Green Tip of the Week
July 28, 2009
By Carol Politi
This week’s Green Tip on the kajeet phone is:
“On the Go?
On the go? Try to limit the paper napkins, plastic silverware and cups. If you are taking a drink like juice or water on the road, carry a reusable mug to minimize the waste.”
Tips by Jenn Savedge, Author of The Green Teen
We are working at eliminating disposable containers of any form at my house. For the longest time it was just so easy to grab a plastic bag to cover food or to carry a kid’s snack. And those small applesauce containers seemed indispensable.
But now we are focused on making use of reusable containers and we are working to eliminate plastic bags entirely. My son’s school pushed us in this direction with its No Waste Wednesday program. The kids are asked to eliminate any and all waste on that day – and once we started in this direction we simply expanded it to every day of the week. The applesauce turned out to be a snap – we now buy it in larger containers and send it to school in smaller reusable containers. We are saving money while saving the environment – not bad.
What techniques have you found useful in working to eliminate disposables?
Texting while Driving
July 13, 2009
By Carol Politi
More and more kajeet customers are getting drivers licenses as it turns out a good number of them are between 15 and 17. Our Qwerty phones and texting package options appeal to parents that want the safety and budgeting features of the kajeet service and along with devices and plans that meet the needs of these older kids.
As a result, I have been drawn into many conversations about texting while driving. (Thanks to BabyCenter for the diagram to the left). An update from the Governors Highway Safety Association many states have recently passed laws that ban or otherwise limit texting while driving. Fourteen states and Washington DC ban text messaging while driving entirely. Nine states ban texting by “novice” drivers.
While this is great progress, many of these laws have little in the way of teeth in that the penalties are limited and police are often limited in their ability to pull someone over for texting (it often must be on conjunction with another penalty). And most of us want to make sure that our kids are safe in the car regardless of penalties and tickets (though higher penalties and better enforceability might deliver better results).
What can we do to protect our kids (from those they drive with and from themselves)? Here are some ideas:
1. Demonstrate that texting while driving is unacceptable. Don’t pick up the phone to read your email while at a stop light. Some states obviously think that mature drivers can deal with this kind of juggle but we are most likely sending a message to our kids that staring at a screen while driving is OK. If we do that for 16 years it will become pretty difficult to communicate a different message to our own kids when they turn 16.
2. Talk with your kids about the topic of texting while driving. Point out that accidents happen and people die because they are taking their eyes off the road. Have them read some articles about kids that have injured others or been hurt themselves.
3. Check your kids Account Activity when they go out – and have a conversation with your kids if you discover they might be texting while driving. We could advocate for eliminating text messaging or shutting it off during certain timeframes. And perhaps some kids need us to go that far. However, others might just need continuous reinforcement. We love them and don’t want them to get hurt. kajeet posts Account Activity on the kajeet website in near real-time (it is updated no less than every 15 minutes).
4. Talk with your kids about their friend’s driving, and about how they should deal with friends that persist in texting while driving. This is no less a hazard to them than drinking while driving so we (and they) need to take it seriously. If they are not comfortable driving with someone, discuss how they might avoid it. Jointly come up with a plan for ensuring they have a ride home in case they find they are not comfortable with the driving of any friend for any reason (texting, drinking, etc.).
Vail Christian High School went as far as bringing in a driving simulator to show kids what could happen when they were texting while driving. Nothing beats experience so perhaps this should be a part of all our kid’s driver’s education instruction?
How are you making sure your kids drive safely? Please comment with your ideas.
Weekend Sale!
July 10, 2009
by Carol Politi
The kajeet Motorola C290 is on sale this weekend. The phone will be $19.99 until Monday (regular price is $24.99). Please tell your friends that might be thinking about kajeet for back to school that this is a good time to buy!
The C290 is a black flip phone with a speaker & kajeet parental controls. It is part of the kajeet certified refurbished program. Every time we sell a refurbished phone it means we don’t have to produce a new one – much better on both your pocketbook and the environment!
Testing New Plans!
July 2, 2009
By Carol Politi
We have been listening to our customer’s feedback on our rate plans and as a result are testing customer interest in two new plans. These are not available generally on our website while we are testing; however, we are happy to make them available to any current kajeet customer that might be interested. Here are the details:
1. Unlimited Talk N’ Text! We have heard from many parents of older teens that their kids need unlimited talk and text, and have heard from parents that are interested in taking advantage of our service themselves that they would be interested in this offer.
2. 30 Minute Plan – for only $6.99/month! We have also heard that many customers want a basic starter plan that includes about a minute a day – just enough to call on the way home from the bus stop for those kids walking solo for the first time. We have packaged this into a $6.99/month plan.
