Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The new "face" of WheelDoggy.com !

WheelDoggy.com has officially "hired" a new spokes"person"...
(that's him on the right).

His name is Sampson and he is a Yellow Lab / Mix that was rescued from a shelter in Texas through the L.A.B. Rescue Network.  He is one of the most lovable dogs that I have ever seen and it is hard for me to imagine that someone "gave him up". 

Please welcome him to the WheelDoggy team !

Monday, October 3, 2011

What kind of Service Providers sign up for WheelDoggy.com?

On WheelDoggy.com the Service Providers (or "Helpers") must bid for each job and are given a rating by their customers after each job.  In other words, they have compete for each job and be open to feedback by customers.

I've found that there are two types of Service Providers ... ones that see competition as something to be avoided so that they can take advantage of the people who hire them and the ones that see competing for business as a positive thing that will showcase the difference between themselves and their competition.

Which type of Service Provider are you?

What is your competitive advantage?  Is your business set up to provide the lowest cost for the tasks you specialize in?  Or do you provide outstanding service (which should be evident by your rating on WheelDoggy.com)?

Before you sign up as a Service Provider on WheelDoggy.com... think about how you want to compete and, more important, determine if your business systems and practices are in place to support it !

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Got some Storm Cleanup needed from Hurricane Irene (in Connecticut)

Are you looking for someone with a chainsaw to cut up a downed tree from the aftermath of Hurricane Irene?  Or, are you the "Guy with a chainsaw" and want to earn some cash in your spare time?

Either way, WheelDoggy.com is the site for you !

How it works (if you are the person who wants some trees cut up) . . . 
You would sign up for WheelDoggy.com's basic / trial service (assuming you have not already signed up) and post a task for "Chainsaw work" and describe what you want cut up. 

Don't forget to say how long you want the segments since it takes more cuts to make 12" logs than it does for 18" logs.  (From what I've heard, somewhere between 12-18" is typical.)  Also remember that the Chainsaw Helper(s) (note: people who do work for you through WheelDoggy.com are called "Helpers") won't be measuring each log so asking for 11.75" log segments could get you a very high price or much fewer bids.

Once your task is posted, the Helpers bid to complete your task.  You decide which Helper you want to pick (based on their rating, verification status or price), select the bid that is best for you and put the bid amount "on reserve".  Having this money "on reserve" means that you and the Helper must agree that the job was done as described before the payment can be released.  It is important to make sure you are both in agreement so that there are no problems at the end of the task.  For example, "Who is going to pick up the logs once they are cut?  Will they be taken away or left for the Customer?"... these are questions that should be worked out up front !

Once the task is done...
As the Customer, you would release the reserve money and rate the Helper.  The Helper will also rate his customers so that for future jobs the Helpers can provide better prices or services to the customers who are easiest to work with.

What if you have a chainsaw and want some work?
Just sign up as a Helper at WheelDoggy.com and search for jobs in your area.  The basic trial level is free so why not sign up NOW !

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Unemployment is a good thing... for WheelDoggy Helpers !

The graph below is from a blog that has lots of data on the US economy called "Calculated Risk".  click here for larger graph.  The data indicates that there are a large number of people who have been out of work more than 27 weeks... which is a perfect time to consider setting up a business as a WheelDoggy.com Helper !  Have you signed up yet?  Why not?

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Getting Serious about your To Do List !


Picture from Flickr.com with the following caption ...
My to do list is healed & in use!
Tattooed by the awesome and wonderful Lelia at The Needle's Kiss in Townsville on 18/5/2010 as an anniversary gift from Rob (because I'd been talking about having it done for 2 years).
Since this Flickr account is from "Rob and Stephanie Levy" I guess we must assume that this list is on Stephanie's arm ... and that there is very little chance that she will forget any of the "Honey Do's" for Rob !

It does kind of make me wonder if she uses ink that washes off and cleans her arm each day in the shower ... or if she puts a bandage over it to preserve items from day to day?  Seems like an interesting way to tell if you have been productive during the day... do you have to wash your arm or not?

Top 10 ways to Reduce the Honey Do List !

If you are like most households, you have a "Honey Do" list.  A list of things that need to be done around the house... some major, most minor but all annoying you until they are done. 

Over the long cold winter, the length of the list has probably grown since you were busy dealing with snow and, in general, trying to keep warm.  Speaking of "keeping warm", did you know that Dr.Phil's comments on "Honey Do Lists" are in the "Relationships / Sex" portion of his website?  Clearly the state of your Honey Do List has an impact on your relationship with your "Honey".

