DELTA DENTAL

Superior communication skills.

If you aren't a good communica-tor, then customerservice may not bethe field for you.

Self control. You

are sure to comeacross customerswho will be difficult todeal with.

A good work ethic.

Patience.

The ability to be relatable.

Caring.

Compassionate.

Willing to help when needed.

Got Talent? Did they ever! This year was all about spreading positive

energy—good juju with The Alpharetta Cham-

pions of Delta Dental, who are saving the

world 5 minutes at a time. As members of Al-

pharetta, Delta Dental’s office in Georgia, the Customer Service

Week A—TEAM thought, “hhhhmmmm, what can we do different

this year and it was decided :”a Talent Competition”! And wow!

Talk about Voice...Many Atlantans have great voice and we appre-

ciate our associates sharing theirs.

Customer Service A—Team 2016 Newsletter October 2016

CSW Communication Coordinator 2016

JuJu Foutch—Enrollment

.

Getting Customer Service "Right"! - It's About Building Great Customer Service Teams

Tips to Improve your CS Game

Empathy, patience and consisten-cy. Some customers will be irate. Oth-ers will be full of questions. And others will just be chatty. You must know how to handle all of them and provide the same level of service every time. Adaptability. Every customer is differ-ent, and some may even seem to change week-to-week. You should be able to handle surprises, sense the customer’s mood and adapt accord-ingly. This also includes a willingness to learn– providing good customer ser-vice is a continuous learning process. Clear communication. Ensure you convey to customers exactly what you mean. You don’t want your customer to think he’s getting 50% off when he’s actually getting 50% more product. Use positive language and never end a conversation without confirming the customer is satisfied. Work ethic. Customers appreciate a rep who will see their problem through to its resolution. At the same time, you must have good time management skills and not spend too much time handling one customer while others are waiting. Stay focused to achieve the right balance. Knowledge. Ultimately your custom-ers rely on you for their knowledge of your product. Stay informed enough to respond to most inquiries and know where to turn if the questions become too detailed or technical for you to an-swer. But don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” either. Customers will appreci-ate the honesty and your efforts to find the right answer. Thick skin. The customer’s always right… right? The ability to swallow one’s pride and accept blame or nega-tive feedback is crucial. Whether your team works directly with customers or looking for feedback on social media, they’ve got to keep the customer’s happiness in mind.

Customer Service is a Team Sport

MAILROOM SWAG!

We also love our FALCONS! How the ATL Falcons can

Rebuild in the 2016 NFL Draft! By Matt Jennings, 03/25/2016

The Atlanta Falcons didn’t think they were in need of a rebuild when they started last season 5-0, but a 3-8 finish to the year made it clear there were major holes on the roster that needed to be addressed.

Smart Moves

1. The Falcons have had no trouble under Dimitroff finding difference-makers at positions to which people often pay attention. They’ve drafted a franchise quarterback in Matt Ryan, one of the best receivers in the league in Julio Jones, a franchise left tackle in Jake Matthews and a No. cornerback in Desmond Trufant.

2. The less flashy positions are where they’ve struggled to draft quality players, which is why they’ve struggled over the last three seasons.

3. They need help along the defensive line and at lineback-er after finishing last in the league with 19 sacks.

4. Atlanta needs better guard play as well.

Keep The Assets

1. The trade that moved the Falcons up to No. 6 overall to get Jones in the 2011 draft was ultimately a win for Atlanta. Jones is now one of the top wideouts in the league.

2. The unintended consequence was that the move limited the Falcons’ op-tions in the rest of that year’s draft.

3. they have just five picks this year and need to hold on to every one of them to acquire as much young talent as possible. Any trade that doesn’t result in more picks for the Falcons is one they shouldn’t make.

4. A solid start to this draft for Atlanta begins with finding a pass-rusher. The Falcons saw some promise from rookie Vic Beasley last season but could use another player to complement him.

We love our Mailroom

Team. They contribute

in ways many of us do

not think of each day.

