Increasingly on a day to day basis I have to take calls from pushy cold callers.  For me, they fit into 2 categories;

• Generic companies looking to sell you re credit facilities/ phones/ website design.
• Advertisers/Recruitment agencies.

As the title suggests I deal with all my cold calls politely, I had better remember to follow my own advice.

Firstly how to identify a cold caller;

They normally ring in the morning, they are usually ringing from a noisy, possibly VOIP line, and ALWAYS have a SPIEL.

The true cold callers usually ask for “the owner of the business”, the guys here at Pims are pretty good at recognising the cold callers at this stage.

If I’ve had my coffee and they catch me at a “good” time, this is how I deal with the first group;

Let them give you their pitch. Just listen, don’t encourage them. You’ll know it’s almost over when they ask “Would you be interested in our services”. End the conversation with the tone and words that you would use in wrapping up a normal phone conversation. “Okay, great, thank you, I’ll let you know. Nice talking to you. Enjoy your day.”  Smile down the phone and metaphorically walk away.

The second group tend not to be put off so easily. Normally the ones I listen to the longest are usually polite, and have some kind of small talk.  This is a good tactic as I’m not fond of a hard sell.

Yesterday we had a case in point.  A very nice chap rang to see if I would be interested in advertising in a one off programme for a very popular agricultural event.  As it is being held reasonably close to us I agreed to look at the proposal, and asked him to email it to me.  He checked the details, and was very polite throughout, leaving me favourable to his request.

I got the email, and replied saying I would forward it to the MD and revert, but that we might possibly be interested in a ¼ page.

I then received in quick succession a number of emails basically saying if we closed the deal that day he could give me the best placing best deal etc.  It was so off-putting.  I have now made up my mind not to take the advert.  A classic case of FAR too pushy.

If cold callers are asking you for the sale right there and then, the first time you’ve talked them, then you need to call them out.  Not by taking them out back and settling it with a fight style, but by telling them that you don’t do business that way.  Tell them, “I appreciate your enthusiasm/interest in me, but I prefer to get to know someone and their business a little bit before I do business or refer them to other people.

You are telling them that they must invest a little bit of time. And that you are looking for a mutually beneficial relationship, as businesses that work together do.

So, being a really big fan of Great British Menu (I can hear Richard Corrigan’s burst of laughter!), I nearly burst a lung when I heard Maíre Flynn of the Tannery restaurant in Dungarvan, suggesting that they were hoping to get Angela Harnett to come to the Waterford Food Festival.

Last year we went to Dinner cooked by Paul Flynn (the chef not the hurler), Richard Corrigan and Mark Hix and left wishing I had attended the other events at the Tannery. This year I felt like Cinderella rushing off before midnight and furious with myself that I was not going to Saturday night’s events.

Anyhow back to last night, Maíre had asked if we would mind joining a grouped table which we said we were happy to and what a fabulous bunch we were so lucky to be grouped with. We had @BeanALeanna or Jen to non twitter folk! , @claire_dalton both of Dungarvan Brewing Company Fame, and wonderful @vscevents Girls Vanessa and Catherine. I couldn’t of imagined a better night and company.

It was also lovely to bump into all the glamorous Twitterati and especially pre-dinner chat with Eamonn & Julie Barrett or @AltitudeIreland & @FlourandWine .

so, I have to admit to being so hungry that ii had the starter eaten before i had time to take a picture! but here are the others.

Vitello tonnato

Monkfish, Chicken Wings and Spanish Paprika

Chocolate Ganache, Crumble, passionfruit sorbet and mint

Biscotti and Coffee

of course Jeni had to have her cook book signed

So we rushed off back home and left the party still going full swing and i’m left with following thoughts.
Why oh why didn’t we book to stay the night? and Who do i have to kill or influence? to get tickets for Saturday Night !!

At least, while regretting the above, I yet again left the Tannery having had fabulous food and wonderful night magnificently coordinated by the ever beautiful hostess Maíre.

All the Staff of the Tannery and of the Waterford Food Festival can be very proud of their achievements and hopefully many more years to come.

Thanks for Reading

When I watched Leinster lift the Heineken cup in Edinburgh, I promised myself I would come back to Scotland for a holiday, to see more than just a city. So in the very early hours of Good Friday, we sailed out of Belfast to Cairnryan. From the outset the holiday started well, the quality of the Stena ship was fantastic, of course a flat crossing always helps! We drove into Livingston for day one of the big orienteering event the JK. After this we drove up to the shores of Loch Rannoch,

to stay in the wonderful Macdonald Loch Rannoch hotel right on the edge of the loch.

