Ten Tips to Getting Better Customer Service

By Jenny C. McCune, Bankrate.com

Things sometimes go wrong. Maybe your credit card balance mysteriously climbed or your new washing machine is stuck on spin. Naturally, you call the company for help.

But what happens when the customer service department doesn't offer what its name promises? Here are 10 tips to help get your concerns heard and problems solved.

1. Take notes
Chronicling your problem is essential. Documentation gives you facts to deal with so your emotions won't carry you away. A factual context should make you more comfortable and help you be more persuasive. It also helps customer service representatives by putting the information they need at their fingertips. The easier their job, the more likely they'll be able to resolve your problem.

The Psychology of Relationships

1 million iFarts

Comm said Apple's decision to allow farting apps has led to more than a million downloads of the 99-cent iFart, allowing it to achieve what Comm calls "flatulence superiority" over the more than 100 other farting apps. He said while Apple shouldn't allow porn, there is a place and a demand for bathroom humor apps.

"We've had bathroom humor since Shakespeare," he said. "It's always funny."

And they're big sellers, often upstaging more serious apps. Oscar Martin, the president of a Miami IT company, said though he's worked hard to make serious iPhone business apps and some entertaining games, his most successful app has been iFlush, which allows you to flush down pictures of things and people you don't like.

"We had high hopes for our first game we developed, but it's not even close to the iFlush application," Martin said.

Attracting Venture Capital in 2008

The founder of Rembrandt Venture Partners offers predictions for next year and advice for entrepreneurs seeking funding

by Karen E. Klein

What's on the horizon for venture capital investing? The founder of one Menlo Park (Calif.) firm predicts conflicting trends in 2008: the demise of a number of VC firms and healthy growth for others, especially those focused on the high-tech, biotech, and green-tech sectors. The founders of Rembrandt Venture Partners focus on early-stage companies with unique propositions and significant "unfair advantage" over their competition. General partner Richard Ling spoke to Smart Answers columnist This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it recently about the future and how entrepreneurs might go about capturing his attention. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow.

Your firm has been around since 2004, you've invested in 19 companies, and you've returned all the capital from your initial fund. So you guys are doing well. But what do you see happening on the broader venture capital landscape in 20