#from an automated or stock phone number

[nordfjording]

police, banks, legal actors: never ever ever pay demands sent to you by text or phone. signed invoices only. get receipts.

collection companies: if we send a text with a sum and a bank number but no other information, people will surely pay

[odinsblog]

Andrew was entering his third month of unemployment when he sat down at his computer and opened the inbox of his LinkedIn account. He’d received a response to a query he’d sent off four days after his friend-turned-manager walked him into a conference room swimming with sunlight, smelling of cologne and the faintest hint of perfume left behind by a group of attorneys who’d recently vacated the space after a five-hour meeting.

“I’m sorry, man,” Colin Perkins had said. Andrew’s eyes glided to the glass conference table, landing on the silver tray holding a molehill of bagels. He imagined they must be stale by now, having been left there uncovered in the icy office air.

Someone had planted the pointed end of a white plastic knife in an open container of chive-and-jalapeño cream cheese. It brought to mind the moon landing; all that was missing was a tiny American flag. A laugh trudged up his throat, but he disguised it as a cough.

“I told you,” Colin continued, raking his hands over his manicured Afro, “that the last to hire would be the first to go.”

A month earlier, seventeen women and two men had accused the CEO of the company of sexual misconduct. That news had plummeted the stock. The layoffs followed. Andrew had witnessed dozens of employees being escorted by security from the building like criminals. Now it was his turn.

Andrew nodded, placed a comforting hand on Daniel’s shoulder, and squeezed. The crisp cotton of Daniel’s shirt felt cool beneath his palm. “It’s okay, man, I understand. Don’t sweat it.”

He’d spent that first week revamping his résumé, calling friends and old colleagues, people who might know of a job opportunity at their own place of employment or elsewhere. He’d never had a LinkedIn account, but took the time to set one up. To conserve the little bit of savings he had, Andrew dropped his gym membership and went back to drinking tap water instead of the bottled Evian he loved. He gave up Starbucks coffee and the expensive cabernet sauvignon he purchased by the case.

By week three, he was spending his days on the couch, dressed in boxer shorts and sweat socks. He’d stopped opening the blinds and only went outside to empty the garbage. He whiled away the hours playing video games, and watching Netflix and Pornhub. Oftentimes, he went days without brushing his teeth.

When his mother called to check on him, Andrew lied, claiming he had several interviews lined up. When his father took the phone into another room to ask if he needed money, Andrew assured him that he was fine on the financial front, even though he wasn’t. He’d made up his mind to sell his Shelby Mustang before he took a dime from his parents. That was a big decision because he loved that car more than he’d ever loved any woman.

The day he opened the e-mail, the panic had just started to set in. He could feel it creeping along the back of his neck, like the soft scuttle of caterpillar legs.

From: OBF, INC.

To: Andrew Jamison

Dear Mr. Jamison,

We found your resume to be very interesting and believe that you would be the perfect addition to our dynamic team of Client Liaisons.

PAID TRAINING!

Affordable benefits for you, your spouse, and/or children after 90 days!

Opportunities to advance within!

Hourly, overtime, and tremendous bonus opportunities!

If you love helping others, then you will love working for OBF, INC.

OBF, INC. wants to talk to you now! To set up an interview TEXT OBF51893.

Liaison was just a fancy French word for customer service agent. Well, that was his skill set. Andrew was an expert at assisting people.

He texted the number and received an instant response that directed him to call a telephone number and enter his personal code: 1032.

An automated voice offered him two available interview dates. He was instructed to press 1 for the first date and 2 for the second. The mechanical voice told him that he would receive a call advising him where the interview would take place.

It all seemed very clandestine. Andrew was cynical, but his desperation outweighed his skepticism.

A day later, he received a call from a woman with a Southern drawl . . . Georgia, Alabama, Texas? He couldn’t quite pinpoint where she hailed from, but listening to her speak conjured visions of sweet tea and fireflies. She asked for his full government name and the code he’d received via text message. There was a pause, two clicks, and then the syrupy voice asked if he had a pen available. He did. After she’d rattled off the address, she wished him good luck. There were a few more clicks and then the line went dead.

He walked into the lobby of the forty-story office building and was struck by the contemporary opulence of the space. Marble floors, potted palms that towered eight feet into the air, white leather sofas, and a slick-looking Louboutin-red reception desk.

Andrew presented his license to the security guard and was given a name tag, which he clipped to the lapel of his ash-gray jacket. He was told to go to the eighteenth floor.

While waiting for the elevator, he perused the list of companies listed on a plaque mounted to the wall. OBF, Inc. was nowhere to be found.

He smirked, shrugged his shoulders, and stepped into the elevator. On the eighteenth floor, smack outside of the elevator door, was a sheet of lined legal paper taped haphazardly to the wall. Scrawled on its face in black marker was: This Way to OBF, INC. Below that was an arrow.

He started down the hall. A man the color of cedar and as tall as an NBA player speed-walked past him, mumbling to himself. Andrew thought he looked dazed, as if he’d just received news that a loved one had passed away.

“Good morning,” Andrew murmured.

The man turned eyes as wide as saucers on Andrew. He opened his mouth and muttered something that Andrew wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. The elevator doors slid open just as Andrew leaned in and asked, “Uhm, sorry, brother, but did you say run?”

The man leaped into the elevator, pressed his spine against the back wall, and fixed his eyes on the glass numbers above the closing doors.

Andrew stood blinking at his reflection in the chrome elevator doors. After a moment, he shrugged and continued down the hallway where he came upon a second handwritten sign directing him to turn left at the women’s bathroom. He rounded a corner and found himself staring at eleven men seated in folding chairs. They all looked up from their iPhones and Androids. Andrew nodded and headed toward the pretty blonde seated behind a metal desk.

“Good morning,” she smiled. “Name?”

“Andrew Jamison.”

“Okay, Mr. Jamison, please take a seat. Mrs. Americus will be with you shortly.”

He scrutinized his fellow applicants. They were all black men save for the one white guy with a man-bun who was called in as soon as Andrew sat down. Man-bun wasn’t in there long. In less than five minutes, cheeks flushed and cursing under his breath, he stormed across the reception area and out of sight.

Andrew clenched his jaw and made eye contact with another man across the room from him. He imagined the unease in the man’s eyes mirrored his own uncertainty.

“Andrew Jamison, Mrs. Americus will see you now. Just through that door.”

The door opened to a large office filled with cubicles and desks, manned by women tapping away on typewriters or murmuring into the handsets of—

Andrew slowed his gait.

Are those rotary telephones and, wait, Royal typewriters?

As Andrew gawked, a large man with a mustache as thick has a shoe brush appeared before him. Andrew glanced up and then quickly shifted his gaze away from the brawny man’s left eyelid, which was weighed down with a sty the size of a dime.

“In there,” the man huffed, aiming a chubby finger at a closed door not more than five feet from where they stood.

The office was as small as a janitor’s closet. And dark.

The lone window on the far left wall faced the shadowy back of a department store. Metal file cabinets lined the walls; some of the drawers were open, revealing manila folders bulging with papers. He could see, even in the muddy darkness of the room, a layer of dust atop the cabinets. Hanging on the walls were at least twenty framed photographs of people, all of whom were black.

The air was rife with the scent of cigarette smoke.

Andrew remembered people smoking at their desks when he went to visit his mother at her office job when he was young. Once, on a flight to Detroit with his grandmother, he stood at the back of the plane waiting to use the bathroom, and found himself engulfed in a cloud of smoke billowing from the cigarettes of three passengers.

He couldn’t recall the exact year cities around the country began banning smoking in bars and restaurants, but he was supremely aware that smokers had to be at least four hundred feet away from the entrance of any building if they wanted to light up.

Yet here was this woman, puffing away like it was 1975. Andrew eyed the near-empty box of Winstons and then the woman. She was robust—a meat-and-potatoes sort of gal, with doughy cheeks and large blue eyes. Her sun-bleached blond hair fanned back from her face—a style made famous by the eighties icon Farrah Fawcett. Her lips were slathered in tangerine-colored lipstick. The same color rung the filters of a dozen long-dead Winston butts heaped in the black ceramic ashtray. Andrew thought, If she’s going for clown instead of glamour, well, bull’s-eye!

Ornate rings twinkled on seven of her ten fingers, the rose-gold chain she wore around her neck dribbled down her chest and disappeared into her cleavage. She looked to be in her midfifties.

“Good morning, Mr. Jamison. Please have a seat.” Her eyes remained glued to the sheet of paper clutched in her hands. Andrew assumed it was his résumé.

He sat down.

“You graduated from Brown University?”

“Y-yes, I did. I graduated summa cum laude in 1990.”

Her desk was cluttered with newspaper clippings; stacks of aging yellowed papers, and dated fashion magazines. Andrew’s eyebrows climbed. Was that Marcia from the seventies sitcom The Brady Bunch on the cover of that Glamour magazine?

Andrew chuckled to himself. This had to be an elaborate joke. Someone was putting him on. His eyes ranged around the office in search of a concealed camera.

“Impressive,” she said finally, looking him directly in the eye. “Do you have a wife?”

“S-sorry?”

“Are you married, Mr. Jamison?”

“No, I’m not.”

She searched his face. “Are you gay?”

Andrew bristled. “Mrs. Americus, I don’t think you’re legally allowed to ask me that question.”

She smirked.

“It’s a yes-or-no question, Mr. Jamison. I know it’s unusual, but believe me, for this position I would need to know.”

His rent was due tomorrow and then again in thirty more days. His savings were dwindling. “No, I’m not gay.”

“Do you have children?”

“One daughter, she’s twenty-two years old.”

“Do you have a good relationship with your daughter? With the mother?”

“Yes.”

Mrs. Americus glanced at his résumé. “Perfect.” She reached for the dying cigarette and brought it to her lips. “And according to your application, you’ve never been arrested. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Well, we will be doing a background check.”

“Understood.”

“Do you have any bad habits? Do you use narcotics?”

“No ma’am.”

“Any . . . um . . . undesirable recreational activities?”

“Undesirable?”

“Porn? Well, not just porn. Kiddie porn.”

Andrew’s mouth fell open.

“No judgment, Mr. Jamison. Again, I just need to know.”

“No, I do not watch kiddie porn,” Andrew spat.

“Good!” she exclaimed, drumming her fingers on the desk. “Let me tell you the specifics of the job . . .”

Some of the faces behind the glass frames looked familiar. Again Andrew found himself squinting. Was that Omarosa? He pitched forward in his chair.

Mrs. Americus stopped talking and followed his gaze. “Um, yes,” she spouted. “That is who you think it is. She’s been one of our best recruits.”

Andrew swallowed.

Mrs. Americus stubbed out her cigarette and laced her fingers under her chin. “Some of our liaisons work directly with government agencies. That’s a promotion of sorts. Of course, before you can be assigned to the big house—I mean the White House—you’d first have to prove yourself out in the field.” She giggled. “In the field. You get it? It’s a double entendre.”

Andrew’s mouth went dry.

She twisted around in the chair and pointed to a photograph of a pair of middle-aged women standing shoulder to shoulder, each holding a red MAGA baseball cap. “Those ladies are Diamond and Silk. Do you know them?”

Andrew shot out up from the chair. For a moment, he thought his knees would buckle. “What does OBF stand for?”

Mrs. Americus reached for the pack of cigarettes. “OBF stands for One Black Friend.”

“One Black Friend?”

“Yes. You see, in these troubling times, times where so many people are labeling white people as racist, we need black people to stand up for us—to have our backs, as your people are fond of saying. Sometimes, Mr. Jamison, a God-fearing, good white person may be accused of a crime or some other offense perpetrated against a person of color, and when the accused does not have a person of color in his circle, it looks bad. The public may see him . . . or her, as a racist simply because their circle is . . . white. Lily.

“And that’s wrong. Not having black friends does not make a white person racist by default. Anyway,” she waved her hand, “that’s where OBF comes in. We provide that one black friend. That one black friend introduces doubt, and more often than not, that doubt diminishes a large percentage of the negative impact our clients might face.”

Andrew just stared.

“Oh, Mr. Jamison, don’t look so shocked. This practice has been around for centuries.” She pointed to the far wall near the window. “You see that guy there? He was actually the inspiration for this company.”