The next few days were spend running/walking around some of the glorious Scottish woodland trying to find red & white kites or controls. We visited the beautiful town of Pitlochry on several occasions eating out in McKays and the Old Mill Inn. My personal favourite was the Old Mill Inn.

It is such an incredible beautiful countryside with little castles,

waterfalls,

bridges,

mountains

and forests.

There was many highlights on the trip include the wonderful breakfasts at the hotel, especially the porridge!! The very friendly staff at hotel and indeed all the natives as well and the beautiful countryside.

The downsides, yes there is always a downside, why does the navy/airforce think it is appropriate to flew really low along the beautiful lochs and scare the bejaysus out of anyone below and someone in Macdonald’s Loch Rannoch hotel why does the lift insist on telling you you’re on the first floor when you’re travelling from the 2nd floor to the ground floor!!

So “Haste ye back” or come back soon, I will and I can’t wait.

“I had to park away from the door to the shop”

“There’s too much goats cheese on my salad”

“I can’t watch my favourite TV show in HD”

First world problems is a new buzz- phrase making the rounds.  But unlike #amazeballs, I think that “first
world problems” has a point.

Our country is going through a small bit of a crisis over the “household charge”.  And that’s an understatement.  It is truly a first world problem.  I’m sorry.
If you are wondering whether to pay it through the internet or whether you’ll DRIVE to the post office to find out about it, it’s a definite first
world problem.

I will now attempt to “lighten” this post by thinking about what other first world problems we have?

Internet speed- surely to goodness we all remember dial up?

Inadequate storage on our TV hard-drive- Seriously?  Eh video tapes, boxes of them, lined up with labels all written over and torn.

No service station on the M9 (pet hate with people from Waterford)- So you have a really good road bringing you to the capital, but you
want to stop?

There’s nothing on TV?   There is such a thing as too much choice.

The skype line is noisy?  Does nobody remember when we had to call relatives friends abroad only at Christmas
because of the cost?  And the lines were bad then too.

Here’s a few from the Internet.

*seriously funny alert*

“My driver got us lost on the way to the yacht broker.”

But there’s always two sides to every story;

Here’s the First World Positives.

• Our children are being educated, in clothes, with shoes on.
• We can keep in touch whereever, whenever.
• You now don’t have to die to donate a kidney **

**

This for me is the genuine, I am so thankful to be alive at this moment in time of first world positives.  Nigel (the boss) is now
a year over the operation where he gave his kidney to his Dad.  Both are fantastic, and although I had a row
with his Dad this morning, explaining to him that his #firstworldproblem was really inconsequential, it really is great that he’s there to argue these
problems with me.

So for Organ Donation Week, let’s not focus on our #firstworldproblems but turn it into #firstworldpositives.  Carry a Donor
Card.  Enjoy your First World privilege.

I was at a “Branding your Business” Seminar this week, and the mantra I took away from
this very interesting seminar was the title mantra.

I’ve spent the last number of days pondering great design, there’s the obvious structural
designs that have wowed the world, the Sydney Opera House for example, I’m sure
that unique design has brought thousands of visitors to Sydney based on the
iconic look designed by Jørn Utzon.

In France some of the most beautiful gardens, paired with
magnificent Chateaus draw crowds all year round, including Claude Monets
magnificent garden in Giverny.

Closer to home, I had my kitchen designed by Noel Whelan Furniture.  I wanted a specific
design, leaving room for prep, and an area for visitors to have a glass of wine while I cook.  I wanted walnut, and also
no handles to catch on.  Noel transformed my exact requirements into an amazing living and “being” space that we spend
most of our free time in.

So why are Pims “Re- Branding” at the moment?

Brands need to refreshed for 2 reasons: relevance and reflection. Relevance relates to the external landscape. Fashions and tastes change, technology changes, competitors change, choices change.  We as companies need to update our value propositions, identities and messaging to reflect the changing times.

We want to streamline our brand to reflect how we have moved through “the recession” by making our logo sleeker and reflecting the changes we have made to improve our service to our customers as we understand the pain they have also felt during the last couple of years.

We also want to have a logo that stands strong beside our supplier Sage, the brand is synonymous with a great product, they have consistently refined their colours and shape of the word in the brand to effectively convey the ease of use of their simple yet effective products.  Out of their great design comes great business tools, that we use to drive our great business.

February 29^th , Today is a funny day because technically it didn’t exist last year.

