O.K., Most of you know I have ventured into the world of retail with my new position as Department Head of the Lawn, Garden, Pool, Landscape etc. for a nationally known Home Improvement store with orange colors. (If you have ever noticed before this is how people on "Wheel of Fortune" describe the companies they work for when asked by Pat Sejak. It's because of some legal jargon regarding not being an official representative of the company.)
Sorry, got sidetracked.
Anyway. I have learned some new lessons in life.
One, I can't believe what such a**ho*** some people can be.
For some 20 odd years I have been either self-employed or worked on a contract basis.
This freedom of owning my own businesses has allowed to choose if I didn't like a way a customer was acting or if I found they were difficult to deal with, then I simply explained to them that I chose to no longer do business with them.
I remember one lady years ago when Pattye and I started our pool business that was insistent on having her pool serviced on a every other week basis. Well, what that means is you end up having to do twice the amount of work and are only receiving half the compensation.
Think of it like this. Suppose you have a housekeeper that comes once a week for $60.00. Well, you decide that you want to save a little money and have her come every other week. Naturally, the amount of work is going to increase (double dust bunnies and so forth). Well then, you pay more for the every other week work.
This lady was adamant when I told her that I could not provide the type of service she wanted and that she would have to find someone else. She said, "you have to do this". I said bye-bye.
Well, unfortunately, I don't own the orange-painted home improvement business and I have had to suck up or in one case actually walk away because a customer was flat out rude!!
As much as an ass I have been in my life, I can't think of one time, (okay, maybe one) when I have been a complete a**ho** to the person simply trying to do their job.
So, what happened to cause me to add this new lesson in life was during last week's big Friday after Thanksgiving and we were swamped and this guy wanted to see a manager.
I took the bait and with my smiling face said. "I am a manager".
This guy just started going on and on and saying something to the affect that "you just don't have anything in this store."
My natural instinct from years of owning my own place was to tell him to get the hell out and shop somewhere else and never come back.
Oops. Can't do that any more. So, I politely told him that I am sorry that he couldn't find what he was looking for and perhaps I could find an alternative way of meeting his demands.
He kept bitchin and I walked away. Later he said, "well I do like to shop here and maybe I can find something else that would work.
So maybe during this holiday season when you are out shopping, remember that all of us put our pants on one leg at a time. We are all the same. And if you don't like the service or can't find the products then don't spend you money at that store. And also, try not to be an a**ho**. We have plenty of them in the world already!
Nov 29, 2005
Nov 19, 2005
Well...I didn't read the "News" today, oh boy
I read the newspaper for the second Saturday in a row but I still didn't see my much heralded column (heralded at least by me) that was to appear. Well, so much for the greatest comeback in journalistic history!
I got bumped again by all of the pictures of Johnny and Janey and dogs and cats and Church news and whatever. Ironically, it reminds me of the days when I was an editor and would have to answer calls from my reporters and stringers wondering "what happened to my story?"
Back in the old Linotype days when reporters wore Fedoras (for you under 30, these were Tom Landry hats) with Press Cards sticking out of the hat band, I would have inches and inches of hot breaking news, feature stories, mounds of pictures, announcements and of course ads all of which had to be squeezed into so much space. We lived by the rule of thumb of 55% news, 45% ads. As you can tell by looking at your local newspaper today, this ad ratio no longer exists.
As I was trying to make my deadline of getting the newspaper "put to bed", I would find myself snipping copy, cropping photos and rearranging stories to try and make everything fit. It was the proverbial putting 10 lbs. of s*** in a 5 lb bag. It doesn't fit. And, I got calls about it when so-and-so's mother didn't see the story about Susie that the reporter said would be in the next edition. Even worse was when I would have a picture of 4 people and the person on the end got sliced off before final publication.
I can remember one incident when a person had sworn to his wife that he had been at an event and he would have the evidence to show her when the photo came out in the newspaper. Unfortunately, he was the one on the end and got left off. He called and begged me to contact his wife and tell her he was really in the picture.
It was a lonely job as an editor. Nobody was ever happy. There were reporters who felt like they had the exact number of perfect words for their stories. Stringers, people who were only paid for the number of inches that appeared in the newspaper, were short changed and their only income was reduced. And readers who were expecting their 15 minutes of fame were all angry and disappointed. Alas, I guess what goes around, comes around and I now suffer the same anxiety.