Andrew peered at the photograph. “Who is he?”

“Joe Oliver.”

“Joe Oliver?”

“Yeah, Joe Oliver. You don’t remember him? Joe Oliver, George Zimmerman’s one black friend.” Mrs. Americus raised a black ceramic coffee mug to her lips and sipped. The red decal on the side of the mug read: Black Tears.

Andrew’s stomach lurched, perspiration beading across his forehead. “This is some kind of joke, right?”

“Oh, I assure you this is not a joke and I am very serious. As serious as a heart attack. Is that how the saying goes? As serious as a heart attack?”

Andrew started toward the door.

“Wait, Mr. Jamison. Look here.” She pointed at a photograph hanging above the row of filing cabinets. “This is another one of our liaisons. Since he’s been working for us, he’s paid off his student loans and I understand that he’s just recently purchased a Cadillac.”

Andrew followed her index finger to the photo of a grinning black man holding a Blacks for Trump sign above his head like a trophy.

“Shall we talk about salary?”

The lights flickered.

He thought, Maybe I’m still asleep. Maybe this is a nightmare.

“Andrew? I can see you’re having a hard time processing all of this. But really, it’s not as uncommon as you might think. We live in America, this is a capitalist country, and we monetize everything. Everything.”

Andrew couldn’t remember reaching for the doorknob, but suddenly he was stumbling through the reception area.

He fled down the corridor, rounded the first corner and then the next. A slight man the color of honeyed milk stepped from the elevator. He wore a yellow dress shirt with a red bow tie. His dark-blue khakis were flooded just enough to offer a wink of his orange-and-navy argyle socks.

Upon Andrew’s frantic approach, the startled stranger stepped swiftly out of his path. Andrew didn’t make eye contact. He jabbed at the elevator button until the doors slid open.

Weeks later, Andrew was seated in a truck-stop diner with his fork poised over a plate of scrambled eggs and corned beef hash.

The mounted television was tuned to Fox News. The anchor reported that yet another young black man had been gunned down by a vigilante, another Good Samaritan, named Christopher Parks.

Christopher Parks was heading home from his job as a sanitation man when he spotted young Daniel Latham sitting in Starbucks, dozing over his law textbooks. Parks entered the establishment, woke Latham with a tap to his shoulder, and asked if he lived in the area. According to eyewitnesses, Latham replied that he did in fact live in the neighborhood. Parks demanded to see Latham’s ID and was met with laughter. The law student gathered his belongings and stood to leave—rather menacingly, one eyewitness reported.

That was when Christopher Parks pulled his weapon and fired. The stunned Latham, still laughing, crumpled into his chair and pressed his hand over the whole in his heart. It wasn’t until he saw the blood that the smile slipped from his lips and he began to cry.

The cops were called, but not an ambulance. Well, not immediately.

The police shackled Latham to the chair and took Parks to the police station for questioning. The woman behind the counter gave Parks a high five and a tall Caffè Mocha to go.

By the time an ambulance arrived, Daniel Latham was dead, having bled out all over his take-home final exam.

In the days that followed, it was revealed that Daniel Latham had several unpaid parking tickets and was thrice fined for not scooping his dog’s poop. Not only that—he was also a practicing Buddhist who supported a woman’s right to choose.

A search of Latham’s apartment unearthed a well-worn copy of Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which was on his nightstand alongside Jay-Z’s Decoded. This discovery was further evidence that Latham was no angel.

Laura Ingraham looked directly into the camera and told her viewers that Christopher Parks was a hero, a polite and well-spoken man who had been raised by his father after his mother died from breast cancer when he was just three years old. Yes, as a youth, Christopher had been suspended from school for fighting, and as a young man he’d beaten a girlfriend with a pipe. Later, when he was in his early thirties, he’d threatened to castrate his boss—a black man old enough to be his grandfather. All of that behavior, Laura Ingraham said, was directly connected to the trauma of losing a mother at such a tender age.

She paused, and in that moment her entire face pulsed with empathy. “That said,” she continued, “Al Sharpton, along with the Black Lives Matter terrorist organization, have labeled Christopher Parks a racist and are calling for his arrest.” She shook her head and chuckled. “Earlier today, I had the pleasure of speaking with Christopher’s longtime best friend, Andrew Jamison . . .”

Andrew lowered his fork, reached for his shades, and slipped them onto his face.

—OBF, Inc., a short story by Bernice L. McFadden

[eris-anansi]

Dreamwood 1999

Episode 4: When They Hatch

Dreamwood is plagued by pigeon overpopulation and the police department is tasked with decreasing their numbers. What begins as a clever attempt at population control involving fake pigeon eggs takes a disastrous turn.

CW: Implied murder, graphic depictions of murder, depictions of violence, character death, body horror

Associated Song: underscores - trustfall!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, September 13th, 1999.

Dreamwood was no big city, but it shared some common problems with big cities. Among them being pigeons. Winged rats, as the townsfolk called them. The flying vermin had plagued Dreamwood for years, and the people were starting to look to the town’s leadership to do something about their feathered adversaries. Responsibility inevitability fell to the Dreamwood Police Department. 

Chief Bowers sat in his office on the phone with a rather important man. “Yes, Mayor Rogers. I’m well aware of the gravity of this situation.” 

“You say that, but I still feel the need to remind you,” the voice on the other line began, “I am receiving urgent letters every day about birds invading homes. Just yesterday Farmer Dale reported having his kitchen raided by a gang of the damn things! It’s a war zone out there!” 

“I don’t know what you want me to do, Mr. Mayor.”

“Make them disappear! Whatever it takes!” 

The voice of a secretary in the Mayor’s background could be faintly heard informing him of another pigeon-related report, before Rogers hung up suddenly. Chief Bowers sat quietly in his chair for several seconds processing the situation. “Pigeons,” he mumbled to himself as he set the phone down.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the forensics lab, Jeffrey Woods was examining the body of the shapeshifter Randy had shot. He was perplexed at the fact that its DNA tested to be almost perfectly identical to Thomas Wheeler’s– but moreover he was fascinated. He wondered if it had died in the form of the Zodiac Killer, would the real killer’s identity have been revealed through the DNA test? It was ideas like these, cases like these– those which dwelled in the land of the esoteric and the macabre– that fueled Jeffrey’s passion for his profession. He lived for exactly what this was. in the background, an old television atop a desk played Dracula’s Daughter, an old black and white horror film from the 1930s. A reclusive yet undeniably talented investigator, Jeffrey’s life seemed to revolve around the darkness. 

When he heard the beep of a notification from his desktop, he switched gears and made a beeline for his computer chair. He sat down and checked the source of the automated noise- a message he had received in a private chat room conversation between himself and an anonymous salesman. A salesman whom he believed had something that Chief Bowers would find incredibly valuable given the current situation. The salesman had confirmed that he in fact still had more of his product in stock- enough for Jeffrey’s elaborate scheme. Pleased with the results, Jeffrey smiled and typed his response.  

There was a knock at the door, then a low creak as it opened. Parker Caldwell entered the room. He took a look at the television screen then the metal slab on which the shapeshifter’s body laid. He took a breath before asking his question.

“Who is he, Jeff?”

Jeffrey nearly jumped in his seat. He spun around in the office chair and met Parker’s gaze. “Jesus christ– good morning to you, too, Parker… I honestly can’t give you a definite answer. His DNA is interacting with our database in a very strange way.”

Parker paused for a second. “...What does that mean?”

“As far as we know his name is Thomas Wheeler and he’s a detective working for the Dreamwood Police Department. His parents are David and Margaret Wheeler, he’s thirty-six years old, and he was born and raised in Dreamwood, Massachusetts. He has no criminal record. Do you see the problem here?”

“Yeah. I see the problem. The Thomas we know is outside cracking jokes with Officer Harrison and Officer Darcy. This is… frustrating. All of our leads seem to stop at a dead end.”

“That tends to happen when we try to apply logic to the illogical,” Jeffrey observed. “Some things are beyond our limited human comprehension, and meant to stay that way.”

Parker blinked. “What are you saying, Jeffrey?” It always got on his nerves when Jeffrey got like this.

“I’m saying that we’ve exited the realm where cases are solved with clues and evidence. The nature of the thing on that table is completely detached from our world.”

Parker glanced once more at the TV screen playing the old vampire movie. He chuckled a bit, slowly wrapping his head around what Jeffrey was saying. “What, you mean like vampires and ghosts?”

“Something like that. I mean, how else would you explain what you and the other guys encountered on that hill? What about in the woods? Or in the interrogation room? Dreamwood does have a history.”

Parker scoffed, choosing to brush him off and get back to work. “Come back to me when you’ve found me some solid, tangible evidence, yeah? This is a serious case, Jeff.” 

With that, he walked out of the room. 

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Thursday, September 16th, 1999.

It was business as usual at the Dreamwood police station. Secretaries typed away at their computers and officers answered phone calls. Parker, Thomas and Officer Darcy stood on a platform overlooking the offices, watching their coworkers go about their duties as they themselves engaged in casual small talk.

Two officers carried boxes into the Dreamwood police station, passing by desks and officers. Parker Caldwell watched them pass by, and gently nudged the shoulder of Thomas who stood beside him. 

“What do you figure is in those boxes?”

“Heck if I know, but I’m certainly gon’ make it my business,” Thomas said with a smirk. 

The officers carried the boxes up to Chief Bowers’ office, setting them on the chief’s desk. “Your delivery, sir.”

“Ah, there it is! It was supposed to arrive today.” He observed that the boxes were marked ‘FRAGILE’ in red ink. He raised an eyebrow at the two officers, “You handled the boxes with care, yeah?”

The officers nodded. “The contents should be fine.”

“And what might the contents be?” Thomas’ voice appeared behind the officers. A smug and curious Wheeler made his entrance with Parker and Darcy in tow. 

“A little idea of Jeffrey’s– imposter eggs we can plant in pigeon nests across town to trick the pigeons into reproducing less. Jeff thinks this could be the key to slowing the growth of our pigeon population,” Bowers explained.

Thomas chuckled. “I’ll give Jeffy Woods one thing: he is a diabolical genius. This might just work.”

Darcy frowned. “Tricking pigeons? That feels a little cruel.”

“Part of our job description is literally shooting things,” Thomas reminded him. “This is a lot less cruel than just shooting the birds, don’cha think?”

“Where did you get the eggs from?” Parker inquired. 

“Jeff ordered them off of some website on the internet. Personally I don’t really understand computers but I hear you’re able to shop on them now,” Bowers said.

Thomas nodded. “This technology thing seems to be the future.”

The other two officers started to open the boxes, unveiling several dozen artificial eggs in each box. One officer lightly tapped the eggs and hummed. “Huh. It’s hollow.”

“That’s weird,” Bowers commented, but he didn’t think much after that. He simply shrugged it off. “The pigeons oughtn’t notice.”

Thomas sucked his teeth and said, “Hopefully we aren’t underestimating these birds…”

“In a few weeks time we should have our answer,” Parker said. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday, September 27th, 1999.

Over the weekend, the police department launched a campaign against Dreamwood’s pigeon population. Fake eggs were planted in nests all across the small city and kept under careful surveillance. Even a few pigeons were tagged with cameras. 

The whole affair felt like a waste of time to Parker; a hindrance to his greatest concern, which was getting back on the Jackson case. But alas, no leads had turned up since the shapeshifter. Damn that Randy, he would find himself thinking. That Skinner bastard. Because of Randy, he thought, he and Thomas had been put on pigeon-camera duty. Yes, it was all Randy’s fault. Parker should be out there being a goddamn American hero right now.

“I swear I already done seen that same leaf get blown by twice now,” Thomas observed, taking a long drag from his cigarette. He leaned back against his chair staring at the monitor with an expression that only began to convey the heavy boredom that Parker felt right now.

“I still can’t believe they’ve got us doing this,” Parker sighed.

“Hey, don’t take it personal– if it makes you feel any better I bet Randy and Keith are in our same spot right now.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better, no.”