A year yesterday I was booked into Beaumont to have my right Kidney removed, Tomorrow a year ago is when
the Operation Happened, so thankfully I didn’t have the extra day to worry about the Operation. Why I hear you ask? Because my
father’s Kidneys had failed and he required long hours of dialysis every week.

Some of you may be wondering why would I subject myself to the risk of a major operation when I was healthy and of relatively sound mind, even if it was for a good cause. I started off my journey being clinically at level two obesity. I was willing to go through the test to see if I was a match and the Transplant coordinator asked me what weight was I? I guessed a BMI of 33 (it actually turned out to be 36) and they said they would allow me to be tested provided I achieved a BMI of 31 and gave me the appointment in 6 weeks.

Those following six weeks I seemed to be hungry all the time but  I’m very proud to say I did achieve a BMI of 31 (that may be rounding down!) and I started my tests. I never let on that I had actually been 10 Kilos heavier than I thought though! The length of time the test took was probably the length of time I needed to get into my head that I could survive with one Kidney, I had asked myself why did the Lord provide us with two? I met so many people who had only one kidney and how they were perfectly healthy with one. What was the worse test? Probably the ECG as it left my beautiful hairy chest with what looked
like big moth eaten holes!! The “tests” also included a talk to Psychiatrist, I suppose the Hospital needed to know I was in the whole of my
mental Health (not sure how I got past that one)! At every opportunity they made sure that I hadn’t been coerced  into giving and told that I could
pull out at any time, Which was comforting to a point considering there was a chance that one or both of us wouldn’t survive
the surgery.

However, by the time I got the okay I had dropped below the magic 30 BMI and I was no longer obese I could run 5Km without stopping! So when did I make the decision to actually go through with the live donation of a Kidney? I don’t think I ever consciously made the decision but looked at what benefits I had got from it. How could I have turned around and refused to go ahead with the surgery? I still believe that participating in the
live organ donation programme improved my quality of life not just that of my Father’s life. When you’re 40 and obese life isn’t about planning a long retirement!

So the 28^th of February arrived and I found myself sitting in a hospital room in Beaumont, terrified that I was doing the wrong thing and what sane person would be doing what I was doing? Don’t answer that! I had never really thought about the Operation as my Focus was on getting there not on what was going to happen. I don’t think I would of got through it either without the distraction
of the visit of Edel from Waddel Media from  the Health of the Nation Team who were filming the whole procedure for their series on RTE. I often laugh to myself when people say you were so brave, if they had only know how scared I was that night!

I don’t remember much about the 1^st of march I know I went to surgery very early and Pre OP, chatting to the poor person who
had to shave my chest and waking up and being brought back to my room. I can’t describe the pain of the next few days but every day was about getting a bit
further up and down the stairs in Beaumont. Dad at this stage was in fine form with MY kidney inside him (yes dad it will always be mine!!) and could easily
beat me up and down the four flights of stairs!

So what do I feel now one year on? Such incredible Gratitude to everyone involved Surgeons, Doctors, Nurses, Transplant Coordinators and
Staff at Beaumont my ever loving Family Jeni, Robert and Jordan. All the staff at Pims who kept the show on the road while I was out,
especially everyone at Waddel Media, who allowed me to see MY Kidney going “pink” when connected into my Father, (how
that miracle didn’t win best moment on TV at the recent IFTAs I will never understand!) and of course all my customers and friend who have taken
their time to keep me going or inspiring me with their stories and support.

While some of you reading this may think I was and am just publicity seeking, yes I am but not for me but for the many people suffering on Kidney Dialysis and for their loved ones who might be thinking of doing what I did. Please consider leaving
your organs to help somebody live the life they deserve, pick up an organ donor card from your local chemist, download the App for your smart phone or Contact the Irish Kidney Association but don’t forget to discuss your wishes with your loved ones.

The good news is my journey back to a healthy lifestyle is nearing an end and I hope to go below the 25 BMI level for a normal weight before my annual check-up at Beaumont. The Bad news for you I am looking for sponsorship , as I am hoping to run the Limerick and Waterford Marathons in aid of the IKA and help keep the awareness for Organ Donation in the media.

Thanks for Reading.

Nigel

With interest I followed on Twitter yesterday the saga about #tonergate.  The thoughts that they paid so much for ink
cartridges just beggars belief. Let alone the quantity of paper required to print that amount.

