The LuxMob Info Tags

Joining Coastal Vacations Club has made it affordable for me to travel on a whim—even just for a good meal. I simply wouldn’t dream of visiting certain places without partaking in that town’s specialty foods. I couldn’t write this as a top 10 list as I originally intended. The flavors and foods are all wonderful and unique so we’ll just eat our way west to east.

In Alaska, salmon is the specialty. I had my first salmon in an Alaska Railroad dining car, but now I head for the more stationary Phylis’s Cafe and Salmon Bake in downtown Anchorage. Outdoor patio dining is the way to go here to enjoy the midnight sun in Summer.

Much of the southwest was once part of Mexico and the foods of that country are still the specialty there. In Tucson, you don’t even have to leave the airport to get some of the best Mexican food in town. El Charro Cafe is located upstairs near ticketing. I recommend the tortilla soup, and all the meals are authentic Mexican here.

Kansas City is BBQ country and Arthur Bryant’s is arguably the best in town. It’s not fancy, but you’ll find pictures of presidents, and the rich and famous chowing down, hanging on the walls. It’s a short walk from the original 18th and Brooklyn location to the Negro League Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum. Don’t miss them.

Speaking of Jazz, You can’t go to New Orleans without sampling Cajun food in the French Quarter while taking in the live music. It’s an experience for all the senses. Don’t forget to cap it off (or start your morning) with hot begnets and cafe ole at Cafe du Monde.

Florida is a favorite destination of mine, so we’ll make two stops there. I haven’t found bad Cuban food yet exploring the restaurants in Little Havana near Miami International Airport. Meals usually include rice, black beans and fried plantains with the main dish. Up the coast, Cocoa Beach brings memories of long walks on the shore, shuttle launches, and rock shrimp. I really dig in hear. Florida’s Seafood is “where shrimp happens” and they serve it by the pound.

As a huge baseball fan, Chicago is Wrigley Field, and of course a Chicago dog off the cart behind home plate. In New York, it’s a different kind of hot dog at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island. I couldn’t visit the big apple without having a few sauerkraut and mustard dogs. Take in a minor league Brooklyn Cyclones game while you’re here.

Boston has great pizza and chowder, but we need to get to Maine for lobster. Boston residents don’t think twice about taking a two hour drive for that state’s specialty. If you’re flying into Logan Airport and don’t want to rent a car, Concord Trailways offers express bus service to Portland. Lobster doesn’t get any fresher than the many restaurants along the waterfront in Portland. If you found the ferry terminal, you’re in the right neighborhood. Work off dinner with a long walk through the dock area.

If you’ve taken the entire trip with me, your cloths are a little tight now. Venture up the road another 15 miles to Freeport and the L L Bean flagship store. We need some loose fitting threads so we can eat our way back out west.

Dean Marino is now a full time Internet entrepreneur, author, and sales consultant, after 22 years in the auto finance business. He has traveled extensively and has aligned himself with the Coastal Vacations Club after an exhaustive search. Learn more about it at http://www.passivecoastalincome.com.

Auto entry tools and lockout tools are widely available through
a variety of manufacturers for the security professional and the
locksmith that specializes in lockouts.

Opening Locked Cars - Auto opening can be a lucrative part of
any locksmithing business. For some, it’s the only source of
income. Lockout specialists can command anywhere from $30 - 90
per hour!

Bill Phillips, author of LOCKSMITHING explains vehicle opening
in detail. “In order to understand how to open a locked vehicle,
you need to understand how vehicle locks work. In most cases, a
locked vehicle can be opened by lifting up or pushing down on
the lock pawl, pulling the lock rod up, puching the lock rod
forward, lifting the lock rod button, or by picking the lock.
The lock pawl can generally be manipulated with an L-shaped
tool. Doors with vertical lock rods can usually be opened by
using a tool to hook the lock rod and pull it up.

Doors with horizontal lock rods can usually be opened by using a
tool to hook the rod and pulling it forward.”

Naturally, a security professional or a locksmith will use auto
opening tools that are not available in the local hardware store
to do the job right.

