'TOP FIVE AQUARIUMS IN NORTH AMERICA'

NATIONAL

TEXAS STATE AQUARIUM NAMED NUMBER 4 IN USA TODAY’S 'TOP FIVE AQUARIUMS IN NORTH AMERICA'

BY| | TAKER

MONDAY 20TH JULY 

With the help of faithful Texas State Aquarium goers and enthusiasts, TSA was able to secure another spot this year as one of America's top five aquariums.

"The Aquarium has been nominated for USA TODAY’s ranking of top aquariums several times in the past and held the spot at #4 from 2019! The Aquarium’s top 5 distinction comes after recently celebrating its 30th Anniversary on July 6, 2020," stated TSA officials.
With the help of faithful Texas State Aquarium goers and enthusiasts, they were able to secure another spot as one of America's top five aquariums.
Throughout the years the Texas State Aquarium has not only become a favorite attraction and a place to educate visitors but is also a place known for its pro-active approach in conservation efforts from the Texas Coast and beyond.
The Texas State Aquarium treats and releases numerous shore birds, as well as sick and injured sea turtles through their Wildlife Rescue Center. Those rescue efforts will expand even further with a new Center for Wildlife Rescue and Research that the Aquarium plans to build on its campus in the next few years, according to officials.
“It is an honor to be named as one of the top aquariums in North America, and the number one aquarium in Texas,” said President and CEO, Tom Schmid.
“We would like to thank all of our dedicated fans, our members, and all those who voted for us. Even in these extraordinarily difficult times, it is a blessing to be able to celebrate an honor such as this.”

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas State Aquarium announced on Thursday, July 17, that it has been named as the #4 Aquarium in North America by USA TODAY, as chosen by online voters.
Officials say the Texas State Aquarium, the largest aquarium in Texas, was nominated by a panel of experts in July for the 10 Best Readers’ Choice Award for Best Aquarium in North America, along with 20 other leading aquariums that, according to the publication, “represent the best in North America for their high-quality exhibits and visitor interactions.”

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SELF-SERVICE IS ABOUT EMPOWERMENT

Today's Self-Service Is About Empowerment — Not Compromise

BY|| TAKER

MONDAY 20TH JULY 

Self-service used to be about saving money by accepting a worse experience. You’d pump your own gas and leave with smelly hands and a still-dirty windshield, but at least you had saved a dollar or two. Instead of having a waitperson describe your options and guide you to the right choice, you’d push your tray through a cafeteria pointing at what you could only hope would fit your taste.

The whole philosophy was based on spartan virtue: You make do with less, pay less and settle for adequacy rather than true satisfaction. It’s time to rethink that mindset. Self-service can be the best experience a customer can get — and it should be.

Digital consumers want to get things done quickly and easily. Whether they’re purchasing a product, applying for a loan or checking their health insurance coverage, their ideal experience is one in which they get the information they need, when they need it, to make the right choice and get clear next steps. The last thing they want is to tie up a morning or afternoon in a phone queue.

American Express reports that more than 60% of Americans ”say that their go-to channel for simple inquiries is a digital self-serve tool such as a website (24%), mobile app (14%), voice response system (13%) or online chat (12%).” According to Forrester, two-thirds of customers say that the most important thing a company can do to provide good service is to value their time such as through easy and effective self-service. Similarly, Gartner, Inc. finds that customer effort is the strongest driver of customer loyalty — a full 40% more accurate as a predictor than customer satisfaction.

Digital technology now makes it possible to meet that expectation. We can deliver exceptional self-service experiences designed around empowerment and convenience, not compromise and settling for less. In fact, as Covid-19 has increased the focus on digital channels, it seems like organizations have made more progress in transforming self-service over the last 10 weeks than in the previous 10 years — and there’s no turning back now. Customers have discovered how easier things can be with a modern approach to self-service. By continuing to drive innovation, companies can keep saving people not only time but also stress and aggravation.

Begin your self-service transformation now.

Once you’ve embraced the concept of a more customer-centric self-service experience, making the evolution can be relatively simple. Start with what you know. Most companies understand that there are points of customer struggle or hesitation in their customer journey — that’s where you should focus your initial efforts. You can find low-hanging fruit by asking agents the top 10 types of calls they get in the contact center. Ask your web analytics teams the top abandonment and drop points in your website and mobile experiences.