Shown here are:

Robert Myers

Teresa Vinson

Tondra Collins

Anna Dattala (“A”)

Sharon Tuinfort

Day Two PJ Day — "You're not healthy, unless your sleep is healthy” Dr. William Dement, father of sleep medicine

Bammies are pajamas for

work!

Entrepreneurs Julia Ford-Carther and Rosario Chozas thought long and hard about that question and co-founded what they call "Bammies," a new apparel line that mixes sleepwear and workwear. The brand's name comes from "business jammies" and caters to women who want to seamlessly tran-sition from the home to the office and then out for a night on the town.

PJ Stress Management: 5 Ways to Relax at Work - excerpts By Amy Levin-Epstein

Almost by definition, work is stressful -- that's why HR created vacation days. Workplace anxiety is being felt at record high rates. "People, no mat-ter what income levels, are feeling pinched," says relaxation expert Darren Zeer, who has worked with companies like Maidenform and Del Monte Foods to ease employee stress. "Between the bad economy, smaller staffs and employment insecurity, it's a brutal combination." Sip Chamomile Tea A coffee break might put a pep in your step, but herbal tea will keep you calmer - and chamomile extract, in particular, has been shown to reduce anxiety. Bonus points if you take a quick walk to the corner deli to pick it up while getting some fresh air. Clear Out Clutter "Having a clutter-free workspace means there's no stress hunting down needed items, so time is spent more productively," says professional or-ganizer Sally Allen, CEO of A Place for Everything. Her advice: Keep the things you work on daily on top of your desk, the things you work on weekly in your desk, and the things you work on monthly around your desk. Every-thing else? Toss it. Do a Desk Stretch You can treat tension instantly with office yoga -- but no need to go straight into Downward-Facing Dog. Zeer says a client favorite is his "Kick-back Log-on Pose." To try: Interlace your fingers behind your head. Relax your elbows and shoulders. Smile, breathe, and stretch your elbows back. Let the tightness release slowly, and repeat throughout the day. Feng Shui Your Bag or Briefcase At a meeting and looking for your notes? If your bag is filled with old re-ceipts, wrappers and other refuse, you are more likely to get distracted and make mistakes -- and that's certainly stressful. Empty out old material that is not needed," he says. Another way to stay relaxed and motivated? "On the inside of your briefcase you can tape a picture of loved ones or an inspiring message for reassurance on the road," he says. Watch a Silly YouTube Video Laughter -- like the kind that comes after watching a dog skateboarding on YouTube -- can improve mood and immune function and even lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, according to researchers from Loma Linda University.

"Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep."

5 of the Most Com-fortable Men Pajam-

as for Fall

If you are the kind of man who likes to wear his jam-mies outside (and per-haps to run errands), don’t worry, we’ve got it all covered.

Hanro Night and Day Hanro has an entire col-lection just for this pur-pose called Night and Day. Its knit cotton polo

shirt is absolutely perfect to take you from your bed to brunch without chang-ing your clothes.

Derek Rose Arran Tie-Waist Cotton Pajamas If you like old school look-ing pajamas with new school luxury, Derek Rose has you covered.

H&M Pajama Shorts H&M’s sleeping shorts are as affordable as they are functional.

MeUndies Lounge Pants MeUndies is a relatively new company, Its Lounge

Pants are made of a soft modal fabric and feature a relaxed cut, but slim fit.

Tommy Bahama Pine-apple Boxers PJ Set Tommy Bahama is known for its Island life-style-inspired clothing.

Your Mouth

and Breast

Cancer

October is Breast Can-

cer Awareness Month,

so there is no better

time to bring awareness

to the oral health effects

cancer can have.

Breast cancer affects 1

in 8 women in the Unit-

ed States with 232,340

women diagnosed in

2013. With so many

women affected by this

disease, it is important

to know how to care for

your oral health during

treatment. Here are 3

tips to follow to keep

your oral health in

shape. 1.Brush with a

soft toothbrush or

sponge brush to clean

your teeth and gums.

2.Floss gently. 3.Only

use alcohol-free mouth-

wash, preferably one

containing xylitol in-

stead of saccharin .

Delta Dental Supporters—10.5.2016

Today we celebrate the lives of anyone

affected by breast cancer.

