Wondering on Wednesday: Whatever happened to Customer Service?

I have been experiencing a spell of bad customer service lately.

You know, the kind where you walk away shaking your head and thinking “Really? Did I really just pay money for THAT?”

Case in point.

Grocery shopping. I am a loyal Publix shopper. I love their customer service, am quite happy with their selection and love the fact that they know me as a regular patron and treat me like a queen when I’m there.

Last week, on the way home from school and a quick stop at the chiropractor, I needed to pick up a few things. Publix was all the way on the other side of town, so I decided to stop at the grocery store that was right across the street from the chiropractor.

This store (whose name begins with K) is not one I frequent regularly, although I used to go there weekly before Publix came to town. I don’t know the layout very well, since I don’t go too often, and it took me a little longer than normal to pick up the items I need. The monkeys were with me, so, of course, we ended up with way more than I had originally planned to pick up. They had some in-store specials we took advantage of and I was thinking to myself as we walked to the checkout that I might need to make this a regular stop (maybe once a month) to check out the deals that they might have that other stores don’t.

And then it happened.

We were ready to pay. I wrote a check – yes, I know, no one writes checks anymore these days. I do, because it’s all too easy to mess up your budget when you slap down that debit card and don’t pay attention to the total bill. (but that is another blog post for another day)

Anyway.

I wrote a check. Handed it to the cashier with my ID. She entered all the information and her register beeped at her. She looked perplexed and I explained (because I remembered, too late, why I don’t write checks at the K store) that every time I write a check they have to get the Customer Service manager to come down to sign the check because some glitch in their system doesn’t recognize me as a customer. (In spite of having a loyalty card)

So, she calls the Customer Service manager down to approve my check. The Customer Service manager comes down and I explain to her the same thing. She looks at me and says (and I’m not joking)

“Well, if you shopped here more often you wouldn’t have this problem.”

Seriously.

I’m standing there, with over $200 of groceries and I just could not believe she said that to me. And, no, she was not trying to be cute. It was said very snippily.

I just looked at her and said, “Well, if I didn’t get treated like this every time I came in here, I might come in more often.”

And I asked her if she was going to accept my check or not. She said that she wouldn’t. (are you kidding?) So, I asked what she proposed I do if I didn’t have an alternative form of payment.

“We’ll just take your groceries back and you can go somewhere else,” she said.

At this point, I was BOILING mad. But, I had the monkeys with me and I didn’t want to cause a scene and demonstrate to them how not to behave when people are rude and hateful to you.

So, I quietly pulled out my debit card and paid my grocery bill.

But I can promise you. I won’t be setting foot in that store (that begins with a K) again.

But, this is just one example of the terrible customer service I’ve received lately.

Whatever happened to people taking pride in their jobs? To people truly providing Customer SERVICE to the people that it is their job to serve? When did it become OK to do the very minimum (at best) and then walk away, not caring that you could’ve done more to serve your customer?

When I grow up…

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I am sure there were lots of things I wanted to be, but the one thing I can remember wanting to be for a very, very long time is a teacher.

I remember holding my brother hostage in the summertime to play school with me. We would be staying at my grandmother’s while Mom was at work and I would turn the coffee table into my schoolroom and a barstool into my desk. I would give my brother ridiculous assignments (like multiplication problems that even I couldn’t solve) and then sit at my “desk” and “grade” papers while he was supposed to be doing his work.

Of course, he was much more interested in playing UNDER the table with his Hot Wheels than he was in being my student. I would then have to send him to the “office” (also known as Grandma’s kitchen) for being a disruptive student.

Now that I’m a mom I marvel at my grandma’s patience with me as I played this game over and over. And at the fact that my brother didn’t kill me for making him be my student. (maybe it was because he couldn’t be bothered to spend that energy on killing me when the world needed saving by GI Joe?)

My love of teaching never seemed to wane, though.

Even in high school, I was looking for opportunities to mentor other students and loved the opportunities I found working in the office of the Lower (elementary) School so that I could “teach” the kids down there and they could benefit from the eons of experience I had (at age 15).

Once I was in college, I worked on campus in the English department as a tutor (among the many part-time jobs I had, at the same time, while I was in college). I would help the students who couldn’t tell their alliterations from their allegories. I would counsel them on the need for proper punctuation and cleverly crafted essays. I would edit, coach and tweak until their works were ready to be turned in to the professors.

I even contemplated taking some classes to become a school teacher – but that lasted all of five minutes when I realized that some of the things they cared about (like having perfect handwriting) were really kind of stupid (to me) and I went back to studying computers instead.

