were always really nice, plus the food was just damn great.

There was a lot on the menu, but the one thing everyone in the family seemed to love was the “Chicken Monterey;” charbroiled boneless chicken breast(s) smothered in some damn good sauce, (which is actually Wishbone’s Western salad dressing.) In any case, growing up I spent a lot of time there (it’s a miracle I wasn’t tubby back then,) but we frequented often… that is, until it was gone.

Peso Bills closed without much of a warning. It was just sprung on everyone, (including the workers.) And after it was gone finding a good place to eat where everyone was happy, got so much harder. There were plenty of moments at other restaurants where someone said “I wish Peso Bills was still open.”

And in fact, Peso Bills was open –in Harlingen. When the die-hard fans of Peso Bills found out, there were suddenly more excuses to visit Harlingen, and of course, Peso Bills.

The last time I dined at Peso Bills a few of us decided to ask our waiter how many people mention the old location in McAllen. I wasn’t expecting much, but he said “Tons, I get people asking why the one in McAllen closed ALL THE TIME.” I couldn’t imagine the restaurant having a following after being closed for what I’m guessing is 9 years, (other than my foodie family,) but it does.

Building a brand image and keeping it positive year after year, including when the brand no longer exists… isn’t easy. There were (or are,) a few more Peso Bills’ out there, and they all probably have the same great food. But the fact is this location, in particular, had great management and a great team, that really made it that much better.

And because I have A.D.D. and can’t stick to my topic; I must mention that over time I managed to get my hands on the Western dressing the only way I could, which is ordering it direct and playing about 4 bucks a bottle, and I now make my own “Chicken Monterey” at home; The thing is… no one has forgotten the friendly place that once served it up for us. And truly earned our loyalty.

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Throughout the years I’ve started numerous online side-projects and the bulk of them are no longer around, and no longer in mind. Given the fact that I can code, design, and promote my work myself, there is really nothing holding me back from starting up just about anything that tickles my fancy at the moment.

While starting them up might be easy, shutting them down isn’t always that simple for me. Over the years I’ve noticed there is a set of signals when it’s time to kill a project:

1. When you’ve given it your all and haven’t reaped any reward. This was the case for many of my first projects, I’d build, I’d connect, and in the end, there was really nothing in it for me other than the fun. When the fun was gone, so was my interest and in turn, the plug would be pulled.
2. When you simply don’t have the time. My last part-time blog –so to speak, fell victim to this. Not having the time to devote to a project simply means it should be killed. If you have an active community on the site, you can consider handing over administrative power to worthy users.
3. When I just doesn’t feel right. Sometimes something seems fun for a while, but it wears off and you’re left with a project that you really aren’t that into anymore. Dragging your feet to keep it going isn’t worth it.

Over the years a lot of my projects have gone the way of the dinosaur, sometimes getting rid of them and moving on isn’t easy. I have blank and parked domains that I can’t bear to let go of just yet. I also have ideas that have come to me in hindsight which make me wish I could do it all again –and I get temped to, but I know right now is not the time. As I drawn down on my online side projects I look forward to having some fun in the future, but for now I’m finding myself more drawn to keeping this blog as active as humanly possible –after all, there is always time to start things up later.

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No one knows the issues like those on the front lines. From a management standpoint sometimes shutting up long enough to listen can really go a long way; however, this is often not an option for the grumpier, or old-school bunch, who prefer to bark orders and have every issue work its way up the chain of command.

In life and in business 99% of the time ever decision will have both its pros and cons, deciding to promote an open-door policy also has its own, here’s a look at them.

Pros:

1. It can often lead to an un-biased look into what employees on the frontlines have to deal with. Sometimes problems get sugar-coated on the way up the chain of command so supervisors can over their own ass, this is a good way to avoid it.
2. Being readily available when problems or concerns surface puts you in a position to take of them faster and minimize or eliminate any possible damage.
3. Employee trust is generated easily when the ‘higher-ups’ actually listen.

Cons:

1. Taking the time to talk to everyone who has a problem can really bog down productivity.
   
2. One person’s “problem” might not really be a problem; and watching out for false or misleading information would have to be taken into account.

Pros and cons aside you must also set a tone early on that frivolousness banter will not be tolerated. And be ready to ask the most important question before any conversations takes place; “Have you brought up this issue with your immediate supervisor?”

In the end and in my opinion, there really is no price too high to pay for building trust, while being readily available to listen to and actually solve problems before they blow out of proportion, and there is no better policy than the open door one.

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I love the look on people’s faces when they walk into a reception area and are trying to get some attention… only to find that they won’t be seen. It’s always an awkward moment for just about everyone involved. I also love when the situation turns into a wordy and often tedious “why the hell not?!” type of moment. The poor guy or gal breaking the news often is the target of animosity –that’s where my human side kicks in, and I feel bad.

99% of the time it’s really not the receptionists fault the person can’t be seen or meet with, there are always behind the scene factors; be-it more important engagements or prior-issues revolving around the person being turned away, there is often more to the story than readily evident. The gatekeeper is the business-communications term to describe this position, (in my example the receptionist is the gatekeeper,) they are the key to getting what you want. From the small-business secretary, to the Chief of Staff of CEO’s, and The White House, gatekeepers have tremendous power and often bear the brunt of executive decisions. (Sometimes for minimum wage –ouch!)

