Owners should attend to ugly online reviews, not melt down | The ...

(AP Photo/Matt York) After a particularly ugly TV experience and negative online reviews, the owners of Amy's Baking Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz., allegedly cursed out critics on their Facebook page.

Social media ? Businesses? calm, focused response to posts key to winning back customers, experts say.

Scottsdale, Ariz. ? It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet.

An Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, allegedly posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly went viral last week, to the delight of people who love a good Internet meltdown.

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The art of staying cool

No matter how bad the reviews get, experts say businesses need to be willing to admit mistakes and offer discounts to assuage skeptical customers. Still, they acknowledge, the wave of digital feedback can be especially challenging for small businesses with small staffs.

"I AM NOT STUPID ALL OF YOU ARE," read the posting on the Facebook wall of Amy?s Baking Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz. "YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW GOOD FOOD."

It was, to put it kindly, not a best business practice. Add to that an appearance earlier this month on the Fox reality TV show "Kitchen Nightmares" ? where celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay gave up on trying to reform the restaurant after the owners refused to listen to his advice ? and you have a recipe for disaster.

"That?s probably the worst thing that can happen," said Sujan Patel, founder and CEO of Single Grain, a digital marketing agency in San Francisco.

In the evolving world of online marketing, where the power of word of mouth has been wildly amplified by the whims and first impressions of anonymous reviewers posting on dozens of social media websites, online comments, both good and bad, and the reactions they trigger from managers, can make all the difference between higher revenues and empty storefronts.

Hotels, restaurants and other businesses that depend on good customer service reviews have all grappled in recent years with how to respond to online feedback on sites such as Twitter, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, Yelp, Facebook and Instagram, where comments can often be more vitriol than in-person reviews because of the anonymous shield many social media websites provide.

No matter how ugly the reviews get, businesses need to be willing to acknowledge mistakes and offer discounts to lure unhappy customers back, digital marketing experts said.

"In the past, people just sent bad soup back. Well, now they are getting on social media and telling all their friends and friends of friends how bad the soup was and why they should find other places to get soup in the future, so it takes the customer experience to another level," said Tom Garrity of the Garrity Group, a public relations firm in New Mexico.

"The challenge becomes ? how do you respond when someone doesn?t think your food or product is as great as you think it is?"

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Fighting back ? In Amy and Samy Bouzaglo?s case, the bad reviews were compounded by their reality TV experience. The couple said during a recent episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" that they needed professional guidance after years of battling terrible online reviews. They opened the pizzeria about six years ago.

"Kitchen Nightmares" follows Ramsay as he helps rebuild struggling restaurants. After one bite, he quickly deemed Amy?s Baking Co. a disaster and chided the Bouzaglos for growing increasingly irate over his constructive feedback. Among his many critiques: The store-bought ravioli smelled "weird," a salmon burger was overcooked and a fig pizza was too sweet and arrived on raw dough.

"You need thick skin in this business," Ramsay said before walking out. It was the first time he wasn?t able to save a business, according to the show.

Amy?s Baking Co. temporarily closed last week after the episode aired. A Bouzaglo spokesman said the couple wasn?t available for an interview. The restaurant?s answering machine was full. Emails and Facebook messages were not returned.

A wall post published last week claimed the restaurant?s Facebook, Yelp and Twitter accounts had been hacked, but hundreds of commenters expressed doubt. Social media sites show someone posting as a member of the Bouzaglo family had been insulting customers over negative reviews since at least 2010.

The story bounced across the Internet, generating thousands of comments on Facebook, Yelp and Twitter, and prompting nearly 36,000 people to sign a petition on Change.org that asks the Department of Labor to look into the Bouzaglo?s practice of pocketing their servers? tips.

Although many corporations hire communications experts to respond to every tweet, Facebook message and online review, the wave of digital feedback can be especially challenging for small businesses with small staffs, digital consultants said.

For one thing, there is so much online content to wade through. Roughly 60 percent of all adults get information about local businesses from search engines and entertainment websites such as Yelp or TripAdvisor, according to a 2011 study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

"Customer service is a spectator sport now," said Jay Baer, president of Convince & Convert, a social media marketing consultancy in Indiana. "It?s not about making that customer happy on Yelp. That?s the big misunderstanding of Yelp. It?s about the hundreds of thousands of people who are looking on to see how you handle it. It?s those ripples that make social media so important."