But Now...  Spring is HERE !  And along with it comes the chance to break out the Honey Do list and fix all those "nagging problems".  But, is there an easier way? 

Here are our "Top 10 Ways To Reduce Your HoneyDo List" ...

1) Organize & Prioritize.  By getting the important things done first, the impact of the rest of the list will be less.  You may also be able to combine some tasks or get out the same tools for multiple tasks and complete them all more efficiently.

2) Eat The Frog.  As the title of a book by Brian Tracy suggests, "If you eat a frog first thing in the morning, it is unlikely you will encounter anything worse during the day."  What he means is that if you tackle the hardest, most onerous task first then the rest will be easy by comparison.

3) Delegate, Delegate and then... Delegate.  What are you good at?  Is your career specialty cleaning up your yard?  Not for most people.  If you focus on what you are good at (and enjoy) while getting someone else to do things that they are good at, you end up getting things done faster, easier and often cheaper than it would have cost to do them yourself.  Do what you are good at... and delegate the rest.

4) Divide and Conquer.  They say "Many hands like light work." (or something like that) and you can do that too.  By recruiting family and friends, you can get things done more quickly and enjoy some time together too !  (Just be careful how you persuade your friends & family to help ... you might get things done but end up with some grumpy people in your life.)  Be sure to make it worthwhile for them ... maybe with a cookout afterwards or by emphasizing some positive aspects of completing the tasks.

5) Filter the list.  Some things really don't need to be done at all.  Either you have become accustomed to the situation (so there is no sense changing it) or they are so low priority that you can honestly say "I have more important things to do... and this is never going to make my list."  Be careful though... one person's opinion may differ and you will want to convince your significant other or fellow housemates before abandoning a task on the list.

6) Schedule the tasks.  Obviously the important things come first, but by scheduling when each item will be done, you are (1) prioritizing and (5) filtering the list at the same time.  By Scheduling the tasks you may find it easier to (3) Delegate some of the tasks or even (4) involve other people.

7) Expand the list.  This probably sounds counter-intuitive... Aren't we trying to shorten the list?  Actually, by taking quick walk around your home you will inevitably find even more things that need to be done.  You would have found these later anyways, so why not see if you can combine them with some of the activities you are doing now?  Plus, if you are going to delegate it would be better to have a larger chunk of work to offload so that it is done more efficiently.  On top of that, by getting more things on the list, you will get more things done (using the tips shown here).  This will give you an incredible sense of accomplishment and save you "Honey Do" work in the future when you might want to be relaxing in the Summer sun !

8) Take Five.  Sometimes your HoneyDo list has gotten so big that it is overwhelming.  Where do you start?  Rather than worry about all the things on the list, just pick one thing and commit yourself to do only 5 minutes worth of work.  Usually you will find that once you get started, you will continue working on the task until it is done.  But even if you don't finish... you will have made progress on the task and it will be that much closer to completion.

9) Stress Relief.  Do you have stress in your life?  Of course you do.  Everyone does... but the key is how they deal with it.  Why does this relate to "Trimming Your Honey Do List"?  If you list is long enough, there is probably some tasks on there which require simple, repetitive motions and very little analytical thought.  These tasks can be an excellent source of stress relief since you simply need to focus on the repetitive task and not on the other things in your life that might be stressing you out.  A little relaxing music in the background during the task would not hurt either !

10) Sign up at WheelDoggy.com [Blatant Promotion Warning....]
As a Customer at WheelDoggy.com, you can wipe things off your "Honey Do" list quickly and easily.  Simply post the tasks you don't want to do on the site and Helpers will bid to complete your tasks.  You get to decide which Helper you choose... the lowest priced?  Or the highest rated?  Maybe one that specializes in the task you want done.  Either way, you win by getting vendors to compete for your business.

Did you find this list helpful?  Let us know in the comments and be sure to add any ideas you might have as well.

Friday, March 11, 2011

WheelDoggy.com rolling out to the Danbury CT area !

As part of our expansion plans,  WheelDoggy.com is building our network in the Greater Danbury, CT area. 

Help Wanted...
This means that over the next month or two, we will be advertising for Helpers to join our site.  You will probably see the Green Doggy online or even around town!  As we get to a "critical mass" of Helpers, both General and Specialized, we will be scheduling a seminar for Helpers on "Building and Running Your WheelDoggy Business".  Anyone who is interested in running their own business or having the freedom to set your own hours should sign up now at http://www.wheeldoggy.com/.

