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All State Van Lines Relocation Devotes a Full Week to Customer Service Staff

September 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

All-State-Van-Lines-Relocation-CustomerServiceStaff1All State Van Lines Relocation is a moving brokerage firm based in Margate, Florida, that coordinates residential and corporate moves and relocations for long-distance moves, nationwide. In this interview, All State Van Lines Relocation describes their Customer Service Appreciation Week to celebrate employees.

Interviewing Experts: We understand you all did something a little unusual recently?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Yes, we decided to take a little time away from the hectic pace of the moving industry to show appreciation to our employees.

Interviewing Experts: You wouldn’t get too far in the moving industry without your employees, right?

All State Van Lines Relocation: That’s for sure. Each All State Van Lines Relocation employee has to go through a rigorous training process, and we just wanted to show our appreciation for their hard work.

Interviewing Experts: Did you have a theme?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Yes, we called the weeklong activities “Be the One” and came up with a full week of fun events to get the staff involved and build company spirit.

Interviewing Experts: Was it just for customer service employees?

All State Van Lines Relocation: No, the whole company took part, but customer service is the heart of All State Van Lines Relocation—the folks who greet customers, take phone calls, and handle emails. And even though it also happened to be International Customer Service Week, we tried to give it a unique spin.

Interviewing Experts: What kinds of things did you plan?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Monday started off with a free continental breakfast. Everybody enjoyed the pastries, waffles and eggs.

Interviewing Experts: And Tuesday?

All State Van Lines Relocation: The next day we challenged the employees to see who could wear the nuttiest, most outlandish hat. People really went for it and the building was filled with folks wearing all kinds of goofy headgear.

Interviewing Experts: We heard there was a big All State Van Lines Relocation Sports Day?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Right! On Wednesday everybody got to brag on their teams as they were invited to wear their favorite team jersey. People really got into it.

Interviewing Experts: And you still had two more days to celebrate?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Thursday was Wacky/Tacky Day when everybody wore bright, mismatched outfits, and Friday was Department Color Day. For that event, each department within All State Van Lines Relocation was assigned a certain color to wear. The customer service department got the award for Most Coordinated because they all looked so swanky in black.

Interviewing Experts: And some things lasted all week, right?

All State Van Lines Relocation: We incorporated daily raffle prizes, different word games, and an essay competition.

Interviewing Experts: Why did you go to so much effort?

All State Van Lines Relocation: Our primary goal is to attain the highest level of customer satisfaction, and we’re aware that can’t happen unless our employees feel secure and content in their jobs.

Interviewing Experts: And that builds a happier team, I’m sure.

All State Van Lines Relocation: Right. This is the type of event where we got to mix with our employees in a different way and reestablish that bond that makes All State Van Lines Relocation so successful.

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Personal Case Prompts Pharmacist to Start Madison Pharmacy Associates

January 2, 2012 By 8 Comments
Madison Pharmacy Associates

Madison Pharmacy Associates

While working at a local Madison pharmacy in the late 70s, Marla Ahlgrimm and one of her pharmacist colleagues identified a syndrome of symptoms that affected several of their female patients severely.  These symptoms occurred regularly, every month from day 14 or ovulation, to  day 28 or the onset of menstruation. At the time, there was no known cause or treatment options  to successfully manage these symptoms. Although Ahlgrimm would eventually identify the symptoms as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), it would still be years before the term “PMS” became widely used in the United States. In the meantime, Marla Ahlgrimm co-founded Madison Pharmacy Associates in 1982, a Madison, Wisconsin based practice where they counseled women on health issues and dispensed customized, natural hormone prescriptions for women.

Madison Pharmacy Associates was the first pharmacy in America to identify and develop treatment options for premenstrual syndrome in the U.S., which is estimated to affect more than 40% of all women between the ages of 14 and 50. With over 150 symptoms reported, PMS includes irritability, anxiety, crying for no reason, cravings for sweets, fluid retention, headaches, depression, and fatigue. Using natural progesterone therapy, Madison Pharmacy Associates was able to help many patients and their doctors manage symptoms without the use of tranquilizers or antidepressants. Progesterone is the most commonly prescribed medication for PMS, according to Madison Pharmacy Associates’ Ahlgrimm. Madison Pharmacy Associates dispensed progesterone in capsule, tablet, suppository, and transdermal cream dosages, individually compounded for each patient.