In their "Kitchen Nightmares" episode, Amy and Samy Bouzaglo are seen yelling and cursing at customers inquiring about undercooked food or long delays. They blame online bullies.

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Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/56355416-79/reviews-businesses-online-amy.html.csp

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Learn How To Make Straightforward Home Improvements - KTUH

Home remodeling jobs could be as simple as artwork a few wall surfaces or as intricate being a total upgrade.

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You need a drill if you are undertaking home improvement assignments. An excellent drill can provide a great deal of flexibility when setting up screws.

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In relation to renovating your bathroom, don?t feel too large. Replace things such as lighting fixtures, decorative mirrors, the mirror, and your cloth pubs. Include some new paint to really spruce points up. You should go broke when creating your bathroom for less money than you most likely considered possible.

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You may make your home?s benefit by refinishing hardwood flooring. You will discover the correct equipment and possibly even courses at the home improvement store. Undertaking the work on your own can help to save lots of money since you don?t have to get a whole new surface.

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great site They allow this to distract them from undertaking more important issues, like curb appeal.Consumers notice this stuff with ease and feel that it?s a fixer-top. Take into account that the initial effect of your property.

Take time to plan for a residence advancement task. Prior to an internal artwork job, take the time to protect all furniture and surface areas within your work space. Your household furniture will most likely be wrecked should you get color into it. Use house bedding to shield your furniture from fresh paint splatters and drips.

Some tools you should have are: a handy-man case, silicone mallet, chisels, along with a phase ladder. These materials are no-crucial but they may be truly beneficial should you be coping with adjusting various parts of home improvement jobs.

There are various staining you should use on the outdoor patio.

Consider piece of art the inside and outside of your house. A new coat of fresh paint has the ability to recharge an area in an instant and can quickly upgrade any place.You may also color furniture or uninteresting wall space to offer your property a modern-day really feel.

Home remodeling assignments could mean many different different things and can be done on any dimensions of finances. If you lack the funds to accomplish main renovation operate, you are able to still substantially improve your home?s appearance and value with relatively simple jobs, low-cost assignments like repainting or dwelling your property.

Exercise caution using the home windows and roof structure collection. You don?t desire to avoid knocking anything to come free.

Use concrete sealer to prevent cracks or degeneration of your front yard from cracking.

Give your front side entry ways a facelift! A residence enhancement that may be exclusive and original is always to swap your front pathway with brick pavers. This is usually a fairly simple job but does need a great deal of work. Rent payments a jackhammer and take away old definite pathway. This can produce a excellent surface area to place the pavers on!

Listening to tunes will help you complete some time. As a result feeling, but you will not want to use earphones, as they can keep you from seeing and hearing things which may create dangers.

Your house is a reflection of yourself. You can do some great home improvement tasks that won?t expense excessive dollars. But, often industry experts are essential. This information will enable you to determine what you can do by yourself and what needs the assistance of an authority.

Extra resources

Source: http://ktuh.org/learn-how-to-make-straightforward-home-improvements/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=learn-how-to-make-straightforward-home-improvements

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China profit growth quickens, no harbinger of recovery

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's industrial profits growth quickened in April from the previous month, though the government noted that the pickup was due mainly to a low comparative base, indicating that the world's second largest economy still faces slack domestic and external demand.

Chinese firms made profits of 436.7 billion yuan ($71.22 billion) in April, up 9.3 percent from the same month last year, quickening from a year-on-year growth of 5.3 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

The improved gains in April were caused by the low comparison base in the same month a year earlier, Yu Jianxun, an official from the bureau's industrial department, said in a statement accompanying the data.

Profits had fallen 2.2 percent in April last year from 2011, compared with gains of 4.5 percent year-on-year growth in March 2012, said Yu.

In the first four months on 2013, Chinese firms made total profits of 1.61 trillion yuan, up 11.4 percent from the same period a year ago, the NBS said (www.stats.gov.cn).

Among the 41 industries tracked, 30 posted profit growth and eight reported a profit drop in the first four months compared with the year earlier period. Three sectors reported turnarounds in profitability.

Profits for manufacturers of computers, telecommuications equipment and electronics were up 44.8 percent from the same period last year, while those in the electricity and heat production and supply industry leapt 92.6 percent.

The ferrous metal smelting and rolling industry reported a 38.6 percent year-on-year increase in profits during the period, while profits in auto manufacturing rose 12.9 percent.

Petroleum refining, coking and nuclear fuel processing sectors swung into profit from losses in the first four months, while profits in oil and gas exploration dropped 7.9 percent.