General vs. Specialized Helpers...
We expect to have two types of "Helpers" on WheelDoggy.com.  Generalists who are open to doing all different types of tasks and Specialists whose business is focused on a particular skill or service.  It is perfectly fine to start out as a General Helper as you are learning about what you like to do and what it means to have your own business.  This experience may lead you to become a Specialist ... or you could find that you enjoy the variety of doing different things and solving unknown challenges for customers. 

Specialized Helpers might have a business doing something already set up (or not) and they just want to use WheelDoggy.com as a way to get in front of more customers.  The fact that Helpers bid on tasks (or "jobs") just proves that the Specialist is providing a competitively priced service ... and the rating system at WheelDoggy.com allows Specialists to justify a higher bid price through proven customer service and testimonials (automatically provided as part of the WheelDoggy process).

Either way you decide to craft your Helper business will be great ... but first you need to SIGN UP NOW and get started !

Beyond Critical Mass...
Once we have a sufficient number of Helpers signed up, we will begin marketing WheelDoggy.com to get customers coming to the site and posting tasks for the Helpers to bid on.  If you sign up as a Helper, please recognize that there will be a bit of a delay before the tasks show up.

Other promotions...
We have lots of great promo's in the pipeline so stop by our blog and the website on a regular basis or sign up for our mailing list (at http://www.wheeldoggy.com/) and we will send you info !

More coming soon !

d.Mark "Dave" Wheeler

Monday, February 14, 2011

Customer Service is all in "the promise"...

We've talked about how Customer Service is really about managing customer's expectations and Simon Sinek, author of "Start with Why", had an interesting post on his blog recently that gave a good example...
Simon Sinek, author of "Start with Why"
I was on a business trip recently and my host was so wonderful. He was polite, he offered to carry my luggage.  He offered me a drink and offered to get me something to eat if I was hungry. What wonderful service.

Sitting in the car, I expressed concern that the weather in New York would cause problems with my flight home. “Don’t worry,” he said, “we’ll get you home.” Then he went on, “we’ve never not gotten someone home, we’ll make sure you get home.” 

I appreciated his optimism but unless he controlled the weather and the airlines, there was nothing he could do to guarantee his promise.

Sometimes, in an effort to offer great customer service, a rep or an agent will say yes to everything, not because the answer is yes, but because they are trying so hard to please. This is not actually good customer service, this is just being nice. Excessively nice. In some cases, they will give answers that they are not qualified to give or make offers they are not qualified to make…all in the name of customer service. And how often do we hear stories of a salesman or account manager making promises to a client without checking with manufacturing or the people who have to do the work to see if the promise is even possible? The result in all these cases is always the same: bad customer service.
Simon's example provides some clues as to how great customer service can be delivered.
First, don't over-promise... or at least explain claims that seem unrealistic.  In Simon's case, the person may have been trying to say that they will provide a hotel if his flight is delayed or take him to another airport if that is what will get him home on time.  Without an explanation, the guarantee sounds hollow and is not believed.  [Note: If the customer does not believe you and you don't get a chance to prove it to them, you have created a disappointed customer ... or at least a skeptical one.]

Second, know your organization.  Perhaps the person in Simon's case knew that his organization had a private plane or a limo service that would absolutely get him home to NY.  More likely is that the person was assuming that the airlines would eventually get Simon home and his role would be to get him to the airport on time.  As Simon points out... don't make claims that your organization can't deliver (or won't deliver 100%).

Finally, and most importantly, be careful when "joking around" with the customer.  When I read Simon's story I got the impression that the person was very comfortable around Simon and was being a little "flippant" (joking around) with him.  He probably assumed that Simon knew that "he did not control the weather" and he meant to say that "he would do everything humanly possible to make sure he got home on time".  Again, this is a case of assumptions getting in the way of expectations.

In Summary...
I was going to sum up this article by saying something like, "Don't Overpromise ... or else", but I remembered that simply saying to not do something doesn't give you any actions to replace the one you stopped.  You can only replace habits ... not remove them.  They leave a vacuum that will inevitably be filled.  It is like someone saying "Don't eat chocolate"... without realizing that the craving won't go away and may be replaced by something even worse ... hmmm, they didn't say "No cake" !

