Archive for May, 2009

NAPO Conference in Orlando

Friday, May 29th, 2009

During the last week of April, Anderson Schoenrock and I attended the National Association of Professional Organizers Expo in Orlando, Florida.  It’s always a nice change of pace to get out of the office every once in a while and the convention proved to be a very rewarding trip.

After an uncomfortable flight back east (try squeezing a 6’4” frame into a middle seat for 5 hours) we headed to the convention to set up our booth.  Having a collapsible frame booth was great, the set up only took about 20 minutes!  That saved enough time for Anderson and me to get some work done back at the hotel and head to the ESPN Zone to catch some playoff basketball.

As an exhibitor we were able to speak with almost all of the professional organizers in attendance over the 2 full exhibition days.  It was a great opportunity to meet with new and current affiliates and hear about customer experiences first-hand from many of our affiliates whom have sent their clients’ materials to us.

We signed up a great number of new affiliates and answered thousands of questions (professional organizers are very thorough!) regarding our services.  Speaking to people about ScanDigital is something that I am very passionate about.  We feel that we are not only running a business but that we are providing a truly valuable service that allows families and friends to preserve and share their histories and memories forever.

We unfortunately did not win any exhibitor awards and only later did we find out that the winners all had to lobby for their prizes.  It’s a good thing that we decided to take up digital media conversion as opposed to politics!

My best news of the trip came when on the flight back home I was upgraded to first-class, making even the terrible in-flight movie somewhat enjoyable.  All in all it was yet another successful convention for ScanDigital, we look forward to returning next year.

 

Posted in Organizational, ScanDigital Affiliates, Tradeshows and Conventions, business | No Comments »

Take a Peek into Our Process: How We Check-In Orders

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

 

 

Hi, I’m Kiley. One of the many hats I wear at work is that of the inventory/check-in person. I’m actually the first person to see your cherished memories when they arrive here. Thousands of ScanDigital orders arrive at our facility in El Segundo, California each year and it’s my job to make sure everything in these boxes are inventoried and accounted for. See below for a detailed peek into our check-in process.

 

First, check out the video of me checking in an order here:

 

 

Step 1- UPS delivers your order to our facility.

 

Before we get to the actual inventory process, let me explain our shipping process. It starts with our ScanDigital website, which is fully integrated with UPS. When you place your order, a UPS shipping label is generated. You can then print out and use the label when you’re ready to ship. This provides you with a tracking number for the package, which is also cataloged in our system to fully track your package while on route to our facility.

 

Step 2- Open each package and put in separate sealed containers.

 

Similarly, the first thing I do when packages arrive is to grab plenty of plastic containers. When I open a package, I instantly empty the contents into a separate container, which ensures each order is properly inventoried separately.

 

The packages we receive at ScanDigital come in different shapes and sizes. Whether it is a large box, a round tube, or a padded envelope, I always make sure to open it very carefully. I’ve seen photos get stuck in the corner of large manila envelopes and slides jammed under the box flap, so it’s very important to take great care in ensuring the materials remain unharmed and nothing is left behind. Also, if a customer has arranged their photos in a certain way, I am careful to keep that organization when lifting the entire package into the container.

 

 

Step 3- Put a name tag on the container for easy tracking.

 

Then, I put a name tag on the container, allowing for easier tracking within our facility. The name tag includes all the order information including the customer name, the order ID, the date received and the date due.

 

Once checked in, is trackable on our site. To view the current status of an order, customers can login to their ScanDigital account at anytime. Our EssentialTracker System allows you to see exactly what stage your order is in through all of our 13 steps including check-in, scanning, editing, finalizing, and shipping stages.

 

Step 4- Inventory the material in each package and enter information into our system.

 

Once I complete double-checking the box the materials arrived in, I begin the process of entering the order’s details in our system. First, I search by the customer’s last name on the box, or by the order ID provided in the order confirmation sheet included inside the package. Then I fill out the form with the exact count and format of the materials, as well as enter any additional instructions written by the customer. An accurate form is most important, as everyone from the scanners to the editors will use it as a reference while they work.