The figures come after the HSBC/Markit flash purchasing managers index, the earliest indicator of China's industrial activity, showed a contraction for the first time in seven months in May as new orders fell.

The PMI added to concerns that China's economic recovery has stalled and that a sharper cooldown may be imminent.

($1 = 6.1316 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting By Xiaoyi Shao and Kevin Yao; editing by Jonathan Standing)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-jan-april-industrial-profits-11-4-percent-014053001.html

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Obama says nation must do more for fallen heroes

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama says the nation must do more than just remember its fallen heroes on Memorial Day.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says the country must care for the loved ones the fallen leave behind. He says the country must also make sure that all veterans receive the care and benefits they have earned.

Obama says that, above all, the armed forces must have the support needed to carry out their missions at home and abroad.

In the Republican address, Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe thanks the nation for its prayers and support following Monday's deadly tornado in his home state. He recalls past natural and man-made disasters in Oklahoma and says that while the state was hard hit, "we're not knocked out."

___

Online:

Obama's address: http://www.whitehouse.gov Republican address: http://www.youtube.com/gopweeklyaddress

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-says-nation-must-more-fallen-heroes-100355411.html

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Infantile myofibromatosis: First drug targets in childhood genetic tumor disorder

May 24, 2013 ? Two mutations central to the development of infantile myofibromatosis (IM) -- a disorder characterized by multiple tumors involving the skin, bone, and soft tissue -- may provide new therapeutic targets, according to researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The findings, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, may lead to new treatment options for this debilitating disease, for which the only current treatment option is repeated surgical removal of the tumors.

IM is an inheritied disorder that develops in infancy or even in utero and tumors continue to present throughout life. The tumors do not metastasize, but can grow large enough to invade the tissue surrounding them causing physical limitations, disfiguration, bone destruction, intestitinal obstruction, and even death. Currently, the standard of care is to excise the tumors when possible, which can be invasive, painful, and disfiguring, and most patients require multiple surgeries throughout their lives.

Led by John Martignetti, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Oncological Sciences, and Pediatrics and other researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Hakon Hakonarson, MD, PhD at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the global research team gathered blood samples from 32 people from nine different families affected by the disease and performed whole-exome sequencing, a type of genomic sequencing where all protein coding regions of the genome, called the exome, are analyzed. They identified mutations in two genes: PDGFRB and NOTCH3.

"We are very excited about the findings of this study, which started 10 years ago with the enrollment of the first family," said Dr. Martignetti. "The newest developments in sequencing technology have led to a new breakthrough in understanding this debilitating disease and we can therefore begin identifying drug-based treatments to save lives for some and avoiding the negative quality of life impact of extensive and repeated surgery in others."

PDGFRB and NOTCH3 are two genes that are targeted by existing drugs, including imatinib (GLEEVEC?) and sunitinib (Sutent?). Next, Dr. Martignetti and his team plans to test whether cells grown in the laboratory from myfibromatosis tumors are susceptible to these drugs. They also hope to learn why mutations in these two genes result in disease. "If we can learn how these mutated genes get hijacked to cause cellular miscommunication, and also test existing and novel therapies to see if they shrink the tumors, we hope to improve the lives of the individuals battling this disease," said Dr. Martignetti.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/4Lazqkic0wA/130524103537.htm

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How To Write High Quality Articles That Attract Attention by John ...

Writing can be a hobby, an interest, or an occupation. Many people are capable of writing quality articles but have no idea where to begin or are not confident with their fluency in the language. That???s what this article is about; how to write high quality articles that attract attention. Do you believe that you can be a quality writer? Do you want to be a quality writer?

If you look at writing in a technical viewpoint, yes, it can be difficult but that is only when it comes to the rules of language and grammar, which you can learn quickly. Many people have stated that they are excellent speakers but that does not necessarily hold true for writing. A person can be good at speaking but not at writing, and vice versa. Everyone is capable of becoming a writer given they are willing to learn the process of writing an article step by step.

Is there a process to writing quality articles? Is there a specific structure? Where do you begin? How do you end? Is there a specific style of writing that is required? Basically, the question is how to write high quality articles that attract attention.

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3. Title: Create a title that is interesting and thought provoking so as to get the attention of the readers. At the same time, the title also has to relay what kind of information the readers will be getting out of the article. As a reader yourself, would you actually read an article whose title is very technical and boring?

