When working in the customer service field, you have to be prepared to negotiate with several customers in order to assure their satisfaction and the success of your company. It is very important to take into account that one of the best ways to keep customers happy and satisfied is by communicating well. Something as simple as a misunderstanding can cause many different issues, but with these tips you will learn how to communicate appropriately with a customer and avoid those!

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Who is a Canadian? What makes a Canadian special? Is it the cold winter months, or is it something in the water? Since I was born here and have lived in over 5 cities in Canada, I’d like to think that I know a thing or two about these creatures we call Canadians. So let’s have a look at what I have dubbed the 5 C’s of being Canadian.

1. Courteousness

Canadians are notoriously apologetic.

You may have noticed this already if you have been using the subway; we love to say “sorry”.

Perhaps owing to this, Canadians have developed somewhat of a reputation for being polite.

Check out this unbelievable story about a Canadian robber who returned to the scene of the crime to apologize!

2. Comicalness

Jim Carrey. Mike Myers. Russell Peters. There are so many famous Canadian comedians; the list goes on and on. Canadians are all over Hollywood. What is the Canadian sense of humour like? If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I would say Canadians tend to be quite a self-deprecating bunch (we often like to laugh at ourselves and don’t take ourselves too seriously). Just have a look at this satirical pie-chart detailing how Canadians spend their workday.

32% of Canadian office workers forgot their indoor shoes today http://t.co/pkAJgS73iB pic.twitter.com/hoedxsv0f5

— Stats Canada (@stats_canada) December 19, 2013

It’s true! Boots take a long time!

3. Communal Communication

Canadians love to talk about the weather! It could be complaining about the bitter cold (more often than not), or simply remarking how sunny it is outside. It’s the way we often make small-talk.

4. Canadian Contrast

Despite being bigger in size, Canada is a nation that is in many ways dwarfed by its neighbour to the south, the U.S.A. If you want to rattle a Canadian, tell one that you don’t see any difference between them and Americans. This is a sure way to get under a Canadian’s skin. It is undeniable that we have many similarities with Americans. Besides sharing a border we also share the same English language (though Canadian English is slightly different) and of course we are hugely influenced by American media. All that being said, Canadians are sensitive about having their own independent identity. Though Canadian culture may only have subtle differences with American culture, it’s somewhat of a national pet peeve to have the two described as indistinct. Whatever a Canadian is, it is definitely not an American!

5. Cultural Diversity

Last but certainly not least. I’m sure you have heard it being said before: Canada is one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world! This is our great strength (and of course hockey). It’s not uncommon, especially in bigger cities like Toronto and Vancouver, to be able to hear five or more languages on the subway or bus. We like to say that Canada is made up of a cultural mosaic and that it is all the different cultures interacting and respecting one another that makes Canadian culture unique and worth celebrating. At its best, Canada is a place where the whole world can mingle, learn and grow together!

There you have it! Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something about Canada and Canadian culture.

Joshua Mover

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The photos are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Gabriela Jandova

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St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner, and just like every year, Toronto is ready to celebrate this fun tradition! There are many things to do depending on your preferences, and here we are going to tell you about some of the most popular and traditional events happening this year!

1. Go to the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade:

Every year since 1987 Irish and Torontonians have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a parade full of colours, costumes, music, floats and much more! Starting at Bloor and St. George and finishing at Nathan Phillips Square, this parade is a great way to celebrate this festivity. Visit http://www.topatrick.com/ for more information.

2. Attend the Shamrock & Sneakers 4K Fun Run:

Bring your friends and help raise funds for the Cabbagetown Youth Centre by registering for this fun run! Special prizes, refreshments and entertainment will be available, and people of all ages will participate! All the funds raised will go towards the centre.

3. Drink a Green Beer (19+):

Something characteristic of St. Patrick’s Day is green beer. In selected pubs, such as Grace O’Malley’s, you can find green beer only on St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t miss this chance!

4. Attend the St. Patrick’s Day Mass:

If you observe the Catholic religion and want to honour St. Patrick, you can attend the St. Patrick’s Day Mass at the St. Michael’s Cathedral, a special celebration which the Irish Ambassador to Canada, Mr. Declan Kelly, attends every year.

5. Party at an Irish Pub (19+):

There is no better way to celebrate the patron of Ireland than at an Irish Pub! In Toronto you can find many Irish Pubs, and these tend to open in the morning during St. Patrick’s Day. Have a good time with your friends sharing and celebrating with the Irish, singing along to traditional music and dancing the night away! It’s also a great opportunity to use Irish Slang.

