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The Stroller
Friday, July 20, 2012
THURSDAY’S WORD was raillery (RAIL-uh-ree). It means good-natured ridicule: banter. New workers at the plant can expect to endure some raillery and joshing from the old-timers. (Source: Merriam-Webster)
TODAY’S WORD is babushka. The produce market was crowded with young mothers clutching their children and babushkas in shawls and aprons gathering ingredients for their dinners. (Source: Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary)
Cathie Gandel wrote on “Voter Registration: What a Mess” for the latest AARP Bulletin. According to the article, Virginia is among the states joining a pilot project in an effort to update voter lists. “At least 1.8 million people on the voter rolls won’t be able to cast their ballots this November. That’s because they’re dead,” she wrote. “Their registrations are among a total of more than 24 million inaccurate or out-of-date U.S. voter records,” according to the Pew Center on the States. “That’s one in eight voter records.” “The tools that boards of elections have are just not up to the task of keeping up with our mobile society,” said David Becker, director of election initiatives at the Pew Center. States update voter registration rolls from sources such as Social Security records and change-of-address forms, but data collection methods are “inaccurate, costly and inefficient,” according to the Pew Center. The Pew Center says eight states — Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Utah and Nevada — are joining with the center in a pilot project to share information in an effort to update voter lists. To check your voter eligibility, go to CanIVote.rg.
Check the daily Calendar for food, entertainment, benefits, and other events taking place locally over the weekend.
“The importance of personality in the hiring process is so evident in jobs like customer service,” explains Dr. Ilona Jerabek, president of PsychTests, which conducts online psychological assessments. “Skills, for the most part, can be developed. It’s finding someone whose personality fits the job that is crucial.” She said “customers may be a bit more forgiving when left on hold, for example, if the voice on the other side of the line is personable and patient, and the rep radiates a true desire to resolve the situation to the client’s satisfaction.” Assessing more than 1,400 test-takers with its Customer Service Profile, PsychTests’ study results reveal distinct differences between the personality of experienced customer service representatives and the rest of the test-taking population.
According to the study results, those who have worked in customer service:
• Have better communication skills;
• Are more skilled at resolving conflict;
• Have a higher level of patience;
• Better control their emotions;
• Cope better with stress;
• Have a more positive and upbeat attitude and are more self-motivated;
• Are more conscientious; and
• Have a much thicker skin.
College students are the subject of the following story from a humor website:
On the first day of college, the dean addressed the students:
“The female dormitory is out of bounds for all male students, and the male dormitory to the female students. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $20 the first time. The second time you will be fined $60. A third time will cost you a fine of $180. Are there any questions?”
A male student inquired, “How much for a season pass?”
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