In the Microsoft Windows world, malware like viruses and spyware are a part of our daily lives. I particularly enjoy the ones that install a program on your computer that continually nags you to buy their software to remove it. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. And the software that is installed can bog down your computer and interfere with the programs you run. Quite a pain.

Last weekend, a conversation with a friend gave me an idea to blog. I've always dealt with the situation I described quickly, and never really gave thought that some folks may not know what to do (outside of paying Geek Squad to fix it), just as my friend didn't.

So here's what I do: The easiest way that I have found to rid your computer of the effects of this stuff is to perform a System Restore. Of course, this assumes that you have that option enabled. (You can turn it off.) Performing a System Restore returns the state of your computer to a previous time. Its like this: Windows takes a snapshot of the computer periodically, and then lets you return to that time in history. Its as though the infection you just got never happened. And none of your documents or other data is affected. What a great feature of Windows! Go Bill Gates!

Now, let me tell you how to make sure the System Restore option is available. First, go to Start and then right click My Computer and open Properties. From there, go to the Sysytem Restore tab, and make sure the Turn off System Restore box is unchecked. That means its on. And that's it. It's now available.

So should you ever need it, you can restore your computer to an earlier date by simply going to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. You can select a date to restore to and then the tool guides you through the remainder of the process. Pretty slick. In fact -- and this is recommended -- you can even create a "restore point" on that window that will then be available. Of course, you will want to do this while your computer is healthy, but it is a good idea if the System Restore option had been disabled.

Have you ever used System Restore before? Do you have other ways to recover from a malware infection? Let me know your thoughts.

Perhaps I should have titled this post, “Everything I Needed to Know about Customer Service I Learned from My Endodontist.” 

Yes, I had a root canal (endodontic therapy) last Friday, just in time for the holiday weekend.

I hope I never have to have another root canal.  But if I do, I know who I will ask to perform the procedure, Dr. Daniel Funk.

Dr. Funk is a professional.  He is great at what he does.  Perhaps what impressed me most was that he took the time to make sure his somewhat anxious patient was calm and understood exactly what was happening (at my request) throughout the procedure.

What does this have to do with appointment reminder software?

Sometimes customers can feel anxious about implementing software solutions.  They are professionals and often specialists, but not necessarily IT specialists.  We try to make the installation and implementation process as smooth as possible by providing online training as well as remote implementation assistance.  We also provide phone and email Technical Support, forums, a Wiki and this blog.  If you have suggestions on how we can improve our customer service or Technical Support offerings, please let us know.

InphoniteVoice can now send automated appointment reminders and mass notifications to Twitter accounts. This capability adds to InphoniteVoice's growing arsenal of existing notification methods of voice, email and text messaging. To configure Twitter notifications set the source account and password in the Account Settings.

If the Twitter account is not specified then the tweets will come from @InphoniteVoice. The 'Twitter follow-me message' is used to specify the generic message that the recipient Twitter account will receive if they are not following the source account. The only other step is to fill out the Twitter user name in the account's contact information. Here is how the work flow is processed.

1. The Tweet will be processed just like a text message.
2. If the source account as specified in the Account Settings (or @InphoniteVoice) is being followed by the recipient then the message will go through immediately. Work flow is complete.
3. The source account will then follow the recipient Twitter account.
4. The source account will send a reply message to the recipient using the 'Twitter follow-me message'
5. The service will continue to 'wait' until the recipient follows the source account. Once the recipient follows the source account the message will be delivered.
6. If the recipient does not follow the source account within 24 hours the service will 'give up.'

Give it a go and let me know what you think. I always welcome feedback!

Inphonite will be speaking at two AzMGMA monthly meetings in Tucson in August.  Please watch this space for dates and times.

My thoughts at present are to discuss Inbound Marketing and Social Marketing.  This would include SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as well as sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc.

Please let me know if this is of interest to you.  If you have another topic that you would prefer, I would appreciate that feedback as well.

Thanks.

We announced this week that ReminderPro and LabRetriever perform the equivalent work of 1-2 full time employees at Del Mar Family Practice, a three physician practice in San Diego, CA.