4. Introduction: The introduction is there to inform the readers what they will be learning as they read the article. Keep the introduction short but concise and simple enough to understand. There is no need to use complicated words because then you will be narrowing down your audience. The same goes for the rest of the article.

5. Body: This is where you will put all the information that you have gathered in your research. Remember to write it as if you were explaining it in your own words because this makes the article more relatable and easy to understand. The content of your article should also be entertaining and at the same time educational. In the body, there are many ways to write, but if the article is for the internet, you can use bullets or numbering. By doing this, you make the information more concise and easier for the audience to read, and at the same time, giving yourself structure and you will know what will come next, creating a good flow to your writing and to the readers. Also, remember to take a pause in between your paragraphs. When paragraphs are lengthy with little white space, readers tend to lose interest in the article.

6. Conclusion: Recap the information that you have given in the entire article briefly. This is where you explain to the readers the main points of your article and the importance of the information you shared with them. When you end your article, you can also give them a few words or questions to make them think about the article and what they have learned from it and maybe how they can use this information to solve a problem or improve a situation.

7. Proofreading: When you are done writing your article, you will learn, as a writer, that proofreading is essential in the process. You should go back and read the entire article again to ensure that there are no errors with your grammar, punctuation, or sentence construction. If there are areas in your article that you feel don???t make sense or are out of place, then you can edit them or omit them. When going through the proofreading process, you can make sure for yourself that the article that you will be posting is at its best.

As you are learning how to write high quality articles that attract attention, you will also learn that you will not be able to grasp all of it overnight. It will take time and errors along the way before you become an expert at it. The most important thing about writing is that there is always room to improve. As a writer, you will have an audience, and these readers will be able to give you feedback with regards to your writing because as readers, they are now the judges or critics of your work. Their feedback can be very helpful to you as a writer.

You can then take the feedback and use it to improve and create your own unique writing style. It is also good to remember, though, that every reader has their own preferences and writing styles that they particularly like or dislike. If you believe, as the writer, that the particular writing style demanded from you is one that you are not familiar or comfortable with, that is in your discretion as to whether you want to learn it or find a different approach that is more appealing.

These are merely tips to help you learn the basic process of writing a quality article. Using these tips, you will also be able to work faster and have direction throughout the processes of writing quality articles. No matter how advanced the writing style or the article, these fundamental elements of writing will always be there. So, continue exploring the endless possibilities of your writing and remember that practice makes perfect.

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Jury foreman says life or death decision unfair

Jodi Arias stands as the jury enters the courtroom before the verdict for sentencing was declared a hung jury for her first degree murder conviction at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix on Thursday, May 23, 2013. The jury in Jodi Arias' trial was dismissed Thursday after failing to reach a unanimous decision on whether the woman they convicted of murdering her one-time boyfriend should be sentenced to life or death in a case that has captured headlines worldwide with its sex, lies, violence. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, David Wallace, Pool)

Jodi Arias stands as the jury enters the courtroom before the verdict for sentencing was declared a hung jury for her first degree murder conviction at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix on Thursday, May 23, 2013. The jury in Jodi Arias' trial was dismissed Thursday after failing to reach a unanimous decision on whether the woman they convicted of murdering her one-time boyfriend should be sentenced to life or death in a case that has captured headlines worldwide with its sex, lies, violence. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, David Wallace, Pool)

Jodi Arias stands as the jury is excused after the verdict for sentencing was declared a hung jury for her first degree murder conviction at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Ariz., on Thursday, May 23, 2013. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, David Wallace, Pool)

Gee Russo, left, argues with her husband Mark Russo, who favored the death penalty for Arias, both of North Caldwell, N.J., after it was announced the jury deadlocked on the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias murder trial out in front of Maricopa County Superior Court on Thursday, May 23, 2013, in Phoenix. Jurors who spent five months determining Jodi Arias' fate couldn't decide whether she should get life in prison or die for murdering her boyfriend, Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Virginia Aguiar, right, comforts Tiffany Sarmient as she cries in frustration after it was announced the jury deadlocked on the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias murder trial out in front of Maricopa County Superior Court Thursday, May 23, 2013, in Phoenix. Jurors who spent five months determining Jodi Arias' fate couldn't decide whether she should get life in prison or die for murdering her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in his suburban Phoenix home, so a scheduled July 18 retrial was announced by the judge. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Jodi Arias stands as the jury is excused after the verdict for sentencing was declared a hung jury for her first degree murder conviction at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix, Ariz., on Thursday, May 23, 2013. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, David Wallace, Pool)

PHOENIX (AP) ? They were 12 ordinary citizens who didn't oppose the death penalty. But unlike spectators outside the courthouse who followed the case like a daytime soap opera and jumped to demand Jodi Arias' execution, the jurors faced a decision that was wrenching and real, with implications that could haunt them forever.

