"I'm sorry that you feel that way...let's see if we get get it sorted" goes a long way to smoothing over the problem with an irate customer.

It's not admitting liability but it is sympathising with the customer and contains that all important word.  

I like Callie's suggesting of following it up - that's great customer service!

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Love that one Jackie!!!

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I thought it was a great idea, just a bit lacking in content!  It's a really good system for conferencing / presenting actually.

Other subjects:
Travel planning tips?
An actual "Take Control of Your Workload" session with tips on prioritising / organising tasks?

Is there anything you could perhaps get more involved in at your current job? E.g. marketing / updating company wide templates etc.

This kind of thing is often overlooked but can be a valuable skill to add to your CV and would keep you busier!

Did anyone else attend this webinar?  I was really looking for to some handy hints on managing my workload, setting aside some time to sit down and log in to the webinar.

Unfortunately it turned out to be a very sketchy sales pitch for BTs conferencing facilities!  About 90% of it involved 3 senior PAs explaining their company's structure!  

However, it was a great opportunity to see how the facility worked, I'm just disappointed BT thought it was necessary to con us into trying it out!

Anyone else?

Love this!  What a great idea doing a door decorating competition!

Bit of a tricky one!  I used to work for a big company who used the HR people & appraisal system to hit you over the head at bonus time. Having said that there were some excellent HR people who made voicing concerns a lot easier!

Firstly I'd make yourself available and approachable at all functions and get togethers.  If necessary commandeer a meeting room away from the CEO's office - possibly on the basis of it being a drop in session?

Secondly, is there a way to make the surveys less traceable (e.g. use an online survey)?  Once you have this info it will be easier to confront your CEO and suggest your solutions to the problem.  

Specific issues with the CEO are harder to deal with - is there any reason for her feeling insecure?  Would training help?  

Good luck!

My advice is to think like your customer - what publications do they read? What do they do? Where do they shop? What do they trust?

However, I would start really simply with something very immediate for your bosses to see.  Think about how you communicate with your customers - that's having everything on standard templates for powerpoint presentations, faxes, comp slips, invoices, letterheads, etc and it's something you can do almost immediately to raise the profile of your company's branding.  

Secondly, I'd review what you've done and what has worked for you in the past.  There are loads of lessons to be learned from this.  Put in place a monitoring system to find out how people hear about you (could be as simple as asking people when they call!).  And ask existing customers why they use you and where they heard about you.   Get testimonials if possible while you're doing this!

Thirdly, look at free resources such as Yellow Pages listings, directory listings, things your company could get involved in which would be good PR / promotional opportunities.  Arm yourself with info about your company and its products and services and some hi-res photos suitable for publication along with both a hi-res and lo-res jpeg of your company logo.  Voila, a basic press pack is created!

I have always been told that the rule of thumb is not to go unless you would know the person to say hello to in the street.  

I guess that extends to this situation, although your manager may appreciate some extra support.

I'm with Countrigal - I can see how these comments and having to modify their perception of your behaviour could be extremely hurtful.  I'd recommend not taking it to heart & focusing on what you're good at - getting on with the job!  

Good luck at the meeting!

hmmm... I'm coming down on your boss's side I'm afraid.  It's his job to make sure there's a harmonious office atmosphere to encourage good work, and it sounds like he's had several people complaining to him about their perception of your behaviour.

What I will say in your defence is that you probably aren't aware of what it is that you do that winds them up, they could well be dull, vindictive moaners.  If it wasn't you, they would be complaining about something else.  

Unfortunately as they're in the majority he's coming down hard on you.  I'd seriously not take it personally, try & modify whatever it is they're mostly whinging about, and then try and focus your energies on something outside of work.

Question whether this actually is the environment you want to be subjecting yourself to everyday, (new job time?) and meanwhile see if there's something that could be done to introduce a "buffer-zone" between you and the problem-makers (different office arrangements? New project / team?).

I'd agree with your boss - perception is reality, as far as non-empathetic people go.

The advantages are that it allows you a better work:life balance (good for you!) & makes you a more rounded employee (better for the company!).  

The disadvantages are that you must make it very clear what hours you work, and be militant about sticking to them.  Also, I think you need great communication skills, as you must be able to leave clear instructions on where you are with a project / what happens when you are out of the office.  

I work part-time & sort-of job share with another administrator who thankfully is always very clear about what I am to do when she hasn't got through everything on her shift.  It makes my job a lot easier & at the end of every day I make sure I send her a list of "Done" & "To be Done" so she has a reference.  It saves on the amount of annoying "I can't find...." or "What happened with... " phone calls you'll get & it also saves people becoming exasperated with you when you are out of the office and not there to defend yourself!

I'd maybe remind them that spam email is illegal - all marketing messages should have an unsubscribe address & this should be honoured.

I'd try & convince them to build a list of authorised emails via a website sign up link, which would allow people to opt in or out of the mail list.  They're bound to get a better response from this type of mailing list - why don't you challenge them to monitor response?

We got new HR Manuals recently & all had a good laugh about several of the issues raised "Carrying Implements" for example (trays!).   I realised that I break the dress code at least 4 times a week & was just about to raise this with my boss when he stormed in ranting about the "pathetic idiots" who wrote it.  

He declared that because we should "dress appropriately for safety" whilst in the office, that high heeled shoes (recommended for all ladies!!) were not suitable & that "loud colours / styles" did not include his Dennis the Menace tie or Homer Simpson socks....

We used to be very formal in the office, lots of suits & sober colours.  Recently we've employed a younger bunch of admins & they definitely like to be a bit funkier!  

The general rule is that you should be presentable enough to see a client, should they happen to pop in.  

Personally I don't think I would wear a skirt so short that is wasn't presentable, even if I wasn't in the office!!!  But I'm all for people being comfortable & relaxed in what they wear.