Life has a way of showing you just what is important. And for me my life has changed a lot in the last couple of months but I’m finally ready to be the person I know I can be again.

This is why I’m writing this post to show people that you can get through almost anything with the love of a good family and friends.

I have spent a lovely summer with my son C.J whom is featured in the above picture.

However with the return to school looming I think it’s now time to think about planning my future which will benefit him and my 18 yr old daughter who is striking out for University or College; hopefully in the Autumn .

My past career has been colourful and has included lots of exciting roles ranging from

Hotel Management to Restaurant Owner and more recently I embarked into the world

of advertising. Mainly focusing on special offers from companies for free and offering

discounts to tourists who want to save money on their trip to our wonderful country,

Ireland . This has been a learning curve for me and has taught me all the tools I need

to run an online business which was very different from where I had started.

I now feel ready to take on a new challenge and am hoping to go back into the world

as an employee or self-employed person. The roles I would ideally love still feature

my passion for tourism and bringing our wonderful country to the attention of the

many people who dream of someday; or even today are planning; to visit Ireland.

I have a natural flair for customer service and believe that the only way to treat a

customer is how you would like to be treated yourself and if you keep this in mind

you can’t go wrong.

So here I am!! It’s August 15th 2010 and I plan on being in full-time employment by

Sept 1st. I also hope to keep running Local Discounts as a part-time venture which I

will work on in my spare time.

I am excited again about the future. Please get in touch if you think you may be able

to help my future 🙂 .

If you want to get to know me better why not follow me on twitter http://

http://www.twitter.com/grainnesherlock and you will also find me on Facebook.

Comments welcome !!!

 

 

My idea of common courtesy in business and life

“Treat others like you would like them to treat you“

I have been reading an article today and one of the points this person made was always accept a persons business card even if they don’t slot into one of your categories or labels right now. Who knows, this person may be the next Donald Trump.

 A couple of months ago I attended a networking event where a professional business person approached a group of us whom were chatting and it became obvious from the outset that this person was only looking to sell something.  He chatted away for a few minutes asking everyone what they did and handing out his business card etc and you could almost see him slotting each one of us into little categories of importance in his mind. Once he had established what profession each of us was in, he literally pushed those who didn’t “fit“  into his sales pitch or level of importance right out of his way. His body language said it all. I felt really a little upset at this at first but then decided to myself that this was his karma not mine so I put it to the back of my mind until now.

I suppose the point I’m trying to make is this – if you are in business you must at all times be courteous and friendly. I believe this is the key to being successful and not just mediocre in the eyes of your customer or clients.  If you want to be heard you firstly have to listen only then can you successfully meet the expectations of your customer.

Take the time to listen to your customers today!

Have you experienced good or bad customer service lately?

I would love to hear your thoughts on your experiences ?

TIME TO QUIT! …… My story so far. Week 1

I started smoking when I was about 15 -16 yrs. Not sure why. I think I thought I was cool or something ridiculous like that. Back then there were no warnings on the packets and no T.V. adverts to warn us of the dangers, but to be honest, we were intelligent teenagers who should have known that inhaling smoke of any form into our bodies was not a good thing. But we carried on regardless.

I started smoking just 2 or 3 cigarettes a day – this slowly escalated to 20 a day and up until last week I was smoking almost 40 per day.

REASONS for quitting:

For Me, My Kids, My Life!

This is my first serious attempt at quitting which I hope will last. For a long time now I have been fully aware of the implications of my addictive habit and have watched 2 aunts and 1 uncle die from the smoking related health condition emphysema.  Despite this happening, at the time I didn’t quite relate myself to it, madness really.

I am still working out the reasons as to why this time I feel positive about quitting and I attribute it to lately having a lot more clarity of who I am and what I stand for if this makes sense. Plus I know that if I keep smoking I will become seriously ill or die from a smoking related disease. My body has been shown me it’s had enough of this for about the last six months, in which time  I have suffered from various ailments which my GP is convinced could have been prevented if I didn’t smoke. I would like to thank him for constantly reminding me that I need to quit. Some might call it nagging but I call it concern.

So with 4 days down into my first week I am feeling grateful that I have come this far.

If you have any helpful comments for quitting smoking I’d love to hear them.

When I started my company in May 2009 to be honest I never envisaged that Ireland would be hit with a full blown recession again. My aim was to help companies create loyalty in their brand or products.

Some of my advice on discounting:

(1)  Make sure the discount is relevant and is what suits your business.  Eg: a 2 for 1 offer may not suit your business but a discount off higher brands or a reduction of a product that is new or that you are trying to push may be better.