Now that you’ve identified the places where assistance could be most useful, you can start introducing proactive digital guidance. Start with a single journey flow, addressing no more than six guidance points. Make sure they’re spread across the funnel—for example, two at the top of the funnel to engage customers when they first arrive, two at the middle to nudge them through the selection process and two at the bottom to help ensure a smooth checkout or submission. Measure the results you’ve achieved and then start transforming another journey flow.

To make customer-centric self-service an efficient and scalable part of your digital strategy, make sure the contextual guidance technology you’re using allows business users to tweak and iterate without IT or coding expertise. It’s important to stay on top of your metrics so you can recognize and address new struggle points as they emerge. Keep analyzing your results to see what’s working best, and use these learnings to drive continuous improvement.

As you make this transformation, it’s important to understand the changing role of self-service in the “new normal” and its implications for the kind of experiences you provide. In the past, self-service was typically optional; people could choose whether or not to use the available digital tools. A tech-savvy banking customer might feel comfortable handling many tasks on a mobile app, but others could always go into a branch for assistance from a teller. Now, far more people have been forced into the digital channel, and in many cases, their level of technological expertise might be significantly lower. That makes it especially important for your self-service experience to be simple and intuitive enough for anyone to use.

Ultimately, the goal should be for the term “self-service” is to become obsolete. Customers shouldn’t perceive digital tools as an option for those willing to settle for less; they should experience it as the most natural, simple and efficient way to complete their business. It’s not a compromise — it’s just a better way of doing things.

Guide — don’t hide — for a better customer experience.

You can’t improve a customer’s experience by pushing them away and hiding behind a self-service wall. Instead, get out in front. Anticipate their needs, empower them with relevant information and guide them to success.

Traditionally, self-service experiences have burdened customers with the kinds of tasks they once had help with — finding information, comparing options, navigating processes for applications and purchases and so on. Meanwhile, representatives become harder and harder to access, often buried in menus or phone trees. This one-two punch of a higher-friction experience with less assistance is hardly going to win customer loyalty.

However, the right kinds of digital technology can make self-service feel empowering, not burdensome, and remove friction rather than increasing it. For example, digital guidance can be used to offer the right kind of help before people need to ask for it, powered by data analytics that provides insight into each step of the customer’s experience. Are they searching for information? Comparing items? Hesitating on the checkout page? By understanding the nature of the customer’s confusion, indecision or friction, you can proactively offer information to help them understand sizing, features, assembly, shipping or whatever else is holding them up.

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Need 1.5 GB Data Per Day? Here's A Comparison Of Jio, Vodafone, Airtel Packs

Industries NDTV Profit Team

Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Bahrti Airtel are offering 4G internet packs with recharge options of as low as Rs 149

Updated : March 07, 2019 14:59 IST

Reliance Jio offers 1.5 GB of internet per day for 28 days with a recharge of Rs 149.

Telecom companies Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel are offering 4G internet recharge packs priced from Rs 149 to their prepaid customers. Aggressive pricing of mobile data by billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm, which forayed into the telecom space in 2016, has led to increased competition in the country's telecom sector. In these 11 recharge options, the telecom companies offer variety of data and voice call benefits over a validity period ranging from 28 days to 365 days, according to their websites.

Here are key features of 1.5 GB-per-day internet packs offered by Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel:

Reliance Jio

Rs. 149 recharge pack: Under Reliance Jio's Rs 149 recharge pack customers can use 1.5 GB of high speed internet for a day along with free voice calls and unlimited SMSes (100 per day) for 28 days, according to the telecom company's website - jio.com.

Rs. 349 recharge pack: Reliance Jio's Rs. 349 recharge pack offers 1.5 GB of high speed data for 70 days along with free voice calls and unlimited SMSes (100 per day).

Rs. 399 recharge pack: Jio's Rs. 399 recharge plan offers 1.5 GB of high speed internet along with unlimited free voice calls and unlimited SMSes service for a period of 84 days.

Rs. 449 recharge pack: Under this recharge pack customer can enjoy high speed internet, unlimited free voice calls, unlimited SMSes for a period of 91 days.

Rs. 1,699 recharge pack: Under this pack Reliance Jio offers high speed internet data along with unlimited free voice calls and unlimited SMSes for a year (365 days).

Subscribers get complimentary subscription to Jio applications, among other benefits, in all these recharge coupons, according to the Jio website. 