But you know what?. I still have my blog.
I can write and write to no end. I don't have ads that have to be worked around. I can use all of the pictures I want. And, I don't have to answer to ANYONE. I can even say......If you don't like it.....Don't read it!....without any fear of losing revenue.
I can write and edit when I want to. I can even cuss and rant about anything I choose.
"Newspapers? We don't need no stinking newspapers" (restructured quote from Treasure of Sierra Madres ). I can misspell wurds. I can use poor grammar. I can even use the word ain't if I want to. I can even end the sentence in a preposition sort of.
So there. Thanks to the world of blogs, I have everything I want. I'm happy. You're happy and all's right with the world.
Hell, I might even decide to start wearing a Fedora again!!
I got bumped again by all of the pictures of Johnny and Janey and dogs and cats and Church news and whatever. Ironically, it reminds me of the days when I was an editor and would have to answer calls from my reporters and stringers wondering "what happened to my story?"
Back in the old Linotype days when reporters wore Fedoras (for you under 30, these were Tom Landry hats) with Press Cards sticking out of the hat band, I would have inches and inches of hot breaking news, feature stories, mounds of pictures, announcements and of course ads all of which had to be squeezed into so much space. We lived by the rule of thumb of 55% news, 45% ads. As you can tell by looking at your local newspaper today, this ad ratio no longer exists.
As I was trying to make my deadline of getting the newspaper "put to bed", I would find myself snipping copy, cropping photos and rearranging stories to try and make everything fit. It was the proverbial putting 10 lbs. of s*** in a 5 lb bag. It doesn't fit. And, I got calls about it when so-and-so's mother didn't see the story about Susie that the reporter said would be in the next edition. Even worse was when I would have a picture of 4 people and the person on the end got sliced off before final publication.
I can remember one incident when a person had sworn to his wife that he had been at an event and he would have the evidence to show her when the photo came out in the newspaper. Unfortunately, he was the one on the end and got left off. He called and begged me to contact his wife and tell her he was really in the picture.
It was a lonely job as an editor. Nobody was ever happy. There were reporters who felt like they had the exact number of perfect words for their stories. Stringers, people who were only paid for the number of inches that appeared in the newspaper, were short changed and their only income was reduced. And readers who were expecting their 15 minutes of fame were all angry and disappointed. Alas, I guess what goes around, comes around and I now suffer the same anxiety.
But you know what?. I still have my blog.
I can write and write to no end. I don't have ads that have to be worked around. I can use all of the pictures I want. And, I don't have to answer to ANYONE. I can even say......If you don't like it.....Don't read it!....without any fear of losing revenue.
I can write and edit when I want to. I can even cuss and rant about anything I choose.
"Newspapers? We don't need no stinking newspapers" (restructured quote from Treasure of Sierra Madres ). I can misspell wurds. I can use poor grammar. I can even use the word ain't if I want to. I can even end the sentence in a preposition sort of.
So there. Thanks to the world of blogs, I have everything I want. I'm happy. You're happy and all's right with the world.
Hell, I might even decide to start wearing a Fedora again!!
Nov 8, 2005
"Well.......It's either too much or not enough"
Update - Richardson, TX.
For all of my faithful following I thought I would bring you up-to-date on the comings and goings around here.
Pattye continues to build Gathering Eggs both at the store and on-line with EBay. We have gotten to know the UPS delivery person quite well and as soon as I hear the slow rumbling of the engine as he/she pulls up to the front of the house I am at the door waiting to receive our valuable inventory for the day. On the other side of the balance sheet Pattye makes daily deliveries to the Post Office with packages destined for as far away as France and England and of course the U.S.. She really is enjoying her new career and I am really enjoying watching her and helping in her new career.
My new endeavors have gotten off to a great start as well.
I have been asked to write a guest column for the Richardson section of the Dallas Morning News. Apparently the editor likes my style and would like to use my musings, with some localization, for the weekly publication. The first installment will appear in Nov. 12th's edition. It's not much but it's a start and am happy to get back into the business. Yes, I realize in the past I have waged some criticism of the newspaper; however, it was never with the editorial side, only some of the circulation woes that were happening.