On the monitor the two men watched a pigeon circle a nest of eggs tucked away in a tree not far from Devil’s Lake, two out of the three were fakes planted by the DWPD. The bird appeared to be none the wiser. It had been a couple of hours now, and the pigeon hadn’t seemed to notice. Parker and Thomas carried on with their conversation.

“I swear Randy has it out for me,” Parker continued. “He glares at me whenever I enter a room.”

“Well he is a Skinner,” Thomas hummed. “Last I heard your family and his family have quite the history.” He purposefully understated said history.

“The Skinners have been trying to steal this town up from under the noses of people like my father and my grandfather for generations. They’d run Dreamwood into the ground if they ever did.”

“And I don’t doubt that,” Thomas chuckled lightly. He tapped his cigarette into a nearby ashtray. 

“That’s part of the reason why Jackson wanted me to run for mayor. Follow in his footsteps. The whole reason why I ran away in the first place.”

“I remember, brother. I remember. And look at you now– fulfilled his dying wish of returning home, and now you’re leading the effort to solve his murder. Fate is certainly a cruel mistress. You think Randy thinks he has a shot at the mayoral campaign this season? He is a fairly popular detective.”

Parker snorted. “The idea is laughable. He would be crazy to go along with it.”

“I got a feelin’ we have yet to see just how crazy that man really is. But I got a question I been meanin’ to ask you, Parks.”

“Yeah?”

“Back in the interrogation room with that demon lady, she implied that you were hidin’ somethin’ from the rest of us. She said, ‘Tell him what you stole’.”

Parker felt a small chill run down his spine. He was afraid of being put in this position– one in which he would have lie to his best friend. 

“Now, I figured that she was just tryna screw with our heads so I tried not to think much about it,” Thomas said. “But lately I can’t take my mind off it. It was almost like she knew you.”

“I never met her before in my life,” Parker said. 

“Well do you know anything about her whole thing with your apparent theft?” Thomas asked again more directly. 

“Thomas, look.” Parker pointed to the monitor. The pigeon had landed in the nest and seemed to be inspecting the eggs. It prodded at one of the fake eggs with its peak with an uncharacteristic roughness.

“Ah, hell,” Thomas cursed. “They’re figuring us out.”

Abruptly, the pigeon pulled its head back and cocked it in apparent confusion. 

“What’s it doing now?” Parker mumbled.

Thomas shrugged audibly. “Heck if I know. Do I look like a birdologist?” 

The two men soon realized that the egg had cracked. 

Wait- it cracked?

“Parker, what the fuck.”

“Thomas– is it supposed to do that?”

“I was gon’ ask you that! But we really should be askin’ Jeff, he was the one who ordered ‘em.”

“Wait, maybe we just lost track of the eggs. Maybe that one isn’t one of ours- maybe it’s real.”

The pigeon continued to watch the egg intently, as if waiting for something to happen. The crack spread until both the bird and the two detectives were able to peer inside of the egg which seemed to contain nothing but a black void.

“Officer Sterling said the eggs were hollow…” Parker recalled aloud. He had a bad feeling all of a sudden as he continued to observe the live footage, the feeling was similar to that of watching the series of events leading up to a highway accident. From the hole in the egg emerged a thin ribbon of smoke, quite like the smoke from Thomas’ cigarette. The only difference is that it was completely black. It rose into the air and seemed to frighten the pigeon. The sentiment was shared among Parker and Thomas.

“That’s definitely not one of its eggs,” Parker confirmed. 

Upon contact with the smoke, the pigeon promptly fell on its side and violently convulsed. Red foam bubbled at the edges of the bird’s mouth and spilled from its open beak. Parker and Thomas watched the brutal display in horror, unsure what to make of it. The pigeon continued to twitch for dear life as its body appeared to shrink-- no, flatten-- no, deflate like a balloon. It was as if the air was sucked out of the bird’s tiny body, leaving nothing but a hollow husk of a thing. 

Thomas’ jaw was at the floor at this point. He repeated, “Parker… what the fuck.”

Parker’s eyes were glued to the monitor. He might not’ve even heard Thomas at that moment. His bad feeling was indeed validated, but nothing in the world could have prepared him for this.

Then, somehow, it managed to get worse. The pigeon… inflated again. It seemed to be recovering from its previous condition, but it was soon clear that its proportions were all wrong– it looked like an amateur artist’s interpretation of a pigeon given high definition life and color. It was horribly uncanny. It scurried on its wings as if they were front legs, and darted down the tree out of the camera’s sight. 

Parker and Thomas both looked at eachother.

“Remind me, Thomas, how many eggs did we plant out there?” Parker asked.

“At… at least twenty of ‘em,” Thomas answered. The gravity of Parker’s question was sinking in fast.

“We need to alert Bowers. Quickly.” Parker got up out of his chair and rushed to the office. Thomas followed quickly.

Chief Bowers had just gotten off the phone with Mayor Rogers again and appeared to be in a great mood. He wore a rare but not unusual smile that Parker had learned indicated good news- otherwise the chief was most often a stoic and serious man much like himself. 

“Great timing, Caldwell! Mayor Rogers just informed me that the pigeon population has started to drop in the last week and is expected to continue. Our efforts seem to be having the desired effect!”

“Yeah, about that–” Thomas started,

“One of the eggs hatched.” Parker blurted before Thomas could finish.

Chief Bowers blinked slowly, processing what Parker told him. “One of our eggs hatched?”

“Yes! One of ours!”

“Caldwell, how is that possible?”

“We’ve got footage, chief. Parks ain’t lyin’.”

Once they got through showing Chief Bowers the footage, his face had turned noticeably pale. He now understood why Parker and Thomas were acting so urgent. The images of the pigeon deflating and emerging a shapeless monstrosity danced fresh across his psyche.

 “We’re still holding some of these eggs in the forensic lab,” he realized aloud.

Without a second thought, Parker bolted out of the office and made a beeline for the lab. Thomas ran after him and so did Bowers. 

Jeffrey and Officer Darcy were standing over a table with the eggs still in their box when Parker came charging in. He stopped in the doorway to catch his breath, then looked at Jeff. “Woods, you’ve got some explaining to do.” Thomas and Bowers weren’t far behind.

Jeff paused and looked at Parker. “Huh? Explaining?”

Darcy blinked like a confused dog. “Is something going on?” He was holding one of the eggs in his hand. 

“Did you know the eggs would hatch? Did you know they’re hatching??”

“Hatching??” Jeffrey’s voice bent in disbelief.

“So you’re right where we are,” Parker sighed. “Where did you get those eggs?”

“A website for pest control services,” Jeff explained. “I spoke to the seller one-on-one through a chatroom or something. Are they really hatching?” He sounded more interested than concerned.

“Yes, damnit!” Thomas said. “Can you contact the seller now? Maybe he can tell us how to fix it.”

Jeffrey turned on his computer and typed the website’s URL into the address bar. He clicked on the link, only to turn up a screen that said ‘Page Not Found’. It seemed the website did not exist. He blinked. “That’s weird– I could’ve sworn that was the address…”

“Jeff- what did we order in those boxes?” Chief Bowers asked, trying his best to keep his composure.

“I don’t know! I thought they were regular fake eggs!” Jeffrey was growing frantic as well.

Darcy glanced between his colleagues. “Guys– I don’t understand, why is everybody yelling?” 

“Darcy- put the egg down,” Parker spoke calmly. 

Darcy didn’t ask any questions. He put the egg down gently- just before it started to crack. He gasped, “Did- did I break it?”

“Darcy!” Parker shouted in a panic. “Get away from it!” Parker, Thomas, and Bowers clamored for Darcy to get the hell away from the egg.

But it was too late. He had already inhaled the black ribbon of smoke that escaped the hollow shell. He recoiled, his face going pale and his eyes widening. His body let forth a violent retch as he leaned over the table, before he rushed to the nearest bathroom at the end of the room and slammed the door. From the other side, Parker, Thomas, Jeff, and Bowers could hear violent heaving. 

Then, the sounds came to an abrupt end. The silence somehow felt worse.

Jeff, who was closest to the door, slowly got up from his chair and backed towards the detectives and the chief. Parker watched the door carefully, and Chief Bowers had begun mumbling a silent prayer. 

Then the door creaked open.

Parker, prepared for the worst, reached for the gun on his hip. Thomas did the same. Bowers was the last to react. 

“D..Darcy?...” Thomas called out weakly. He wasn’t sure if Darcy was still Darcy anymore, and he sensed that he and Parker were on the same page. Parker’s gun was already aimed at the door, something Thomas still couldn’t bring himself to do. 

Officer Darcy emerged from the bathroom and collapsed on his knees in the doorway, breathing heavily. He coughed. “Jesus christ– what was in that egg?? It smelled awful-”

Parker slowly lowered his weapon and rushed to Darcy’s side. Thomas let out a sigh of relief, “Oh, thank god.” Parker inspected Darcy for any signs of adverse effects– and found none. He seemed perfectly fine aside from puking his guts. “I guess it only affects birds,” Parker thought aloud.

“What only affects birds??” Darcy asked.

Parker was hesitant about showing Darcy the footage after what had just happened. He disregarded the question and turned his attention back to Thomas and Chief Bowers. “We need to track down those other eggs.”

Bowers nodded affirmatively. “Right. Before more start hatching.”

That was when Keith made his entrance. “Chief– we’ve got a situation.”

The chief turned to Keith and said, “If you tell me one of the eggs hatched…”

“How did you know?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Parties were dispatched to the two locations were hatching eggs were reported. Parker and Thomas led a party- including Officer Darcy and three other officers- to investigate an area closer to town where another egg had hatched. The nest was located in a tree near a road leading out of town, and Officer Sterling was currently climbing the tree to reach the nest. When he reached the branch where the nest was situated, he shined his flashlight down on the nest. 

“Parker, Tommy– this isn’t good!” He shouted back down to the squad.

“What is it, Sterling?” Parker called back.

“There used to be four eggs- one of ‘em was ours. But now there’s only two. One of them is the one we planted, and the other one ain’t. But it don’t look like a regular pigeon egg either, it’s more the size of a goose egg- it’s way bigger.”

“Those things have already started laying eggs…” Thomas murmured. 

There was a surprised shout from the tree. Parker and Thomas saw black smoke rising from the tree branch, but they could not see the nest nor Officer Sterling. Soon, they heard Sterling begin to cough violently. 

“Oh, fuck…” Parker whispered to himself.

Up in the distance, Sterling violently heaved- much like Darcy– only Darcy had sounded mild in comparison. From what they could hear, Sterling was fighting for his life. What they heard was confirmed when a heap of blood rained down from the tree– Sterling’s vomit.

Parker, Thomas, and the other officers quickly backed away from the tree. A guttural shriek rang out and carried across the forest. It was at that point Parker reached for his gun and aimed at the tree, prepared to shoot the first thing he saw rear its head from within the leaves. He was certain of one thing- that shriek wasn’t human.

“Sterling?” Parker called out.

The leaves rustled. Something traveled quickly across the treetops, and was soon out of earshot. 

Once they felt safe enough to investigate the nest, they found that Officer Sterling– and the egg– were both gone.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“That’s all of them?”

“The ones that didn’t hatch, yeah.”

Randall and Keith’s squad had managed to recover a sizable number of the eggs, and brought them somewhere isolated at the outskirts of town. Parker and Thomas’ group joined up with them along the way. They stood in front of a crude pile of eggs, Randy holding a container of gasoline in one hand and a box of matches in the other. He fully intended to set fire to it all. 

“And what about the ones that did?” Randy asked, his eyes narrowing.

“There are more that didn’t. We’ll cross that other bridge when we get there,” the officer responded.

“I like that answer. That’s a good answer. You’ve got good answers.”

Randy turned his attention back to the pile of eggs. He began to pour gasoline over them. “I’m gonna send you abominations back to hell,” he grumbled as he shook the container over the egg pile. 

“You do realize that we’ll have to hunt down the hatched pigeons after this, right?” Parker pointed out. “They’re going to lay more eggs, and they seem to reproduce faster than the real pigeons do.”

“Nobody said you can’t be out there doin’ that right now, ‘stead of tellin’ me what to do,” Randy replied. He pulled a matches stick out of the box. “Swear to Jesus I’m gonna kick Jeff’s ass when I get back to the station. None of this would have even happened if it wasn’t for that freak.”