There are a lot of manuals available on the subject of
automobile opening. Some of the publishers also sell lockout
tools and kits. The manuals are full of invaluable information
for the lockout specialist or security professional and the lock
opening information is updated regularly to keep up with all the
new models of cars coming onto the market.

Typical multi-tool auto opening kits will contain several L
tools of different sizes, several different sizes of tools for
lifting a lock button rod and generally a wedge of two. ProLok
makes some excellent auto opening (lockout) kits.

My Recommended Resource For Auto Entry Tools is LPS - Locksmith
Parts and Supplies

A lot of people know about using a slim jim as they are often
sold in auto supply stores. It wasn’t that long ago that almost
any locked vehicle could be opened by inserting a flat piece of
metal into the door between the car window and the weather
stripping, then moving it up and down and left to right until it
caught something that unlocked the door. Times (and automobile
locks) have changed considerably. Automobile manufacturers are
making cars much more difficult to open. Manufacturers are
building lock systems with more anti-jimmy components. The flat
piece of metal isn’t nearly as effective as it used to be…nor
is the wire hanger we’ve all used at one time or another to try
to pop the lock. Our advice? Don’t try to get into a locked
vehicle without the key unless you’re a pro. You can do some
real damage to your car and destroy the weather stripping…at
the very least. Using a slim jim, homemade or otherwise can
severely damage a car’s locking system that may prevent the
operation of the car door locks with the key. Learning to use
the newest auto entry tools, or paying a pro to do the job will
save you and your family a lot of headaches.

Great Britain’s electrifying and seldom unstable past is without question most revealed in it’s historic buildings and nowhere is this more obvious than in those buildings allied to the Royal Family and their social gatherings

For a generous period now the English Monarchy has been seen as being central to the accomplishment of the United Kingdom. They have captivated day-trippers for many years & continue to keep the curiosity of day-trippers of all age band. Buckingham Place has been categorised the London home of the British monarchy since Queen Victoria became instated as queen in eighteen thirty seven. it’s one of a petite amount of working royal palaces enduring in in Great Britain at the moment. England tourism board has plenty of other Royal places to visit in England.

Buckingham Palace is used chiefly as a workplace but can as well be transformed into a social activities venue for the 50,000 guests invited to the Palace yearly. There are more than six-hundred bedrooms, including 19 state digs, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, seventy eight bathrooms, 92 offices, but more impressively an in-house cinema and swimming pool.

All the way through the spring and summer, visitors can travel around the attractive state libraries, which help to make the heart of the Palace. These marvellous digs are covered with a selection of the most finest riches from the Royal compilation of works, including sculptures by Canova in addition to paintings by the many well-known artists such as Rembrandt, Rubens and Canaletto.

Ask many small business owners what goes into providing great customer service and you have answers such as, being polite, serving promptly, keeping your promises etc. But in this hi-tech age, we tend to forget that the humble letter has just as an important role in ensuring good customer service. Yet how many times have you received a ‘letter of apology’ which makes you even more dissatisfied? The message it conveys, the language used - all designed to wind you up!

With some careful thought, a well-crafted letter can provide comfort to a complaining customer and enhance your reputation as a customer-focused business. In this article I am going to share some tips on how to write a great letter.

What are you writing for?

To write a great letter you have to be in the right frame of mind. Are you writing to handle a complaint, answer a query or to thank them for placing an order? Framing the letter in the right context means you will use the appropriate language and the tone will be right. Try writing a thank you letter as if you are responding to a complaint - the message is totally different.

Before putting pen to paper, think for a minute and decide what your aim or goal is.

State your purpose

Start off by summarising why you are writing. Open your letter by saying that you are responding to a query, or to resolve a problem they have had. This set out to the reader why you are contacting them and puts them in the right frame of mind to accept your message. An opening summary will grab their attention.

Include a W.I.I.F.M.

No, this is not some obscure radio station! WIIFM stands for ‘What’s in it for me?’ To truly engage your customer and get them on your side, you have to include a benefit for them. They have to get something out of your letter so they feel satisfied. What could their WIIFM be? Their complaint may be resolved; they may get a discount voucher; a priority service the next time they use you. If the compliant is a minor one, a simple, heartfelt apology may be enough!