We showed our support by taking a mo-

ment to sign our name a support board in

the lobby on the 1st floor.

“We do not know how strong we are until being strong is

the only choice we have”

Many of the

Alpharetta

Georgia Del-

ta Dental Of-

fice support

The Fight

Against

Breast Can-

cer due to

members of

their family

and friends

fighting that

fine fight.

We hope

they know

our prayers

are with

them.

REFLECTING ON

WORK IMPROVES

JOB

PERFORMANCE

New research by Fran-

cesca Gino, Gary Pisa-

no, and colleagues

shows that taking time

to reflect on our work

improves job perfor-

mance in the long run.

(Excerpts)

by Carmen Nobel

New research suggests that grown-ups ought to take routine time-outs of their own, not as a pun-ishment, but in order to improve their job perfor-mance. “Our work shows that if we'd take some time out for reflection, we might be better off.” In the working paper Learning by Thinking: How Reflec-tion Aids Performance, the authors show how re-flecting on what we've done teaches us to do it more effectively the next time around. Essentially, the research-ers hypothesized that learning by doing would be more effective if delib-erately coupled with learning by thinking. They also hypothesized that sharing information with others would improve the learning process.

(Continued)

Results showed the reflection and sharing group performed an average of 18 per-cent better on the second round of brain teasers than the control group. However, there was no significant perfor-mance difference be-tween the reflection and the sharing group. "In this case sharing on top of re-flection doesn't seem to have a beneficial effect," Gino says. "But my sense was that if the sharing in-volved participants actually talking to each other, an effect might exist." Gino hopes that the research will provide food for thought to overworked manag-ers and employees alike. "I don't see a lot of organizations that actually encour-age employees to reflect—or give them time to do it," Gino says. "When we fall behind even though we're working hard, our response is often just to work harder. But in terms of work-ing smarter, our re-search suggests that we should take time for reflection."

Reflecting on the past can help develop the future

AlphArettA’s Got tAlent!

JOHN BAILEY

I love singing because it allows me to bring joy to others as well as myself. I was 14 years old when I re-alized I loved to sing. One of my first solo performances was the Led Zep-pelin classic, “Stairway to Heaven”. In my free time, I am a recording art-ist, music producer/engineer, I have performed on both national and in-ternational television, I’m a life coach and advisor supporting other posi-tive involvements like artist develop-ment, outreach to the homeless, youth events, and music/speaking events to inspire & encourage com-

munities.

HARRIET FORD

Began singing at the age of 5. Singing al-lowed me to escape into a world of imagi-nation and enjoyment. My first solo song was “I’m Your Puppet”. This began a life-long creative work of singing, dancing, poetry/song writing and I am currently

working on a Novel.

MELVIN RAMBEAU

I come from a family full of musicians. I’ve been singing since I was 2. I realized it was something I really loved when I dis-covered Whitney Houston. My first solo performance was in church at 3. I also have a background in playing trumpet &

violin

JENNIFER LEWIS:

Grew up singing in the church choir. My

1st

solo performance was at the church

I attend now my song was “I Am God by

Donald Lawrence”. On my free time I

Hit the gym (lift weights), LOVE playing

basketball, record in the studio when

time permits and love traveling. I’ve re-

alize that God has given me a Talent to

not only share with myself but with oth-

ers as well.

KIMBERLY CHAPPELL:

Singing since she was 3 years old from church choirs

and high school talent shows, she knew this was a

passion of hers. When she moved to New York in

2010, she fell in love with the creative energy and in-

stantly got involved with Spoken Word and singing in

the Lower East Side and in Harlem. Moving back to

Atlanta, she has done various Open Mic Nights and

Karaoke throughout the city. You can always hear her

humming or singing, even in between call. Her mot-

to is "Singing is like life, you live it!!!

TRENELL BLANKS

I joined a group at 15 years old in which we rec-

orded our first single. We won a local Star Search

in Texas where we were sent to Las Vegas to com-

pete in the finals (we placed second). I went to

school for Music and Video and begin working as

a music producer and artist for a record label in

AlphArettA’s Got tAlent!

