1st of my 3rd. Happy 8th!

My third blog for my 8th year in Blogger. Wow. That was huge. I myself was surprised to find out that I have had this account for that long and that the last time I actually posted something was some four years of life lessons and experiences ago. So I thought it was just rightful to set the first two "naive" blogs to private - this is my version of saying don't bother and try to find them anymore. :) And since I am ashamed to admit that this move is due to some bad customer experience *wink*, allow me to list down the top reasons why I have finally convinced myself / followed my heart and decided to write again.

1. Multiply social network is closing down. It was I think sometime second quarter of this year when I received a notice in a form a newsletter that the social networking platform of my online sanctuary will be taken down and that their company will now be focusing on e-commerce a.k.a. online marketing. I was all negative about the news. Not only did the said site host seven years of life in almost 500 photo albums, I have started to use their site for blogging since I temporarily left blogger. I realized that I needed to get a brand new page to house my old and new rants and raves.
2. It is sometimes difficult to find reviews on things I plan to buy, see or experience. The type of consumers nowadays are smarter than ever and I am proud to confess that I have successfully left the impulse buying phase of life. We are now more careful on where our earnings go, and part of the precautions is making sure we get adequate information prior purchasing. Don't get me wrong, hats-off to those blogs and sites who have posted their views on dining, shopping, etc. and I consistently envy Travel bloggers for their amazing writing skills and priceless (literally and figuratively) experiences. What I would like to do is to contribute. I have done my share and would like to continue posting reviews so from now on, they will be posted here.
3. Experiences, both good and bad are meant to be shared. Admit it, given our erratically busy lifestyle, we would only spare a part of our ultimately precious time, to tell stories of either our best and/or worst experience. What about the mediocre, standard and average ones, aren't their stories worth telling? I have worked in a customer service culture for almost a decade now. I have seen most, if not all customer types and needs. Add to that, myself who might pass as one, if not the most observant consumer there is. We would want the product or service we get to be worth way more than how much we actually pay for. Sadly, we are limited to availability and cost, but we should not be limited to details too. Consumers need more honest and helpful sources of information on products and services - genuine experiences. We could no longer rely on endorsements, we need referrals. Good thing we're not far from getting there, thanks to Foursquare and Tripadvisor.com. If more and more internet users will consistently publish their views and experiences, a continuous improvement on our economy can be the bigger picture.
4. Customer Loyalty is the make or break of a business. It is amazing to learn about how more feasible it is now to jump-start a business. The question is how will you make it work - successful is a big word. I may not have a business of my own but I have seen a number of people succeed and failed. It is disappointing to see that a lot of these companies and establishments invest on advertising and promos to establish a name and be known but after which, there is no follow through. They do not acknowledge that these consumers, out of all their other options, decided to spend time and money to experience their product or service. It seemed like satisfying customers always come secondary to revenue. Given my optimistic self I always see situations as a glass half full. Through the years I have learned to only speak positive if possible. I am guilty of only acknowledging above average customer experience. Every time I would be faced with the opposite, I wouldn't say a word and complain. I would usually ask my husband, or friends, or whoever I am with to deal with the scenario instead, then I would just rant over and over about how bad the experience was, every given chance, to other people. Things are way different now. I would more often encounter a bad than a good experience and I have gotten really tired of it. Proprietors need to be aware and their management needs to do something about it. I hope soon they would realize that highly likely, their decrease in revenue is not due to bad economy, it's bad reputation.

I am looking forward to writing again. For now, we shall continue to exist, enlist, explore, engage, experience, enjoy, etc. :)