Category — Comments

Dear Commenters:

This is a subject I wish I did not have to address, but I am receiving too many comments that are repetitions of the same thing, in other words…SPAM! I truly appreciate the attention I am receiving for my work, but trying to weed through all the spam is really distracting from continuing with providing articles. I try to read each comment and personally respond to quite a few, but the task has become quite tedious of late.

I know there are many who use translators and perhaps it is easier to make one good comment and use it throughout, but I also use translators to respond and it doesn’t take that long to do. For many of the articles, lively discussion has become impossible because of the number of comments that are not relevant to the topic of the post.

This plea is not to stop or reduce the number of wonderful comments I receive, but offered in the interest of other readers who are making comments about the number of redundant comments. So I am asking that you please continue to let me hear from you, but reduce your self-promotion and advertising, and as of 1/21/2011, any repeated comments and those which do not address a specific subject will be marked as spam and deleted.

Please help me make this site a beneficial one for everyone who reads it.

Thank you, Paris

The story of the young woman who lost her job after posting a remark on Facebook about her customers brings us a great opportunity to discuss something that is running rampant in this country…bad customer service. With today’s economy being what it is, I am sorry she lost her job, but her firing brings up another point. If she was a good employee, her bosses could have taken the time to teach her a life-long lesson in etiquette and superior business practices by explaining the policy that was in place and why. Perhaps the subject never came up during her interview and probationary period and she was unaware of it. Many young people do not understand or have not been taught the same level of respect for the company and its customers that is necessary to display good work ethics or company pride as in the past.

The primary problem that exists in most business interactions today is the rudeness or complete lack of good customer service. Whether it is on the phone, or in person, workers act as if they are doing you a favor when they wait on you, rather than the other way around. If the customer did not patronize their business, the worker would not have a job. This concept does not seem to register with many clerks or service personnel. When did it become the duty of the customer to please the person behind the counter or on the other end of the phone?

Being a service person or government bureaucrat calls for being of service as one of the undefined duties and a great part of one’s responsibility. Besides, being nice will always made your day easier and more pleasant. Knowing that you can either make or break someone’s attitude or well-being just by the way you approach them, handle their affairs or respond to their needs should be a power booster and an incentive to act in a non-passive-aggressive manner.

If you do not like dealing with people, why take a job that has you interacting with other human beings on a constant basis? But just taking a job because it is available can put the company owner’s business in jeopardy, as shown by this incidence. So it is a warning to business owners to add instructions of proper social skills to their list of items to discuss during the training of their service workers. Better still, a primary question during the interview would be, “how do you get along with people?”

For the last four or five years I’ve been writing blogs and doing social networking and have joined or connected to over 300 internet groups. When I Google my name, I’m surprised at the things that pop up and am amazed at how far my name and messages have reached. This is not to thump my own chest, rather to set the stage for something which never ceases to amaze me. I wonder and am surprised when others comment on how strong they consider me to be.

My readers’ perceptions make me wonder to what exactly is that strength attributed? Is it the time I’ve spent at the keyboard pecking away; or it is starting, deleting, uploading and downloading pictures and videos? Is it using the Thesaurus to express the same words in different ways to vary my content; or is it reading and re-reading, checking the spell-checked text to be sure I’ve caught all the errors? Is it arranging, rearranging, placing and displacing sentences, clauses, phrases, titles, paragraphs, punctuation marks, or whole topics?

Is it the subject matter I write about; the opinions I confer, the arguments in which I take a determined stand, or the information about my experiences I choose to share? Or could it be my resolve to write even when I wonder if what I am saying is making a difference?

I have come to accept that my being strong is not a power that I particularly possess. But my strength comes from the perception of my readers. If those who read my articles can derive some measure of understanding, enlightenment and inspiration, I believe they are made stronger. Their strength is then reflected back to me in encouraging comments they send which in turn makes me stronger.

Without receiving responses, the posts I write are merely me consuming time and effort. Instead they have become more than expressions of my point of view and a sharing of my life’s journey. Our ongoing communications have become a source of reciprocal strength, and I wish to thank all of my readers for making me strong.

Lately I have been getting lots of comments calling me “man.” I guess because I’ve carried a male name, Paris, all my life I forget that people naturally assume that I am male. That’s why I though I should post my picture so that you could put the face to the name and the messages.

I am a great-grandmother of 4, grandmother of 14 and mother of 3 surviving sons and 2 daughters. I am retired, but has recently published a book for children, The First Trip, and designed the characters into rag dolls called “Oodles,” the first one to be introduced is Bubba Oodle. Writing is one of my favorite things to do, so I enjoy writing this blog and hearing from my readers.

I appreciate so much all the wonderful comments, and those slightly left of wonderful (LOL). I learn something about myself from the way that you all see me and the thoughts you share.

It is good to know that my work has played a part in the advancement, enlightenment, and encouragement of so many. I try to give my honest opinion, while being mindful of the opinions of others, and respecting the fact that we may not always agree.

Now that we’ve come to the end of another successful year, I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and God bless. Please continue to follow my work, and to let me hear from you. Take care, Paris