When traveling for vacation or business, most people find themselves traveling by airplane. Here are some airline travel tips for using up your frequent flyer miles that you may accrue.You’ll find that you earn frequent flyer miles faster if you do most of your flying with only one airline.Another tip is to get a credit card with an airline rewards program. It is often surprising how many credit cards can be used to earn points good for airline tickets. Still other cards provide points that can be used to buy products.Whatever you do, don’t let those miles go to waste. If you can’t use them yourself, some programs allow you to transfer miles to a relative or friend. Rules vary for different airlines, so you need to check with your particular carrier, but sometimes you can also cash in miles to buy a ticket in someone else’s name. This would be something you could do if your miles are getting ready to expire but you yourself have no plans to travel at the moment.Don’t just assume that your miles have been credited. When you return from your flight make sure you check your account to make sure your miles are there. If you wait too long it might be too late to get credit.Remember that only a certain number of seats on particular flights are set aside for people cashing in frequent flyer miles. Keep this in mind when making your reservations.Upgrades are often the best use of your frequent flyer miles.If you find a great super cheap airfare price, you’re better off just going ahead and paying cash rather than using your accrued miles. Save them for a more expensive flight or a first-class or business upgrade.Using these airline travel tips, you can be sure to put your frequent flyer miles to better use.
Automotive Service Manger Training Process
Cars require regular maintenance and repairs. A mechanic does the physical work on the vehicle, but the service manager ensures that the dealerships service department is well run and managed. Automotive service manger training requires years. The manager needs skills gleaned from work experience, education, vocational training, and certifications in the automotive field.Service managers are usually employed at a car dealership or a vehicle service operation. Budgeting is one of the chief responsibilities of the manager. They are charged with creating the operating budget, but also making sure the department stays within the budget parameters. They have to make sure costs remain within their projected expectations. They also have to set the goals in regards to profits. Quality assurance and the high ethical standards of the operation also fall under their purview. The manager is in charge of hiring and supervising employees, especially mechanics and technicians. It’s important that the manager make sure all employees are up to date in their training and applicable skills. This insures that customers are receiving the best service possible. They oversee everything that happens in the service department of a car dealership.Both the service manager and general manager strive for the highest CSI or the Customer Satisfaction Index. Good customer satisfaction is the hallmark of a service department. These skills are an essential part of a managers training.An ever-increasing number of people who are involved in an automotive service manger training process have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree from a college or university. Suggested concentrations are in computers, automotive technology, electronics, mathematics, and business. Training can be done at a technical college, community college, or through a certification program.There are a large number of academies and vocational schools that offer certifications in automotive service, many of which can be an asset to a service manager. Dealerships appreciate varying amounts of education, training, and experience when choosing a manager. Education and experience are equally important in a manager’s training and preparation.The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence offers several professional certifications that boost an applicant’s qualifications. A well-qualified manager should have these certifications. Many service managers already have ASE Service Consultant certification prior to beginning their automotive service manger training. Having such a certification shows a solid understanding of how to perform vehicle repair and maintenance.Technical knowledge is essential to the manager’s role in regards to quality assurance. They must know how the work is best performed and problems diagnosed, in order to be able to review and evaluate the work of technicians and mechanics. Ten to fifteen years of experience in the field of automotive technology and mechanics prior to becoming a service manager is an industry expectation.
Real Estate Investing: Apartments – How to Find a Good Property Manager
How do you find good property management? After all, you’ll pay if you don’t have a skillful, competent, honest property manager.How do you find good candidates for property management? The secret is referrals, lots of them. I speak with a lot of property owners about the possibility of my company buying their property, regardless of whether they are interested in selling. I ask them who currently manages their property and whether they are happy with them.I ask other property managers who manage other types of property – retail, for example – if they know of a good multifamily property manager. I ask everyone else I come across in related businesses, including attorneys and insurance agents. I like to get several referrals to the same property manager.Make sure your investment focus matches your property manager’s expertise. Don’t have a luxury class A property manager manage your working class C properties. Do your needs match the skills of the property manager? Do you need rehabilitation managed? Match the size of your properties with the size and capacity of your property manager. You don’t want to be your property manager’s smallest property. Calls get returned quickly when you are one of the largest customers.Interview your property manager, inspect one of the properties the manager currently manages and ask to see a rent-ready unit. Is their definition of rent-ready the same as yours? I remember one prospective property manager stepping over some trash on the ground outside a managed property. They just didn’t care. Find out who their favorite contractors are for plumbing, electrical, roofing, etc. What are the reputations of those contractors?Does the property manager know what’s going on in the rental market and how to react to it?Make sure your contact and discussions set the groundwork for a constructive business relationship. Make sure you are clear about your property manager’s repairs expense limit. Make sure you are on the same page about handling non-paying tenants and evictions.Monitor and verify. What do your monthly financials look like? Is it clear what your expenses are? How quickly are vacant units being made ready? How quickly are they being rented? How does the property look compared with similar properties in the area? When something doesn’t go as planned, what corrective action is being taken? One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Is that what your property manager is doing to rent your vacant units?In one market, I have a college student who takes pictures of potential property purchases. If I haven’t recently been by a property I own, I’ll have her go take pictures of it for me.