3:

   During my employment as a researcher for TNS Intersearch, I quickly was entrusted with handling some of their most important jobs where attention to detail and complete accuracy was essential. 
   Supervisors constantly monitored my work and evaluated my performance on a 100-point scoring system. I was consistently rated amongst the top (90+%) of all employees at our location for inputing verbatim customer comments, as well as inputing other necessary data required for proper completion of various forms in the company database.  
   Using telephone handsets, a keyboard, and a computer database, I would speak to customers of various utility companies, retail sales companies, airlines, and even television networks. I quickly, kindly, and accurately solicited comments and detailed requests from customers to pass on to the various departments that could assist these clients. 
   Forwarding requests for work or repair to corporate offices, calling customers to schedule and confirm appointments, taking detailed customer complaints or verbatim questions, and completing customer satisfaction reports with accuracy was the major part of my daily routine.
   I had absolutely no doubt that I would be successful, promoted, and given ongoing recognition for my work ethic, accuracy and perfomance of detailed assignments. My skills at note-taking, forms data entry, organization, and bookkeeping are formidable. I learned to type in the seventh grade, and honed my skills at the Clark County Nevada Library Typing Center. I type at a rate of 60wpm, or higher, and have taken several typing skills tests over the years. I am proficient at spelling, grammar, and structure, as well as, business and creative writing.
    More recently, I have used these many skills in developing a home-based sales business using various online auction sites,  as well as soliciting sales on my own extensive personal website. I log records of sales, expenditures, and receivables, determine postage amounts and shipping options, and package and send items sold. I communicate with my customers before, during, and after transactions, and I have flawless feedback ratings.
   I am always accurate, responsive, and meticulous in my attention to the details concerning my work experiences, hobbies, and home life, and I know that multi-tasking is one of my best attributes. I have a sharp memory and high aptitude for organizing and prioritizing, while also accomplishing tasks quickly, correctly, and as directed. I am self-taught in HTML, and have produced many websites and pages over the last 9 years, including my own extensive, 300 plus page personal website (www.hazenworld.com).
   Previously,  as an assistant manager at the Vegas Paint Company, and as owner/manager of Painter's Warehouse Corporation,  I enjoyed the processes of making improvements, evaluating procedures and implementing any newly-available options or ideas  that would improve the day to day operations of my retail/wholesale business. I was often complimented by customers, employees, and peers on my innovations and ideas. I don't like to "miss" even the small details, as getting these nuances right and orderly only serves to help all employees and patrons.
   From office filing and bookkeeping to inventory control, and from the organization of a large warehouse and retail store front, to the attention to detail that it takes to organize a customer-friendly environment, I learned how beneficial it is to design a workplace and atmosphere in which employees and shoppers are comfortable and confident that what they need to know and what they need to get is readily available, organized, and accurately provided.

2:

   I primarily have had interactions with clients from diverse economic, social, and cultural backgrounds during my work, school, and personal experiences. I always take a careful and extra effort  to make sure that I am fulfilling the needs and requests of clients, consumers,  patrons, and personal contacts. My experiences dealing with the public while owning and operating my own business, during my employment with The Southland Corporation (7-11),  a restaurant, and also with my employement as a telephone interviewer,  put me in touch on a daily basis with customers and clients from many diverse backgrouds, economic levels, and beliefs. I served, waited on, and catered to thousands of customers and clients during these work experiences, and have always had a positive attitude toward helping and satisfying their needs and requests. 
   I respect all peoples and cultures and I believe that my past work experiences reflect my committment to this ideal. Whether in the workplace, the community, or socially, I learned early that mutual respect and communication is essential in creating an environment in which diversity and culture can thrive and co-exist productively. My sales experience and front counter work in the retail/wholesale paint business,  a fast-paced restaurant,  and at convenience stores,  brought me in direct contact with peoples of many cultures, beliefs, languages, and experiences.  My experiences have been extensive, working directly (in person) with  the public on most occasions, as well as, over the telephone and through e-mail contact.
    As store owner, I  had many dealings with people from many socio-economic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds in the Las Vegas area.  These experiences were with retail and wholesale customers,  agents and representatives from other companies from which we bought and/or sold products, and with employees of the city, county, state, and federal government. I worked with customers from many cultures and beliefs, assisting them on product selection, returns & exchanges, customer satisfaction and complaint issues, and also made product recommendations and contractor referrals to help these individual customers (and businesses) get in touch with other people to get the particular jobs done.
   Prior to and also during this period, I worked for Southland Corporation (7-11) as a part-time assistant manager and cashier. Similarly, I also had previously worked the counter, delivered food,  and answered phones for a fast-paced restaurant in Las Vegas. I treated all customers equally, and I feel that a sense of real fairness and respect was reflected back at me due to the ease and manner in which I related to customers and helped them get what they wanted. I know that this a positive and appreciated quality, and even during my lengthy softball playing/coaching career, I felt a kinship with my teammates and their families.  I worked for and with employers and employees from many cultures and backgrounds at these jobs and over the years, and I believe that mutual respect, and fair-mindedness is a key element in getting things done properly and honestly.
   I also was fortunate to establish contacts and customers through my online sales business and auctions. I communicated effectively with people all across the globe. I shipped merchandise world-wide, and always found it interesting how people would communicate with me about their lives and experiences,  and, indeed, to find how much we had in common with each other.
   My listening and communication skills, and my respect for other viewpoints, cultures, and backgrounds, in addition to my abilities to handle a variety of simultaneous tasks, have given me considerable strenghts in these important areas of community, personal, and work relations.  I know that my success in helping people from many diverse economic, social, and cultural backgrounds has continually strenghtened and bolstered my respect for all peoples, and for my appreciation for having these interactions throughout my life. I am an articulate and caring person, and I believe that equal and fair consideration be given to all people.


1:


   My past work experiences have almost exclusively dealt with customer service and business management. I worked cash registers, handled money, and made change during most of my previous employment history. As a paper boy collecting payments from customers, as a clerk during two different part-time stints with 7-11,  as a delivery and counter person for a busy restaurant, and as the owner/manager of my own retail/wholesale business, I effectively used a register and/or calculator to conduct customer sales, issue refunds, collect payments on account, and provide store credit slips for many years. I made gift certificates, petty cash purchases, and even employee loans. I am very experienced in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and percentage calculation, and can with accuracy determine by machine or "in my head" (if needed) amounts due, owed or estimated.   
   From 1979-1984 I was employed as a salesman and Assistant Manger for the Sinclair Paint Company, the Vegas Paint Company, and the Sherwin Williams Paint Corporation. I became an assistant manager at age 20, and by March 1984, at age 21,  I had opened my own Retail/Wholesale paint company in Las Vegas. My partner and I owned and operated a 5000 square foot store in downtown Las Vegas and dealt with all facets of customer service and store operations. Our annual sales topped the one million dollar mark, and we were very dedicated to satisfying our customers needs. Additionaly,  most of the employees and customers came with us after our experiences together at the paint company for which we had previously been working.
   As Owner/Manager of Painter's Warehouse of Las Vegas from 1984-1993, I was extensively involved with customer relations and day-to-day store management.  I operated a fully-functional and diverse operation that catered to large construction and painting corporations,  painting contractors and the general public. I also actively participated in job costings (bid submittals) for Nellis Air Force Base, the Clark County School District, McCarren International Airport, and many of the major hotels, motels, stores, and other businesses in the Las Vegas Area. I attended many formal and informal meetings with prospective clients,  was present at many bid openings, and worked very closely with purchasing agents, contractors, and the managers of these entities to make sure that they were satisfied and informed about our products and services. 
   I made frequent bank deposits during a ten-year period, participated in setting up our corporate bank account and consumer credit card services, and kept my company's bookkeeping records for three years, assisting with same thereafter. I conducted or assisted in our company's reconciliations of drawer counts, payables, receivables,  sales figures, inventory levels, payroll and store equipment and improvement purchases.
   I worked the front counter extensively, helping customers to make purchasing decisions on products, instructing customers on product application techniques, and I co-ordinated the timely delivery of products to customers on location. I handled human resources, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory ordering, reconciliation,  and payroll.  I used mobile radios and telephones in the field (and while operating an in-store computer register),  to take customer orders, check inventory, change account information, and also to handle credit card sales and payments. Additionally, I created policies concerning employee work schedules and time-off, bonuses,  payroll, conduct, and customer relations.  I created a rotating, flexible, and welcomed work schedule that allowed for frequent three-day weekends for all employees and management. 
   Over the years, many instances occurred where I had to make quick decisions or judgements in order to effectively serve the interests and concerns of many diverse customers and employees requiring attention. On one occassion, I took the initiative to ask a friend to help our company catch an employee (a friend of my partner)  we suspected was doctoring receipts and creating false cash refund slips in order to steal cash from the register. He was caught in our set up, admitted everything, and was let go with our encouragement that he evaluate his wrongdoings and get help for his drug problem before his life continued to spiral downward. He did seek help, improved and rebuilt his life, and even helped us when we moved our store location from 1022 S. Main Street to 1301 S. Commerce Street in 1987.
   Over a period of fourteen years (1979-1993), I provided product information and application techniques to thousands of retail and wholesale customers (professionals and novices). I researched product information to increase my knowledge of products and coatings in order to successfully promote them during in-store sales and outside sales. In addition, I  matched products and coatings to various and detailed specifications submitted from businesses, contractors, and governments. Some of these were very specialized electrostatic and elastomeric-type coatings, not generally sold in our area at the time. Good customer relations and trust in our abilities and knowledge were pivotal in establishing the sale of these rather expensive and specialized products to customers. My company pioneered, with great success, the sale and usage of new anti-graffiti-type coatings to the maintenance departments of the governments of Clark County, Nevada, and the City of Las Vegas, Nevada.
   I also referred customers, in person and over the phone, to other companies to obtain specific products that we did not carry. I provided a referral service to aid customers in selecting contractors and construction companies to hire for their paint, decorating, contracting, and wallpapering jobs. I had some occasions where speaking limited Spanish or French, either in person or on the telephone, was beneficial in helping customers.  
   On occasion, it was necessary to respond to customer complaints about product failure. Generally, a trip to the location of the reported failure was arranged, along with an evaluation of all the circumstances involved in the product failure. Refunds or replacement product, and sometimes labor costs, were negotiated, and an agreement between the company and the customer would be reached, almost always with great attention given to keeping our customers loyal and satisfied with our service, supplies and response.
   I also conducted "outside sales" using brochures, product specification sheets,  price-lists and personally written letters of introduction and solicitation for businesses. These overtures focused on our company's dedication to the professional painting contractor and our abilities to fulfill the needs of potential new customers. Our employees were often asked for their opinions about how to better our sales and relationships with current and potential customers, and on several occasions I worked with employees and advertising reps to make flyers, hand-outs, and an annual newspaper multi-fold insert advertisement.
   I worked in retail and wholesale sales for many years, and I have considerable abilities in speaking to and interacting with customers in order to answer their questions and concerns. By listening closely to customers, I have been able to assist them in obtaining the products or services they've requested. In addition, I promoted specific products to customers, collected monies and completed sales. I also attended sales conventions and training seminars to learn how to better serve clients and customers and to learn about new products. I have used cash registers, point-of-sale terminals, charge plates, and computers in making sales to customers.
   During my employment at TNS Intersearch, I was given the responsibility of relaying customer requests and emergency work orders directly to various utility corporations which had retained our company to talk to their clients about their specific experiences with employees, ongoing repair work, new requests for additional work, and complaints. I primarily handled accounts and clients of Entergy Power Company (Southeast), U.S. West Telecommunications, and Delta Airlines.
   I have had a variety of work experiences, almost all dealing with customer service and business operations, money and sales. Additionally, I am educated, trained and proficient at important job skills.  I know that my confidence, ability, career ambition, training, and friendly countenance is readily evident, and easily adaptable to employment in many professions, including one that I am especially  hopeful to obtain, working for the City of Eugene Library system.

enamored