News reports keep coming out about large company databases being hacked into and credit card information stolen almost daily so consumers have to be vigilant in checking their credit reports and requesting that companies not save their credit card information if they want and extra measure of protection.

The biggest problem with credit card fraud is for the merchants though. There are protections for consumers in cases of credit card fraud but not for the merchants. Currently the banks and credit card companies do not have a policy in place to allow merchants to verify telephone numbers or email addresses of purchasers and they are the ones left holding the bag when credit card fraud occurs. And after a recent discussion with both BofA and Visa,  Preferred Seating has found out they have no intention of doing the right thing anytime soon.

But in the process Google is rewarding the large corporate sites that already spend huge sums in pay-per-click advertising and have the ability to outspend small business. Google seems to believe big business is better for the consumer but when they leave out the small businesses they eliminate competition. And quite often it’s the small business that is offering the better prices with lower overhead and without stockholders to appease.

PreferredSeat.com has been one of the sites hit by the Google update along with some notable sites as well including consumeraffairs.com, bettermedicine.com, today.com. I doesn’t look like these sites are putting out poor content and they followed Google’s rules up to this point to get their positions, but they still got slapped by Google even though they do provide an obvious benefit for consumers.

So when you search for tickets through Google just remember that the top search listings don’t always give the best result your looking for, such as better prices and service. You may want to stroll down past some of the big box stores whose names you may recognize because a better ticket deal may be just a few more clicks away.

With monthly charges up to 50% or more lower than AT&T and much more control in the hands of the business, VoIP looks like a sure winner for saving money and improving communication in business. Preferred Seating Inc. looks forward to leaving a company that sent their 800 number to private residences at least twice, screwed up every time they moved or the contract was up, and finally charged for cell phones that had faulty software.

Time’s up for AT&T with the new VoIP because of a number of reasons, all benefiting small business. With VoIP you can hook your phone to an internet connection whether it is a wireless computer or hard wired in your business. Take it with you and receive important calls anywhere you go and save a bundle at the same time. Most of the features businesses are already using can be found with VoIP including Virtual Receptionist, faxing, 800 numbers, group calling and mailbox.

Preferred Seating Inc. will be working with a local company, DDK Communications over the next few weeks to hammer out the plan to change their phones at Preferred Seating to one of the newest and most promising technologies to help small businesses save money and free themselves from the tyranny of AT&T.

Fedex has a policy in place to adjust the cost to ship a package depending on the current cost of gasoline. With gas prices rising almost daily Fedex has automatically raised rates and the shipper only finds out the new prices at the time he generates the FedEx air bill.

Most ticket brokers were probably breaking even or making a few bucks off of shipping tickets in the past but when the prices go up this fast they don’t usually pass the increase on to the customer so now they are often losing money on the shipping portion of the ticket sale.  Meanwhile Fedex has themselves covered and may even come out ahead.