So here are some ways to Avoid the Overpromise...
1)   Be aware of all promises you are making.  Any time you predict the future for the customer, you are setting an expectation that will either help your business or hurt it.  Stay on the side of the line where you can deliver on your promises at all times.
2) Hold some things back so you can over-deliver.  This means knowing what the customer expects at a) the minimal level, b) at a satisfactory level and c) what would be "above and beyond".  Never hold back (a) or (b) and be sure to do your research to find out what specifically falls into the "above and beyond" category.  If the customer does not want a bottle of champagne to take home on his flight (and it would cause a problem going through security), don't give it to him.  Find out what you can do that will be appreciated and be sure that you can "over-deliver" consistently.
3) Share your attitude with the customer... to a point.  It is important to keep a positive, upbeat attitude ... while being aware of becoming "too comfortable" with the customer.  While it may seem like they are just like all your other friends or even family ... they laugh at your jokes, they smile when you smile... it is important to remember that the time you spend with customers is typically not enough to assume they "get you".  You want to have a good attitude that doesn't step over the line by being "too familar".  Remember, you want the customer to have an enjoyable business experience with you and your company... just remember that it is still business.

Thanks to Simon Sinek for the customer service story he posted in his blog and best of luck to all of you who work with customers on a daily basis.

Have Fun ... And Get It Done !

d.Mark "Dave" Wheeler
Founder, WheelDoggy.com

Friday, February 4, 2011

A bad time to look for a job...

... but a great time to create your own business ! 
Sign up today as a Helper on WheelDoggy.com !


Special Thanks to Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert !

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Weird Tasks ...

Since WheelDoggy.com is set up to post tasks, even unusual (but legal) task, we are always on the look for "weird task".  Here is one from China ...
It is great to see that entrepreneurship is alive and well in China !

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Are you looking for someone to GIVE you a job?

I found this excerpt from an old John Wayne movie to contain an interesting concept... being "given a job" versus "earning a wage".  If you are looking for someone to "give you a job", the wait will be long.  If you are willing to work hard and earn every penny that you are paid, then you will never have a shortage of opportunities.

That is what WheelDoggy is about... opportunities, not guarantees.




Have you signed up as a Customer or a Helper on WheelDoggy.com yet?

Monday, January 17, 2011

Charity Tasks on MLK day?

If you have not heard... WheelDoggy.com is starting out in the Greater Danbury (CT) area but no matter where you are, you can sign up as either a Helper (to do tasks) or a Customer (to post tasks).

Charity Tasks...
What do you think about the idea of "Charity tasks" where a charity would post a task, Helpers would bid to do it and a customer would offer to pay for it (as a donation to the charity)?

The MLK day / Day of Service got me thinking along these lines and while it would take some additional programming (and investment of money) on the WheelDoggy.com website, I think it could have a very positive impact on the community !

Leave a comment below to let us know what you think !

Would you participate as a Helper or a Donator (or a Charity) if we set it up?

d.Mark "Dave" Wheeler
Founder, WheelDoggy.com

Friday, January 14, 2011

Welcome To WheelDoggy !

Do you have questions?
Sure you do. What are they? How can we help? Leave us a comment below and we will post a reply to the "burning questions of the day" !

Let start with... Why is it called "WheelDoggy"?
Well, we were looking for a neat name that was not too boring / descriptive (we started with "GoFindDeliver.com (tm)" for a period when we were building the prototype website), but also not too obscure or weird that people would not be able to remember it easily and, more importantly, tell their friends.

We kicked around a ton of ideas and one day ... it just appeared ! Dave (d.Mark "Dave" Wheeler, founder of WheelDoggy) remembered a character in an old movie from the 1960's called "MoonDoggy".

It seemed like a fun, easy to remember name ... it just needed a twist... or more accurately, "a wheel". So that's it... WheelDoggy is insprired by a 1960's movie character, MoonDoggy !




Did you know? (according to wikipedia) ...








A moon dog or moondog (scientific name paraselene,, i.e. "beside the moon") is a relatively rare bright circular spot on a lunar halo caused by the refraction of moonlight by hexagonal-plate-shaped ice crystals in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds.  Moondogs appear to the left and right of the moon 22° or more distant. They are exactly analogous to sun dogs, but are rarer because to be produced the moon must be bright and therefore full or nearly full. Moondogs show little color to the unaided eye because their light is not bright enough to activate the cone cells of humans' eyes.