Study your letter carefully and make sure you have a WIIFM moment.

Don’t say ‘I’

Wherever possible, avoid littering your letter with I’s. The reader will find it hard to link with you if they receive ‘me, me, me’ letters. Review your letters and wherever possible substitute ‘I’ with ‘you’. Change the focus to the reader. Make them feel valued.

Write as you speak

I forget the number of times I have received letters, which read as if they were written in the early 1900’s! Packed full of boring, stiff and outdated language - too formal. Your writing style should reflect the way you talk. After all, providing good customer service is partly down to how you interact or communicate with your client and letters play an important role.

So, review your letters and get rid of those phrases you learnt in school letter-writing lessons!

“Please do this…”

Having written a great letter, you don’t want it to tail off into nothing. Have a clear action-orientated close. Make sure your reader knows what you expect him to do next - “call me so we can discuss this idea in more depth”, “Fill in the attached form and pop it in the post”, “send me an order” (a bit strong perhaps but certainly to the point!).
A resounding call-to-action is a great way to finish a letter and leaves the customer in no doubt what he has to do next - another element of good customer service.

Ask someone to check your letter

If you are writing a very important letter or one containing a complex message, it’s wise to ask someone to proof read it. This is not just to check your spelling but also to check readability. Is the structure of the message you wish to convey clear and understandable? You’ll be amazed by what someone else will pick up which you have completely missed!

So, there you have it. Some useful tips on how to write a superb letter, which will further enforce your image of providing exceptional customer service.

© Robert Warlow
Small Business Success

Small Business Success is a resource dedicated to helping small business owners be more successful. If you are looking for a regular flow of ideas and tips then subscribe to Small Business Success a free newsletter, which provides you with quick tips, ideas and articles. Visit http://smallbusinesssuccess.biz

The most important part of the college selection process is the initial identification of colleges and universities which are most appropriate for you. Soliciting recommendations from your school counselor is a good starting point, but there are many other valuable resources you should utilize.

Most guidance offices and public libraries have a collection of “generic” college guides with general information about individual colleges and helpful indexes enabling readers to quickly locate colleges offering particular majors, programs, and/or activities of interest. In addition, guidance offices and libraries are frequently well stocked with college catalogues, college viewbooks, and videos. Spend some time reviewing them.

There is even more, easier to access information on the internet. One of my websites (http://www.college-scholarships.com), for instance, includes a list of colleges by state with links to their websites and online applications, their toll free telephone numbers and email addresses, and more than thirty free online scholarship searches. Other sites let you search for colleges by major, location, and other criteria.

There are a number of magazines and college guides which “rank” colleges. Check them out, but do so with a grain of salt, as most knowledgeable educators consider their rankings and or evaluative methodology to be suspect.

In addition, there are at least a half dozen free publications which are mailed directly to students or distributed to guidance offices. While such magazines may be helpful in introducing you to colleges, bear in mind that they are supported by the colleges described therein, and even those that appear to “articles” about colleges are generally, in reality, advertisements written by the colleges or agencies compensated by them.

When you take the SAT or ACT - and I suggest you take them both as a high school junior - you will be asked questions about your high school grades and academic interests. If you indicate your willingness to allow the testing agency to release your name and address to colleges interested in students with your profile, you will probably receive a good deal of mail from colleges. Although there are no guarantees, particularly from the most highly select colleges, your chances of being admitted to the colleges which initiate contact with you tend to range from good to excellent. Students who review only the information sent to them by colleges with which they are already familiar miss an excellent potential opportunity to learn about institutions which may be a good “fit” for them.

Similarly, if you meet only with college admissions counselors (at your high school and at college fairs) from colleges and universities already on your list, you might miss out on some great colleges.

Dan Rosenfield is a university dean who creates websites on college admission, college scholarships, and online degrees and distance education, including www.college-scholarships.com and www.online-degrees-and-scholarships.com, and www.guaranteed-scholarships.com in his spare time. Contact Dan at aegc@earthlink.net.