Archives: 2009

More Magic Words

By | 10.20.2009 |

Like many people, I learned the power of the word “please” at a young age.  Whether seeking a cookie before dinner or an extra five dollars of allowance money, my parents taught me that I wouldn’t get far without the magic word. 

When I started working as a virtual receptionist at Ruby Receptionists, I found two new magic words: Let me.  At Ruby, we field calls for small businesses across the country, and in doing so, our receptionists are asked hundreds of questions each day.  Our aim is to be helpful in every exchange, and meet the needs of our clients and their callers as best we can.  Regardless of whether we know an answer to a question, we always respond by offering assistance, and one sure-fire way to ensure a helpful response is to begin it with the words Let me.  The next time you’re asked a tricky question, give Let me a try, and see the magic for yourself!

Let me find out for you.

Let me look into that for you.

Let me try her line for you.

Being helpful is a way of life at Ruby.  We know that attitude is what counts, and a little eagerness and kindness goes a long way. Let us show you our stuff!

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Rubies for Rubys

By | 10.14.2009 |

At Ruby we believe strongly in the value of encouragement and recognizing hard work.  By recognizing our employees for a job well done, we are making a solid investment in fostering a better workplace.  The incentive campaign can be a particularly valuable tool in cold, dark winter months when morale tends to wane and flu season rears its ugly head.  For the past several years, we have implimented a fall and winter incentive campaign called “Rubies for Rubys.”

Rubies for Rubys is all about recognizing and rewarding the fantastic work each receptionist does every day.  Every two weeks, our staff leaders posts a new list of three or four ways the team can earn rubies for the coming weeks.  The tasks are always work related or promote the Ruby Core Values.

The receptionists are also given a supply of rubies to give out to their coworkers to recogonize a job well done.  After about 3 months of collecting rubies, the staff is given a chance to use those little plastic gems as real currency in an auction!  During our annual holiday party, the girls get to bid on all sorts of great prizes like paid time off, electronics, trips, gift certificates, and so much more.  Each receptionist at the auction will walk away with a prize, but the top ruby earners get first pick!

So even though the rain is starting to fall, it is still a very exciting time at the Ruby office!

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Flu season is here: What to do about it

By | 10.09.2009 | Uncategorized

An ounce of prevention

The best way to deal with flu season is to do everything we can to prevent its spread.  Here at Ruby, we’re taking all the precautions we can to stay healthy!  First, get your seasonal flu shot, and ask your doctor if you should get the H1N1 vaccine as well.  The Washington Post reports that getting your seasonal flu shot this year may help protect you from the H1N1 virus. It’s certainly not as good as getting the separate H1N1 vaccination, but it’s a little added bonus. 

Is your employer offering a flu shot clinic?  If not, call your local pharmacy for information on setting up a flu shot clinic and suggest the idea to your employer.  Or, find a flu shot clinic in your area.

Who shouldn’t get a flu shot?
- People who have had a bad reaction to the vaccine in the past
- People with egg allergies
- Children under 6 months old
- People who have a cold or the flu (wait until you’re better)

Things you can do every day

You’ve probably been hearing it non-stop, but be sure to wash your hands (and carry hand lotion for dry skin) and use a tissue or your sleeve–not your hands–when coughing and sneezing.  You may also consider keeping hand sanitizer on hand (get it?)and wiping down common surfaces with disinfecting wipes.

If you or your family gets sick

Stay home!  Better to miss a couple days of work than risk spreading the flu to your co-workers.  If you work and you have children, plan ahead either to stay home or arrange for child care.

Get educated

Go to www.cdc.gov or www.flu.gov for more information on the flu, the 2009 H1N1 virus, and vaccinations.  If you have questions, ask your doctor.

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A few of my favorite sites

By | 10.07.2009 |

I’ve been writing training materials for Ruby Receptionists for the past few years.  It’s a great job–I love writing, and it’s very rewarding to play a part in supporting the growth our virtual receptionist company.  Things at Ruby are always changing–new employees being hired, new job positions being created, new protocols being instated–and that means there’s always plenty of work for me to do.  It’s a challenge, but it’s a lot of fun.

I regularly refer to a number of writing-related websites when I have questions or just want to brush up on my skills.  The three sites listed below are among my favorites.

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab contains a wealth of information about academic, business, and creative writing.  This rich resource is easy to navigate and incredibly expansive.  When I need writing help, this is often the first website I visit.

Author Patricia T. O’Conner addresses a wide variety of writing-related topics in her Grammarphobia blog, and clearly has fun doing it.  O’Conner’s daily posts are witty and easy to digest, much like her books (I adore Woe is I so much that I keep a copy of it at work and at home).  She tackles topics like grammar and etymology without a hint of stuffiness, and includes all sorts of interesting facts.  If you’re looking to impress the word lover in your life (or become one yourself), this blog is a must-read.

A great source for writing-related activities is this fantastic site sponsored by the Capital Community College Foundation of Hartford, Connecticut.  Nearly every topic addressed on this site includes an interactive quiz component.  The five ”notorious confusables” quizzes posted here are tricky and fun.  Check them out–I dare you to test your grammar knowledge!

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Ruby Races for the Cure!