Please feedback and let us know what you think! As usual, if these plans turn out to be popular with our customers we will work to find a way to incorporate them into our standard rate plan options.
If you already have a kajeet phone (or if you are purchasing a phone through one of our mom sales team consultants), just call kajeet customer care after you activate and they will be happy to put you on one of these plans.
(Plans are being tested through September 30th and customers that select one of these plans can remain on the plan they selected even if we do not make it a standard rate plan option).
kajeet Wins iParenting Media Safety Award
June 30, 2009
by Carol Politi
kajeet has been awarded the iParenting Media Award for 2009 Excellent Products in the Safety category. This is the third parenting award kajeet has won in the last eight months!
The product reviewers had the following to say about kajeet:
“Kajeet does a great job of giving kids the feelings of self-confidence and respect that come with owning a cell phone,” said one iParenting Media Awards Reviewer. “It also helps parents feel safe and in control, because they can give their kids as much or as little freedom they need.”
“This product is a great way to give parents peace of mind knowing that they can access their children when necessary,” said another iParenting Media Awards Reviewer. “It also allows children to contact their parents in case of an emergency.”
“My favorite feature is the time-out blocks. They allow me to control what hours the phone can be used by my children, but still allow them access to us, their parents, in case of an emergency,” said the third iParenting Media Awards Reviewer.
iParenting Awards, a Disney Interactive Media Group property, is part of the Disney Online network of family-focused Web sites, including Disney Family.com and FamilyFun.com. The iParenting Award provides kajeet with visibility with the array of parents that use these websites to help find solutions to common parenting dilemmas and to find fun things to do with their kids. (If you don’t already use these sites – check them out! Family Fun is profiling great activities for the 4th of July and also has good tips on cost effective family and kid activities).
Thanks to the everyone in the kajeet customer base for your feedback and help in building our service into the one it is today. We would not be a recipient of these parenting awards without you!
Surfing on kajeet Phones
June 29, 2009
by Carol Politi
Most parents come to kajeet to get access to the latest in parental control features, but also want to be sure the kajeet service contains enough fun stuff to make their kids happy. In that light, kajeet phones now provide access to a limited array of mobile web sites that provide the following information & entertainment:
- Weather
- Sports
- Dictionary
- Nature
- Wikipedia
Kids that want to check out the latest game scores, work on their homework, learn about animals, or figure out what the weather will be for practice this afternoon are all covered!
Remember, if you do not want your child to use Surfing on their phone you can turn it off using FeatureManager as follows:
- Login to the kajeet website
- Go to Configurator and then FeatureManager
- Change “ability to use” to OFF for the Surfing feature.
Please let us know how your child enjoys the service and what else you and your child might like to see added.
kajeet on Parenthood.com
June 3, 2009
by Carol Politi.
“Kajeet is the best phone for tweens, period.” NAPPA Software Judge
Parenthood.com has featured kajeet this month in its profile of award winning products for kids. The above quote is from one of the National Parenting Publication Award’s judges that evaluated the kajeet service.
kajeet has received some great reviews recently – both from our customers and from both NAPPA and PTPA Media independent judges and parent reviewers. Help us spread the word! If you are a kajeet customer, please tell your family and friends about us. When they activate, tell them to input your phone number during activation and you will get a bonus credit to spend on kajeet service.
Parenthood.com has profiled other NAPPA award winners this month as well. There are some great products on the site – and you can use their tool to search for kid products in various categories including books, DVDs, music, parenting resources, software/video games, story telling/audio books, and toys and games. Check them out!
This Week’s Green Tip: “Buy In Bulk”
May 21, 2009
by Carol Politi
kajeet customers know that we have launched a “Green Tips” channel on the phone that provides a new tip each week to kids to get them thinking about how they affect the environment. In addition to publishing the tips on our handset, I’m publishing them on the blog each week.
Here is this week’s Green Tip:
“Save money and the planet by purchasing items in bulk whenever possible. Buying in bulk is cheaper than purchasing several smaller items and it will minimize the amount of packaging that you need to toss.”
Tips by Jenn Savedge, Author of The Green Teen
kajeet Customer Feedback
May 14, 2009
by Carol Politi
Some of the feedback we get from customers is wonderful – and we love to share this with our existing and potential customers and our staff. We also take all of our negative feedback seriously and work hard to solve any customer issues that may have cropped up. I’ve recently reviewed feedback from our customers and will share a bit of both today.
