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Last week, I was out shopping with my Mom at a store to whose customer loyalty program I belong. They have a simple “stamp card” where I earn a little red check mark for every $10 I spend in their store. When I collect 10 check marks, I get $10 off my next purchase. Simple enough.

My Mom is not a member of the loyalty program as she doesn’t even live in this state so, being the savvy shopper I am, I asked the owner “Can I get credit on my loyalty card for her purchase?” He’s a nice guy, he knows me, so he said “Sure!” My Mom used her bank-issued Visa Debit Card to pay for her purchase and he asked her “Do you want me to run this as Debit or Credit?” My Mom, thinking that the only difference between the two options is whether she enters her PIN code or signs the receipt said “Oh, it doesn’t matter.” Here’s where I interject that indeed, my Mom does know what I do in the Merchant Processing Industry but alas, doesn’t find it all that interesting. I saw this as my opportunity to finally repay my Mom for all the great lessons she taught me over the years. I spoke up “Actually, Mom, if you enter your PIN code, it saves him (as in Mr.Owner), money on what it costs to process your credit card transaction.” He smiled, and my Mom entered her PIN code. He then turned to me and said “Thank you, for being an educated consumer. I’m giving you an extra stamp on your loyalty card.” As luck would have it, that extra stamp filled my card and on my next visit to his store, I’ll save $10.

Show your loyalty to the businesses you frequent by helping them save a little money, too.

For more tips like these, or to talk about how the Yankees are going to win the World Series, follow me on Twitter.

*Don’t forget to join me for #ratechat on Twitter, this Wednesday at 4PM CT. I’ll be analyzing a Merchant Credit Card Processing Statement live, taking your questions and showing you how to be sure you aren’t the victim of hidden charges.

I am very excited to announce the launch of #ratechat, a Twitter chat designed to teach people who use merchant services to accept credit and debit cards as forms of payment, what they need to know about merchant processing. Beginning next Wednesday, October 21, at 4 pm CT, I will host #ratechat. My plan is to teach users of merchant services how to analyze their own merchant processing statements to be sure they are getting the best rate. I will also cover how to setup a merchant account to accept credit and debit cards, why we are charged to accept credit and debit cards, the transaction cycle, making sure security software is up to date to protect a business’s sensitive information, and how to negotiate with your processor to lower your merchant processing costs. I am excited to see how other participants help shape the content of this chat as we go forward.

I was hesitant to start this chat right away, but always had it in the back of my mind. Now that I know the Twitter community and have familiarized myself with etiquette, I just can’t wait to really use Twitter to provide valuable content to everybody who uses merchant services. I want to make it perfectly clear that I will absolutely not be advertising our business or spewing sales pitches. I am just providing help.  If only one business is helped every week, it will be well worth the hour. Stop in and join the conversation, I guarantee you’ll learn something. I might even save you some money.

#ratechat

Wednesdays beginning October 21, 2009

4pm CT

Hosted by @AmySwipeRite

Every Thursday, I will feature someone who is smarter than me. This should be easy, since there are billions of people who fit this criteria. I am constantly surprised by the “teachers” who cross my path. Sometimes, they are doctors or authors, entrepreneurs or social media experts…and sometimes, they are the “little” people with whom I am fortunate to spend my days. Without further adieu:

Emme is smarter than me. This statement seems quizzical given the fact that I still change her diapers. But sometimes truth is a quizzical thing. Yesterday, she taught me a lesson in sharing.

It’s no secret to those who know Emme that she loves to eat. Whenever any of us have food in hand–from asparagus to ice cream– Em can smell it, spot it, bat her enormously long eyelashes and say “bite,” indicating that she wants us to share.

So yesterday, when I grabbed a cheese stick as an afternoon snack, I automatically grabbed one for her, as well. She heard the crinkle of the wrapper, and her little feet pit-patted into the kitchen. I handed her the cheese and expected her to head back to the playroom, snack in hand. But just as she was making her exit, our dog, Laurel, came into the room and sniffed her food dish–reminding me that she, too, was a little hungry. Emme stopped, glanced at Laurel’s empty food dish, took a look at her own cheese stick, looked back at the food dish and plunk…she dropped the stick right in the bowl. Instead of turning to me for another cheese stick, she ran to the playroom and brought back a half-eaten peanut butter sandwich, and dropped it in the bowl too. First, she shared what she had with someone who had nothing, then she found even more to give.

For weeks, I have been struggling with how I can safely share my children as I continue to build a reputation and interact with people online. Do I share their images? Their real names? Or do I just refer to them in some vague form? Maybe pretend they are pets? How do I remain authentic without putting them in harm’s way, in a world that is sadly a dangerous place for children.

