Phones run hot 'for free'

ONE four-letter word rates as the hottest in the marvellous community of classified advertising. "Free" seems guaranteed to get phones ringing.
Snipping at its heels in the attention-grabbers’ hot list is "giveaway". Both give extra value to the experience of grabbing a cuppa and sitting down with "the classies" -- you just never know what you’ll find. Three such notices appeared last Friday. Here are the results:

SALLY and Daniel Smith, of Alexandra Hills, have a new mattress and dining table so advertised their old queen-size mattress and table with six chairs in "alright" condition.
Sally said the twin-giveaway strategy stemmed from their fears a 13-year-old mattress might be difficult to sell and a disposal problem but could still be handy for someone in need.
The idea was: "If you want the dining table, you have to take the mattress."
It worked, helping them free up space in the festive season crush. They received about six calls.

THE other notices came from Victoria Point couples in the community of "seniors".
Couple No. 1 received about eight calls after they advertised a single-bed and mattress – complete with two sets of sheets and bedspread.
"We are elderly with no children and we don’t need the bed any more so we just thought we could give it away," the wife said.
An "elderly lady" recived this Christmas gift, which was about 12 years old.

THIS giveaway post-mortem could have been all smiles but Couple No. 2, who advertised the giveaway of a leather lounge suite and a fridge for $200 had reasons to frown.
They received about 50 calls on each item so wearied of saying "sorry", but their main beef was the many callers who failed to keep appointments to inspect the fridge.
The husband also told how his wife had helped a Russell Island woman – picking her up at the waterbus jetty, driving her to their home to see the fridge, then taking her back to the jetty.
"She needed to check measurements in her home but she didn’t call back," the husband said. "When we called her that night she said it wasn’t suitable. We had to do the calling."


A WOMAN, possibly in her fifties, was first caller about the lounge suite – at 7am on Friday – and arrived at 8am to take it.
She told the couple she had just found a matching chair sitting beside a street and labelled "take me".
Out of all this, it seems in order to remind users of classified advertising everywhere that the phone numbers belong to real people with real feelings and they deserve courtesy and respect.

THANKS to all who have contributed to this column in 2008. Enjoy the company of your loved ones at this very special time of year.



This column has appeared in The Redland Times, Redland City, Queensland, Australia.

'Just call me Kiwi' rides into new future in business

This column appeared in The Redland Times on Friday, December 12, 2008. Image of Waikato River from wikipedia.

A NEW future on two wheels will start to roll tomorrow, Saturday, for John ("just call me Kiwi") Smith, who migrated from New Zealand looking for opportunities and has certainly found one at Capalaba.
John grew up in the Waikato district, developed a career in hotel management in the Bay of Plenty, then crossed the ditch almost a decade ago to take up a Capabala address.
Customers of the Capalaba Hotel bottle shops are familiar with John’s lively personality and he says he’s grateful for the work that helped set him up in Australia.

FOR about the past three years, John’s cheerful voice has been very familiar to clients of his gardening firm, Johnny Appleseed Home and Garden, and he is pleased to keep his vocal cords moving on notable commercial clients including the Port of Brisbane Authority and a Gold Coast car yard, as well as many residential clients.
Now, the business community on New Cleveland Road, Capabala, is hearing John’s cheerful voice as he has been working on a former motorcycle shop as the base for his new venture, Sunshine State Motorbike Hire.
After the doors open at 10am tomorrow for an open day, John will fire up the barbecue to celebrate. He plans to open at 6am every Saturday and Sunday for riders who need an early start.

JOHN has invited dads and mums to take their youngsters and even pets on leads along to see the "fun machines" that are available for hire.
He makes no promises about sparing them time to meditate over the machines. "I can keep talking under water," he says.
And he has lots to talk about. The motorbikes, scooters and recreational vehicles represent just one of John’s many interests in life.
"Dogs are my passion," he says. "I train dogs and I’m going to do it for free from the shop. On the last Sunday in January anyone with puppies aged 15 months and under can bring them along for training.
"I trained gun dogs and looked after guide dogs in New Zealand."

A MORE formal "opening" is set for Thursday, December 18, after tomorrow’s family day.
One thing that won’t be neglected is John’s great love of Redland City. He says people anywhere in the world "would kill" for such an urban lifestyle on the shores of Moreton Bay.
But he says the friendliness of the people here – more than anything else – has made his move to Australia a great success.

THANKS for joining me to meet the great people in the marvellous community of classified advertising.

Plate-spinners set style for job hunt

Image of plate spinners from wikipedia.

LESSONS learnt during a career as a recruitment consultant reflected in Vicki Clifford’s own search for a part-time job.
Formerly the proprietor of her own agency in Milton Keynes, north of London, Vicki has been among users of the Jobs Board in the Times and Bulletin Classifieds.
After Vicki’s notice highlighted her search for two to three days’ work a week, she received a call from tax accountancy James Baker and Co, and now works on administrative support at the Sheldon business.
Vicki uses the analogy of a circus performer to sum up the main message from her 25 years in the recruitment industry.
"You (job seeker) have to keep as many plates spinning as possible and keep trying," she says. "You need to try lots of different avenues, particularly when (economic) times are difficult and you want something that is not easy to find."

VICKI’s notice cited not only her recruitment background but also sales experience she has had in the four years since she and husband Gary Beach migrated from the UK -- bringing their two beloved west highland terriers, Hettie and Holly -- to live at Wellington Point.
"My dad (Keith Frewin) is Australian and he migrated back here 13 years ago after Mum died," Vicki says.
"My elder brother, Keith, and his family then came here, and my younger brother, Sean, followed them so we decided to come too."
The Redlands now claims the entire family among its residents.
Vicki says life here is "absolutely fantastic", with the climate, the beautiful Redland environment and the friendliness of the local people all winning their hearts.

LAST year Classie Corner received some flak for publishing advice on managing the festive season just when Santa was about to leave the North Pole.
"You are simply too late," my true love said to me. So this year I’m determined not to sit like a partridge in a pear tree.
Time-management analyst and personal concierge Louise Denisenko, of Redland firm Running Errands, each year refines her analyses of "what you can do now to make Christmas less stressful". Her 2008 tips:
Ensure all appointments such as car service, hairdresser, beauty therapist and doctor, and restaurant reservations, are booked.
Decide Christmas menus and stock up on non-perishable items so you need to get only fresh ingredients on busy days before Christmas.
Send cards in the first week of December or consider e-cards.
Have a few extra gifts on hand in case of unexpected guests.
Value time with family and friends more than the gifts.

• Thanks for joining me to meet the great people in the marvellous community of classified advertising. This column has appeared in The Redland Times, Cleveland, REdland City, Queensland, Australia - on the shores of beautiful Moreton Bay.