(2) Consistency is what is relevant in my opinion. This is where Local Discounts is valid as all advertisers are encouraged to make the offer available to a period of 12mths but with the option of changing these offers in that time period. However, I personally would advise all campaigns to last at least 3mths so as to give time for the customer to become aware that the offer is available. How often have you gone to a shop or business to take up some offer but find that by the time you get there the offer is now longer available? What happens – a dissatisfied, disgruntled customer leaves your business without the goods and with a bad taste in their mouth.

(3) Some businesses don’t want to give discounts for fear of damage to their brands but imagine the opportunities you get to show customers your new products or service. Always look at your bottom line though.  This is where the longer term discount is more valid as you can give a smaller margin discount but over a longer period thus creating a loyal customer without losing money.

(4)  Keep in mind that discounting does not replace customer service so if a customer comes to you with a discount offer then treat them well “Build your customer experience so they will come back. You want to be a quality provider.”

(5)  Educate your staff about how these discounts are received and how to carry out the transaction. This will also instill confidence in your company.

Lastly ….. although many businesses depend on a seasonal rush, a well-planned, trackable incentive or discount will continue to connect them to their customers throughout the year.

If you have any questions how advertising with  Local Discounts Ireland  can  help your business then please feel free to contact us.

Finally …. an article in last weeks Examiner may be of interest to you:-

 Coupons and Offers Customers go back to basics

In my time researching discount cards and discounts and coupons in general ,i have found that the use of discounts and coupons to help with your retailing marketing has been around a long time and like everything else it is now back in fashion again !

A little bit of background on discounts ! .

” In 1894, Atlanta businessman and co-owner of Coca-Cola Asa Candler used handwritten tickets for a free glass of Coca-Cola to help market his new soft drink. Within one decade Coca-Cola was in every state and within two decades one in every nine Americans had received a free Coca-Cola soft drink.

One year later, grocer C.W. Post began using coupons to help sell groceries. His coupon gave people a one cent discount on his new breakfast cereal, Grape Nuts.

During the dirty thirties clipping coupons had become necessary for many American families who struggled to afford groceries.

By the 1940s chain supermarkets, which were popping up all over the country, continued the tradition of using coupons that the smaller neighborhood grocery stores had developed. ”

Now that technology has moved on the discount card or loyalty card has taken the place of the paper coupon / discount and is proving to work very very well for lots of the supermarket chains or department store  … i bet if you look in your wallet or purse you own at least 3 – 5 of these cards and use them regularly to save money ….

“Loyalty programs improve customer retention and encourage spending. Customer acquisition is improved by distinguishing you and your services from the competition. This is particularly true for the U.S. market, where smart cards are still considered unique. ”

This is my aim with Emerald Discounts & Local Discounts Ireland to make this an affordable option for all companies small or not in Ireland …. we will help you create a loyalty programme to suit your budget and needs contact us today on 086 2119326

Visit our website http://www.localdiscounts.ie or http://www.emeralddiscounts.ie  today !!

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In the last couple of years i have noticed that tourists are actively seeking discounts off Hotels,Restaurants,activities and more in Ireland and that there is a lack of websites catering to this need . Do you as a hotel ,activity centre or restaurant owner in Ireland want to be part of this iniative to promote and encourage Tourism in your region ?. We offer FREE advertising in return for you participation of the discount card scheme .

I first set-up http://www.emeralddiscounts.ie in 2008 with a view to making it the best discount card for tourists in Ireland . Since then it has grown slowly , but given the year that the hospitality sector have had in 2009 i find that providers are starting to sign up to offers discounts and special offers to card holders . Would you like one ?

The card is excellent value  at €10.oo and can be used throughout the country in participating businesses offers range in value from 10 to 20 % off or buy 1 get one free offers off heritage sites , attractions , hotels , we hope to increase this even further in 2010 .  Register as a member now and buy your card for only €10 http://www.emeralddiscounts.ie/login.php

In these recessionary times it is nice to know that you can do so  by using the card wisely you save yourself a nice little sum of money .

We also actively encourage our card holders to give us recommends of places they would like to save money off of when visiting Ireland , where would you like to see savings ? .

Examples of savings are  : http://www.emeralddiscounts.ie/viewlisting.php?categoryid=3&listingid=25 for accomodations Fels Point Hotel also offer 10% off food and activities so well worth the €10 .

Or how about this one In Cobh Heritage Centre http://www.emeralddiscounts.ie/viewlisting.php?categoryid=4&listingid=6

These are just some of the savings to be made with you card .

In 2010 we hope to add some more helpful additions to our site , if you would like to know more email me grainne@emeralddiscounts.ie

In my next post i will tell you how to save more money in Ireland.  Would you like to save ?.

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