 

While customers don’t have to include notes or a set of instructions, they are welcome to in order to make sure we process the order exactly how the customer intended. While checking in each order, I also copy any specific instructions in our system to assure every request is noted.

 

Step 5- Print order details to include within the container.

 

The very last step of the process is to print out a hard copy of the form. This will be included in the container with the materials for the scanners to fill out and refer to. As soon as the container is properly inventoried and tagged, all that’s left is to deposit the container into the backroom, ready for the scanners to start work.

 

 

If you have any questions, you can contact me personally at 310.773.3970 or find me on Twitter at @KileySD. Hope you hear from you soon!

Posted in Organizational, Photo Scanning, Photo Tips, ScanDigital, business, photos | 1 Comment »

AARP Article Helps Pamela Win Employee Champion

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Normally Pamela would be writing this post, but I’m writing this month because she is our employee champion.  There were several contenders, but an article in AARP magazine which mentioned ScanDigital  tipped the scale in her favor.  I must say though, this public recognition is probably overdue given the numerous press pieces that she has helped line up over the last 15 months or so.

The proud champion – think she’ll give me the belt back for next month?

So a little back story.  Each month I hand out the employee belt prior to our monthly ScanDigital happy hour.  The day before I handed out this month’s belt, Pamela was quizzing me about who was going to win during our weekly PR/Marketing meeting.  I guess she didn’t think she was in the running?  Anyway, I proceed to tell her that i’m really struggling with the decision because some people have been doing a good job, but nobody was really sticking out in my mind.  Either I’m really good at acting, or Pamela is really gullible…either way she fell for that hook, line and sinker.  So she was pleasantly surprised the next day to be crowned champion!

Most of our readers are probably fairly familiar with Pamela as she writes many of the posts here, but a few facts you might not have known….

Name: Pamela Weiss

Places Lived: Born in New Jersey. Raised in Cupertino in the Bay Area, CA. Went to school in Scottsdale, Arizona and London, UK. Now live in lovely Los Angeles.

Hobbies, talents, special interests: As quoted from my Twitter page, “Amateur photographer. Chocoholic. Travel nut. Foodie. Loud laugher. Social butterfly.

Favorite Travel Spots: So hard to choose! Love Italy, Prague, Budapest, Israel, Greece, Spain, Guatemala…

Favorite Food: I have such a sweet tooth- it’s a tie between coffee ice cream and dark chocolate.

Favorite Drink: Coffee, Crystal Light Mango Peach Green Tea and Blueberry Presses.

Least Favorite Food: Cockroach. At least it was chocolate covered when I tried it!

Favorite Movie: (Warning: Shameless plug alert) Their Eyes Were Dry, a captivating documentary by the up-and-coming filmmaker, Brandon Assanti.

Proudest Moment: Receiving the Champion Belt, duh!

Last book read: Harry Potter. Should I be embarrassed to admit that?

Favorite Music: Anything I can sing along to or dance to!

How does it feel to rule the office as the employee champion for the month?
Amazing, it’s such an honor!

What skills or traits do you possess that you think were important for winning the championship belt?

I’m tenacious! At least that’s what someone called me this week.

Do you have any special plans for the belt while it is in your possession?
I just love displaying it at my desk- it gives me a boost every time I admire it.

Landing an article in AARP tipped the scale in your favor for this month’s champion – how did you pull it off?
I’ll never tell! No really, I have no idea. Persistence with a little luck, maybe?

What is your advice for other employees that may want to be champion some day?
Just work to your potential. Everyone has it in them to be Champion.

How will you use your authority as employee champion?
Everyone shall refer to me as Miss Champion for the remainder of the month. Think they’ll go for it?!

Do you think your seat by the sunny window helped you win the belt?
Absolutely. The sunshine makes me happy.

You watch a lot of court TV cases, do you think these have helped you become the employee champion?
Haha! Actually didn’t help at all- I didn’t even need to plead my case for the Belt!