There is a benefit to Del Mar Family Practice that was not mentioned in the press release.  In addition to sending appointment reminders, ReminderPro is integrated with LabRetriever.  As a result, ReminderPro automatically calls those patients with updated lab results in LabRetriever.  The patient can press a button, transfer to LabRetriever, enter a secure PIN, and retrieve the lab results directly over the telephone. 

Of course the patient always has the option of retrieving his or her lab results at a later time if it is more convenient.  In either case, the patient has been notified soon after the lab results are available.

Do you use a Remote Desktop Connection to access the ReminderPro computer? A number of our users do. The process is normally to launch the Remote Desktop Connection from the Start menu, but did you know that you can create a shortcut on your desktop to automatically launch a direct connection to that computer? No need to dig through the Start menu to find the icon, or type in the name or IP address of the computer. Creating a shortcut like this is a quick and convenient way to access the ReminderPro computer.

What you do is right click on your desktop, and go to New > Shortcut. In the Type the location of the item field, type something like:

%SystemRoot%\system32\mstsc.exe /v: computer_name_or_ip

Or, for example:

%SystemRoot%\system32\mstsc.exe /v: rpws-1

When you complete the wizard and save the shortcut, you can double click it and launch the remote connection. The next window that appears should be the login prompt for that computer. Handy, huh?

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InphoniteShoutOUT is a free voice notification service powered by InphoniteVoice, our outbound telephony SaaS. To use InphoniteShoutOUT simply go to shoutout.inphonite.com. All you need to use the service is a valid email address, the text of the message you want to send, and the phone numbers you want to send the message too. You can send a ShoutOUT to up to 25 phone numbers at a time. The only limits are that you can only send 1 ShoutOUT per email address per day and that any 1 particular number can only receive 1 ShoutOUT per day (this is to ensure nobody cheats and tries to annoy someone.) As I mentioned this service is completely FREE. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

I recently took the hour drive from Tucson to Benson, Arizona to enjoy my second visit to Kartchner Caverns. This trip was a lesson in providing superior customer service.

(Full Disclosure: I am acquainted with a grandson of the Kartchners as well as several members of their extended family.)

The caves are still “living” in the sense that calcite formations continue to form and grow. You may even be lightly struck by a “cave kiss”, a drop of mineral-rich water, during your visit. Also, the caves are a summer home to a colony of bats.

The Park came to be because of the cooperation among the original discoverers of the caves, the Kartchner family, and the State of Arizona. Here is a link to the park’s history. As a result of vision and this cooperation, the delicate ecosystem of Kartchner Caverns is preserved, while simultaneously, thousands of visitors are able to enjoy this geological wonder each year.

Here are just a few examples of superior customer service at Kartchner Caverns:

• It is easy to purchase tickets for a given tour, either online or via telephone.
• You are encouraged to arrive one hour before your tour start time. (This is so that people like me who arrive “late” (less than 60 minutes before tour time) can still make their tour.)
• The front desk is well staffed with friendly people ready to assist you.
• There is a video presentation before the start of your tour. (This is also so that people like me who arrive “late” can still make their tour. Hint: You can see the video presentation AFTER the tour if necessary.)
• The rules you must follow are carefully explained.
• Both tours are 100% wheelchair accessible (This is quite an engineering feat.)
• The tour guides clearly enjoy what they do.

Another example of superior customer service is found at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. Where else can you find a world-renowned zoo/natural history museum/botanical garden open 365 days a year that dispenses free sunscreen (SPF 30)?

The key to providing superior customer service is in knowing your customer’s needs better than your customer knows them.

Inphonite is sponsoring two AzMGMA events in Tucson.  Please stop by and introduce yourself.

May 12, 2009      12:00am
Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm Street, Tucson, AZ 85719

Tucson Central Monthly Meeting
“Red Flag” Overview
Carl Shultz and Diana Knight, Card Solutions, Inc.
http://www.azmgma.org/events_detail.cfm?pk_event=122

May 19, 2009      7:30am
Amber Lights Retirement Community, 6231 N Montebella Rd, Tucson, AZ 85704

Tucson North/Northwest Monthly Meeting
“Better Manage Your Retirement Plan with Education & Fiduciary Compliance”
Beth Bank, an advisor with the Stuchen / Levy Group of Merrill Lynch http://www.azmgma.org/events_detail.cfm?pk_event=123

You can register for each event from the links above.  For non-AzMGMA members the cost is $35.