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Well, thanks for calling in Jay. That is Jay Berkowitz of the 10 Golden Rules Podcast and I agree with the warts and the bumps are definitely a part of an independently produced podcast and we kind of get used to that, right? The ambient noise, the dog barking in the background, the traffic, the kid screaming, whatever it is, that’s fine. I mean I am seating here in studio B which is my basement and if there is a noise in the background or something going on. For the most part whenever I hear noise from the background and when I am recording it distracts me, so I try and keep it to a dull roar. I try to record in a quiet time in my house which is a rare occasion but I agree that it cannot be too overproduced that we cannot sit here and pretend like we are on a radio show on W whatever, whatever. That is not it either, right? We cannot be fake. We got to keep it real. I understand the call ins and real people being transparent, sharing information, helping to share their knowledge, helping to create a sense of community. That is all good. What I am talking about is not necessarily and obviously by the way to back out for a second -- the content has to be there, right? The content meaning if you put a little bit of time into thinking through your content on the show and producing something that is of valuable that is great. That is common denominator. What I am talking about though is the annoyance factor. When I get into my car, I plug in my iPod, the host comes on, the intro music comes on and then you have to crank up the volume to hear what they are saying because they have not levelated it. And because they have not levelated it, when a caller calls in all of the sudden they blows the speakers out. So, that is what I am talking about. It is nothing massive. I am not looking to have this produced like an Academy award winning film or a radio show. What I am looking for though is maybe the host going the extra mile. Not everyone can sit down in front of cast blaster extreme of consciousness record something and have it reproduced perfectly every time, so there is that little minimum effort in terms of levelating, in terms of perhaps even editing that makes a lot of sense. So, thanks a lot, Jay. I hope that make sense. If you have any comments, any one else calling in -- that was Jay Berkowitz calling in for the first time to the Client Side. Thank you, Jay. And Francis Wooby also calling in for the first time to the Client Side. Thank you, Francis. Two new voices to add here and if you are a voice that is not yet been heard here on the Client Side it is 1-206-666-2242. Please feel free to call in and join in on what we are talking about. So, something we have not done in a long time is the news and we are going to get into it right now.
First item in the news is an online holiday shopping that retail sales here are expected to reach 33 billion dollars over the holidays. A report called "Outlook for US Online Retail Holiday 2007" by Forrester Research said that apparels and accessories will top the shopping list items and that 33 billion dollars will be expected this year online in terms of online shopping which is a 21% increase over last year. The majority of respondents about 61% said they are more likely to shop online with a merchant that offers free shipping but fewer people said they would actually spring for frills such as gift wrapping and overnight delivery this year and just 26% said they would pay for expedite delivery over the holiday season which is down from 45% of people who said they would do so last year perhaps people are getting a little bit earlier into the game of shopping this year online. Gift cards are playing a big role in holiday gift giving and about 18% of people said they plan to spend on prepaid cards this year. This was the Forrester Research survey that reached about 2500 people who are online consumers for this report.
Another news item that glitches and bad surveys cost firms quite a bit in terms of their online sales. Study found fans in the Globe and Mail, the article said that website glitches and bad customer service are putting online sales at risk and basically sending potential customers into the arms of competitors. About 42% of consumers who experienced problems during an online transaction switched to a competitor or completely abandoned their effort according to a study that was commission by TeaLeaf Technology. TeaLeaf is a web analytics firm which helps businesses monitor consumer experience on their site. The study was conducted by market research firm, Harris Interactive and about 52% of the people who experienced bad service from a contact center after they had a problem online have completely stopped doing business with the company all together. This is a study for about the third year in a row and 9 out of 10 shoppers said they had experienced problems shopping online. Harris Interactive conducted the survey between during August of 2007 and surveyed about 2400 adults in the US who are online and above the age of 18.
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