And with that, I also have gotten what my kids always used to call "a real job". I have been hired as a Department Supervisor of a nationally known chain of home improvement stores that feature bright orange colors.
Plus, it looks like I will be able to keep my customers with my swimming pool business, Blue Sky Pool Service, as well.
Hey, there's 24 hours in a day, and if you know me, I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, I still get up about 1:30 AM and you can get a lot done at that time in the morning.
So all is well here. I'm no longer under foot at home and I am getting a chance to write again.
So, I guess if I have to choose either too much or not enough......I'll go with the too much. It's a whole lot more fun.
Nov 4, 2005
"It's not about the Turkey"
Want to cause just a little more anxiety than usual this Thanksgiving? Well here's a recipe (no pun intended) for success. Suggest to the one who slaves over the stove for two days prior to the big event that " let's have something different for dinner this year, how about a duck or a goose or maybe even a couple of those stuffed quail that you can find at a specialty store". Or if you haven't received that "glare" yet, try this........"I think I am going to deep-fry the turkey this year".Hey, there is nothing better than roast turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, green beans....etc. I love my turkey, especially the next day, the next night, the day after that and maybe even a third day. But it's not about the turkey that makes Thanksgiving a tradition. It's the meal itself and the people gathered at the table to enjoy the year's bounty.
Being the traditionalist that I am, I know the meaning of Thanksgiving. It's one of the few days in the year that we actually take a little break and give thanks for everything we have. But unfortunately it is also commemorates the day before the big sales at all of the department stores. It's the day we get to watch the Cowboys play on a Thursday. It's the day that we bring out the good china, the day all of the grandkids come over and get their sticky little hands all over the coffee table and bang on the piano endlessly.
One of the best Thanksgivings I ever experienced was when the "Williams" clan, my wife's side of the family, decided to spend the Thanksgiving weekend camping in East Texas. Although late November can sometimes be quite chilly, we decided we would break from tradition and celebrate, kind of like the Pilgrims did, although they really didn't have Coleman stoves and down-filled sleeping bags ....but you get the picture.
So here we were nestled in Tyler State Park on Wednesday night reliving memories of past get-togethers, our pre-cooked casseroles packed away in the coolers waiting to be thawed and served with the turkey that we would cook over an open fire the next day. Well, either someone forgot to check the forecast or good ole' Texas weather decided to play one of it's tricks and a classic thunderstorm soaked our tents, sleeping bags and anything that was supposed to be dry was wet.
The next day it took forever to find any dry wood to start a campfire that was going to be the source for our oven. But with the resourcefulness of what we had learned from our forefathers, the brave souls who founded this country, we were able to build a fire, get a good bed of coals and roast several turkeys and cook foil-wrapped potatoes and corn .
We gave thanks for survival in the "wilderness", we filled our bodies with our bounties and we told stories of how we survived the night's downpour. We hiked through the woods, we taught our kids how to appreciate nature and maybe for a few hours experienced what Thanksgiving is all about.
I guess we missed any of the big sales and probably the Cowboys game. But you know what? It was alright. We had our turkey, we had our family and we had leftover turkey sandwiches. But most important we had a memory. One that we would share and laugh about for many years later.
Being the traditionalist that I am, I know the meaning of Thanksgiving. It's one of the few days in the year that we actually take a little break and give thanks for everything we have. But unfortunately it is also commemorates the day before the big sales at all of the department stores. It's the day we get to watch the Cowboys play on a Thursday. It's the day that we bring out the good china, the day all of the grandkids come over and get their sticky little hands all over the coffee table and bang on the piano endlessly.
One of the best Thanksgivings I ever experienced was when the "Williams" clan, my wife's side of the family, decided to spend the Thanksgiving weekend camping in East Texas. Although late November can sometimes be quite chilly, we decided we would break from tradition and celebrate, kind of like the Pilgrims did, although they really didn't have Coleman stoves and down-filled sleeping bags ....but you get the picture.
So here we were nestled in Tyler State Park on Wednesday night reliving memories of past get-togethers, our pre-cooked casseroles packed away in the coolers waiting to be thawed and served with the turkey that we would cook over an open fire the next day. Well, either someone forgot to check the forecast or good ole' Texas weather decided to play one of it's tricks and a classic thunderstorm soaked our tents, sleeping bags and anything that was supposed to be dry was wet.
