FEATURES
8A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015
Please write positive reviews
Tomorrow’s horoscope
Dear Annie: I am a
small-business owner. It’s chal-
lenging, but I have wonderful
customers who seem to like our
service. So, I’d like to ask your
readers a question:
Is there a business establish-
ment that you enjoy going to?
A restaurant that is part of your
life? A store where you always
are treated well? You can help
them stay in business by writ-
ing a positive online review.
It’s human nature to com-
plain when things go wrong,
but it’s rare to post something
to let people know when things
go right. My business has only
a few online reviews, and they
are negative posts from cus-
tomers who were not happy
with some small thing. I al-
ways try to make amends, but
even so, the review is never re-
moved. For every bad thing that
happens in my business, there
are so many good things and so
many happy customers. They
thank me over and over, yet
they don’t write reviews, even
when I ask.
So, please, if you like a
business, let the world know.
“Like” them on Facebook. Post
a review on Yelp or TripAdvi-
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll be
called on to lead. Take your time with
decisions. Find just the right words to
instruct. If you have to criticize and redi-
rect people, think carefully about how to
execute this.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’ll be
asked to sit on a committee, join a board
or be part of a group. Maybe this will take
up some of your weekend, and it may
even be quite boring, but it will be much
better than the alternative: being left out.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Confron-
tation doesn’t bother you as much as it
does some, and you can use this talent
to your advantage. You don’t mind play-
ing “bad cop” to someone’s “good cop” if
it keeps the peace in the end.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You strive
to acquire exceptional skills beyond what
is required of you professionally. Cultivat-
ing an exciting hobby will serve to make
you stand out in many different arenas.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Love will soft-
en your heart for the whole world, not
just for the person you happen to love.
Your patience will increase, and your
compassion will double on itself.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). A mistake
of the past still makes you cringe in the
present. That’s because you haven’t let
it go yet. Do try. A quick mental process
may be all that’s needed, but a letting go
ritual would be even better.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Whatever
the physical and material borders that
currently hold you back may be, you can
and will transcend external limitations to
define your own scope of possibility.
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy Mitchell
and
Marcy Sugar
sor or Google. You don’t have
to write a lot, just a couple of
positive sentences. It will make
more difference than you real-
ize. — Business Woman
Dear Business: It’s human
nature to write only when you
have a complaint or a disagree-
ment. (We should know.) When
people are satisfied with the
service they are getting, they
rarely think to say so, but you
are right that small businesses
depend on good word of mouth.
Please, folks, if you have had
a pleasant experience with a
business or service, say so in an
online review. It means a great
deal to them.
Dear Annie: When I was
growing up, the rule was that if
you had to cancel an appoint-
ment, you would call to let the
person know that your plans
had changed. Now that every-
one has cellphones, it seems
that the rules have changed.
A couple of friends stood me
up on my birthday because my
cellphone was turned off. They
said they didn’t come over be-
cause I hadn’t called to verify
that I was actually going to be
there at the appointed time.
But we had already made these
plans a week before. I thought
I only needed to call if I was
NOT going to be there. Am I
out of touch with how things
are done now? — Sad Birthday
Girl
Dear Birthday Girl: It was
wrong of your friends to as-
sume you had canceled, but
even if they apologize for their
rudeness, it won’t change how
they respond when they can-
not get ahold of you next time.
The problem is, so many plans
are transient these days. Peo-
ple expect to be able to reach
you at any moment of the day
or night in case something
changes at the last minute. But
it also means people need con-
stant verification to be sure the
plans are still on. We think they
would be happy to reschedule,
and we hope you will let them.
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
STONE SOUP
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You are
smart enough, good enough and talent-
ed enough to do exactly what you want to
do. If you work hard and keep believing,
you will get there. Today will bring a glim-
mer of hope.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21).
You give your whole heart to another
person, and yet what this person experi-
ences isn’t the grand music of your love.
It’s the sweet, lighthearted tune of daily
practicalities.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). These
days you’ve been taking on either big
projects or massive ones. Regardless of
the scale, everything happens with a se-
ries of small action steps.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You are
empathetic and open, perhaps too much
so for your own good. Place an imagi-
nary bubble around yourself for deflec-
tion and protection against other people’s
projections.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You com-
pletely accept your love for the person he
or she is, and there is no higher way to
honor your relationship today. Your rela-
tionships will make you truly happy.
WEDNESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (April
22). There’s a sense that you and your
group are in it together, and you’ll learn to
rely on each other to do what none of you
could do alone. In May, you’ll use new
tools to get what you want. The learning
process will be the most fun, and you’ll
make friends, too. You’ll ink a deal in July.
September brings travel. Pisces and
Aquarius people adore you. Your lucky
numbers are: 3, 29, 14, 38 and 17.