Ironically, once I was out in the “real” world, I ended up teaching. My first full-time job was working as a programmer for the local power company. I was the only one who knew (what was then a new programming language – I’m old, people, old) C and C++ and I was hired to work on a new software system that was written in C. Everyone else there were Cobol programmers (are there even any Cobol programmers still around these days?) and I was supposed to teach them C and C++. Me, 18 year old punk that I was – I was supposed to teach these GROWN UPS how to program in C. Well, yeah, that didn’t happen.

Then I moved to the big city and went to work for a company that was implementing some new software. I was hired to manage the end-user training of the implementation and I got to teach everyone how to use the new system. Way cool. Except my boss was stinky (literally) and his boss was a raving nut job.

Moving on

I next moved to the company who wrote the software that we’d implemented. They had approached me and offered me a position to be an instructor. I spent the next eight or so years traveling around the world teaching other people how to use their software. It was a dream come true. (and no one cared about my penmanship!)

Today, I’m a teacher in a different sense of the word. But, I think it’s the best kind of teaching job I could possibly have.

I’m a teacher to my girls.

And the things I’m teaching them are way more important than “Reading, Writing and ‘rithmetic”

I’m teaching them how to grow into responsible, mature, caring young women.

It’s a daunting, thankless task. One that is never-ending, mind-numbing, exhausting and that no one has written a lesson plan for. But it is the best, most perfect, teaching job I’ve ever had.

Little did I know, when I was that small girl playing school at my grandma’s house, that I would really grow up to be a teacher. In so many senses of the word. Both in my career and in my personal life.

How awesome is that? I really did grow up to be exactly what I wanted to be.

It Happened on a Motorcycle

Remember the days when you were young, oh, so young, and wishing you were older?

The days when you pretended you were all grown up, even though you weren’t?

I remember one of those days very vividly.

We were in the mountains of north Georgia, visiting some old family friends. They had lived next door to us when I was just a toddler. Their son was years older than me… I think he was a teenager when I was a toddler.

Anyway, this particular weekend he was visiting his parents – we were all staying at their lake house and going to the Georgia Mountain Fair (which is a pretty big deal up around these parts). He was visiting at the same time we were… and I was in heaven.

Joe David was his name. I remember having the hugest crush on him from the moment I saw him. Mind you, the last time I’d seen him, I was probably wearing training pants… so it was like meeting him for the first time. And, at thirteen, he was an Adonis to me. He had long, wavy sandy-brown hair, huge green eyes, plaid flannel shirt, tight jeans, black leather boots and the sweetest smile. (sigh) And, best of all, he rode a Harley.

I have always had a secret, rebellious side to me. The “wild child” that I don’t let out to play very often. I keep her locked up tight in a box, hidden deeply in my soul. She stays locked up so long I often forget that she is there.

But Joe David had her banging on the lid of the box to be let out to run free.

Now mind you, his part in all of this was innocent. Looking back, I’m sure he just thought, in his worldly, wise, 20-something way, that I was just a cute punk kid to be nice to for a few days.

Me? I was naming our children and contemplating a life as Mrs. Joe David.

One of the days we were there, and I don’t recall how it happened exactly, but I ended up being offered a ride on his Harley.

*gulp*

ALL ALONE with JOE DAVID on his HARLEY?

I just about died right then and there. I don’t remember HOW I got on the bike, or much of the details of the actual event… but what I do remember is the bliss I felt as we rode along those windy mountain roads. I can’t remember whether I loved the fact that I had my arms wrapped around this HUNK of a guy or the thrill of riding a motorcycle more.

That was when it happened. The wild child in me came out. She was blissfully happy with the wind blowing in her face and the scenery flashing by. Her heart was racing and adrenaline was pumping.

Ever since that day, I have had a love affair with speed. I love driving fast – anything fast… the boat, the car, or even (if I ever get the nerve again) on a motorcycle.

The wild child is locked up safely in her box (for now). I don’t let her out to play much these days. The Mommy is usually in control around here.

But I still love to remember that feeling – zooming along the highway on the back of a Harley with my (then) dream man…

Want to read more great stories? Check out Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

Versatile Blogger Award

Wow.

I just received my first award on my blog!

Cool!

I was nominated by Aly who “lives” over on Homemaker’s Helper.

Thanks, Aly!

With the Versatile Blogger Award, there are some rules…namely you are to thank and link back to the one who gave you the award. You are also then supposed to nominate 15 other bloggers who you think are versatile. First, though, you must share seven random facts about yourself.