While Randy wasn’t paying attention, a squirrel scurried to his feet and began scratching harmlessly at his leg. “What the-” he looked down, and saw an oddly shaped animal prodding at his pants. Upon further inspection, he found that it wasn’t a rodent at all. Parker identified it before Randy did- it was a pigeon. And not one of the native pigeons, either. 

Randy stumbled back, while at the same time Parker fired his pistol at the pigeon. The impact of the bullet spun the malshapen bird around and it dropped sideways, it chuffed out a cloud of smoke and flattened like a balloon losing air. More pigeons emerged from the forest, some with uneven wingspans- some wings larger than the others, some wings bloated and outsizing the rest of their bodies. They were cheap, gruesome imitations of birds. Parker and the rest of the DWPD wasted no time mowing them down.

“Good God!” Randy exclaimed. 

Parker wasn’t finished, though. He nudged Thomas and alerted the others to approaching rustling in the nearby leaves. Something was headed towards them- something bigger than a pigeon. 

The air fell silent. The men waited as the rustling drew closer. 

And closer. 

And closer still. 

Until they caught the glimpse of something that their brains struggled to make sense of.

What emerged from the trees was a mass of flesh more than seven feet tall, constructed in ways that barely made sense. Parker couldn’t tell if he was looking at the creature’s front or its back. Its elbows were folded inwards. It dragged itself across the ground like a slug. Strands of hair hung freely from a large pulsing bulb which appeared to be its head, though no distinguishable facial features were visible. Still, Parker had a feeling he knew what he stood facing- or rather who. The creature’s half-torn clothes- the remnants of a police officer’s uniform- gave away its identity. 

“...Officer Sterling?” Parker’s eyes widened in horror at the realization.

At this point Officer Darcy was holding back tears. “Oh… oh God…”

The creature froze at the mention of its name, as though some part of him still clung onto his old identity. It was quickly overridden, though, as it let out a gurgling growl at the armed men and began to charge. It dragged itself towards them to the best of its ability, its arms unfolding and reaching forth with sharpened, elongated nails. The men opened fire on the monstrosity wearing Sterling’s skin, but bullets did little to deter the abomination. 

Randy lit his match stick and hurled it into the pile of a dozen or so eggs. Thanks to the gasoline, the fire ignited quickly and soon spread to Officer Sterling. Both he and the unhatched eggs went up in a storm of flames.

A shocked Darcy gazed at the spectacle, the dancing flames reflecting in his eyes. He didn’t hear Parker, Thomas, and Randy shouting at him that it was time to run. Thomas had to tug on Darcy in order to get his feet moving, he was barely even aware that he was moving until the fire almost wasn’t in sight anymore.

Then he saw something else.

Beyond the fire, from within the dense forest, Darcy saw two pairs of green eyes staring back at the detectives. They were attached to a figure shrouded in a long trenchcoat and a wide brimmed hat. Darcy was sure the eyes would linger in his memory for years to come. He felt them clawing at his very consciousness.

More importantly, he swore he had seen those eyes somewhere before. Somewhere recent.

“Darcy! Snap out of it!”

He snapped back to reality and was now focused on Parker- the voice that had pulled him out of his stupor. 

The men retreated into the woods as the fire roared on in the distance. Sterling’s agonized screams carried for miles in the frigid autumn air.    

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the police station, Parker, Thomas, Randy, Keith, and Officer Darcy sat in silence. They had been doing so since the hour after they escaped the forest. 

They were stuck in a daze as they sat around processing the events of the day. It was hard to believe that it had all began with something as simple as pest control.

A voice spoke up suddenly. It was Officer Darcy’s.

“That… could have been me.”

Darcy had thought back to the time he inhaled the smoke. He thought he was going to die in that room, but through some miracle he turned out fine. After he saw what had become of Sterling, who suffered a similar fate, it had caused his life to flash before his eyes.

“...Why wasn’t it me?” He mumbled seemingly in a trance.

“Life works in mysterious ways, Henry,” Thomas exhaled. He had gone through three glasses of bourbon already, and the bottle was still close by.

“We were just lucky those things seemed to be in some kinda early stage of development,” Randy said. “I don’ think they had fully learned how to mimic nature yet. But they coulda learned if we let ‘em live a bit longer. I know they could.”

“Then let’s hope we destroyed them all,” Keith audibly thought. “I would hate to think what could happen if one of those things learned how to perfectly mimic a pigeon– much less a human being.”

Henry Darcy looked back at his friends, and with the most sincere expression he’s ever had, he said, “There is something truly, deeply wrong with this town. I’ve felt it before, but I know it now. There was something else watching us back there...”

Parker nodded slowly. “Yeah, I saw it, too.”

“The green eyes?” Thomas questioned.

“The eyes, yeah,” Parker confirmed. Judging by the look in his eyes, he was deeply troubled. 

“I couldn’t look away from them at first,” Darcy admitted. “I felt like a deer in headlights. It was a strange feeling, something I’d never felt before. Something… primal. It was like-”

“Standing face to face with your natural predator?” Parker guessed. 

“Yes- yes, exactly,” Darcy nodded.

Parker hummed. “Up until today, I didn’t think it was something possible for humans to feel. I thought it was only exclusive to animals.” His gaze turned to a nearby window and he gazed out into the cloudy distance of Dreamwood, Massachusetts. He wondered if he’d be able to see the sun in Manhattan.

“I thought we were at the top of the food chain.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author’s Note 

The storyline of this episode is heavily based on the r/nosleep story “The Pigeons Around Here Aren’t Real” by Manen Lyset.

If you enjoyed this episode especially, you will surely love their work!

[notoverjoyed]

A rich man with a spoiled cat.

Phic Phight 2023

prompt by @purpleruletheomiverse

Vlad goes to absurd lengths to spoil his cat.

“Oh butterscotch!” Vlad snarled as he slammed down the phone. Six! That had been the sixth supplier who could not provide him with his dear Maddie’s preferred food.

“Look at you!” He whipped his torso around and gestured emphatically at the chair in his home office. “You’re wasting away!”

The fluffy white cat sitting in his office chair was most definitely not wasting away but the look on her face could melt the frostiest of hearts.

‘Manipulative little shit,’ Vlad thought to himself, but he couldn’t help but give in to her plaintive meows.

You see, Vlad’s cat’s preferred snack is a rare fish that can only be caught at certain times of year at a certain place by certain permitted people in certain amounts. It’s hideously expensive. And the stock he had stashed away in the high school’s freezer had met with an unfortunate incident earlier in the week. In retrospect, perhaps it had been unwise to use the high school’s freezers instead of just purchasing one for his home. At the time had seemed silly to have a freezer just for his cat’s food.

Of course, expense would typically be no issue for Vlad. Unfortunately all exports from this particular place were banned. For political reasons.

“War crimes, pah!”

Vlad had not yet found a way to overshadow people over the phone, and all legal attempts at procuring this delicacy had been unsuccessful. Oh well. It’s not as if he was unused to less than legal tactics. With that in mind, he began to dial the number of a man who owed him a favor.

. . .

“Hey, Danny, Vlad’s been really quite lately, hasn’t he?” Tucker asked. It was lunchtime at Casper High, where he and Sam were poking unenthusiastically at their school lunches.

“I guess?” Danny said. In contrast to the others, he was shoveling the food down like he hadn’t eaten in three days and he was worried the food would come back to life and run away.

“Oh, he’s so up to something.” Sam said as she stabbed her wilting salad viciously with a plastic spork. She had no reason to believe Vlad was up to anything at all, but she had to direct her anger somewhere. She was a bit irate at having to eat the school lunch, her well balanced and delicious vegan meal having been rendered inedible from surprise ectocontamination. Their most recent altercation with the Lunchlady had been two weeks ago, but they’d apparently forgotten to clean the fridge made available for lunches students brought from home.

“I mean, for real though.” Tucker continued. “He’s invited some random rich guy from overseas to visit. Giving him a tour of the city, acting all deferential and stuff.”

“So why worry?”

“Because if Vlad is trying to suck up to someone, it’s because he wants something.” Sam pointed out.

“Also because rich people are evil?” Tucker asked.

“I didn’t say that!”

“You didn’t not say that.” Danny teased.

“To be fair, if he’s rich he’s probably evil. Aaaand, if he’s consorting with Vlad he’s definitely evil.”

“Consorting. Using SAT words now Tuck?”

“Guys, can we focus on the issue at hand?”

“Chill Sam, I’ll look more into him later. I just wanted to give you a heads up before we get distracted by that big test on Friday. “

“Maybe Danny can do a fly by of Vlad’s mansion later?”

Danny sighs. “Just what I wanted to do with my Tuesday night, get shot at by Vlad's automated defenses.” He stands up to throw away his trash. The other’s follow him, giving up on their still half full trays.

“It’s a change of pace from being shot at by your parent’s automated defenses?”

“Thanks, Tuck, that makes me feel so much better,” Danny deadpanned as he put his empty tray on the stack by the trashcan. He paused. “Wait, test?”

. . .

“I got a name,” Danny heard Tucker say through the Fenton phones as he hovered over Vlad’s mansion, just out of range of the estates automated defenses. “Ivan Petrovich, Russian businessman, shady as hell, works mostly in exports of… fish?”

“Fish?” Danny repeated.

“Hyperensis Flencheska, also known as the Vologda speckled white fish. Very expensive.”

“Also very endangered.” Sam said. “I shouldn’t be surprised Vlad would stoop so low.”

“Do these fish have any ectoplasmic properties? Are we looking at another blood blossom situation? Am I going to br shitting my brains out from tainted paella?”

“Ew and no, it doesn’t look like it. Apparently its a delicacy though, very tasty.”

“Don’t even think about it Tucker.” Sam said. “Oh I am going to nail Vlad’s ass to the wall for this.” Danny didn’t respond to the glee in her voice. He didn’t have time.

“Ow, fuck!” He said as he felt the sting of an ectoray on his arm. He’d drifted too low in his hovering and set off Vlad’s security system. Cursing, he fled into the city to run a quick patrol. If Vlad wasn’t up to something that would hurt him or his loved ones, he felt safe to leave him to Sam’s tender mercies.

[ejointech]

What is GSM modem and how it works?

A GSM modem is a device that allows electronic devices to communicate with each other over the GSM network. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications, and it is the most widely used cellular network standard in the world.

GSM modem work by connecting to the GSM network using a SIM card. A SIM card is a small, removable card that contains your mobile phone number and other subscriber information. Once the SIM card is inserted, the GSM modem can start sending and receiving SMS messages and data.

GSM modem use a variety of protocols to communicate with the GSM network, including:

SMS (Short Message Service): SMS is used to send and receive text messages.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service): GPRS is used to send and receive data packets.

EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution): EDGE is a faster version of GPRS that can be used to send and receive data at speeds of up to 384 kbps.

GSM modem can be used in a variety of applications, including:

Home automation: GSM modems can be used to control home automation devices, such as thermostats, lights, and security systems, using SMS messages.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication: GSM modems can be used to send and receive SMS messages between machines. For example, an SMS modem could be used to send an SMS message from a vending machine to its owner to alert them that it is running low on stock.

Business messaging: GSM modems can be used to send and receive bulk SMS messages to customers. For example, a business could use an SMS modem to send SMS messages to customers about sales and promotions.

Emergency alerts: GSM modems can be used to send emergency alerts to people in a specific area. For example, a government agency could use an SMS modem to send SMS messages to people in a hurricane evacuation zone to warn them about the storm.

GSM modem are a versatile and affordable way to communicate. They are used in a variety of applications, from home automation to business messaging to emergency alerts.

Here is a simplified explanation of how a GSM modem works:

The GSM modem connects to the GSM network using a SIM card.

The GSM modem sends and receives data and SMS messages using a variety of protocols, including SMS, GPRS, and EDGE.

The GSM modem communicates with other electronic devices using a variety of interfaces, such as USB and serial.

To use a GSM modem, you will need to:

Insert a SIM card from a mobile phone carrier.

Connect the GSM modem to your computer or other electronic device.

Install and configure the necessary software.