Bharti Airtel

Rs 199 recharge plan: Under Bharti Airtel's Rs 199 recharge plan, its customers can use 1.5 GB of 3G/4G internet per day along with free STD and local voice calls, free outgoing and incoming roaming calls, and 100 SMSes per day for a validity period of 28 days, according to the company's website - airtel.in.

Rs 448 recharge plan: By recharging for Rs 448 Airtel subscribers can use 1.5 GB of 3G/4G internet data for a day along with free STD and local voice calls, free outgoing and incoming roaming calls and 100 SMSes per day for a period of a period of 82 days.

Vodafone Idea

Rs 199 Prepaid SuperPlan: Under Rs 199 recharge plan, Vodafone customers get 1.5 GB of 3G/4G internet data per day along with free STD and local voice calls, free outgoing and incoming roaming calls and 100 SMSes for a validity period of 28 days. Vodafone customers also get a 100 per cent cashback if they recharge from mobile app MyVodafone, according to the company's website - vodafone.in.

Rs 458 Prepaid SuperPlan: Under Vodafone's Rs 458 recharge plan, its subscribers get 1.5 GB of 3G/4G internet data for a day, free local, STD and roaming voice calls along with 100 SMSes for a period of 84 days. Vodafone customers also get 100 per cent cashback if they recharge from MyVodafone App.

Rs 529 Prepaid SuperPlan: By recharging for Rs 529 on Vodafone connection, its subscribers can use 1.5 GB of 3G/4G internet data for a day, free local, STD and roaming voice calls along with 100 SMSes for a period of 90 days.

Rs 509 Prepaid SuperPlan: Under Rs 509 recharge plan Vodafone subscribers get 1.5 GB of 3G/4G internet data for a day, free local, STD and roaming voice calls along with 100 SMSes for a period of 90 days. Vodafone customers also get 100 per cent cashback if they recharge from MyVodafone App.

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Jio, Airtel in Its Sights, Vodafone Launches Rs. 597 Recharge With 168-Day Validity

Read in:हिंदी বাংলা

Techenonik  31 August 2018

The new Rs. 597 Vodafone recharge comes with FUP on voice calling

HIGHLIGHTS

• Vodafone offers 10GB data with this new plan
• It offers 168 days validity only to feature phone users
• Unlimited calling comes with an FUP limit as well

Vodafone has been rethinking its prepaid offerings recently to combat the tough competition faced from Reliance Jio, and Bharti Airtel. After introducing the new Rs. 159 recharge, the company has now launched a new Rs. 597 recharge with a validity of 168 days. This plan looks to compete with Airtel's Rs. 597 recharge, so much so, that it even offers the same benefits. However, there are some tweaks that differentiate the Rs. 597 Vodafone recharge from Airtel's, including its separate validity for feature phone and smartphone users. Jio, on the other hand, does not have a recharge with the same validity or data benefits in the market yet.

The new Rs. 597 Vodafone recharge offers 10GB of 4G data, 100 SMS messages per day, and unlimited local, STD, and roaming calls within India. The validity for smartphone users is 112 days, while it offers 168 days of validity only for feature phone users. Furthermore, the telecom operator has an FUP on unlimited calling at 250 minutes per day, 1,000 minutes per week, and calling is limited to only 100 unique numbers during the validity period. This plan is valid in all 4G circles across India, and is live on the app and website as well.

Airtel, on the other hand, is offering 10GB data, 100 SMS messages per day, and unlimited calling without any FUP for 168 days, for smartphone users. The price of this Airtel recharge is also Rs. 597, and it is not known whether more validity is offered to feature phone users or not. This plan is only available in select regions. Both Airtel and Vodafone's plans look to compete with Jio's Rs. 999 recharge that offers unlimited voice calling and 100 SMS messages per day benefits as well. However, the Jio plan comes with 90 days validity, but offers a total of 60GB 4G data. Also, the Jio plan is available in the open market. 

If you're looking for a lower priced prepaid plan, then the recently launched Rs. 159 plancomes with 28 days of validity. It offers 28GB of data, unlimited voice calling (same FUP as above), and 100 SMS messages per day for a validity of a month. The 28GB data benefit for 28 days amounts to 1GB per day. Also, Vodafone is offering different SMS benefits in different circles - in some it offers 100 SMS messages per day, in some it offers 100 SMS messages for the plan, and some it doesn't provide any SMS benefits at all.

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Jio 49 vs Airtel 47 vs Vodafone 47: Pocket Friendly Prepaid Recharge Plans Compared For Offers

We compare the cheap recharge plans by three major telcos in India - Jio, Vodafone, and Airtel.