Seven random facts?

Hmmm…

Here goes nothin’:

Even though I keep all of my appointments on my Outlook calendar, I still carry around a paper planner to write things in.
I just figured out I love Ranier cherries. I always thought I didn’t like them (even though I’d never tried them) I am happy to be wrong.
I majored in Computer Science in college and planned to be a programmer but I hated programming.
I’m really a shy person.
I used to love chocolate but I can live without it very easily now.
I think Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan just get better looking as they age.
I usually don’t put make up on – unless I have to leave the house for something, which I try not to do. I think I am a closet hermit.

And here are the bloggers I recommend:

Congratulations to my fellow bloggers! I hope you, my dear reader, will visit their blogs and leave them a little comment to let them know you stopped by.

What’s in Your Purse?

I admit it.

I am a purse-aholic.

Actually, I’m such a purse-aholic I’m surprised I’ve never done a purse-focused post before.

It’s not as bad as it used to be… before kids I had over 100 purses. All of them nice, good quality purses.

Now, I have less than a quarter of that. I’ve consciously pared down my stash over the last ten years.

Before kids, my purses were cute little things with lots of leather and stylish lines. They were on the smallish side. I only needed my wallet, keys, lipstick and maybe a few other little things. (way back before we carried all these electronic gizmos with us everywhere we went)

Now, my handbags now tend to really hover somewhere between tote bag, ginormous sack, and the “shopper’s tote” genres. Rather than being made of leather (which would be really heavy in a bigger bag) they tend to be made of lightweight fabric or some fabric/leather concoction.

Vera Bradley has held my heart for a while now, although I am growing tired of the eye-popping patterns and longing for more solid-color, sedate bags these days (am I getting old?!?) Bucket Tote

The VB Bucket Tote is one of my favorites… but they have discontinued it, I think. (sigh)

I loved the fact that it had an outside pocket (which zipped) and four inside pockets (one zip, three open) that I could stash things in. It leaves the entire middle of the purse for your wallet and other goodies that the kids drop in – and yet you have easy access to glasses, pens, keys, phone, etc.

And the list of what I carry inside the bag has grown exponentially, too.

Now, on my list of absolute must-haves in the handbag:

two or three tubes of lipstick (one neutral, one red, one more coppery)
chapstick
asthma inhaler
powder compact (this one sometimes gets left out)
wallet
cell phone
iPod touch (if we’re going to be in the car for a long time)
Nook (ditto)
earphones
my badge for work (only because I was actually IN an office last week, not a normal thing)
eyeglasses, sunglasses
fingernail files
lotion (two, apparently)
Kleenex
Splenda (since I am picky about my sweeteners nowadays)
Moleskine notebook & pen
hand sanitizer (at least one)
hairbrush & a few barrettes or pony tail holders
various mail, receipts, and pieces of paper with lists on them
and whatever other garbage the kids drop in – today it’s an MP3 player and a couple Polly Pockets

For a lot of my bigger bags I use a cute little purse organizer I bought a long time ago. I like it because it has a lot of pockets (which is one of the things I like about the Vera Bradley purses) and I can drop it into any bag and everything stays organized.

My latest purse I bought at Cracker Barrel, of all places. My shopping snobbishness has certainly gone downhill these days. Although, I haven’t really seen any nice purses in the department stores that I liked and I was thrilled to find one that I thought was cute even if it was at Cracker Barrel.

But it’s so cute, isn’t it?

(sorry for the crooked shot – just realized it as I pasted it into the post)

I like it because it will hold everything (and then some) and it looks nice and somewhat put-together even though I’m carrying everything except the kitchen sink inside.

So, spill it… what do you carry in your purse?

Oh, and here's a link to another fellow blogger Lipglossed Mom, with her 8 essential items for her purse.

The Bachelorette: I just can’t seem to care

I don’t know if it is because my life is so busy right now, or because there are so many blogs with “spoilers” out there or what, but I just can’t seem to care about the Bachelorette this summer. I have TiVo’ed all the episodes and I’m about three weeks behind… and I could care less.

I have been reading Chris Harrison’s weekly recap on Entertainment Weekly, Reality Steve’s snarky posts on his website, and that is about it… but that is more than enough for me.

Did you see this week’s episode? The one where Frank decides that he’s outta there and heads back home to his one-true-love?

Geez.

