Three in Five Workers Admit Yelling at Computer

DENVER, Dec 19, 2011 – In a nationwide survey, three-in-five U.S. workers who are not IT professionals or C-level executives said they have caught themselves yelling at their computer screen because of frustration with the software they were using.

Additionally, despite the difficult job market, 18 percent of the survey respondents admitted they have actually wanted to quit their jobs because of frustration with software programs.

These and other results are from a new survey sponsored by TrackVia, makers of a highly flexible platform that allows non-technical business users to easily design and build their own applications.

Survey shows IT hiring expected to rise in 2012

MENLO PARK, Calif. – Technology executives expect information technology (IT) hiring to continue in the first quarter of 2012, according to the just-released Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report (http://rht.mediaroom.com/ITHiringIndex). In the latest quarterly survey, 20 percent of chief information officers (CIOs) said they plan to expand their IT departments, and 10 percent expect cutbacks, for a net 10 percent projected increase in hiring activity. This is up four points from the previous quarter’s projections.

The IT Hiring Index and Skills Report is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the United States with 100 or more employees. Executives are asked whether their companies plan to increase or decrease the number of full-time IT personnel on their staff during the coming quarter. The survey is conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis. Robert Half has been tracking IT hiring activity in the United States since 1995.

Survey Shows Retailers Need to Meet Demand for Online Shopping Experience, or Risk Losing Revenue

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – New research from Brocade across Europe and Middle East shows that just over 86 percent of consumers use their mobile device including smartphones or tablets to do their holiday shopping and nearly 70 percent of these respondents are only prepared to wait a maximum of 20 seconds for a web page to load before going to another retailer.

This suggests a strong shift in consumer expectations regarding service quality and changing habits in online shopping – making way for a mobile commerce boom and the need for service providers to step up to the plate and offer services to match, while coping with fluctuating seasonal demands.

Small Business Owners put business before health

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Despite a year filled with economic instability, a majority of small business owners (72 percent) say 2011 was a successful year for their company– and new data shows new business activity saw a boost, too. According to the latest Manta SMB Wellness Index, new business activity was up more than 12 percent in the third quarter of 2011, compared to the same time last year.

The Manta SMB Wellness Index is a quarterly index on the state of small business released by Manta, the largest online community dedicated entirely to small business. The index examines nationwide data collected from multiple business resources and takes a “pulse” of small business owners on hot topics. Manta’s latest survey polled more than 1,000 small business owners about their feelings on the 2011 small business landscape, predictions for 2012 and how their business is impacting their personal well being.

Good Customer Service is Key to Capturing Holiday Shoppers

SAN FRANCISCO, – A new study released today by MarketTools, Inc., the leader in software and services for enterprise feedback management (EFM) and market research, revealed that providing a good customer experience, bolstered by good customer service, is do-or-die for retailers this holiday shopping season. According to the study, 60 percent of consumers said they shop more often at certain online sites because of a good shopping experience marked by good customer service, and 50 percent of shoppers said they shop more often at specific retail stores because of the good customer experience they offer.

Possibly more telling, 29 percent said they have stopped shopping at a specific retail store because of a bad shopping experience, and nearly a quarter have done the same with online retail sites. The primary factor for avoiding certain brick-and-mortar retail stores is unhelpful/unfriendly sales personnel (71 percent), followed by long lines or long wait time (41 percent), and quality issues with merchandise (39 percent). The main reasons shoppers cited for no longer returning to a shopping website were quality issues with the merchandise or damaged merchandise (46 percent), high shipping costs (43 percent) and shipping problems (37 percent).