Gabriela Garcia

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We want to help you be an expert in Irish slang, put these words to use and enjoy this fun festivity!

• Shamrock:

Something very characteristic of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day are clovers, also called shamrocks. This name originated from the Irish word seamróg, and they are a widely known sign for Ireland! They’re considered to bring you luck, especially a four-leaved clover!

            “For the St. Patrick’s Day Party I’m going to paint a shamrock on my face.”

• Lad:

When talking to an Irish person, you might notice they use the word “lad” quite often. With this word they are referring to a male friend or a young man.

            “Tonight I’m going to have some pints with the lads”

• Pint:

One of the first things Irish people do in St. Patrick’s Day is going to a pub and having a pint, which means a 475ml glass of draught beer.

• Craic:

What’s the craic? Meaning “What’s up?” is a commonly used phrase in the Irish communities. Craic means something new, good or entertaining times, so if someone asks you “What’s the craic” they want to know what has been happening in your life lately!

           “What’s the craic John?”

           “Not much, I’m still learning how to play the fiddle!”

• Leprechaun:

If you find the hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you are probably going to find a leprechaun right beside it. A Leprechaun is a fairy creature that appears in Irish tales, described as a short, bearded man dressed in green that has the magical powers of grating wishes, and hides his coins in a pot at the end of the rainbow.

• Stout:

  If someone orders a stout at a pub, it means they want a dark, strong beer made of roasted malts. Stouts are easily found in Irish pubs, breweries and taverns, and they are characterized by being the strongest beer produced.

  “What are you drinking?”

  “I’m drinking a pint of stout.”

• Fiddle:

The Irish name for a violin is a fiddle. In the Irish culture, the fiddle is one of the main instruments used in the creation of folk, the traditional music. You might hear a lot of Irish tunes and folk music in pubs during St. Patrick’s Day.

Gabriela Garcia

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International Women’s day: A Reason to Celebrate Change

March 8th is a very special day because it is International Women’s Day. On this day, people all over the world pay respect to the hard work that women have done and continue to do. The first International Women’s Day was held in New York City on February 28th, 1909. Some 106 years later we continue the tradition.

In that time, a lot has changed. Women’s position in society is much different than it was back in 1906. Women now have much more power in the workforce and in general have much more independence and freedom than they did before. These changes didn’t come without a lot of struggle though. Many women were arrested and harassed for fighting against their male-ruled societies. With these societal changes, so too has the English Language changed.

Let’s have a look at the ways English has made a shift away from male exclusivity and taken a more gender-neutral approach. (Note: Gender-neutral language refers to language that is applicable to both male and female genders)

Taking the “Man” Out of the Job

In Old English (an old version of English that came before modern day English) the suffix man meant “person”. However, in present-day English we associate man more with masculinity. So when someone says fireman, or policeman we generally tend to think that the person doing the job is male. Since there are many females who do these jobs now though, these words are now often seen as out-dated and it is common to see their gender-neutral variations.
As such, instead of fireman it is very common to hear firefighter now. Instead of policeman we often say police officer. Chairman is often now referred to as chairperson or just chair. And instead of salesman you might hear salesperson or sales representative.

Removing the Mark of Difference

Similarly, other jobs which used the suffix “ess” to denote that the person doing the job was female – such as waitress, actress, hostess –are being used less and less nowadays. Though actress and waitress are still quite commonly used, increasingly more and more women are referring to themselves as actors, or waiters or servers. In fact, the Screen Actors Guild gives out awards each year for both “Best Male Actor” and “Best Female Actor”. The idea is that women’s job titles shouldn’t be marked variations from the masculine form (i.e. something is added to the masculine form to make the female form). Because of this, many people in favour of gender- neutral language refrain from using the marked female variations.

The Rise of the Ms.

In addition, changes in the relations between men and women have also lead to a fundamental shift in the way we address one another. Whereas before, women were distinguished by whether or not they were married or single (Mrs. and Miss), today it is much more common to hear woman being addressed with the title Ms. (pronunciation: Miz). When someone is referred to as Ms. we do not know whether they are married or single. With this change, women now have the same privacy that men have enjoyed with the title of Mr. (which is used for both married or single men).