I think they are overdoing it a bit this season with all the drama. It’s like they have taken all the past seasons, pulled out the parts that had the highest ratings and tried to put them all into this season. And what has resulted is something that looks even more comic-book-ish than the Bachelor/ette usually is… which is pretty bad, because it’s usually so over the top any way.

I’m wondering how many more seasons we’ll see of this franchise. Seems like everyone is getting jaded – and the participants all seem more interested in their 15 minutes of fame than in “finding true love.” I mean, I’m sure that is what it has been about from the beginning, but I believed the storyline more way back when.

Are they getting worse with the storylines or are we all just jaded?

On the road again…

I’m traveling for work this week. First time in two years, and the first time I’ve been back to our corporate HQ in ten years. It feels a little weird to be out here as the last time I was here, I had no children and a very, very different life. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with some colleagues later today and walking down memory lane a little bit.

Since I’m traveling, blog posts may be a little spotty this week. I hope to be back to my regular schedule when I get home.

I hope you’ll take a second or two and read this post from back in 2008 – it’s all about my travel habits. I thought it was appropriate given that I’m traveling this week. It was very interesting packing this weekend.

Have a great day!

I have a new toy

I have been thinking about getting an eReader for a few months now. I couldn’t decide between the Kindle and the Nook and I have been reading reviews and asking people that have both what they think of them. But, I still hadn’t made a decision.

Did I really need a digital book thingy? I mean, really?

And, would I really like it?

My mom and I are both voracious readers. I am usually reading two or three books at the same time. I keep one in the car, one by my rocking chair, and many on the nightstand. That way, no matter where I am, I have a book to read.

My brother had mentioned the iPad to my mom when he was visiting in June. I have seen so many people who’ve gotten one… but I just can’t seem to get past the high price tag and large size. If I’m going to spend that much money, I just want to buy a new laptop – something I can do some digital scrapbooking and other things on – not just read and surf the web.

Anyway.

I am going on a business trip next week – and I have been trying to figure out how I was going to pick a book to read to take on the trip – since I have three I’m currently in the middle of. What if I finish one early on the trip? I don’t want to buy another book on the road when I have two more at home waiting to be finished. But, I don’t want to carry a bunch of books with me, either. That is just too much extra bulk and weight! (my mind never rests – it’s always tossing and turning on these silly conundrums – does your mind do this, too?)

So, my mind wandered back to the Kindle/Nook question again. I went online (again) and read some more reviews. (I love CNet.com’s reviews. They never fail me) After church yesterday, we went out for lunch and just happened (wink, wink) to go to a restaurant in the same shopping center as a Barnes & Noble. I managed to sneak in and get a detailed demo of the Nook from a very knowledgeable salesperson (thank you!)

I discovered that the Nook has some cool little features that the Kindle doesn’t. They are both so similar that there isn’t really one specific feature that puts one over the other, in my opinion. I think it boils down to personal preferences. But here is what I liked about the Nook:

I love the virtual menu – a touch screen rather than physical keys (the Kindle has keys). I like it because it turns itself off after a few seconds (you can specify how long) and then you don’t have to worry about accidentally pressing a menu key and having something happen in the middle of reading.
I love the eInk technology (they both have this). It makes it so easy on your eyes when you are reading – so much more easy than reading on my iPod touch or phone screen. It is black & white, so there is no color display (except the menu screen, which is in color)
I love the fact that I can have 1,500 books on the Nook at one time (I don’t think I’d ever worry about not having something to read again!) And, with the Nook’s ability to add a micro-SD card, I can expand that capacity if I need/want to.
I can also put music on my Nook – so I can use it as an MP3 player if I choose. Which is just a neat feature but not really something that I thought my future eReader had to have.
I love that I can download a book in less than a minute. I am an impatient girl. If I find a book that I want to read, I want it NOW. I don’t want to wait to have to go to the store (maybe days from now) and now I don’t have to! How cool is that?!?
I also love the fact that it stores where I left off reading in every single book I am reading – and will take me to the last point read when I open the book. No more lost bookmarks.
I think it is cool that it has a browser on it as well – Given, you are looking at a black & white screen (because of the eInk) and some pages look very dull in b&w, but at least you can look at the internet if the mood strikes you. The browsing feature is a little strange (you use the color, touch screen at the bottom to scroll/pan around the larger b&w browser page) and is going to take some getting used to, but I like the fact that I can go online and look things up if the notion strikes me – and I don’t have to get my laptop out to do so.
I got the one with the 3G service on it. At first, I wasn’t really sure why I’d need that, but I found out in the first five minutes why, and I’m so glad I did. The 3G service allows the Nook to connect to any AT&T cell tower (automatically, I didn’t have to do anything) and provide access. In fact, I took the Nook out of the box on the drive home, just to see it in person, and when I turned it on, it connected to the 3G network and I was able to register my Nook and connect to B&N as we were driving home. THAT, my friends, was really cool. No waiting for a WiFi connection. Just presto! and I was online as we drove down the highway.