The next day it took forever to find any dry wood to start a campfire that was going to be the source for our oven. But with the resourcefulness of what we had learned from our forefathers, the brave souls who founded this country, we were able to build a fire, get a good bed of coals and roast several turkeys and cook foil-wrapped potatoes and corn .
We gave thanks for survival in the "wilderness", we filled our bodies with our bounties and we told stories of how we survived the night's downpour. We hiked through the woods, we taught our kids how to appreciate nature and maybe for a few hours experienced what Thanksgiving is all about.
I guess we missed any of the big sales and probably the Cowboys game. But you know what? It was alright. We had our turkey, we had our family and we had leftover turkey sandwiches. But most important we had a memory. One that we would share and laugh about for many years later.
Nov 1, 2005
"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
A expression from a sermon by John Donne in the 1600's and later used by Ernest Hemingway as the title of his novel about the Spanish Civil War "For Whom the Bell Tolls" says that because we are all part of mankind, any person's death is a loss to all of us.
Fast forward to modern times and allow me to metamorphize a person's death to the loss of what we once called Customer Service.
Gone are the days of actually talking with a "real person" to help solve our problems. Now upon calling Customer Service we are bombarded with a series of menus before we can begin pleading for help.
Which reminds me, why are you asked at the beginning of the onslaught "would you like to hear the menu in Spanish, if in fact you only spoke Spanish, how would you know what they are asking ".
Anyway, I am not telling you anything you haven't experienced yourselves and have complained about for some time.
My question though is, "Why do we put up with it? Why do we allow the people that we pay our money to for newspapers, internet connections, cable, gasoline, water, electricity, gas.....need I go on.......... why do we allow ourselves to be subjected to, at the best a person in India with some totally nondiscernible accent to the worst, a non-person whose robotic system usually gets us only back to square one.
Well, I've had it.
The next time I can't get a problem resolved with a real person, right away, then by gum, I'll just .............wait......I can't complain about that because I don't have anyone to complain to.
Oh yeah......I'll send an e-mail.........no........that won't work because all I will get will be a robot e-mail response saying "Thank you for your e-mail, please don't respond to this response to your response. We will respond at a later time".
So, what do we do?
I guess we accept the death of Customer Service as inevitable, just like our ultimate death.
As my childhood friend, Pogo, always used to say, "We have met the enemy and he is us".
Am I giving in? Well, I guess maybe I am.
I hate it...... the non-response. What's more I hate the fact that I have allowed it to happen.
Some time ago I wrote a blog about Where did we go wrong and said that "Today, I make a change". Well, here I go again, today I make a change...........if only I could speak to a real person!!
Fast forward to modern times and allow me to metamorphize a person's death to the loss of what we once called Customer Service.
Gone are the days of actually talking with a "real person" to help solve our problems. Now upon calling Customer Service we are bombarded with a series of menus before we can begin pleading for help.
Which reminds me, why are you asked at the beginning of the onslaught "would you like to hear the menu in Spanish, if in fact you only spoke Spanish, how would you know what they are asking ".
Anyway, I am not telling you anything you haven't experienced yourselves and have complained about for some time.
My question though is, "Why do we put up with it? Why do we allow the people that we pay our money to for newspapers, internet connections, cable, gasoline, water, electricity, gas.....need I go on.......... why do we allow ourselves to be subjected to, at the best a person in India with some totally nondiscernible accent to the worst, a non-person whose robotic system usually gets us only back to square one.
Well, I've had it.
The next time I can't get a problem resolved with a real person, right away, then by gum, I'll just .............wait......I can't complain about that because I don't have anyone to complain to.
Oh yeah......I'll send an e-mail.........no........that won't work because all I will get will be a robot e-mail response saying "Thank you for your e-mail, please don't respond to this response to your response. We will respond at a later time".
So, what do we do?
I guess we accept the death of Customer Service as inevitable, just like our ultimate death.
As my childhood friend, Pogo, always used to say, "We have met the enemy and he is us".
Am I giving in? Well, I guess maybe I am.
I hate it...... the non-response. What's more I hate the fact that I have allowed it to happen.
Some time ago I wrote a blog about Where did we go wrong and said that "Today, I make a change". Well, here I go again, today I make a change...........if only I could speak to a real person!!
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