In addition to customized hormone therapy, the expert staff at Madison Pharmacy Associates counseled patients on self care options including diet, exercise changes and the use of specific nutritional supplements that can make a difference in managing PMS. “65% of patients were able to manage severe symptoms with self care alone, without the need for prescription therapy” Madison Pharmacy Associates co-founder Marla Ahlgrimm says.

Madison Pharmacy Associates provided prescriptions to PMS sufferers throughout the country. Madison Pharmacy Associates offered toll-free 800 lines to field women’s health questions and help them find knowledgeable doctors to work with.

Madison Pharmacy Associates also provided PMS  information and education to any women who called. “It created anonymity, which helps when you’re talking about the menstrual cycle or personal symptoms,” Madison Pharmacy Associates’ Ahlgrimm says.

Madison Pharmacy Associates grew from its original 700-square-foot pharmacy to 17,000 over 30 years but the mission of its co-founder to always put patients first remained the same. Over the years, Madison Pharmacy Associates has helped more than 300,000 women with symptoms related to premenstrual syndrome, perimenopause, and menopause.

The information in this article has been previously published and is provided as a reference resource by Marla Ahlgrimm, R.Ph. The businesses referenced above were sold in 2011. Marla Ahlgrimm is also the co-founder and President of Cyclin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company sells proprietary products for the women’s health market as well as ProCycle PMS and ProCycle Gold products. For more information, go online to www.cyclinpharma.com

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Pharmacist Marla Ahlgrimm Answers Your Questions

January 2, 2012 By 8 Comments
Marla Ahlgrimm

Marla Ahlgrimm

A pioneer in the field of hormone therapy (HT), Marla Ahlgrimm has helped more than 300,000 women manage their symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), perimenopause, and menopause. Marla Ahlgrimm, founder and CEO of Women’s Health America, receives many questions from women and will answer several of the most common ones.

Q: What is a natural or bioidentical hormone?

Marla Ahlgrimm: When choosing between hormonal medications, a woman and her doctor must select between hormones that are natural or bioidentical and those that are synthetic. A natural or bioidentical hormone is identical – has the same chemical structure – to those hormones naturally produced by a woman. These may include estradiol, estrone, estriol, progesterone, and testosterone. In contrast, synthetic hormones are similar to, but not identical chemically to those produced naturally by a woman. These include oral contraceptives, Provera, Premarin, and Estratest to name a few. A woman doesn’t naturally produce the hormones found in oral contraceptives for example, explains women’s health expert, Marla Ahlgrimm.

“A ‘natural’ hormone does not mean that it is an unregulated, organic product purchased in a health food store either,” Marla Ahlgrimm, co-founder of Madison Pharmacy Associates in Madison, Wisconsin, says. “In fact, ‘natural’ prescription hormones are manufactured by FDA approved pharmaceutical companies.”

Slight chemical differences between natural and synthetic hormones can have substantially different effects in a woman’s body. Pharmacist Marla Ahlgrimm tells her patients, “it‘s more important than ever to understand the differences before beginning hormone therapy”.

Q: What Does Micronized Progesterone Mean?

Marla Ahlgrimm: Progesterone is the hormone of pregnancy and the word means “for gestation.” Progesterone is produced cyclically, 2 weeks out of every month. If pregnancy doesn’t occur, the progesterone level falls and menstruation begins. Micronized describes the size of the particles of progesterone found in pharmaceutical progesterone capsules or tablets. Pharmaceutical companies micronize progesterone particles for better oral absorption. Pharmacists use micronized progesterone powder to formulate customized progesterone dosages for women.

Q: How is Hormone Therapy administered?

Marla Ahlgrimm: Hormones can be administered in a variety of ways. Depending on the hormone, options include transdermal skin patches like Climara or Vivelle for estradiol, transdermal creams, vaginal tablets or creams, oral capsules and sustained release progesterone tablets. Each route of administration is specifically selected by a woman and her physician, according to Marla Ahlgrimm, a licensed pharmacist.

Q: What types of natural estrogen are there?

Marla Ahlgrimm: Estrogen is a general term referring to a category of hormones which include estradiol, estrone, and estriol.   Marla Ahlgrimm has found that many women are surprised to learn there are natural estradiol preparations commercially manufactured and readily available. Brand names include Estrace tablets, Climara, Vivelle patches and Estraderm cream. When hormone therapy is needed, your doctor will likely prescribe a specific hormone or combination that works best for your particular situation, Marla Ahlgrimm, founder of Women’s Health America, concludes.

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