For a more in-depth look at gender-specific titles check out this video:

I hope you found this article informative and had yourself a very lovely International Women’s Day!

Joshua Mover

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Food and Beverage Management is one of the courses at the Service Excellence program. One of its components is based on wine education and meal pairing. It prepares students for an interesting and rewarding career in the hospitality industry, in the area of wine, beverage and food management and sales.
Below are some helpful tips on how to identify various types of wine, pair them with food and enjoy the right wine for any occasion.

• Sparkling Wine

In general, all sparkling wines are bubbly. In some countries we may find them under different names. Sparkling wine is a classic wine choice for parties and celebrations, you can BYOW^[1] to weddings or New Year’s parties. This type of wine is versatile, which means you can pair it with many different types of food.

Some of the names for Sparkling Wine in different countries are:

• Champagne (France)
• Cava (Spain)
• Sekt (Germany)
• Prosecco (Italy)

A tip: Medium sweet sparkling wines are usually served with a main course.

• Table Wine

This kind of wine goes well with almost everything. It is the perfect wine to keep at home for any occasion. This type of wine is mostly dry and that is why it pairs well with most foods. Some table wines are aromatized and you can find added sugar in them.

Popular table wines are:

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Chardonnay
• Port
• Pinot Noir

• Fruit Wine

This wine in particular is made from fruits other than grapes. Fruit wine can also be sparkling and it is a great option for hot summer days. Wine experts recommend serving fruit wine chilled.

Some examples of fruit wine are:

• Apple Wine Cider
• Raspberry Wine
• Blueberry Wine

• Ice Wine

Ice Wine is known for being a very sweet and rich dessert wine. It is fermented ^[2] from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine, and it is recommended that you serve it chilled (1-2 hours in a fridge before serving).

Canada is the largest ice wine producer in the world, as the weather conditions are very suitable for its production. Canadians like to enjoy ice wine on its own after a meal or as an “entrée”.^[3]

A tip: If you want to know more about Ice Wine, visit the Niagara Ice Wine Festival in January!

• Late Harvest Wine

Late Harvest Wine is as sweet as Ice Wine. Late Harvest is a term applied to wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. It is traditionally served with a dessert or fruit pie.

A tip: Try to pair it with goat cheese, figs or your favourite chocolate!

Two popular late harvest wines are:

• Late Harvest Riesling
• Muscat

• Fortified Wine

These wines have a higher alcohol concentration (17-20%). Fortified wine is usually served before a meal or as a dessert wine. Great pairing partners for this wine are cheese or nuts.

Three popular fortified wines are:

• Port
• Sherry
• Marsala

A tip: The easiest way to pair food and wine is to base your choice on the country or region of the wine’s origin. For instance, if you are going to eat pizza or Italian pasta, pick an Italian wine.

^[1] BYOW means “bring your own wine”, which is allowed in some restaurants in Canada, particularly in Quebec.

^[2] Fermentation is a process used to produce wine, beer, yogurt and other products.

^[3] Entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.

Gabriela Jandova

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Preparing for a dinner party can be challenging, especially if it is done in under an hour. I’ve had several experiences in helping people prepare a lunch or dinner party is less than an hour, and I think it is not at all impossible. There are easier ways to do this, and some tips can be found here in this post below. This post provides some tips given by someone who had some experiences in preparing an emergency dinner party.

How to Prepare a Dinner Party in Under anHour – Relish

The enchanting world of photographer and artist Erin Gleeson exists somewhere between this reality and that of a fairytale tea party. In The Forest Feast (Stewart Tabori and Chang, 2014), Gleeson’s most recent project aptly named after her wildly popular blog, she invites readers to take a tumble down the rabbit hole into a new world and enjoy food and entertaining her way—simply, beautifully and deliciously.

Since she is unequivocally gifted in the art of effortlessness, we asked Gleeson to spill the beans on how to manage a hostess’s worst nightmare—throwing together an impromptu dinner party in under an hour. She gleefully agreed, and in the following guide, she details a last-minute gathering requiring minimal effort, and serving up maximum fun. Gleeson even includes a menu of her signature illustrated recipes found in The Forest Feast.

First off, pour yourself a glass of wine, and remember that this is fun! It’s a nice gift to your friends. And if you’re not done getting ready when guests arrive, remember people are always happy to help. Via relish.com

I actually have quite a number of articles and posts I collected in the past days, and I would share them here soon. Please don’t forget to keep yourself updated!

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