Once the GSM modem is set up, you can start sending and receiving SMS messages and data.

[the-blogs-expert]

How SaaS eCommerce Platforms Support Global Expansion for Retail Brands

The restaurant business has also seen a gigantic shift in the way customers interact with service providers, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Most impactful innovations that characterize this transformation include the increased application of SaaS-based self-ordering systems. Such cloud-based platforms make it possible for customers to order from their mobile phones or from any kiosk on-premises with minimal face-to-face interaction with staff, thus making it a safer and less cumbersome experience during dining. Using self-ordering systems allows restaurants to increase productivity while improving the experience of the customer, and therefore, their fulfillment rates and likely return business.

SaaS based self-ordering technologies provide the following operational advantages that come straight to the bottom line of any restaurant operation. Orders are processed rapidly and accurately, as long lines and human mistakes are eliminated by automation. Customers can view menus, make changes, and pay from a variety of devices, thus reducing the need for most turns between servers and patrons. More importantly, these systems integrate with the kitchen and inventory management to track stock quantities in real time. All these translate to faster turnaround times, less food waste, and better staff allocation-all of which free the restaurant operator from servicing but instead to attain optimal service levels.

Furthermore, SaaS-based self-ordering systems are characterized by a number of features concerning customer interaction and satisfaction. Digital menus can be updated in real-time for special promotions, highlighting popular items, or for seasonal offerings to entice customers. Through self-ordering, customers are capable of personalizing their orders and customizing them for their taste without time pressures, thus relaxing the dining encounter. Also, direct access to reordering favorites, giving feedback, and collecting loyalty points keeps the customers. The system is based on the cloud; therefore, it easily integrates with other locations, thus allowing restaurant chains to easily scale up. In a competitive market, the way to better fit into increasing efficiency, improved customer satisfaction, and future-proof restaurant operations is adoption of a self-ordering SaaS system.

[lighthousenewsnetwork]

The world is experiencing an unprecedented cooling trend, with temperatures plummeting faster than a Kardashian's relevance after a cheating scandal. While scientists are scrambling to explain this sudden shift, a chilling new theory has emerged: polar bear selfies. "It appears our furry friends in the Arctic have developed a rather…unfortunate addiction," declared Dr. Penelope Chillyhands, head climatologist at the Institute for Very Important Stuff (IVIS). "We've observed a dramatic rise in polar bear selfie activity documented on a newly discovered social media platform called 'Glaciergram.'" According to Dr. Chillyhands, scientists analyzed billions of blurry polar bear selfies (apparently, even apex predators struggle with good lighting) and discovered a shocking correlation. As the number of selfies increased, global temperatures dipped lower. "[The data] is undeniable," Dr. Chillyhands shivered, clutching a mug of lukewarm cocoa. "Each selfie seems to emit a mysterious 'coolness radiation' that counteracts global warming." Experts believe the polar bear selfie craze began innocently enough. A curious cub with a penchant for pawing at discarded smartphones stumbled upon the wonders of self-documentation. Soon, every ice floe became a runway, and every seal carcass a makeshift selfie stick (although, considering the blubbery texture, perhaps "selfie blub" is a more accurate term). The "science" behind the cooling phenomenon is as bizarre as the trend itself. Apparently, a polar bear's intense focus on capturing their best angle – think "smizing" while balancing on a precariously thin ice sheet – creates a unique quantum entanglement with the Earth's atmosphere. This entanglement disrupts the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gasses, causing them to, well, lose their cool. The unforeseen consequences of the ice age are as dramatic as a Kardashian meltdown. Penguins are now waddling down Miami Beach, demanding fruity cocktails. Palm trees are sporting knitted scarves, and tourists are flocking to the tropics for a taste of the "authentic" Arctic experience (complete with complimentary parkas). Social media platforms, unsurprisingly, remain mum on the issue. Sources speculate Glaciergram is enjoying a surge in "ice-fluencers," with polar bears hawking everything from waterproof mascara to sustainable iceberg-shaped ice trays. We reached out to Glaciergram for comment, but all we received was an automated message offering us a 20% discount on a "Glacier Glow" filter. But here's the real shocker: it's all a hoax. You see, the point isn't the polar bear selfies (although, that mental image is truly terrifying). The point is that climate change is real, and denying it is about as effective as wearing a fishnet stocking as a mosquito net. So, the next time you feel the urge to endlessly document your avocado toast brunch or complain about the weather on Facebook, take a deep breath and consider the polar bears. Maybe put down the phone and write your congressman, or donate to a cause fighting climate change. Because let's face it, a world dominated by selfie-obsessed polar bears sounds way less fun than a healthy planet filled with actual sunshine. Unless, of course, those polar bears are rocking some seriously fire sunglasses. Then, maybe we can make it work. #climatechange #hoax #Humor #iceage #news #polarbear #Satire #selfie

[miosalonvioletsoftware]

7 Essential Benefits of Salon Management Software for Business Growth

In today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, salon businesses must continuously adapt to stay competitive. Traditional ways of managing salon operations, from scheduling appointments to managing staff, can be overwhelming and time-consuming. This is where salon management software comes in, acting as a comprehensive solution to streamline processes and ultimately boost revenue.

Salon management software is more than just a tool to book appointments. It can help elevate your business to new heights by optimizing every aspect of your operations, helping you attract new clients, retain existing ones, and boost overall profitability. Here are the 7 essential benefits of salon management software that can supercharge your revenue and drive business growth.

1. Streamlined Scheduling and Online Bookings

Gone are the days of paper appointment books or endless phone calls to schedule appointments. With salon management software, clients can easily book appointments online, allowing you to accept bookings 24/7. Not only does this improve the customer experience by offering convenience, but it also reduces administrative tasks for your staff.

How it Drives Revenue:

Increased Appointments: Offering online booking options allows your salon to be accessible to customers even after regular working hours, potentially increasing the number of bookings.

Reduced No-Shows: Most salon management software sends automated appointment reminders via email or SMS. This significantly reduces no-shows and last-minute cancellations, helping maintain a steady flow of business.

Filling Gaps: The software can intelligently suggest available slots to clients, allowing you to maximize your day’s schedule without large idle gaps between appointments.

By optimizing your schedule and making the booking process seamless, you can significantly increase the number of clients you see in a day, driving higher revenue.

2. Improved Client Retention Through Personalized Marketing

Marketing automation is one of the most powerful tools salon management software provides. The software collects and stores client data, such as their appointment history, preferred services, and products purchased. Using this information, you can create personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with your clients.

How it Drives Revenue:

Automated Email Campaigns: You can send targeted emails offering special promotions, discounts, or loyalty rewards based on a client's previous purchases. For example, if a client regularly books hair coloring services, you can send them a discount for their next color treatment.

Birthday and Special Occasion Offers: The system can automatically send personalized birthday greetings or special offers during holidays. These thoughtful touches enhance customer loyalty and encourage repeat business.

Referral Programs: Offering referral bonuses or incentives through automated campaigns can help bring in new clients. Satisfied customers are more likely to recommend your salon to friends and family, and a well-managed referral system can boost your client base without significant additional marketing costs.

Retaining clients is often more profitable than acquiring new ones, and personalized marketing ensures you keep your existing clients coming back for more, increasing their lifetime value to your business.

3. Inventory and Product Sales Management

A salon’s retail segment can significantly impact its bottom line. From shampoos and conditioners to skincare products and styling tools, retail sales offer an additional revenue stream. However, managing inventory manually can be a challenge, and under- or over-stocking products can affect profits.

How it Drives Revenue:

Real-Time Inventory Tracking: Salon management software keeps track of your inventory in real time, automatically updating stock levels with every sale. You’ll know exactly which products are your best-sellers and when it’s time to reorder.

Product Recommendations: When checking out, the software can recommend products based on a client’s previous treatments. For example, if a client just had a keratin treatment, the software can suggest purchasing a keratin maintenance shampoo or conditioner.

Sales Reports: The software generates detailed sales reports, showing which products are moving fast and which ones are lagging. You can adjust your inventory and sales strategy based on these insights to ensure you stock items that sell and avoid waste from unsold products.

Effective product sales management can turn your retail section into a profitable part of your business, contributing significantly to revenue growth.

4. Enhanced Customer Experience Through Service Customization

Customer experience is one of the key differentiators in the salon industry. The better you know your clients, the more likely they are to stay loyal. Salon management software allows you to track client preferences, service history, and even personal details, such as birthdays or preferred stylists.

How it Drives Revenue:

Tailored Services: By having access to client profiles and service history, your staff can offer personalized recommendations, whether it's suggesting a new haircut style or recommending a complementary service.

Consistent Experience: Whether a client has been coming to your salon for years or it’s their first time, having their preferences and history at your fingertips ensures they receive a consistent and personalized experience, leading to higher customer satisfaction and repeat visits.

Loyalty Programs: Most salon management systems come with built-in loyalty programs, offering rewards points or discounts based on the frequency of visits or amount spent. Loyalty programs encourage repeat visits and foster long-term relationships with clients.

Providing exceptional customer service tailored to each individual increases customer satisfaction, helping to build trust and, ultimately, more frequent visits and higher spending per visit.

Check out How Online Booking Software Transforms Salons and Spas in Saudi Arabia While Ensuring ZATCA Compliance!

5. Data-Driven Business Insights

Running a successful salon requires more than just great styling skills; it requires smart business decisions. Salon management software provides comprehensive reporting and analytics that offer insights into every aspect of your business, from staff performance to service popularity and revenue growth trends.

How it Drives Revenue:

Performance Tracking: Track which services bring in the most revenue, which staff members are most productive, and which days and times are your busiest. By knowing what’s working and what’s not, you can make informed decisions to optimize your offerings and operations.

Client Retention Rates: See how many new clients return for a second appointment and which services they’re booking most frequently. This helps you understand what keeps clients coming back and allows you to focus your efforts on high-retention services.

Profit Margins: Detailed financial reports help you understand your salon’s profit margins and identify areas where you can cut costs or increase prices to improve profitability.

Data-driven insights empower you to make smart, proactive decisions that keep your business on the path to growth.

6. Optimized Staff Management and Productivity

Managing staff schedules, tracking performance, and ensuring that your team remains productive can be challenging. Salon management software simplifies this process by offering tools for staff scheduling, payroll management, and performance tracking.

How it Drives Revenue:

Efficient Staff Scheduling: The software allows you to schedule your team based on demand. You can easily see when your busiest times are and schedule more staff accordingly, ensuring you always have the right number of employees to meet client demand.

Staff Performance Tracking: Track individual staff performance in terms of services provided, customer satisfaction, and upselling success. This enables you to reward top performers and provide targeted coaching to those who need it.

Increased Efficiency: By automating administrative tasks, your staff can focus more on what they do best—serving clients. When your team is more efficient, they can handle more clients in the same amount of time, increasing overall salon productivity and revenue.

A well-managed and motivated team is critical to driving business growth and maximizing revenue.

7. Mobile Access and Client Convenience

In today’s mobile-first world, customers expect convenience at their fingertips. Salon management software with mobile app functionality allows clients to book appointments, view promotions, and manage their profiles from their smartphones.

How it Drives Revenue:

Increased Bookings: With mobile access, clients can easily book appointments or reschedule on the go. This ensures they can book at their convenience, even during off-hours, increasing the likelihood of securing more bookings.

Customer Engagement: The app can send push notifications for upcoming appointments, new promotions, or available time slots, keeping your clients engaged with your salon.

Faster Checkouts: Some systems allow for mobile payments, making the checkout process quicker and more seamless for clients. A faster, smoother experience increases customer satisfaction and encourages repeat visits.

Providing mobile access not only caters to modern customer expectations but also enhances engagement, leading to more frequent appointments and higher revenue.

Conclusion

Salon management software is an indispensable tool for salon owners looking to grow their business and increase revenue. From streamlining booking processes and automating marketing campaigns to improving staff management and providing valuable business insights, the benefits are clear. By investing in the right salon management software, you can optimize your operations, attract and retain more clients, and ultimately achieve significant business expansion.

If you want to supercharge your salon’s revenue and drive business growth, implementing a salon management system is not just an option—it’s a necessity.