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Posted in Photo Scanning | No Comments »

Follow @ScanDigital & Get a Gift Card

Friday, May 8th, 2009

We’re giving away gift cards to launch our @ScanDigital Twitter account! The first 100 followers receive $75 gift cards. The second 100 followers receive $50 gift cards. All new followers before the end of the day Tuesday, May 12th, receive $25 gift cards. So everyone wins!

Just follow @ScanDigital, tweet the following and we’ll  send you a direct message with a gift card code. It’s just that easy!

Tweet this:

I followed @ScanDigital for a free gift card! 1st 100 get $75, 2nd 100 get $50, everyone gets $25 http://tinyurl.com/c6ojqc #followfriday

 

Here’s why we’re doing this: Simply because we want all of our Twitter friends to try our service. Hope you all enjoy!

For those unfamiliar with ScanDigital, here’s a little bit about us in a nutshell: We specialize in converting old photos and home movies to digital format, so you can preserve, share and enjoy your old memories again and forever.  Just send us your old prints, negatives, slides, videos and reel to reel film, and we’ll send the originals back along with a DVD copy in about 1 week. All photos are also posted in your own personal online gallery.

How to Cash In: Just go to ScanDigital.com, click ‘Get Started’ and place your order using your personal gift card code. Then, just print the shipping label directly from your computer and send in any combination of photos, slides, negatives, videos or reel to reel film our way. In about 1 week, we’ll return your originals along with a DVD copy of all the digitized material.

To our International Tweeps, rest assured- this offer is open to everyone. Everyone can follow @ScanDigital and receive a gift card toward our service.* We accept orders from all over the world.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to call our customer service team at 888.333.2808 or tweet me at @PamelaSD. We’re happy to help!

 

 

*ScanDigital employees and employees’ family members are not eligible.

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Posted in Photo Scanning | No Comments »

Tune In: ScanDigital is on The Price Is Right!

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Don’t know about most of you, but I’ve been watching The Price Is Right since I was a kid. That’s why I’m so excited to share the good news: ScanDigital is going to be featured as a prize on the show! Be sure to tune in to The Price Is Right’s Mother’s Day episode Friday, May 8th!

Being a part of a national show such as The Price Is Right is an honor. Especially one that’s been on air and has entertained audiences for over 50 years! According to Wikipedia, The Price Is Right is believed to be the longest-running English-speaking game show on television. It is also the longest running five-days-a-week game show in the world. So amazing that ScanDigital gets to be a part of such an established show!

So tune in to the Price Is Right on this Friday, May 8th and cheer the contestants on as they try to win the ScanDigital prize!

Now I’d like to share some background about the famous show and how it became to be such a television hit, compliments of Wikipedia.

1956: Price Is Right first aired in 1956 and has since undergone many changes. The original version, airing until 1965, was hosted by Bill Cullen. The concept was always the same- contestants bid on products trying to closest guess the product’s actual retail value without going over. Except during this time period, the player who bid closest would win that prize. Then, the one with the most prizes would be declared the winner and would return to play again on the next episode.

1972: The revamped version aired with Bob Barker as the new host with a new concept. Same idea, contestants would bid on products, but the winner closest to the actual value without going over would go on to play one of several mini games, for the chance to win more prizes.

1975: The big wheel was introduced! During the new Showcase Showdown, contestants were asked to spin the wheel, trying to come the closest to $1 with two spins, without going over. The winner of this Showdown would move on to compete in the Showcase at the end of the show. At this time, the show was expanded from a 30 minute spot to a full hour as well.

1983: My favorite mini-game, Plinko debuted! Bob Barker explained that the name came from the “plink” sound the chips made as they came down the board.  Watch this guy win $20K in 20 seconds!


2007: Drew Carey took over Bob Barker’s role as host of The Price Is Right. Barker had hosted from 1972 to 2007 and most were sad to see him go. At least I was!

Check us out!

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Posted in Photo Scanning | 1 Comment »