VIPs - Very Important Ponies 

Some of our VIPs this month are:

Financial Aid Staff - My Admission colleagues join me in sending you a huge thank you for the timeliness of packaging and notifying first year students and their families of their awards for next fall.  Additionally, we have received a number of compliments about your responsiveness to their follow up questions.  Thank you for the incredibly important role you play in our enrollment success.  Ron Moss I'll second that!  I have personally received many compliments about your responsiveness this year also!!! Tom Tunks

Stephanie Nonnemacher, Financial Aid and Information Processing - I can't believe you guys are done!!  I'm so amazed.  That was the fastest ever!  Nancy thought it would be good to let everyone know that the First Year award letters will be sent as of tomorrow (March 15) morning.  This is the fastest and smoothest FA mailing ever.  That was awesome!  Thanks to you and your whole team for helping out!  Today Financial Aid and Information Processing were successfully able to stuff 2175 First Year Award Letters and 887 Missing Information Letters.  These letters have been picked up as of 3pm and will be in the mail tomorrow!  YAY!  Wow, that is awesome.  You guys are to be commended for your continued hard work and a job well done!

Epi Ramirez - Thank you for your amazing customer service.  Your prompt and friendly response is much appreciated.

Kelly McMillan - I just sat down to read the DES Newsletter and have to agree with EVERYTHING said by "Mark C."  In all my years at SMU I have never received such outstanding service as I have with you.  You have always gone the extra mile and been so quick to respond and I thank you!!!

This is the fourth in a series of articles by etiquette and protocol consultant Linda Tyler Rollins.  Ms. Rollins is a graduate of The Protocol School of Washington and founder of Rollins Rules Etiquette and Protocol Consulting.  Ms. Rollins was associated with the University of North Texas Athletic Department for twenty years before moving into consulting full time. 

Ms. Rollins is available to present workshops and can be contacted through her website at www.rollinsrules.com. 

Pony Protocol
by Linda Tyler Rollins

Cell phone etiquette ranks high on the list of concerns when I open my lectures to questions.

Cell phones not having been invented in Grandma’s day does not diminish the driving force behind the rules for acceptable behavior – respect for each other. (I must quell the urge to say, “respect and common sense” because we all know there is nothing common about sense anymore. Reality shows and lowbrow sit-coms model enough senseless behavior to prove that theory.)

Here are a few etiquette tips for cell phone behavior that you can teach to your grandmother:

1. Mute. Vibrate. Power Off. One of these features should be on in the presence of others. Develop the habit of activating one of them prior to entering a movie, restaurant, wedding (!), church (!!), yes, even the grocery store.

2. Don’t answer the phone in the presence of others (in case you have not mastered rule #1). This is what voice mail is for.

3. Don’t have a conversation in public. Do you know how loud you are? It’s an invasion of privacy (mine) to impose your alleged private life on me.

4. If you are truly waiting for an important call (someone is on life support, not what to bring home for dinner) let the people you are with know you will take the call. Leave their presence to have the conversation.

5. Buy a headset or hang up and drive.

Finally, and I won’t even list this one as a number since it is so obvious: Turn off your cell phone in the workplace.

Remember, “You can’t play the game if you don’t know the rules”.

  
DON'T FORGET
May 4 Division Meeting
8:30am Blanton Meeting Rooms
Service Awards Presentation