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Show BUSDME EDITOR: NANCY BLISS r: tRIDAY. JANUARY 7. 2J0O THE DAILY HERALD (www.hefakJextra.com) 344-256- 2 CiTnFLNlYS leaving the Orem complex for the new building in Provo, the city's economic development commission worked to make sure there was someone to fill the offices Novell was vacating. So far, they've kept pace, according to Brad Whittaker, executive director of the Commission for Economic Development in Orem. "In some cases we've been ready before they have," Whittaker said. The issue was enough of a concern that the Orem City Council discussed the issue at its December retreat in Midway. Mayor Jerry Washburn said the city has to take care of the people who GARDNER By STEVEN The Daily Herald When there's a groundthere's breaking usually a city official OREM riw on hand. When they cut the ribbon, that city official comes back and joins the members of the Chamber of Commerce and the new business owners. But when a business leaves town, usually the last one there is the one putting the locks on the back of the truck. That's the moment cities like Orem scramble to avoid. So when Novell employees started Rick Farr There is a right way to lose a valued customer " B9 are providing jobs. "We need to hold on to the" things already have and strengthen and continue to make Orem a viable place for them to stay," he said. Washburn said an businesses outgrow existing facilities, the city can play a part in finding solutions. "We're going to work creatively and cooperatively with the businesses that are here," he said. Whittaker said Utah County develwe opers have not been quick to build large office spaces, and that's a solution that could alleviate many fears about businesses leaving. There is a great demand," he said. "If anything I think our developers have .not jumped on the bandwagon for large Class A office space." Cities cannot legally construct buildings for use by private businesses, but they can create partnerships with private developers, according to Richard Bradford., director of the Utah Valley Economic Development Association. Bradford said banks won't loan against big office properties on speculation, but a city can convince a company to move into a new building in the same city, and the bank's need for a tenant is then met. Loning customers is a way of life in business. J No matter how much we may wish it What's up? were otherwise, we all lose customers from time to time. They move, they 'have a brother-in-lawho joins a comfind or a better source they just petitor, to meet their needs. ' This is to be expected. But if you are not careful, you can lose more than just a customer or two in the natural ebb and flow of customer relations. ' ' I have seen businesses fight so hard hat keeping a customer that they actually hurt their business. My wife was telling me about a beauty shop she visited where the shop owners were comand loudly about plaining publicly former customers who left to follow their hair stylist to another salon. Well, duh. You would think shop owners would realize that most customers are loyal to 4heir favorite stylist, not the owner of ...the salon. Not only is sucrTopen talk boring to the shop's customers, it is also insulting because they all know they ,,.would do the same thing. i i r t' a Home sales plummet but cm lift It h 1, S .4 " l ' - : . , WASHINGTON (AP) -Sales of new homes, hurt by rising mortgage rates, took their biggest tumble in two . i D :.:n ' . f I '' t J ii v i - ' ' 1 ("is X IN ONE case, one of these former customers asked the Bhop owner for their personal data card to find which color of dye was used on her hair. The owner boasted about telling her ' that the card with the dye "color was owned by the shop and she was under no obligation to share the information. The customer became so c irate that she returned $50 in gift certificates she had purchased and left in an uproar. I am certain that she told everybody who would listen about her negative experience. Some of the other customers who overheard the owner's probably shared it with others, oo. That is the kind of publicity that will inhibit the shop's growth, if not put it into bankruptcy. There is a better way to handle such situations. Let me suggest a four step approach that will minimize the losses, and maybe even get you some new customers, to boot: First, let the customer know that you understand why they are changing vendors. If you don't know why, it would be useful to find out in a friendly and open manner. This information can save you a lot of time, money and effort. Most customers will tell you if 'II fi,! ;aiOr I.' B T i m X KOHKUI JOH NSON Danny Bradford uses a nail gun to affix plywood sheets to Springville. The store is scheduled to open in March. By JOSEPHINE ZIMMERMAN The Daily Herald In a WASHINGTON move that will make thousands more families become homeowners each year, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo has announced that HUD has begun insuring larger home mortgage loans across the country. In some cases it will be up to $220,000 for homes. In Utah, the mortgage limits for many counties will remain the same, but Utah County will see the highest increase of any county. Utah County will have a single-uni- t figure of $150,100, 9.3 or percent. Garfield County is second, with a limit of $121,296 or 6.3 percent, while Beaver, Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, Iron, Juab, Millard, Piute, Rich, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Uintah and Wayne counties all will see increases of 5.3 percent. Cuomo said that on Jan. 1, HUD began insuring mortgage loans f or homes, of a from limit ranging $121,296 in communities single-famil- jjyouask. SECOND, THANK them for their business and express your appreciation for them as customers. This will make them feel good about you as a person, and about your business. It also will neutralize or minimize any negative feelings they may be harboring, Third, let them know if the change i odoes not work out, .,,to single-famil- y y the exterior of the Checker Auto Parts building at 850 HUD "These higher loan limits will help create more homeowners, more home construction, more jobs and more economic growth." Andrew Cuomo, HUD Secretary where housing costs are relatively low, to a limit of $219,849 where housing costs are high. That is an increase from 1999, when HUD insured mortgage loans with limits ranging from $115,200 to $208,800. The mortgage insurance is provided by the Federal Administration Housing of HUD. division a (FHA), "These higher loan limits will help create more homeowners, more home construction, more jobs and more economic growth." Cuomo said. "They will transform the American dream of home ownership into a reality for families across the nation." The new loan limits are part of a regular annual adjustment HUD makes to account for