ADRIENNE MILLS

I am originally from Boston MA. My grandmother put me in the

children’s choir at 9 yrs. old. My choir director took an interest in

me and began to cultivate my voice. I stopped singing for about 19 years. It is a pleasure to have

an opportunity to do it again!

INIABASSI EKANEM

Manager of the Training Department, I started singing in the Men’s Chorus at my church back in 1997 in New York. I went on to join various other choirs and have a deep love for music. After work you will find me at home spending time with my wife and two boys. We do a lot of freestyle

dancing and singing at home as well.

KIRKLAND DARLING—Backup Singer

I started singing at the ripe age of 4. I knew early on that I want to perform. I

would jump at every opportunity to per-form at school talent shows, pep rallies,

etc. From elementary all the way through high school. After 5pm, I wind down to

soft jazz with a glass of white or red grape

juice ;)

2nd annual

Delta dental Luau from your

a-team

Alpharetta Knows how to get Loose!

HOW TO CREATE A

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

BY GEOFFREY

JAMES

A positive attitude is

never automatic. You have to work at it!

Here's how to be-come a master of the

mind. A positive atti-tude boosts you up

when you're down and supercharges

you when you're al-ready "on a roll."

1. Remember that YOU control your

attitude.

2. Adopt beliefs that frame events in

a positive way.

3. Create a "library" of positive

thoughts.

4. Avoid angry or

negative media.

5. Ignore whiners

and complainers.

6. Use a more posi-

tive vocabulary.

10 Good Juju Quotes for a Positive Attitude

1. Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its

power (Shirley MacLaine)

2. Don’t let the past hold you back; you’re missing the

good stuff (Unknown)

3. Remember that sometimes not getting what you

want is a wonderful stroke of luck (Dalai Lama)

4. Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of

thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses (Proverb)

5. The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be

continually fearing you will make one (Elbert Hub-

bard)

6. Have respect for yourself, and patience and compas-

sion. With these, you can handle anything (Jack Korn-

field)

7. Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% how you

react to it (Charles Swindoll)

8. If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t

change it, change the way you think about it (Mary

Engelbreit)

9. Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows will

fall behind you (Maori Proverb)

10. Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but

sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy

(Thich Nhat Hanh)

Chris Middleton

Expense

Master

Extraordinaire

2016

This year was more

fun than last year.

The Luau was better

than last year.

The Food was off the

Chain!

Chris does it again.

She really knows how

to count the pennies

making our events

better!

Queen of Expenses Looking Grood!

...success with a little help from a friend.

Renee Ruggiero Director DeltaCare

Operations Our Fearless Leader!

Geraldin Elizan

#1 Photographer!

Ruandrea “Ann” Chapman

Supa Woo-man

It was an-

other great CSW for

2016. As always,

the A-Team hopes the

Delta Dental Champions participating had fun. I

think they did. Remember to thank your supervi-

sors and directors for their part.

And once again, Pau’Hana!

Or, we’re done and goin’ home!

A hui hou—Until we meet again!

1. Customer

Service is a

TEAM

SPORT!

2. It’s all

about the

attitude.

3. Learn to

Relax

the end of this newsletter you saw a page for

Gregory Bernard. Many may wonder “why is he getting a special shout

-out? When looking at our society today, we see so much separation.

Why? It’s easy to point fingers but the real reason, underneath it all, is

because we don’t really know people from other walks of life.

This separates us: We are afraid of what we don’t know.

In working on the CSW 2016 Project this year, I learned a lot by watch-

ing and listening. And Gregory Bernard kept standing out BECAUSE

he is positive! He had so many fun selfies with people from all different

worlds. Big, small, young, old, black, white. He generates positive juju

with ALL people. What a blessing he is to those around him.

LESSON: Open up; make time to learn about a different way of

life, look for the sameness and appreciate the differences. As a famous

apostle said: “Widen Out!” It will enrich your life. And if you find a sour

grape here or there…so what…throw it back and find a good one.

Thank you “G”. I appreciate cha!

Peace Out—The JuJu Queen