[factoryjet]

Why is order management important for B2B businesses?

In the fast-paced and ever-changing world of B2B commerce, remaining competitive is critical. Businesses are continuously seeking ways to streamline processes, enhance customer experiences, and boost profits. An Order Management System (OMS) is one of the most effective solutions for assisting businesses in meeting these objectives. While many B2B organizations continue to use manual processes or obsolete technologies to manage orders, inventory, and customer relationships, these techniques can quickly become inefficient as a business grows.

So, how is it time for your B2B company to transition to an OMS? In this post, we will discuss the major signals that your firm is ready for a modern, efficient solution, such as an order management system, and how it can improve your business.

What is an Order Management System (OMS)?

An Order Management System is a software platform that manages orders from start to finish, automating the process. This comprises order monitoring, real-time inventory updates, payment processing, shipping and delivery coordination, and customer communication management. An OMS is an essential tool for B2B organizations that frequently receive high numbers of orders, involve several stakeholders, and include specific terminology.

B2B transactions are frequently more complex than B2C purchases, requiring large orders, negotiated pricing, special payment conditions, and multi-channel interactions. An OMS can effectively manage these complications, saving firms time and resources.

7 Clear Signs Your B2B Business Needs an Order Management System

Moving from manual processes or obsolete software to an Order Management System can seem like a significant move. However, if you are having any of the following concerns, you should carefully consider switching.

1. Manual Processes Are Slowing You Down

Many B2B organizations still use manual order processing methods including spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls. While this may work for small numbers, it quickly becomes unsustainable as the business expands. Manually tracking orders, updating inventory, and engaging with consumers is time-consuming, error-prone, and ineffective.

An automated order management system replaces manual processes with optimized workflows that automate critical functions. For example, an OMS may automatically update inventory levels when orders are placed, create invoices, and even notify consumers about the status of their orders. This automation allows your team to focus on more important duties, such as developing relationships with key customers.

2. Inventory Management Is Becoming Complicated

Effective inventory management is critical in B2B operations, as stock levels have a direct impact on order fulfillment and customer satisfaction. If your team is having difficulty keeping track of inventory, or if you're suffering stockouts, overstocking, or discrepancies between actual and reported inventory, these are all red flags.

An order management system offers integrated inventory management capabilities that deliver real-time stock-level updates from multiple warehouses or locations. With real-time data, your team can make better reordering decisions, minimize stockouts, and manage inventory more efficiently. This also ensures that customers can rely on the availability of products when they place orders, improving their experience and increasing loyalty.

3. Inconsistent Order Processing Across Channels

As organizations expand into new sales channels such as e-commerce, direct sales, marketplaces, and distributors, keeping consistent order processing across these platforms becomes difficult. Manually handling multi-channel sales can result in errors such as delayed order fulfillment, inaccurate inventory changes, and inconsistent pricing.

A modern multi-channel order management system integrates all of your sales channels into a single consolidated platform. Whether orders originate from your website, marketplaces like Amazon, or direct sales reps, the OMS synchronizes them in real-time, ensuring correct inventory management, pricing, and fulfillment throughout the process. This lowers errors, increases customer happiness, and ensures that no orders fall through the cracks.

4. Difficulty Scaling Operations

If your firm is expanding but your present systems aren't keeping up, you're probably facing delays and inefficiencies. Scaling without the proper infrastructure can result in backlogs, angry customers, and overworked personnel. An OMS is intended to scale with your company, managing higher amounts of orders, more inventory, and increasingly complicated processes without slowing down operations.

An order management system automates and optimizes workflows, minimizing the need for additional resources and allowing your team to handle a bigger volume of orders. By automating essential operations like order processing, inventory monitoring, and customer communications, you can scale efficiently while maintaining the high level of service that your consumers expect.

5. Inefficient and Error-Prone Order Fulfillment

Mistakes in order fulfillment, such as shipping the wrong goods, experiencing delivery delays, or receiving inaccurate billing, can swiftly undermine customer trust. In a B2B environment, where orders are frequently substantial and important to corporate operations, a single inaccuracy can have serious financial and reputational consequences.

An OMS offers automated order management features that limit the possibility of errors. Integrating with your inventory system ensures that only in-stock items are sold and follow the fulfillment process from beginning to end. Automation can help eliminate human mistakes, ensure on-time deliveries, and even offer customers real-time order tracking.

6. Poor Visibility and Reporting

In a business-to-business setting, decision-makers require accurate data to make informed decisions. If you cannot quickly access reports on sales trends, inventory levels, or customer behaviors, your current system may be limiting growth. Modern order management system (OMS) platforms come with integrated reporting and analytics features that provide real-time insights into your business operations.

With an OMS, you can generate reports on crucial metrics such as sales performance, customer orders, inventory turnover, and order fulfillment times. This level of visibility helps you identify areas for improvement, forecast future demand, and optimize your operations to maximize profitability.

7. Customer Expectations Are Increasing

B2B customers now expect the same level of ease, speed, and openness they experience when shopping online as consumers. If your current system cannot provide these features, such as live order monitoring, automated bills, or customized pricing, you may lose important customers.

An Order Management System enhances the customer experience by providing a smooth, uniform purchasing process across different platforms. Customers can monitor their orders, see real-time product stock, and get automatic updates on their order status. A pleasant, efficient buying experience helps keep customers and promote repeat business.

Benefits of Adopting an OMS for B2B Businesses

Now that we've recognized the signals that it's time to convert to an OMS, let's look at the primary advantages of making the transfer.

Improved Efficiency and Accuracy

Automating the order management process eliminates manual labor, errors, and delays. An OMS guarantees that orders are processed swiftly and precisely, hence increasing overall efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Real-Time Inventory Visibility

With integrated inventory management features, an OMS provides real-time stock-level data, allowing you to make intelligent purchasing, stock replenishment, and order fulfillment decisions. This real-time visibility reduces the likelihood of stockouts and overstocking.

Enhanced Multi-Channel Operations

A multi-channel order management system enables organizations to manage orders from multiple sales channels using a single platform. This enables uniform and precise processing at all touchpoints, lowering errors and increasing efficiency.

Increased Scalability

An OMS grows with your business, allowing you to handle more orders, manage larger inventories, and expand into new sales channels without overwhelming your team or sacrificing quality.

Better Customer Experience

By automating and optimizing order processing, shipping, and communications, an OMS guarantees that customers obtain accurate, timely information and have a pleasant shopping experience. Customers who are satisfied with your service are more likely to return and promote it to others.

Conclusion

Transitioning to a contemporary Order Management System can greatly improve the efficiency, flexibility, and profitability of your B2B company. By automating crucial procedures, enhancing inventory control, and integrating multi-channel operations, an OMS allows businesses to fulfill increasing customer needs and stay competitive in the digital age. If you're facing any of the issues mentioned, it may be the right time to take the plunge and invest in a solution that will set your business up for long-term success.

[robinhoodwithdraw]

How To Sell Your Stocks on Robinhood Immediately?

Understanding how to sell stocks on Robinhood is important if you are new to platform. Robinhood offers a variety of sell orders to allow users to quickly sell stock or sell them with greater control. These include market orders, stop and limit orders, as well fast market orders. Before you begin to sell stocks on Robinhood review your tax situation. Robinhood uses the "first in, first out" (FIFO), method to calculate tax basis and cost basis. This means that your oldest purchases are sold before you buy newer shares.

This method is especially beneficial to long-term investors, as it minimizes taxes in the future. When selling stock, you should also consider the price at which you want to sell it. Market orders are one way to sell your stock at the current market price. This method is fast, but it may also result in you selling your shares for less than what you originally paid. So, let’s begin and learn more about it.

What are the different Types of Sell Orders on Robinhood?

You can choose between several different types of orders when selling stocks through Robinhood:

Market Order: The market order stocks on Robinhood are sold immediately at the current price. If you want to sell stocks and do not know the exact price this can be helpful.

Limit Order: When a stock reaches the stop price, a stop order will trigger a market order. This order type is used to minimize losses or protect profits.

Stop Limit Orders: A stop limit order is like a stop, but it triggers a limit when the stock reaches a certain price. This order allows you to have more control over your selling price, but it may not be executed if the limit is not met.

When to Sell Stocks on Robinhood?

Below mentioned are the tips on when to sell stocks on Robinhood:

Sell stocks once they reach a price target, or when you have achieved your investment goal.

Sell stocks when the financial health of a company is declining or when you are concerned about its future growth.

When the market is down and you want to take advantage of upswing.

How to Sell Stocks on Robinhood?

If you want to sell stocks on Robinhood, you need to follow the steps mentioned below:

Open the Robinhood App on your tablet or phone.

Click on the "Accounts" section in the lower right corner of your screen.

Click the "Trade button" once you are in the stock detail page.

Here you will see a menu with two options, "Buy" or "Sell".

Click on the "Sell." And select the type of order you wish to place.

Enter the number you wish to sell. You can choose to sell your entire stock or a part of it.

Ate last check all the details before you “Submit”

How to Short Sell on Robinhood?

Robinhood does not directly support short selling but it does offer options trading that can be used as a strategy to simulate short-selling. Options trading is a more advanced way to short-sell on Robinhood. It is recommended that only experienced traders attempt this.

FAQ

How do I cash out my stocks on Robinhood?

If you want to cash out stocks on Robinhood, you first sell it.

How to transfer stocks from Robinhood to Fidelity?

To transfer stocks from Robinhood to Fidelity, you need to use the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS).

How long does it take to sell stock on Robinhood?

If a market order has been placed during trading, a stock sale will typically be executed immediately at the current market price. Settlement of the sale typically takes two business day (T+2).

How much does it cost to sell stock on Robinhood?

You don’t need to pay any charges for selling stocks on Robinhood.

[tillyspamanagamentsoftware]

Simplify Your Salon's Workflow with Recurring Appointments: Save Time and Enhance Client Satisfaction

In the fast-paced world of salon and spa management, efficiency is everything. From handling a high volume of client appointments to managing staff schedules and inventory, salon owners often find themselves juggling numerous tasks at once. This is where the power of a well-designed salon booking system comes into play, particularly one that offers the option for recurring appointments.

The Importance of Streamlined Operations

Running a successful salon or spa requires meticulous attention to detail. Every appointment booked, every service provided, and every product sold contributes to your bottom line. However, the administrative burden of managing appointments, especially for regular clients, can quickly become overwhelming. This is where the best salon booking system can make all the difference.

By offering the option for recurring appointments, a salon booking system simplifies the scheduling process for both you and your clients. Clients can book their preferred time slots in advance, ensuring they never miss their regular appointments, while you benefit from a more predictable and organized schedule. This not only reduces the time spent on administrative tasks but also helps you manage your staff’s workload more effectively.

How Recurring Appointments Reduce Administrative Tasks

One of the most significant advantages of using the best salon booking software with recurring appointment features is the reduction in manual work. Traditionally, booking regular appointments for clients would require multiple phone calls, emails, or manual entries into a calendar. This process is time-consuming and prone to errors, such as double-bookings or missed appointments.

With a salon booking system that supports recurring appointments, all of this can be automated. Once a client’s recurring appointment is set up, the system automatically reserves their preferred time slot on a regular basis—whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. This means fewer calls and emails for you to manage, and less risk of human error. Your staff can focus on providing excellent service instead of spending their time on administrative duties.

Enhancing Client Satisfaction with Consistency

Consistency is key to client satisfaction, and recurring appointments play a crucial role in maintaining that consistency. Clients who regularly visit your salon or spa are likely to have preferred times, days, and stylists. By setting up recurring appointments, you ensure that your clients can secure their favorite slots without the hassle of rebooking each time.

This level of convenience is a significant value-add for your clients. It shows that you’re attentive to their needs and committed to providing a seamless experience. When clients know that their preferred appointments are locked in, they are more likely to remain loyal to your salon, leading to higher retention rates and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

The Predictability of Recurring Appointments

For salon and spa owners, recurring appointments offer the added benefit of predictability. Knowing in advance which clients will be coming in and what services they’ll be receiving allows you to plan your resources more effectively. This means you can manage staff schedules more efficiently, ensuring that you have the right number of stylists, therapists, or technicians available at the right times.