rising home prices. Under federal single-famil- y N. Main I he Daily Herald Street in the loan limits are indexed to the conforming loan limits of Freddie Mae and Fannie Mae federally charged corporations that buy and package mortgages. This is the first nationwide increase in the loan limits since Jan. 1, 1999. HUD also raised the mortgage loan limits for FHA insurance from two-- , three- - and housing units as follows: law, four-famil- y units Two-famil- y areas to $155,232 in t areas. $281,358 in This is up from limits ranging from $147,408 to $267,177 in low-co- high-cos- 1999. Three-famil- y units $187,632 to $340,083, up from limits of $178,176 to $322,944 in 1999. Four-famil- y units $233,184 to $422,646 up from limits of $221,448 to $401,375 increase in 1999. HUD is sending letters to of thousands mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers around the country to make them aware that the higher FHA loan limits can help their customers. The higher FI A loan limits are expected to help drive the nation's home ownership rate beyond its current record high of 67 percent of all households. Today more American families own their own homes more than any time in American history, and 8.7 million more than when President Clinton took office in 1993, when the home ownership rate stood at 64 percent, Cuomo reported. Cuomo said the higher loan limits will also benefit senior citizens, since many more seniors can now qualify for larger reverse mortgages enabling more individual homeowners to borrow thousand of dollars in additional funds. Reverse mortgages allow homeowners 62 years of age and older to borrow against, the value of their homes without selling their homes. 1 FHA-insure- d k nt future. Rick Farr is an Entrepreneur in Residence BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be reached via at: cfcb)u.edu. at the Jobless claims jump by largest amount in a year , WASHINGTON (AP) -The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 33,000 last week, the largest increase in a year, the government reported today. The Labor Department said the number of new applications for jobless benefits climbed to 309,000 for the week ending Saturday, the first time this figure has been above the 300,000-leve- l in 13 weeks. Jobless claims had fallen by 7,000 in the previous week. claims level is often volatile during holiday periods. The gain of 33,000 for last week was the largest since a jump of 60,000 for the week ending Daec. 26, 1998, also a period around the Christmas holidays. The moving average, which smoothes out weekly volatility, was up by 3,500 to 283,750, still an extremely low level indicat- But Labor Department analysts stressed that the low of 4. 1 rate was at a percent in (November and four-wee- k ing that labor remain tight. markets The nation's unemployment 30-ye- years, but the nation's retailers ' enjoyed their best Christmas in seven years as confident consumers spent with abandon. Economists said the latest batch of economic data released Thursday depicted a U.S. economy that ended 1999 just as it had begun, galloping full speed ahead. Financial markets, which had swooned earlier this week on worries that all the strength will push the Federal Reserve to move interest rates up further, were mixed on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial aver131 age gained points close to at 11,253, Thursday but the technology-ladesuffered index Nasdaq another big loss. Commerce The Department reported thpt sales of new homes plunged by 7.1 percent in November, the biggest decline since n state's highest County lands e that you would love welcome them back anytime. Many times these customers will be back because things change for them. If their parting was a positive experience, they will think of you and your services again., Fourth, give them a reason to "return, perhaps a 10 percent welcome-bacdiscount, a coupon, or gift certificate they may use or give to someone else. This is a hook that can yield great results. Not only is your organization viewed as a friendly, caring place but also as one that is so interested in them that you are willing to give them a gift even when they are leaving for another place of business. This is the what builds reputation and gets "buzz" otgoing in your favor. So the next time one of your customers decides to leave for the competition, thank them for their business, wish them well, give them a gift, and look for them to return in the r. , ; Hi .ij( dia-jgrib- retail soars '":' ' some analysts believe it may have dipped even lower to 4 percent in December. That figure will be released by the government Friday. Thedwindling pool of demands from sparking inflationary presing wage sures. For the week ending Dec. 25, 33 Btates and territories report- ed increases in initial claims available workers has been while 18 reported declines and cited by the Federal Reserve two said there was no change. For the week ending Dec. as a major reason for raising interest rates three times in 25, the biggest rise in jobless claims was in Wisconsin, an the last six months. Economists are looking for increase of 9,754 blamed on even more interest rate layoffs in construction, manincreases in the new year as ufacturing and service industhe central bank works to tries. Other states with large slow economic growth as a increases in layoffs were and 4,030; up way of taking pressure off Iowa, labor markets and keep ris Kentucky, up 3, 914. . December 1997. Rising mortgage rates were blamed for the weakness with sales falling in all regions of the country, led by a huge 31.5 percent plunge in the Northeast. But even with the dropoff in home sales, total activity remained close to record levels at a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 865,000 units. The nation's big department store chains reported Thursday that they enjoyed their strongest December sales since 1992. The nationwide chains reported heavy demand for everything from toys, jewelry and DVD players to Y2K survival items such as flashlights and batteries. Big winand ners included Target, two discount chains. Consumer demand has been fueled by the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years with many economists predicting the 4.1 percent current level could fall to 4 percent when the December figure is released on Friday. Analysts said they still believe that last year's three Fed rate increases would be followed by two to three more rate increases in 2000 as the central bank struggles to contain an economy Fed policymakers still believe is growing too rapidly for comWal-Ma- rt fort. While Fed efforts to dampen demand in interest-rat- e sensitive sectors such as housing and autos would normally raise fears of a possible recession, few economists see any threat that higher rates will derail the current expansion, which next month will become the longest in U.S. history. ', |