By | 09.30.2009 |

On Sunday, September 20th, sixteen of Ruby’s finest (and a few Ruby friends and family) joined over 43,000 others to walk through downtown Portland in order to raise funds for breast cancer research.  The annual Race for the Cure was quite a success and we are proud to have been a part of it.   Our team raised over $400 this year and had a great time doing it!

I would like to extend a personal thank you to all those who participated and made Ruby proud while (“also” deleted) making strides to improve the lives of others!

If you are interested in learning more about the Oregon Race for the Cure or making a donation, please visit the official website.

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Speak up and Proofread

By | 09.22.2009 |

At Ruby Receptionists, we do a lot of writing.  Our team of virtual receptionists takes hundreds of messages each day.  The office is always abuzz with the sound of friendly voices and rapidly typing fingers.  Taking clear, accurate messages while balancing multiple telephone calls and remaining relentlessly friendly is no simple feat, but our team makes it seem so.  Two weeks ago, I fielded calls for the first time in many months, and believe me–it ain’t easy. 

I started at Ruby as a receptionist around five years ago, and have since taken a position that is centered around writing.  From my days as a receptionist, working at Ruby has taught me the value of proofreading.  I’ve become a borderline-obsessive re-reader in an effort to catch any and all errors in my writing.  The trouble is, re-reading doesn’t always do the trick for me, and those sneaky errors have a habit of making themselves known after an email has been sent or a document published.

Recently, I’ve started using a new proofreading strategy: reading aloud.  Seems simple, right?  Obvious?  Well, it wasn’t to me, sadly, but it has proven very helpful.  I’ll admit it feels a bit awkward at first, but the results are well worth it for me.  By the way, in case you’re worried about disturbing your co-workers, you don’t have to read aloud loudly in order for this method to be effective.  No need to turn your latest memo into a test of your public speaking skills!  

The next time you’re proofreading, I suggest speaking up (or speaking quietly to yourself). Now let’s hope this post is error-free…

:)

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Confusing Word Pair: Affect and Effect

By | 09.08.2009 |

For the most part, affect and effect are easy to distinguish between.  When the word you’re looking for is a verb, affect is almost always the correct choice.  Effect is usually used to describe a noun. 

Here are some examples:

  • Dizziness may be a side-effect of the medication.  The medication may affect you by making you dizzy. 
  • The symphony had quite an effect on me.  The music affected me greatly.
  • The effects of the storm were widespread.  Many people were affected by the storm. 
  • I love movies with special effects.  When done well, special effects really seem to affect the mood of an audience. 

These standards apply in nearly every use of affect and effect.  There are two exceptions, but if you remember that affect is almost always a verb, and effect is almost always a noun, you will be ahead of the grammar game. 

Now for those two tricky exceptions: 

  1. Effect can be used as a verb meaning “to cause or achieve,” as in The politician promised to effect budget changes.
  2. As a noun, affect is a psychological term for “emotion,” as in The criminal showed a lack of affect.

 

Hopefully this grammar tip will affect your writing in a positive way–or, to put it in different words, I hope this grammar tip has a positive effect on your writing. 

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Compliments Abound at Ruby

By | 08.31.2009 |

You can’t help but feel the love at Ruby Receptionists these days — feel it and see it, actually. This summer, our team of virtual receptionists decorated the office with 121 pieces of original artwork, each featuring a unique compliment from one of our clients. Throughout June and July, we made note of the compliments received from clients over the phone and through email, and for each compliment, a member of our (brilliant, creative, uber-artistic) team created a poster. Rows and rows of beautiful posters are currently hanging in the center of the office, and soon, they’ll be compiled into a book. Check out the photos below, and feel the love for yourself! 

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Introducing our New Culture Czar: Sarah

By | 08.24.2009 |

Things, they are a-changing around the Ruby office!  Today, I’d like to put the spotlight on one of our veteran receptionists, Sarah.  Though she shares a name with two others in our office, there’s no mistaking this girl’s spirit and individuality.  For about a year now, Sarah has been handling calls full-time and taking an active role in our events planning committee in her free time.  Her motto for handling calls is “Kill ‘em with kindness.”

She’s helped organize some of our best events over the last year, including last November’s volunteer event at the Oregon Food Bank and this year’s kickball team, the Ruby Death Squad.  It’s no wonder, then, that Sarah has recently been chosen as Ruby’s first ever culture czar.

What’s a culture czar, you ask?  It’s certainly not a position you’d find in a normal office.  But then, we never were very good at normalcy.  Her job is to delight us with moments of celebration for our many accomplishments.  She takes the Ruby core values to new heights by fostering community.  She makes new Rubys feel welcomed and inspired, and she acknowledges the hard work of all Rubys by coordinating holiday celebrations, birthdays, and years of service awards.

Let me tell you a little bit about Sarah.  She’s a pretty impressive person, so there’s a lot to know.  Our Sarah has come pretty far from her one-time dream of being a llama when she grew up (granted, she was 3 years old at the time).

Now Sarah is a Ruby with a crafty streak; she loves sewing, printmaking, and baking.  When she’s not here you can find her poking around thrift stores and garage sales for hidden treasures.  She readily admits that she has more makeup than any one girl could ever need, and she says that if she weren’t at Ruby she would probably want to be a makeup artist.

When asked about her hopes and expectations for the new position, Sarah said, “I’m just really looking forward to making my co-workers happy and playing a larger role in the things that make Ruby such a wonderful place.  I look forward to working on many new and exciting surprises for the team!”

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