An interesting bit of news has flown under my radar for almost a year now that may impact your business.  In January of 2013, Google stopped supporting Microsoft’s service called Mail for Exchange (M4E) Activesync on any and all devices after the cutoff if you use one of their free plans.  By free plans I am referring to the free Google Apps accounts they previously gave away.  The free Google Apps plans were for small businesses to use Google services at no charge.  This service will continue with the exception of the Activesync.

M4E is what makes your “push” email work.  This is when you receive your email instantly on your phone versus now having to wait 15 minutes for it.  M4E has been an important mainstay for many businesses, but Google had to pay a licensing fee per user to Microsoft.  That may not seem like a big deal for a billion dollar company but they have given away a lot of free accounts over the years.  Additionally, this also affects people with @gmail.com emails.  No more instant email!

The solution to this problem is simple.  Pay Google approximately $5 per month per email address.  While this may be acceptable for those of us with one Gmail address, it comes as a shock for others who may have dozens of employees or email addresses set up for every aspect of their business.  I personally have never switched to Google Apps and have always used a Gmail email in a convoluted way.  So now I have to start a Google Apps account which is no problem but there is no easy way to transfer all of my data and information to it.  Google sadly has not made this an easy task.

In my next blog post I will explain what I have had to do to circumvent migrating to a Google Apps account and the hassle that goes along with it.  If you have a Gmail address or a free Google Apps account, your phone is not broken and there is no missing setting.  Google has simply killed off your push email.  Stay tuned to the Phone.com blog for a DIY solution.

There is no better affirmation for us at Phone.com than hearing from happy customers who are actively using our service and seeing it make a real difference in how they do business.  Today I want to share the story of Julia McCoy, CEO of Express Writers, a company that specializes in copywriting and writing services.

For nearly a year they have used Phone.com and when asked how they use the service, McCoy remarked, “It is our all-in-one phone solution, and without it, my business would not have the same stellar phone customer support.”  When asked about the features she enjoys most, Julia included a laundry list of items including hold music, greetings, call handling rules and much more.  The most critical feature to them, however, is our new iPhone app, which allows their customer-service representatives to call clients while displaying their Phone.com number in caller ID.

Express Writers moved to Phone.com from a competitor, not only because of the lower price, but also due to a tremendous increase in value.  She commented that Express Writers has saved roughly $10-15 consistently monthly and gained triple this in features for a lower price!

When asked about our customer service, Julia was especially impressed, saying:

“Let me tell you—your customer service sets the bar across industries. I have dealt with the customer service of all my clients’ companies and all my marketing solutions, and have only found 1 or 2 among thousands that come close to how friendly, how available, and how helpful Phone.com‘s customer service is. Your representatives must be from another planet because each and every one of them are so extremely pleasant. I have yet to talk to one offshore/non-professional/average representative. Each one is stellar in support.”

We are absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Julia and Express Writers.  The opportunity to provide them with unparalleled value, features accessible on all of their devices, and awesome customer service is what we strive for at Phone.com.

Is Phone.com making a difference in the way you do business?  Please take a moment to share your story with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Peace. Calm. Serenity. Zen.

Even just the sight of these words can create a greater sense of calm in us – well either that, or it can start some mental dialogue that goes something like “I don’t have that” or “what does that feel like?” or “that’s nonsense.”  With that being said, it brings to mind the big question – how do we achieve more peace and calm in our lives, especially when working in this fast-paced day and age? Believe it or not, it’s easier than you think – and no, it doesn’t involve moving to a far away country and hiding away in a cave while meditating 18 hours a day.

Exercise Before Work

I know, it sounds like a pain to not only wake up early for work every day let alone waking up even earlier for exercise? Well, it’s easier than you think.  Actually, don’t think, just do it, and you’ll reap the rewards. Not only will you shake off any jitters or resentment you have about going to work that day, but when your work shift ends you’ll realize you already got your exercise in for in the day and the rest of the day and evening is yours to do with as you please.

Avoid Complaining, Especially Mentally Complaining

Complaining not only brings you down, it brings others down as well.  While we know we shouldn’t complain at work, the one thing to really avoid is mentally complaining. You know, that chatter that sounds like “oh great, another demanding customer,” or “oh my goodness look how many tasks I have ahead of me,” or “is my shift over yet?” Your state of mind is valuable!  Protect it and it will return the favor by melting away that excess negative emotion.

Take All of Your Alotted Breaks

Always take advantage of your breaks.  You should never overload yourself and try to impress others by skipping your breaks every day.  In fact, taking your breaks and then returning to work can actually make you feel more energized, more productive, and may even help you work a little faster.

Stop Rushing So Much

When I encourage you to stop rushing I don’t mean to be spacey and slothful instead.  It simply means that you should avoid being hurried. If an urgent issue at work arises or a customer needs extra speedy assistance, then by all means crank it up and match that pace.  Believe it or not but refusing to be hurried all the time actually requires assertiveness to stand your ground and control your situations.

Plan Your Days

Taking a cue from Stephen Covey’s book 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, planning your days and organizing them into urgent and non-urgent tasks helps you stay organized. Invest in a whiteboard and put it up in your home somewhere where you can write on it and see it every day.  Use it to write down your upcoming short and long term tasks and then act appropriately.

Develop Your Own “Calming” Daily Rituals

To me, this is one is the key step. There are many great calming rituals out there, and some of the ones I’ve personally benefitted from include gratitude lists, letting go of unwanted emotions (like the Sedona Method), yoga, meditation, yoga nidra, mindfulness practice, brain wave entrainment, ocean surf mp3′s, visualization, and the list goes on. I’ve personally learned a lot as well from the reading the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I don’t practice all of these things at once, but I still have some of my AM and PM rituals that I practice daily, and continue to reap benefits from.

By exercising before work, avoiding complaining, not mentally complaining, taking all of your allotted breaks, stopping the rushing, planning your days, and using your own “calming” daily rituals, you are well on your away to becoming much calmer at work, even in the face of very busy days or angry customers. My final advice to you is: it’s easier than you think.  Actually don’t think, just do it!