Moreover, predictable schedules enable better inventory management. If you know that a certain client comes in every month for a particular treatment, you can ensure that you always have the necessary products in stock. This reduces the risk of running out of essential items and helps you manage your budget more effectively.

Leveraging Technology to Simplify Your Workflow

The best salon booking software doesn’t just make recurring appointments possible; it also integrates seamlessly with other aspects of your business operations. For example, many salon booking systems come with features like automated reminders, online payment processing, and detailed analytics. These tools work together to create a cohesive, efficient system that simplifies your workflow from start to finish.

Automated reminders are particularly valuable in reducing no-shows. When clients receive a timely reminder about their upcoming recurring appointment, they’re less likely to forget or cancel at the last minute. This ensures that your schedule remains full and your revenue consistent.

Marketing Opportunities with Recurring Appointments

Another advantage of recurring appointments is the opportunity to engage in targeted marketing. With a salon booking system that tracks client preferences and appointment history, you can tailor your marketing efforts to specific groups of clients. For instance, you can offer special promotions or discounts to clients who book recurring appointments, incentivizing them to commit to regular visits.

You can also use this data to cross-sell or upsell services. If a client regularly books a haircut, you might suggest a color treatment or a deep conditioning service at their next appointment. By offering personalized recommendations based on their recurring appointment history, you can increase your average ticket size and enhance the overall client experience.

Conclusion: The Future of Salon Management

Incorporating recurring appointments into your salon’s workflow is more than just a convenience—it’s a strategic move that can transform your business. By using the best salon booking system, you can reduce administrative tasks, ensure consistency in your services, and enhance client satisfaction. The predictability and efficiency gained from recurring appointments allow you to focus on what truly matters: providing exceptional service and growing your business.

As the salon and spa industry continues to evolve, staying ahead of the curve with advanced technology solutions is crucial. By embracing the best salon booking software and leveraging features like recurring appointments, you can streamline your operations, boost client loyalty, and ultimately, increase your profitability. It’s time to simplify your workflow and take your salon business to the next level.

Get Started with MioSalon!

Simplify your salon operations, accept diverse payment methods and boost client convenience with MioSalon. Our salon software offers everything you need in one place, making it easy to manage, optimize and automate your salon with minimal clicks.

Book your free demo today and discover how we can transform your bridal salon business!

Book Your Free Demo

[salonsoftwarebenny]

Simplify Your Salon's Workflow with Recurring Appointments: Save Time and Enhance Client Satisfaction

In the fast-paced world of salon and spa management, efficiency is everything. From handling a high volume of client appointments to managing staff schedules and inventory, salon owners often find themselves juggling numerous tasks at once. This is where the power of a well-designed salon booking system comes into play, particularly one that offers the option for recurring appointments.

The Importance of Streamlined Operations

Running a successful salon or spa requires meticulous attention to detail. Every appointment booked, every service provided, and every product sold contributes to your bottom line. However, the administrative burden of managing appointments, especially for regular clients, can quickly become overwhelming. This is where the best salon booking system can make all the difference.

By offering the option for recurring appointments, a salon booking system simplifies the scheduling process for both you and your clients. Clients can book their preferred time slots in advance, ensuring they never miss their regular appointments, while you benefit from a more predictable and organized schedule. This not only reduces the time spent on administrative tasks but also helps you manage your staff’s workload more effectively.

How Recurring Appointments Reduce Administrative Tasks

One of the most significant advantages of using the best salon booking software with recurring appointment features is the reduction in manual work. Traditionally, booking regular appointments for clients would require multiple phone calls, emails, or manual entries into a calendar. This process is time-consuming and prone to errors, such as double-bookings or missed appointments.

With a salon booking system that supports recurring appointments, all of this can be automated. Once a client’s recurring appointment is set up, the system automatically reserves their preferred time slot on a regular basis—whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. This means fewer calls and emails for you to manage, and less risk of human error. Your staff can focus on providing excellent service instead of spending their time on administrative duties.

Enhancing Client Satisfaction with Consistency

Consistency is key to client satisfaction, and recurring appointments play a crucial role in maintaining that consistency. Clients who regularly visit your salon or spa are likely to have preferred times, days, and stylists. By setting up recurring appointments, you ensure that your clients can secure their favorite slots without the hassle of rebooking each time.

This level of convenience is a significant value-add for your clients. It shows that you’re attentive to their needs and committed to providing a seamless experience. When clients know that their preferred appointments are locked in, they are more likely to remain loyal to your salon, leading to higher retention rates and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

The Predictability of Recurring Appointments

For salon and spa owners, recurring appointments offer the added benefit of predictability. Knowing in advance which clients will be coming in and what services they’ll be receiving allows you to plan your resources more effectively. This means you can manage staff schedules more efficiently, ensuring that you have the right number of stylists, therapists, or technicians available at the right times.

Moreover, predictable schedules enable better inventory management. If you know that a certain client comes in every month for a particular treatment, you can ensure that you always have the necessary products in stock. This reduces the risk of running out of essential items and helps you manage your budget more effectively.

Leveraging Technology to Simplify Your Workflow

The best salon booking software doesn’t just make recurring appointments possible; it also integrates seamlessly with other aspects of your business operations. For example, many salon booking systems come with features like automated reminders, online payment processing, and detailed analytics. These tools work together to create a cohesive, efficient system that simplifies your workflow from start to finish.

Automated reminders are particularly valuable in reducing no-shows. When clients receive a timely reminder about their upcoming recurring appointment, they’re less likely to forget or cancel at the last minute. This ensures that your schedule remains full and your revenue consistent.

Marketing Opportunities with Recurring Appointments

Another advantage of recurring appointments is the opportunity to engage in targeted marketing. With a salon booking system that tracks client preferences and appointment history, you can tailor your marketing efforts to specific groups of clients. For instance, you can offer special promotions or discounts to clients who book recurring appointments, incentivizing them to commit to regular visits.

You can also use this data to cross-sell or upsell services. If a client regularly books a haircut, you might suggest a color treatment or a deep conditioning service at their next appointment. By offering personalized recommendations based on their recurring appointment history, you can increase your average ticket size and enhance the overall client experience.

Conclusion: The Future of Salon Management

Incorporating recurring appointments into your salon’s workflow is more than just a convenience—it’s a strategic move that can transform your business. By using the best salon booking system, you can reduce administrative tasks, ensure consistency in your services, and enhance client satisfaction. The predictability and efficiency gained from recurring appointments allow you to focus on what truly matters: providing exceptional service and growing your business.

As the salon and spa industry continues to evolve, staying ahead of the curve with advanced technology solutions is crucial. By embracing the best salon booking software and leveraging features like recurring appointments, you can streamline your operations, boost client loyalty, and ultimately, increase your profitability. It’s time to simplify your workflow and take your salon business to the next level.

Get Started with MioSalon!

Simplify your salon operations, accept diverse payment methods and boost client convenience with MioSalon. Our salon software offers everything you need in one place, making it easy to manage, optimize and automate your salon with minimal clicks.

Book your free demo today and discover how we can transform your bridal salon business!

Book Your Free Demo

[nailsalonbookingsoftware]

Revolutionize Your Salon: Top Features Every Hair Salon Software Should Have

1. Online Booking System

The cornerstone of any effective salon software is a powerful online booking system. This feature allows clients to schedule appointments at their convenience, 24/7, without the need for phone calls or emails. An intuitive online booking system should offer real-time availability, allowing clients to see open slots and book appointments instantly. It should also send automated confirmation emails or SMS reminders to reduce no-shows and ensure that your schedule runs smoothly.

By offering an online booking option, you not only cater to the needs of your tech-savvy clientele but also free up valuable time for your staff, allowing them to focus more on providing excellent service rather than managing appointments.

2. Client Management and CRM

Your clients are the lifeblood of your salon, and keeping them happy and coming back is crucial for your business’s success. Hair salon software should include a robust Client Relationship Management (CRM) system that allows you to store and manage detailed client information. This includes contact details, appointment history, service preferences, and even notes on specific likes or dislikes.

A good CRM system can help you personalize the client experience by remembering important details like a client’s preferred stylist or their favorite hair products. This level of personalization can enhance customer loyalty and increase the likelihood of repeat visits. Moreover, CRM tools can also be used to send targeted promotions, birthday discounts, or reminders for upcoming appointments, making your clients feel valued and appreciated.

3. Point of Sale (POS) Integration

A seamless Point of Sale (POS) system integrated with your salon software is essential for smooth operations. The POS system should support various payment methods, including cash, credit/debit cards, and mobile payments. It should also be capable of handling split payments and processing tips.

Beyond handling transactions, an integrated POS system can help you track sales, manage discounts, and generate detailed financial reports. This data is invaluable for understanding your salon’s performance, identifying top-selling services or products, and making informed business decisions. Additionally, with the integration of inventory management (which we’ll discuss next), your POS can automatically update stock levels as products are sold, ensuring you never run out of popular items.

4. Inventory Management

Inventory management is often one of the most challenging aspects of running a salon, especially when dealing with a wide range of hair products, tools, and supplies. Hair salon software with built-in inventory management capabilities can simplify this process by automatically tracking stock levels, alerting you when items are running low, and even placing orders with suppliers directly from the system.

This feature not only ensures that you always have the products your clients need but also helps reduce waste and overstocking. With detailed inventory reports, you can identify which products are moving fast and which are sitting on the shelves, enabling you to make smarter purchasing decisions.

5. Staff Management and Scheduling

Managing your team effectively is key to running a successful salon. Your hair salon software should include robust staff management features that allow you to create and manage employee schedules, track work hours, and monitor performance. This feature is particularly useful for salons with multiple stylists and support staff, as it ensures that you always have the right number of staff on hand to meet client demand.

Additionally, staff management tools can help with payroll by automatically calculating wages based on hours worked, tips received, and commissions earned. This not only streamlines payroll processing but also helps prevent errors and disputes.

6. Marketing and Loyalty Programs

In today’s competitive market, retaining clients and attracting new ones requires more than just excellent service—it requires smart marketing. Hair salon software should offer integrated marketing tools that allow you to create and manage email campaigns, send promotional offers, and track the success of your marketing efforts.

One particularly effective marketing strategy is the implementation of loyalty programs. A good salon software should enable you to set up and manage loyalty programs that reward clients for their repeat business. Whether it’s through a points-based system or discounts on future services, loyalty programs can significantly boost client retention and increase the lifetime value of each customer.

7. Mobile App and Client Portal

In a world where convenience is king, offering a mobile app or client portal can set your salon apart from the competition. A mobile app allows clients to book appointments, view their history, and even purchase products directly from their smartphones. For the salon, a dedicated app can serve as a powerful branding tool, keeping your business top-of-mind with your clients.

A client portal, accessible via a web browser, offers similar benefits, allowing clients to manage their accounts, view past services, and rebook appointments with ease. Both of these features enhance the customer experience by providing them with easy access to your services anytime, anywhere.

8. Reporting and Analytics

To make informed decisions and grow your salon business, you need access to detailed insights and data. Salon software should include comprehensive reporting and analytics features that allow you to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue, client retention rates, and staff productivity.

With these insights, you can identify trends, pinpoint areas for improvement, and develop strategies to increase profitability. For example, you might discover that certain services are more popular at specific times of the year, allowing you to adjust your marketing efforts accordingly. Or, you could identify underperforming staff members and provide them with the training they need to improve.

9. Security and Data Protection

In an era where data breaches are all too common, ensuring the security of your clients’ personal information is non-negotiable. Hair salon software should include robust security features such as encryption, secure payment processing, and regular backups to protect sensitive data.

Additionally, the software should comply with relevant data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States. By prioritizing security, you not only protect your business from potential legal issues but also build trust with your clients, who will feel confident that their information is safe in your hands.

Conclusion

In conclusion, investing in the right hair salon software can truly revolutionize your business. From streamlining operations to enhancing the client experience, the features discussed in this blog are essential for any salon looking to thrive in today’s competitive market. Whether you’re just starting or looking to upgrade your existing system, choosing software with these top features will help you stay ahead of the curve, boost client satisfaction, and ultimately, grow your salon business. By leveraging technology to its fullest, you can focus on what you do best—providing exceptional service and making your clients look and feel their best.