However, it made me look at our usage in-house. (Always trying to save money!)  We have very little communication by hard copy.
We try as much as possible to encourage all our customers to communicate with us by email and telephone, and obviously through Twitter and
Facebook.  That’s just from the Sales side, Sage CRM has a specific e-marketing section in the latest version which we are very excited about.  The
concept of sending an E-marketing email within CRM has been fully integrated within the existing Campaign Management functionality in the Marketing module, less paper, less cost- more forests

Then I moved onto the use of printing in relation to our Accounts.  We email all our statements, customers like this, it hits the correct person’s desk at the right time, increasing the credit control we have, it’s traceable through the communications tab, proof that it has been delivered.  All done through a click of a button, making my life easier, no folding/ replacing paper, stamps!

We still print invoices, but I am hoping to phase that out in the next month.

So how did my internal audit go? Well I am pleased to report there will be no #tonergate scandal in Pims Business Systems.

We can provide on site training and report design should you wish to “Leap into Paperless”

However. for those who do wish to print, we do have all the stationery you need.

As it was Pancake Tuesday, and I just LOVE pancakes I decided to go all out and make savoury and TWO types of sweet pancake, with various fillings/
toppings.

The Ricotta and Spinach Pancakes were a huge success.

The pancake batter I let rest for an hour before cooking them, I feel this gives time for the batter to settle and makes the pancakes light and not at all rubbery.

I wilted some spinach in some sautéed onions and garlic, and left to cool before combining with ricotta, grated parmesan and some lemon zest.

I used this to fill the pancakes, and sprinkled some lightly toasted pinenuts before rolling.

The filled pancakes I placed on some tomato passata, I also spread a thin layer over the top.

The whole ensemble was then covered in a light cheese sauce and put in the oven for 20 minutes, the result was YUM!

I made two types of sweet pancake, American & Traditional.

The American pancakes we cooked with blueberries and raspberries pressed in on the first “flip”.

The kids also enjoyed these with ice cream and maple syrup.

These were lovely on their own, with just a dollop of cream.

The “traditional”pancakes we served with;

Lemon & Sugar – For old time’s sake

And my personal favourite- caramelized banana’s with a shot of Bailey’s and a dollop of softly whipped cream.

I was at home last night and we were eagerly awaiting the episode of At Your Service.  We knew from Twitter that our good friends (and customers) Cliff House Hotel were been called upon to give advice as experts in their field.

John and Francis Brennan are really entertaining and obviously love their job.  Francis is great at getting stuck into all the re-organising and product perfecting, whereas John is the man for getting the figures working.  Their hotel, The Park Hotel Kenmare, is a testament to their devotion and excellence in hotel management.  (Also customers BTW!!)

Last night’s show was helping a couple start their luxury B&B business; the house looked beautiful and had been so tastefully furnished in keeping with the
period of the house.

The piece that we were most interested in was the visit to The Cliff House Hotel to ask their advice on luxury accommodation.

Adriaan is the consummate professional, he gave the couple a very important piece of advice.

Keep profiles of your customers, and use them in your marketing, e.g. know their birthdays, children’s names etc.  They
add these items into each customer profile.

This struck a chord with me with my Pims Business Systems hat on.

That’s what we do with Sage CRM.  We build our customer profiles.  Every contact, be it a phone call, email, direct mail, or just to put in a note of their
birthday.  We find it’s the best most effective method of getting to know our customers.  Excellent customer service comes from knowing
their business.

You heard it from Adriaan, John and Francis last night.  They’re the experts in their fields.
We’re the experts in ours.

Call us, we’ll show you how to keep track of your customers.  Their birthdays… children’s names…

051-395900

I am always on the lookout for the “perfect” chocolate pudding recipe, I rarely eat it out as I feel it’s never quite up to
scratch, either microwaved or else really dry.

This is the recipe I use on a Sunday evening, when all I want is a chocolate fix after my roast chicken.  It
can be prepared in about ten minutes once you have the chocolate and butter melted.

INGREDIENTS:

130g Dark Chocolate

125g butter

3 large eggs

150g caster sugar

35g plain flour

Melt Butter & Chocolate slowly, in a bowl over a pan of hot water, make sure not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the
water.

Whisk eggs sugar and flour until just blended, add chocolate and butter mixture, and leave aside to rest.

Prep ramekins i.e. grease and flour lightly

Preheat oven to 200^oC (V important to fully preheat).

Pour mixture into ramekins and place them on a baking sheet for ease,

Bake for 10- 12 minutes, serve immediately and ENJOY!

Personally I am a fan of cream, so love a dollop of it melting on top once out of the oven.

If you want advice on a romantic dinner, below are some suggestions!

Pan-fried scallops on black puddings (serve with a nice Pinot Grigio)

Steak with French beans and dauphinoise potatoes (serve with Pinot Noir especially if you like your steak rare)

Finally serve your Chocolate puddings!