Why are all school buses yellow?

Trivia Contest

Win $25 gift card. Question: Why are all school buses yellow? If you know the answer, or want to take a guess, then email your answer to trivia@southeasternlaser.com.  Please provide your name, company name, phone number, email address. All correct answers will be entered in a drawing to win a $25 Southeastern Laser gift card, good toward any of our products or services. Rules: Deadline for your response is August 8, 2012. No peeking (Really?  You were going to Google it?) Only one entry per person. SE Laser employees and their families are not eligible. Valid only is states where not prohibited by law. No purchase required. It's only $25, are all these rules really necessary?   Submit to: trivia@southeasternlaser.com

World Famous Printer Cartridges!

Wowza!  People are hearing about us all the way down in the Fiji Islands:

Fiji

From: Sammy comm inc <samcomminc1@gmail.com> 
Date: Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 6:01 PM
Subject: ORDER REQUEST
To: jseal@southeasternlaser.com


Hello Sales,

 Hello, I was caught up in ordering some of your products,we are located in Republic of Fiji Islands,you can send me your website for re-confirmation and also will like to know the type of credit card you accept for payment..and also i will like to let you know i have a personal shipping agent that i worked with for years. i worked with them alone due to problem bringing down orders to this location every time.I await your quick response.

Thanks.
Sammy comm inc

Well, okay. So maybe it's not legit.  In fact, we get scam emails like this almost every day.

But we are World Famous for providing quality toner and ink cartridges with personal service and savings up to 50%.

www.southeasternlaser.com

865-675-5900
toll free 877-233-2599

Printer shuts down for one empty color?

HP OfficeJet Pro 8600

FAQ:
Is there a color printer that won't stop printing when one of the colors goes empty of toner or ink?

Answer:

• From HP, "HP Officejet Pro 8600 e-AiO will continue to print black even if one of the colored cartridge is empty." 
• From Canon, "Canon offers a huge benefit over our competitors with Pure Black technology. What this feature does is when printing the color black (text for example) on any of our color models the printer is not using any of the colors in the print.  Therefore, allowing the printer to print black even if the colors are low/empty.  This feature is found in our laser and inkjet models."

For more info on the printers mentioned above:

• HP OfficeJet Pro 8600, $199.99. 
• Canon color printers. 

Southeastern Laser, 865-675-5900, sales@southeasternlaser.com

3 Times to Save on Printing Costs

Everyone loves to get the best bang for their buck, but have you ever thought about ways to get a longer life out of your printer cartridges?

On any given day, you have three opportunities to save money on your printing costs: When you create a document; when you print a document; and during routine maintenance of your printer.

Try these simple tips to milk your cartridges for all they’re worth.

When Creating a Document

• Use smaller font sizes and you’ll use less ink. For most fonts, an 11-point or 12-point font is sufficient for regular, daily purposes.
• Don’t over-use the “bold” function or choose “thick” fonts. Century Gothic, Times Roman and Calibri are good examples.
• Read, re-read and read again before printing. Proofing on your screen saves hard copy errors.
• Go the route of digital photos and consider not printing at all! Sometimes a digital file is sufficient, or even preferable, to a hard copy.
• There is special software available for purchase (such as ecofont) that purports to save up to 50% in printing costs.

When Printing

• Catch errors in advance by viewing printer output before you print. Choose “print preview” and take the extra few minutes to re-read your document before committing it to paper.
• Consider printing in “draft” or “grayscale” modes for routine, everyday documents.
• Duplex or combine multiple pages into one page (saves on paper).
• Print only what you need. Free services like PrintWhatYouLike help to get rid of unnecessary and costly clutter when printing web pages.

During Routine Maintenance

• If you get a low-toner message or start to see streaks on your printouts, there is likely still toner left in the cartridge. Simply remove it from the printer and gently rock it from side to side several times (do not shake!). You will likely be able to eke out a few more pages before having to change your cartridge.
• Beware the dreaded clogged nozzles! Before assuming your printer has stopped because of a bad or empty cartridge, run a nozzle check or remove the cartridge(s) from the printer, gently wipe it with a damp cloth, then reinstall and re-try.

By implementing even just a couple of these tips, you are sure to see some cost savings in your printing bill over the long-term.

Is customer service dead ?

I recently had the experience of dealing with our department of motor vehicles at the Knox County Clerk's office.  The cumulative result is that I left feeling irritated and found myself being treated not as a customer, but rather a target.  This experience has got me thinking ..... 


Is customer service dead ?  


Caveat emptor is Latin for buyer beware, and many companies and organizations would be wise to take note of how many customers they are driving away.  Anytime, but particularly in these penny-pinching times, good customer service can make a difference.    


Establishing a reputation for excellent customer service is important to keeping the customers you have, and assuring that those people will help bring you others. Stellar customer service focuses on individual customer needs, solves problems and refuses to become wrapped up in red tape.  


So this got me to thinking about how we can improve our own customer service skills here at Southeastern Laser.


1.  Be Empowered: Allow your people to be extraordinary. 
Employees often may feel they lack the authority to make the decisions necessary to achieve extraordinary customer service.  The frustration of having a problem remain unsolved, or of being transferred from person to person, in search of someone who can fix it, only worsens a customer's impression of your business.


2.  Cater to Individuals:  Recognize that every person to walk through your door has different needs--and do what it takes to meet those needs.  What's appropriate for one customer may not work with another. Employees must be able to respond to different customer needs. 


3. Don't Take It Personally:  Listen to customer problems and make sure that they walk away with something, even if it is an assurance that you will follow up on the problem.


4. Be Positive:  Many businesses start off by telling customers what they can't do.  This projects an attitude where the customer is an enemy who must conform to the company's rules. Keep rules simple and flexible, recognizing that individual situations may require bending the rules or throwing them out entirely in order to meet a particular customer's needs.


We have all been guilty of taking the easy way out.  We all have room to improve.  At Southeastern Laser, we will do just that.  We work for you !!   Coach John Wooden once was heard to say "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over ?"


At Southeastern Laser we are as close as your e-mail or your telephone.  We want to make your experience a good one because this is YOUR company Knoxville.  We are just temporary stewards and if we can leave it better than we found it, we all win !!!


Contributed by Jim Seal, Co-Founder, Southeastern Laser.

Video Business Card

Your input is requested on the development of our new video business card. Please let me know what you think of this marketing tool.