In an interview Friday, jury foreman William Zervakos provided a glimpse into the private deliberations, describing four women and eight men who struggled with the question: How heinous of a killing deserves a similar fate?

"The system we think is flawed in that sense because this was not a case of a Jeffrey Dahmer or Charles Manson," Zervakos told The Associated Press.

"It was a brutal no-win situation. ... I think that's kind of unfair," the 69-year-old added. "We're not lawyers. We can't interpret the law. We're mere mortals. And I will tell you I've never felt more mere as a mortal than I felt for the last five months."

Zervakos said the most difficult time of the entire trial was hearing directly from victim Travis Alexander's family as his brother and sister tearfully explained how his killing has shattered their lives.

"There was no sound in that jury room for a long time after that because you hurt so bad for these people," he said. "But that wasn't evidence. That's what made it so hard. ... This wasn't about them. This was a decision whether we're going to tell somebody they were going to be put to death or spend the rest of their life in prison."

Zervakos described a deliberations room full of tears and spinning moral compasses as each juror struggled to come to grips with their own beliefs about what factors ? including Arias' young age at the time of the killing and her lack of criminal history ? should cause them to show mercy and spare her life.

"You've got Travis Alexander's family devastated, that he was killed, that he was brutally killed. You've got Jodi Arias' family sitting in there, both families sitting and seeing these humiliating images and listening to unbelievably lurid private details of their lives, and you've got a woman whose life is over, too," Zervakos said. "I mean, who's winning in this situation? And we were stuck in the middle."

Zervakos declined to discuss his thoughts or those of other jurors on whether Arias should have been sentenced to death or life. But he said he was torn between her two personas: a killer and an average young woman struggling through life.

"You heard (prosecutor Juan) Martinez say she was only 27. ... She's old enough that she should have known better," Zervakos said. "I didn't look at it that way. I'm looking at 27 years of an absolutely normal everyday young woman that was living a life that was perfectly normal. Then something changed the trajectory of her life after meeting Travis Alexander, and it spiraled downhill from there."

The same jury on May 8 convicted Arias of first-degree murder in Alexander's killing, but couldn't reach a decision Thursday after about 13 hours of deliberations on whether she should live or die.

Judge Sherry Stephens was forced to declare a mistrial of the penalty phase and dismissed the panel.

A conference with the judge and attorneys is set for June 20 to determine how both sides want to proceed. In the interim, Stephens set a July 18 retrial date.

The mistrial set the stage for a whole new proceeding to determine whether the 32-year-old former waitress should get a life sentence or the death penalty for murdering Alexander five years ago.

Arias stabbed and slashed him nearly 30 times, slit his throat slit and shot him in the forehead. Prosecutors said she attacked Alexander in a jealous rage after he wanted to end their relationship and planned a trip to Mexico with another woman. Arias contends it was self-defense.

Prosecutors now have the option to take the death penalty off the table and avoid a new penalty phase. The judge would then determine whether to sentence Arias to spend her entire life behind bars, or give her life with the possibility of release after 25 years. Given Arias could not afford her own defense, taxpayers footed the bill for court-appointed attorneys at a cost so far of nearly $1.7 million, a price tag that will only balloon if the case moves forward.

Should the state decide to seek death again, jury selection alone could take months, given the difficulty of seating an impartial panel in a case that has attracted global attention and become daily cable TV and tabloid fodder with tales of sex, lies and violence, said jury consultant Jo-Ellan Dimitrius.

"Will it be impossible? No. Will it be tough? Absolutely," she said.

Dimitrius noted that jury selection in the widely publicized trial of infamous serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the "Night Stalker," who is on death row in California, took six months as attorneys weeded through more than 2,000 prospective jurors.

If Arias faces a new penalty phase, her murder conviction would stand, leaving the new panel tasked only with sentencing her. However, the proceedings could drag on for several more months as the new jury reviews evidence and witness testimony.

If the second jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge would then sentence Arias to one of the life-in-prison options. The judge cannot sentence Arias to death.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-25-Boyfriend%20Slaying/id-a5c05685869043078d7e1e48dc10a5dc

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