From kajeet customer April:
“A young friend of my daughter’s suddenly decided that she didn’t like her anymore, but unfortunately she had my daughter’s phone number. To stop the annoying phone calls, I simply blocked the number. Problem solved.”
Thanks for your feedback April! This is a great way to stop bullying which is an increasing problem these days. Just log in to your kajeet account and go to ContactManager. Add a contact number and select “no” and your child will stop receiving calls, texts, and pictures from that number.
From kajeet customer Yolanda:
“I love Kajeet’s service. My daughter recently traveled with her school to Florida. She was able to telephone me in South Carolina several times per day. The connection was as clear as if she were in the next room. She did not encounter any “dead zones” even while visiting one of the most popular and busy parks in Orlando. I was able to monitor her whereabouts from my home computer. I was also able to check her phone log and easily add money to her account when I chose to. Kajeet phone service is perfect for more than just staying in touch with your “tween or teen”"
Thanks Yolanda! & thanks for being our customer.
From kajeet customer Roxanne:
“I was happy to find Kajeet because of the plans that it offers with no contracts and the restrictions that you can put on the phone. I ended up purchasing a phone for my 10 and 12 year old to have for emergencies as they ride their bikes to school. The phones have come in handy and being that there are no contracts, it makes it easy when their is a discipline issue. I recently had to revoke one of the phones from one of my children and her cell phone rights are on hold and fortunately, I am not having to continue paying for a phone that we are not using and I can re-sign up for an inexpensive monthly plan when the issues are overcome. Thank you for the parental controls, affordability, and flexibility of your plans.”
Thanks Roxanne! Here is a tip for those customers that don’t know about our hold service. You can call kajeet customer care and put your child’s phone on “hold” for those times when you leave town – or when the two of you have just agreed the phone does not make sense for a bit of time.
From kajeet customer Shannon
I’m unhappy now that I can’t go to Target and/or CVS to purchase a pre-paid card. I’m a single mother, I do not use credit cards so that I can stay debt free, so I can NOT purchase time online. I really depended on those pre-paid cards and you’ve TAKEN THEM AWAY.”
Shannon – I’m so sorry that you counted on these. We did make a business decision to remove cards from those channels. A very high percent of our customers were using credit cards and online refill and there is a lot of overhead required to print and maintain hard cards in retail. However, we do have options that I hope might work for you. Best Buy offers a $25 Prepaid Wireless Airtime Card which supports kajeet. This is sold in virtually all Best Buy stores. We also sell kajeet cards directly on our eBay store and you may use paypal to make purchases from this store. You can find a link to our ebay store here: https://www.kajeet.com/gift-refill.html.
Thanks for all of your feedback – both positive and negative. The positive feedback keeps us working hard to continue to meet your expectations and the negative feedback drives us to work to improve.
Customer Feedback: “It really was a great decision!”
April 29, 2009
by Carol Politi
We recently queried our customers to find out how they were using kajeet. In doing so we received some amazing reports on how kajeet has been used in unique ways or has otherwise added value to our customers and their relationships with their children. I thought I’d share some of these here (all of these postings have been approved by the customer).
From Kristine:
“I was totally against paying for a cell phone for our 11 year old daughter until I came across kajeet. It was so affordable for her to have for an emergency situation that I broke down & signed up. She was always staying after school for activities, so I was able to contact her if I was running late to pick her up or she could let me know if the activity was running longer than expected. Then one day, there was a situation at her school where there was a shooter running from the police so the school was in lock down. They had no idea where he was & he had already shot the police chief and an officer just a couple blocks from the school. Since most of the students were already on the buses to come home they took them all to the bus garage. She was then able to call us & let us know what was going on and that she and her younger sister were safe. I know the other kids had wished they could call their parents & since there were restrictions on her phone to whom she could call, they couldn’t use hers. I was so glad that I had got it for her & I never regret it for a moment. To have peace and mind for now only $4.99 a month, it’s crazy not too! If she has money that she wants to add to her account so she can use other features, then I am more than happy to add it to her account for her. It has taught her responsiblitly when it comes to her money since she can use the home phone to call most of her friends for free! To be able to be in contact with her in a situation like that was a God send since the school doesn’t call you & you only see what the news is reporting on TV. It really was a great decision!”
Thanks for your feedback Kristine. The team at kajeet is really happy your daughter made it through this situation safely and was inspired to hear that kajeet was able to help keep you and your children connected at this time. While we hope none of our other parents have to go through a situation even remotely like this, the fact is that we all encounter stressful situations with our kids. Whether it be a missed school bus, misunderstood pickup location, or what is in fact a real emergency – we do hope kajeet is able to provide safe link between our customers and their children at all times.
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