By

 Techenonik 

 -

August 5, 2018

0

    

Like we always iterate, Jio has changed the landscape of Indian telecom industry. So much so that its competitors have taken up the challenge to challenge some of its cheapest. Playing at the forefront of the battleground are telcos like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. Jio’s Rs. 49 plan has been a blockbuster hit among its subscribers and now other telcos have also started adding similar plans for their subscribers. Vodafone recently launched Rs. 47 prepaid recharge packs while Airtel already had identical plans for its prepaid users. In this article, we will list Rs. 47 plans by these telcos.

Jio Rs. 49 Prepaid Recharge Plan: Validity, Data, Benefits

Jio’s Rs. 49 plan is limited to Jio Phone users only. This plan comes with 1GB of 4G data, unlimited local and STD voice calling (VoLTE calls), and up to 50 SMSes free. The validity of this pack is 28 days. Additionally, this plan also grants access to a slew of Jio apps. After reaching FUP limit of data available in the pack, the speed gets compromised to 64Kbps. Although Jio’s plan is better than other similar priced plans by other telcos, its biggest shortcoming is that it is only valid for the Jio Phoneusers. If you have a Jio SIM and do not have a Jio Phone, then you won’t be able to avail Rs. 49 prepaid plan.

Vodafone Rs. 47 Prepaid Recharge Plan: Validity, Data, Benefits

Vodafone recently refreshed its Rs. 47 recharge pack. The new Rs. 47 prepaid recharge plan now offers 125 minutes of local and STD voice calls, up to 50 local and national SMSes, and 500MB of 3G/4G data. The validity period for the pack is 28 days. It’s worth noting that the same pack costs Rs. 48 in select circles like Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Besides, the same pack comes with 1GB of 3G/ 4G data in circles like Bihar and Jharkhand. For circles like Chennai, Chhattisgarh, Kolkata, and Madhya Pradesh, it includes talktime of up to 150 minutes.

Previously, the Rs. 47 pack included 1GB of 3G/ 4G data and was valid for only a day. It also didn’t include SMS or voice calling benefits. With the refreshed plan, it seems like Vodafone is trying to satisfy users with different interests in benefits like data, validity, voice calling, and SMS. The new Rs. 47 plan is a mix of all the benefits, of course, it may not appeal the users who just wanted 1GB data for a day, but for the ones who don’t have high data consumption, the new plan should be appealing.

Airtel Rs. 47 Prepaid Recharge Plan: Validity, Data, Benefits

Bharti Airtel’s Rs. 47 plan is a lot like Vodafone’s Rs. 47 plan. It also offers 150 minutes of local and STD voice calls, up to 50 local and STD SMSes, and 500MB of 3G/ 4G data. The validity period for this plan is 28 days. Airtel launched Rs. 47 plan to get in league with Vodafone and Jio. Similar to Vodafone, Bharti Airtel also introduced this plan to woo the users who want a chunk of every benefit.

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Jio Effect: Airtel Rs. 499 Postpaid Plan Now Offering 75GB of Data

Techenonik , 10 July 2018

The Airtel Rs. 499 plan used to provide 40GB of data to subscribers before this revision

HIGHLIGHTS

• Airtel's Rs. 499 plan now offers 75GB of 3G/ 4G data
• The plan also offers unlimited local and STD calls
• It appears to be available to select users in some regions

Airtel has reportedly revamped its Rs. 499 postpaid plan to offer 87.5 percent more data to its subscribers. The Airtel Rs. 499 plan falls under the 'Best Selling Postpaid Plans' under MyPlan Infinity that also has other offerings worth Rs. 399, Rs. 649, Rs. 799, and Rs. 1,199. To recall, the telco had recently revamped its plan worth Rs. 649 to offer 90GB of data. While the other plans remain unchanged, the refreshed Rs. 499 plan is said to now offer 75GB of data to postpaid subscribers. Previously, the same Airtel plan offered 40GB of 3G/ 4G data to its customers. For comparison, Jio only has one postpaid plan worth Rs. 199 that offers 25GB data to its subscribers.

Under the new Airtel Rs. 499 plan, apart from the 75GB of data per month, the revamped offer is said to include 100 SMS messages, unlimited voice calls, even on outgoing while roaming, and without any FUP limit, reportsTelecomTalk. This postpaid plan is said to provide 3G/ 4G data with rollover facility up to 500GB, meaning the unused data of one month gets added on to the next one.