Those being turned away tend to feel its some personal vendetta. When this is going on inside workplaces it gets even more interesting, I’ve heard everything from “She hates me!” to “I slept with him weeks ago and he never called back!” and the ever popular “They want my promotion!” It happens all the time, and frankly, as entertaining it gets for outsiders like me; it really can destroy a workplace.

Trying to round up this post I’ll just draw on a few thoughts about the matter and how to avoid public drama.

From the supervisors point of view; if you are trying to avoid somebody, just suck-it-up and deal with the issue at hand. There is no sense in giving someone the run around and making everyone’s day that much worse. If they are a client, they deserve answers. If they are an employee, they deserve answers. If they are coworkers, they also deserve answers. Hiding from problems doesn’t make them go away.

As gatekeeper; try to do your job professionally and in a manner that won’t bring your integrity into question. Avoid words that don’t get to the point. Don’t bother with saying things like “You’ll been seen as soon as possible,” when you know that isn’t the case, and for most folks that just won’t cut it, you look like the jerk. Stick to answers that leave things open, or simply apologize and say you simple don’t know when they’ll be seen and offer to take down some contact info. There is also the option to push the higher-up into confronting what needs to be confronted. Be careful being pushy, as it can be tricky to pull off and not seem overshadowing

As the person being given the run-around; stay calm, avoid harsh words, and even words that don’t seem so harsh but just feed into more chaos. Give people a shot at making things work and don’t go around being the workplace drama queen airing out reasons why people must not like you. Simply chill-out.

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Everyone has had a terrible experience with a business or organization. There’s no way to avoid them, but some of them are quite common. Here’s the top five customer service mistakes that absolutely tick me off.

1. Exaggeration.
Dealing with companies/organizations that exaggerate their knowledge and success, is really a quick way to a horrible experience. When you constantly stump those who are supposed to be fully knowledgeable, it quickly turns into a hectic scene. I’ve personally dealt with a few of those types of companies that bloat what they think they know, and then have no answers to my questions. No business should claim outstanding ability if they don’t posses it; moreover, they should all be honest about their limitations.

2. Language barriers.
Calling a company and getting redirected to the other side of the world is almost always unpleasant. When you’re calling a local place language barriers can be just as intimidating and annoying, they can cause people to avoid certain brands and products. Walking into a store and realizing no one knows a lick of English is also very unpleasant. Unless you receive clear and concise answers customer service is useless.

3. Long wait times due to lack of customer service reps.
Being put on hold for 30 minutes isn’t cool; waiting for a representative in person isn’t either. Waiting minutes and minutes on end to simply chat with an online representative can also prove to be tricky, and when email responses take days to get, that option isn’t much fun either. Most of my grr-moments can be attributed to lack of CSRs, businesses sometimes forget or can’t expand their customer service abilities as their company grows –not cool.

4. Runaround when canceling services.
Time and time again lists of the worst companies tied to companies they simply avoid having you cancel their services. AOL is the most notable and has gained a reputation for being so pushy when annoying when someone calls to cancel their service. Allot of companies seem to fail to fully realize that if they can’t do something as simple as discounting a service, chances are it’ll be the customers last time dealing with them –ever.

5. Being rude.
Everyone has dealt with at least one simply rude CSR. They say “EXCUSE ME BUT—” and really mean “shut up I’m going to do what I want,” or so it seems. There is absolutely no excuse for rudeness. Customers and clients won’t stick around if this is the case.

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Whataburger is often the target of my tweets, blog posts, [dry] jokes, and general fast food admiration. From an every-day consumer point of view Whataburger is simply good food made “just like you like it.” But there’s more to the Whataburger brand than their slogan.

Whataburger knows its roots, in fact you can walk into just about any Whataburger around and proudly see their photo’s of the first couple of restaurants and their flagship location in Corpus Christi, Texas. Being a native Texan myself; and growing up with Whataburger minutes away, I feel like the place is more ours –so to speak, than other burger joints. Whataburger locations have a way of truly making it feel like you are part of something special, something Southern, and specifically something Texan.

Locations aside their advertising is simply a great embodiment of that down-home feel the locations give you. From the male providing the TV advert voiceovers; which I’ve come to refer to as the “cool-Whataburger-voice-guy,” to the use of video clips from Whataburger locations with nothing around but Texas landscapes, really give off a feeling of that they are a natural and an almost expected component not only blends in, but truly belongs.

Their advertisements also aren’t the habitual fast food ads targeted towards kids, teens, and as of lately, minorities. Whataburger breaks past that with a simple message that sums up to their promise to give you what you want, the way you want it, fresh and always tasty –their target audience simply being folks who like a good meal served up in packaging so boring you know it’s the food that keeps us coming back again and again.

Whataburger just might be the quintessential fast food place with brand positioning like no other which seems to be the key to turning employees and customers alike into brand ambassadors, further building their brand image.

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Being a full-time student really puts me in a horrible position in terms of the amount of time I can devote to blogging. While I can get on here and blog about the latest thing to tickle my fancy, I try to avoid topics that don’t allow me to go in-depth.

To kick things up a bit, during spring break I’m going to dive into the to-blog list and gather a set of topics that’ll hopefully shed some light for just about everybody who happens to stumble upon my blog. From a today’s look at the Whataburger brand, to a later post on brand loyalty, and workplace communications, there’s a lot on my mind.

So grab the feed, follow me on twitter, or bookmark the blog.

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