Big Girl is also enamored with my new toy. She has been very resistant to my planned reading schedule this summer and new books or trips to the library have not swayed her in her determination NOT to read. However, the Nook seems to have changed all that. I don’t know if it is the novelty of it, or what, but she quickly asked for a book to be loaded (Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief) and started reading away.

I have noticed, prior to this, that she seems intimidated by books that seem “big” or “long” and I’m wondering if I’ll be able to get her to pick stories that just seem interesting without being intimidated by their heft – since she will be reading them virtually. I loaded the B&N eReader software on her netbook, so if I am using the Nook, she can still read her story. (As a matter of fact, if I have the B&N eReader software loaded on my phone or iPod, I can do the same and read any book I’m in the middle of on my Nook even if the Nook is not with me. I am not sure yet if the bookmarks will synch or not. Have to check that out.) Details

As a matter of fact, she came downstairs this morning, Nook in hand, reading away. Wow. That’s just awesome.

So, I’m all set with my new toy and I’m ready for my business trip (just as soon as I pack). I got a cute cover for the Nook, too – to keep it safe from scratches while it rides around in my bag. I think I’m going to name her – just haven’t decided what yet. “Nook” sounds silly – Big Girl and I both think. And with this cute pink jacket, I think she is just begging for a name. Matilda? Beatrice?

Do any of you have eReaders? Or thoughts about having one - or not having one? I admit, I have been on the fence for a LONG time, but now that I got one, I’m so glad I did.

Happy July 4th

We have so many things to be thankful for. So many freedoms we take for granted.

Today, I’m taking time to give thanks for those freedoms.

I hope you will, too.

Memories of Summer

I was talking with my mother the other day about how much I wanted to get some vegetables and/or fruit and do some canning this summer. Or maybe even make jelly or pickles.

I know it sounds crazy to want to spend hours in a hot kitchen putting up food the “old fashioned” way when I can just pop on down to my local Publix and find most everything I can ever wish for at any time of the year.

But, for me, it’s not just about the food preservation. It’s about preserving traditions and reliving the memories of my childhood.

I remember spending the night at my grandmother’s house and waking in the steamy early morning to drive to pick up bushels of fresh corn, peaches, or whatever. We’d go home and wash and clean the produce and then start the canning process. I remember one summer I shucked so many ears of corn I was sure there was no more corn left in the state that hadn’t passed through my hands.

I also remember making pickles. That was something my mom, grandma and I would do. The kitchen would be so hot – Grandma didn’t have air conditioning – and we’d be working over that hot, steamy canning pot. I loved to watch the jars as they were boiling in the pot. And I loved to add the spices to the cucumber brine and smell the pungent aroma as everything came together.

Then came the ladling of the pickles into the jars. It was my job to clean the tops of the jars and add the rings and tops. I loved flirting with danger as I gently dropped the lids onto the hot jars.

Another one of my favorite jobs was when we made jelly. We usually made grape jelly because my grandfather had scuppernongs growing in the garden. I loved walking under the vines, looking for just the perfect, plump, juicy grape and popping it into my mouth. We made jelly with the grapes, and wine, too. I’m not sure which process I liked the best.

I wasn’t as involved in the jelly making process, simply because the hot jelly is somewhat akin to molten lava. I think Mom and Grandma were worried I’d get burned. But I did love melting the wax that we’d pour over the hot jelly to seal the jars. Once it started to cool and get opaque, I’d sneak into the kitchen and stick my fingers into the wax, marking them with my own personal seal, I thought.

My grandparents had a “pump room” on the back of their house. It housed their water heater and shelves upon shelves of canned vegetables, fruits, etc. I loved to walk in there with Grandma. It smelled musty and was always cool, but it was like walking into a cave of treasures. I would look at the jars lined up neatly on the shelves and remember the previous summer when I’d helped to put the vegetables up for the year. I can still smell the musty dampness even today.

I wish my grandma was still here today to help me teach my girls the almost-lost art of canning. Those are memories I will cherish forever, in spite of the heat, the burns, and the messes we had to clean. I loved those hours I spent in the kitchen with Grandma.

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