Additionally, the Rs. 499 pack reportedly also comes with a few other benefits that remain the same as before. Airtel subscribers can avail a one-year subscription to Amazon Prime. The Rs. 499 unlimited plan is said to also come with Wynk TV subscription, access to its library of Live TV and Movies, and Handset Damage Protection.

Notably, the revamped Rs. 499 plan appears to be available to select users in some regions. We can expect a wider rollout in the coming days. Meanwhile, as mentioned, the other postpaid plans remain unchanged, but we can expect Airtel to refresh the lineup with additional data benefits.

In terms of offers from competitors, Vodafone recently revamped its Red postpaid planspriced between Rs. 399 and Rs. 2,999, to provide unlimited calls and more data to its subscribers. Under the new plans, users will get up to 300GB of data, Netflix and Amazon subscriptions, and more. The telco also announced a new Rs. 299 Red Basic postpaid plan that comes with 20GB of data.

For comparison, Jio's Rs. 199 postpaid plangives the user a total of 25GB 4G data, free unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS messages, and complimentary access to Jio's entire suite of apps for a standard bill cycle. Users can avail additional data at Rs. 20 per GB for the next 500GB. This plan entails a security deposit of Rs. 250 which is 100 percent refundable, and Jio Prime membership worth Rs. 99.

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Jio vs Airtel vs Vodafone vs BSNL vs Idea: Best Postpaid Plans with Unlimited Offers Compared

By

 Techenonik 

 -

July 1, 2018

0

    

With the fast pace war being instigated across leading telecom companies in terms of data offers and other related benefits. Since the last few months, offers have been given in various means; some for Internet data, some for prepaid connections, and some for validity period. Now, the new season of offers are targeting postpaid customers. Treating the postpaid customers with offers and discounts are now being done by telecom companies one after the other. Discussed below is the brief study of the affordable postpaid plans offered by the leading telecom companies.

Bharti Airtel:

Bharti Airtel is currently the largest telecom network of the country with the highest subscriber base. Both prepaid and postpaid offers are Airtel are equally popular, and this popularity has always made Airtel stand above other networks. The popular postpaid plans of Airtel network are Rs 399 and Rs 499. In both these plans, the call benefits and message benefits remain the same. They offer unlimited free local, STD, and national calls at free of roaming costs along with 100 free SMSs per day. Only the data plan changes with both the plans. Rs 399 plan offers 20GB Internet data and Rs 499 plan offers 40GB Internet plan. These postpaid plans come with data rollover to carry over the unused data for next month’s usage. The data is offered for a period of one month.

Reliance Jio:

Reliance Jio offers its postpaid plan at a cost of Rs 199. Under this plan, Jio offers 25GB Internet data a month along with other common call and message benefits. Jio provides an added advantage of ISD call subscription with this plan. The international calling option is pre-activated with this plan, and it does not require a deposit to activate ISD calling; a simple one-tap touch is enough for the activation of this facility. Sadly, the network is not offering data rollover option, unlike Airtel. However, like any other Jio recharge, this plan also offers free access to Jio-dedicated apps such as MyJio, JioMusic, Jio TV etc.

BSNL:

The popular postpaid plan of BSNL is offered at Rs 499. This plan offers 45GB Internet data for the one-month period. Although the plan offers benefits like unlimited national calls without FUP limit and 100 free SMSs per day, there is no data rollover is available with this plan. There are no other benefits offered along with this plan, like any other telcos.

Vodafone:

Similar to Airtel, Vodafone also offers two popular postpaid plans at a cost of Rs 399 and Rs 499. However, the data benefits that come under these plans are not the same as the latter-mentioned telco. Vodafone’s postpaid plan of Rs 399 gives 40GB of Internet data and Rs 499 plan offers 75GB data per month with data rollover benefit up to 200GB along with other usual benefits. The usual benefits include call and message benefits that are similar to all other networks.

Idea Cellular:

Idea’s popular postpaid plan comes at a cost of Rs 389. This plan provides with 20GB Internet data a month along with other benefits. The call benefits allow unlimited local, STD and national calls without roaming charges and 100 free SMSs per day. The recharge done with Idea allows access to its suite of apps that entertain its customers with music, movies, and gaming experiences. Along with it, a free subscription to Idea music, movies, and games for a period of twelve months comes along with the subscription pack.

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