Get Started with MioSalon!

Simplify your salon operations, accept diverse payment methods and boost client convenience with MioSalon. Our salon software offers everything you need in one place, making it easy to manage, optimize and automate your salon with minimal clicks.

Book your free demo today and discover how we can transform your bridal salon business!

Book Your Free Demo

[tagx01]

Transform Your Business with Advanced Web Scraping Services

In today data-driven world, information is the new currency. Businesses across all industries are increasingly relying on data to make informed decisions, drive growth, and gain a competitive edge. However, with the vast amount of information available online, manually gathering and processing data is no longer feasible. This is where web scraping services come into play.

Web scraping is a powerful technique that involves extracting data from websites and converting it into a structured format, such as spreadsheets or databases. Whether it's for market research, competitive analysis, price monitoring, or lead generation, web scraping allows businesses to access the data they need, when they need it. In this blog, we'll explore the various applications, benefits, and considerations of web scraping services, as well as how they can transform your business.

Understanding Web Scraping

Web scraping is the automated process of extracting data from websites. This process involves using software tools known as "scrapers" to navigate web pages, identify relevant information, and collect it for further analysis. Scrapers can capture a wide range of data, including text, images, URLs, and even metadata. Once the data is collected, it can be organized into a format that is easily accessible and analyzable.

Applications of Web Scraping Services

Market Research and Competitive Analysis

In today fast-paced business environment, staying ahead of the competition requires a deep understanding of market trends and competitors' strategies. Web scraping services can provide businesses with real-time access to data on competitors' pricing, product offerings, customer reviews, and more. This information can be used to adjust pricing strategies, improve product offerings, and identify new market opportunities.

Price Monitoring

For e-commerce businesses, price monitoring is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge. Web scraping allows companies to track prices across multiple websites, compare them with their own, and adjust pricing strategies accordingly. By regularly monitoring competitors' prices, businesses can ensure they remain competitive and maximize their profit margins.

Lead Generation

Generating high-quality leads is essential for any business looking to grow its customer base. Web scraping can automate the process of collecting contact information, such as email addresses and phone numbers, from websites, directories, and social media platforms. This enables businesses to build targeted lists of potential customers and streamline their outreach efforts.

Real Estate Data Collection

In the real estate industry, data is key to making informed investment decisions. Web scraping services can be used to gather data on property listings, sales history, rental prices, and neighborhood demographics. This data can be analyzed to identify trends, assess property values, and make data-driven investment decisions.

Financial and Investment Analysis

Investors and financial analysts rely on a wealth of online data to make informed decisions. Web scraping can be used to collect data from financial news sites, stock exchanges, company websites, and social media to gain insights into market trends, company performance, and investor sentiment. This information can be used to make more informed investment decisions and minimize risks.

Benefits of Web Scraping Services

Time and Cost Efficiency

Manually collecting data from websites is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Web scraping automates this process, allowing businesses to gather large volumes of data quickly and efficiently. This not only saves time but also reduces the costs associated with manual data collection.

Access to Real-Time Data

In today fast-paced business environment, having access to real-time data is crucial. Web scraping services enable businesses to collect up-to-date information from websites, ensuring they have the latest insights to make informed decisions.

Scalability

Web scraping services are highly scalable, allowing businesses to collect data from multiple websites simultaneously. Whether you need data from a handful of websites or thousands, web scraping can handle the task efficiently.

Customization

Web scraping services can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your business. Whether you need data from a specific industry, region, or type of website, scraping tools can be customized to target the exact data you require.

Conclusion

Web scraping services offer businesses a powerful tool to access and analyze vast amounts of data, enabling them to make data-driven decisions, stay ahead of the competition, and drive growth. From market research and competitive analysis to price monitoring and lead generation, the applications of web scraping are virtually limitless.

However, to truly harness the power of web scraping, it's essential to partner with a trusted provider that understands your unique needs and can deliver high-quality, compliant, and ethical web scraping solutions. That is where TagX comes in.

TagX specializes in providing cutting-edge web scraping services tailored to the specific needs of businesses across various industries. With a commitment to data quality, accuracy, and ethical practices, TagX is your go-to partner for unlocking the full potential of web scraping. Whether you're looking to gain a competitive edge, optimize your pricing strategies, or generate high-quality leads, TagX has the expertise and experience to deliver the results you need.

Partner with TagX today and take the first step towards data-driven success.

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How to Create Effective Delivery Scheduling Software for Jar Suppliers?

Table of Contents

Introduction

Understanding the Need for Delivery Scheduling Software

Key Features of Effective Delivery Scheduling Software

Water Delivery App Development: Best Practices

Challenges in Developing Delivery Scheduling Software

Conclusion

Introduction

Did you know that a well-designed delivery scheduling system can reduce delivery times by up to 30% and boost customer satisfaction by 20%? In the fast-paced world of water jar supply, where timely deliveries are essential, efficient delivery scheduling software is a game changer. Whether you’re a small business or a large-scale supplier, investing in robust Water Delivery Software can significantly streamline your operations and enhance your customer experience.

In this blog, we’ll guide you through the process of creating effective Delivery Scheduling Software specifically tailored for water jar suppliers. From essential features to the development process and potential challenges, we’ve got you covered!

Understanding the Need for Delivery Scheduling Software

The demand for water jars has surged in recent years, making delivery logistics more complex. Traditional methods like phone calls, manual scheduling, and paper logs are not only outdated but also inefficient.

Delivery Scheduling Software automates and optimises these processes, making it easier to manage orders, assign delivery routes, and track deliveries in real-time. For water jar suppliers, this means fewer missed deliveries, better resource management, and ultimately, happier customers.

Key Features of Effective Delivery Scheduling Software

When developing Water Delivery Software, it’s crucial to include features that address the specific needs of water jar suppliers. Here are some key features to consider:

Automated Scheduling: The software should automatically assign deliveries based on factors like driver availability, location, and delivery urgency. This reduces human error and ensures that deliveries are made on time.

Real-Time Tracking: Customers today expect to know exactly when their delivery will arrive. Real-time tracking allows both the supplier and the customer to monitor the delivery status, improving transparency and trust.

Route Optimisation: Efficient route planning can save time and fuel costs. The software should analyse various routes and suggest the most efficient ones, considering factors like traffic conditions and delivery locations.

Customer Notifications: Keeping customers informed about their delivery status is essential. Automated notifications via SMS or email can enhance the customer experience and reduce inquiries about delivery times.

Inventory Management: Integrating inventory management into the Delivery Scheduling Software ensures that stock levels are monitored and updated in real-time, preventing situations where orders are accepted but cannot be fulfilled due to lack of stock.

Driver Management: The software should allow you to monitor driver performance, track their routes, and ensure they adhere to schedules. This not only improves efficiency but also ensures that drivers are accountable for their deliveries.

Integration with Existing Systems: If you already have a system in place for order management or customer relationship management (CRM), the new software should integrate seamlessly, ensuring smooth operations.

Read More: Water Delivery Scheduling Software – Features and Benefits

Water Delivery App Development: Best Practices

Creating a successful Water Delivery App requires careful planning and execution. Here are some best practices to ensure your success:

User-Friendly Interface: The app should be easy to navigate, with a clean and intuitive design. Customers should be able to place orders, monitor deliveries, and manage their accounts effortlessly.

Scalability: As your business grows, so will the number of users and deliveries. Ensure that the app is scalable and can handle increased demand without compromising performance.

Security: Safeguarding customer data must be your highest priority. Implement robust security measures such as encryption, secure payment gateways, and regular security audits to protect sensitive information.

Cross-Platform Compatibility: Your app should be accessible on various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktops. Developing a cross-platform app ensures that all your customers can use the app, regardless of their device.

Regular Updates: Technology evolves rapidly, and so should your app. Regular updates not only introduce new features but also fix bugs and improve performance, keeping your app relevant and efficient.

Customer Support: Provide in-app customer support options such as live chat, FAQs, and contact forms. This ensures that users can easily reach out for help, enhancing their overall experience with your service.

Challenges in Developing Delivery Scheduling Software

While developing Delivery Scheduling Software offers many benefits, it’s not without its challenges. Here are some common obstacles you might face:

Customisation vs. Cost: Customising software to meet specific business needs can be expensive. Balancing the need for custom features with the budget is often a challenge, especially for small businesses.

Integration with Existing Systems: Integrating new software with existing systems can be complex and time-consuming. It requires careful planning and testing to ensure that all systems work together seamlessly.

User Adoption: Getting your team and customers to adopt new software can be difficult, especially if they are used to traditional methods. Providing training and support is crucial to ensure smooth adoption.

Data Privacy and Security: Handling customer data comes with the responsibility of ensuring its privacy and security. Developing software that complies with data protection regulations and implementing security measures is essential.

Maintaining Performance: As the number of users and deliveries increases, maintaining the software’s performance can be challenging. Regular updates and performance monitoring are necessary to keep the software running smoothly.

Conclusion

Creating effective Delivery Scheduling Software for water jar suppliers is a multifaceted process that requires careful planning, development, and ongoing maintenance. By focusing on key features like automated scheduling, real-time tracking, and route optimisation, you can develop software that not only streamlines operations but also enhances customer satisfaction.

Investing in Water Delivery Software or a Water Delivery App can set your business apart from the competition, making it easier to manage deliveries, improve efficiency, and grow your customer base. Whether you’re a small jar supplier or a large-scale operation, the right software can make all the difference in achieving success in the increasingly competitive world of water jar supply.

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Convenience and Savings: The Benefits of Generic Medicine Home Delivery

Cost Savings

One of the most compelling reasons to opt for generic medicine home delivery is the cost savings. Generic medicines are typically much cheaper than their brand-name counterparts, sometimes costing up to 85% less. These savings can be significant, especially for individuals who require long-term medication. By choosing a home delivery service, patients can further reduce costs by eliminating the need to travel to a pharmacy, saving both time and money on transportation.

Convenience and Accessibility

Home delivery services for generic medicines offer unparalleled convenience. Generic Medicine Home Delivery Patients can order their medications from the comfort of their own homes, without needing to visit a pharmacy. This is particularly beneficial for those with mobility issues, chronic illnesses, or busy schedules. Additionally, home delivery services often provide automated refill options and reminders, ensuring that patients never run out of their essential medications.

Enhanced Privacy

Privacy is a significant concern for many when it comes to purchasing medications. Home delivery services provide a discreet way to receive medications, protecting patient confidentiality. The packaging is often plain and unmarked, preventing others from knowing what medications are being delivered. This level of privacy is especially important for individuals taking medications for sensitive health issues.

Improved Medication Adherence

Medication adherence, or the ability of patients to take their medications as prescribed, is crucial for effective treatment. Home delivery services can enhance adherence by offering convenient and timely access to medications. With options for automatic refills and reminders, patients are less likely to miss doses or run out of medication. Improved adherence leads to better health outcomes and can prevent the worsening of medical conditions.

Wide Range of Medications

Generic medicine home delivery services offer a wide range of medications, covering various therapeutic categories. From antibiotics and antihypertensives to medications for diabetes and mental health, these services ensure that patients have access to the medicines they need. The availability of a broad spectrum of medications means that patients can rely on a single service for all their pharmaceutical needs.

Safety and Reliability

Reputable home delivery services for generic medicines adhere to stringent safety and quality standards. They source their medications from licensed manufacturers and ensure that the medicines are stored and transported under appropriate conditions. Many services also offer pharmacist consultations, providing patients with professional advice and support regarding their medications.

Time-Saving

In our busy lives, time is a valuable commodity. Home delivery services save patients the time and effort of traveling to a pharmacy, waiting in lines, and possibly making multiple trips if the medication is out of stock. With just a few clicks or a phone call, Buy Anti-Worm Medicines Online medications can be ordered and delivered, freeing up time for other important activities.

Environmental Benefits

Home delivery services can also have environmental benefits. By reducing the number of individual trips to pharmacies, these services can decrease the carbon footprint associated with transportation. Some services use eco-friendly packaging and offer options for recycling medication containers, contributing to more sustainable practices.