But watching the way Emme so freely shared, without fear that she would herself go hungry if she gave Laurel her snacks, inspired my policy when it comes to my kids: I am lucky enough to have them. You don’t have them (you may have kids, but you don’t have mine). The lessons I learn from them are infinite, and I can’t correctly convey these to you without sharing -at least a little- about who they are. So I will share my children.

I’d like to thank Steve Woodruff for his infinitely helpful post on this topic and for his all around helpfulness. He’s another person who is smarter than me.

Do your kids like cheese sticks? Want tips on how to make asparagus that even a toddler will eat? Find me on Twitter.

I used to be verbose. Now I can ask/answer questions & fit complex thoughts into 140 characters. Or fewer.

PhotoCredit iStockphoto

I remember my parents telling me that I should be careful which friends I chose because I didn’t want to be presumed “guilty by association.” While I’m sure this was just their effort to keep me away from flunkies and junkies in high school, it’s an idea that has stuck with me into my adult life and interaction with businesses–large and small.

It’s easy for “socially-aware” types to steer clear of brands or businesses that are operating sweat-shops in third world countries. Don’t like the fact that a snack food company is dumping waste into the surrounding water supply? That’s easy, just stop buying their product. But what if a business’s injustices are on a much smaller (in terms of the attention given to them) scale? What if, say, Bob’s Pizza Parlor* had under-age kids making crust at night? Or Dan’s Used Cars* wasn’t paying proper commissions on sales, or refused to offer health benefits to their employees? How would you know? And would you change the way you do business with them if you did?

This question has been on my mind a lot lately as I think about our product suppliers, and about the accounts our company seeks. As our brand grows and evolves, I am increasingly concerned about the business ethics of our business partners.

When I was a college student at the University of Arizona, our school faced an onslaught of bad press over our partnership with Nike. Nike was under fire for using Asian sweatshops to manufacture their products. Arizona received especially bad press because that same year (1997), our basketball team became National Champions. More than 12 years later, a “Google” search of “Nike and The University of Arizona” begets an article about schools who are “Hooked on Sweatshops.” The reputations of Nike, and the universities who partnered with them, are forever tainted as the result of this controversy.

Luckily for them, all the parties involved were large entities with great PR representatives and teams of attorneys. They were not undone by their “bad business” mistakes. But when you are at the helm of a start-up, perceived guilt by association can result in demise.

So how do you know if you’re doing business with people who do good business? I want to know your tactics. Share them below, or find me on Twitter.

Today I received a copy of Chuck Grassley’s “Report to Iowans” on health care. Don’t worry, this post is about social media, not about health care reform. At the end of his 2 page-ish brochure is his “online” contact information. Senator Grassley is on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and MySpace. Some college intern clearly went to him and said “Gee, um, Sir, we should get you online,” and he went along for the sake of looking “hip.” But if you take a simple scan of any of his social media profiles, it is immediately clear that this is not a way for him to “converse” with his constituents, he is only using these platforms to broadcast more of his own agenda. In all fairness, Senator Grassley is not the only politician “doing it wrong.” A glance of Twitter accounts listed through “Tweet Congress,” shows that there is very little, if any, two-way-dialog going on between We The People and our Congress via social media platforms.

I understand that the ranking members of our government  don’t always have the time to engage in conversation with everyone who wants their attention. I also understand that they have to protect themselves from vulnerability, lest they end up facing off with 2000 people whose only argument is “You Lie!” But I also see how the lack of trust in our Representatives has made millions of Americans feel as though our political system is corrupt, and that it operates regardless of our interests and desires.

I’d like for our politicians to really engage people, even if it’s just a few. I want to be talked to in language I understand. I don’t want choreographed town hall meetings. I don’t want punditry and spin. I want to know that the people making decisions for my family are human. I want to know that I can access them, not  just their secretaries and interns.

On August 30, 2009, “Senator Grassley” Tweeted “Evry county evry year adds up to 2871 town meetings. Democracy at work. Is there any better way?” My answer to him is “Yes, Senator. You work for me. I deserve real access to you. I get to tell you what I need and you get to tell me how you’re going to get it done because you are on my payroll, or have you forgotten?”

It’s not enough to set up a profile and start spouting out your own jargon.

What do you think? Would you like to see Congress play a more reciprocal role in social media?

I want to know! @AmySwipeRite

*Special Thanks to Tweet Congress for their logo

It just occurred to me that although I have used first-person references in this blog, I have never really identified myself to this audience. Hi. I’m Amy Fitch. I am a Mom of 4 little redheads (5 if you count their father, 6 if you count our dog–yes, they ALL have red hair). A little more than two years ago, the man in my life had what I now call “The Big Idea.” He wanted to help small businesses flourish in an environment that was dominated by “big box” stores. A “former” journalist, I started out doing our Press Releases and writing the text for our website and printed marketing materials. Then, I heard about this thing called Twitter. That’s when I discovered Chris Brogan.