We've all had "those" experiences. The ones where we call an 800 number to find resolution to a product or service we've paid our good money for. Most of them are a total frustration. In fact the credit card commercials featuring "Peggy" are pretty much on the mark. And even when the person on the other end of the line speaks English as their primary language (thus very understandable) you are often left with the feeling that you are interrupting them from something more important or that they have less knowledge than you do on how to solve a problem with your latest techno-toy. (Yes, I've rebooted about 100 times!)
Customer service really requires the right attitude and the right tools. You have to make the person you are serving believe that you enjoy helping them and the company you work for has to provide the appropriate resources for you to find and fix their problem (a good data base, good software or just good training in using a technical item.) I know that it's hard to instill trust and confidence in the first few seconds of a phone conversation, but believe me, it happens! The initial 30 seconds can pretty much tell you if this will be a good experience or another "Peggy" experience.
I had an OUTSTANDING customer service experience yesterday that deserves reporting. I ordered a pair of shoes from an English company, Hotter several weeks ago. The shoes arrived and were well made and a good fit, but the style did not agree with my deformed, bunion plagued feet. Exchanges are provided postage free so I wrapped them back up and sent them back with another style choice that seemed like it wouldn't hurt my sensitive bunion area. Since they go to England the delivery time each way is much longer than we have come to expect here. I wanted to see if indeed my shoes had arrived. I called their 800 number and reached a representative apparently in England. This woman was delightful. Not only could she tell me that indeed my shoes had arrived but also that the others would be in the "post" shortly. She was outstandingly pleasant, made me feel like a valued customer and put a smile on my face. My take away is this: either Hotter has a great customer service training program which they should market, or England has a great custom of politeness which we would do well to incorporate into our society here. Hopefully the next pair of shoes will be a wonderful fit and I will have fun filling my closet with other styles while Hotter will have gained a very loyal, shoe loving, customer in me.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Internet Ages With Us
Just last year I was a "googlenope" when serched for by my birth name in quotes. This means that Google came up with no hits on my first and madian names occuring in order. That wasn't totally surprising since both names were uncommon and the internet didn't exist when I used that name. Interestingly, though, my name is now searchable. I don't use it anymore and am not creating any new records but older school yearbooks and documentation is slowly being stored online so that now I must give up my googlenope status.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The Gift of TV
I used to think very little of TV watching. And there were quite a few years of my life during which I did not own a TV and then more years yet when I owned a TV but did not have any TV service (we just watched VHS tapes) and more years yet when the only TV watched was snowy "free" TV using "rabbit ears" that had to be positioned just so to get any picture at all. This was not because technology hadn't advanced. This was because I thought TV watching was something I didn't want in my life at all.
But, like many things, my opinions have mellowed as I got older. I came to see that TV, particularly local stations, in some weird way provide some unity to a community. They are a common thread that a broad spectrum of the population are exposed to and experience. The same can be said for TV programs that are shared with others. I enjoy watching TV with my husband and following particular TV programs each week. TV is much less enjoyable to me when I am alone. If it's not a really good story, I'd rather be reading a book or doing another activity.
Over the past year son #3 has given me the gift of TV. Now, there are few activities that a mother can share with her grown son. Even hiking, which we both enjoy, is difficult to share. He is young and strong and not only prefers more challenging hikes than I can't handle, but hikes at a pace that is just about impossible for me to keep up with. But, TV viewing does not discriminate. As long as you can see and hear and still have your wits about you enough to follow a story line, you can enjoy TV. Unlike the theater or movies you don't have to travel to get there since basically, it comes to you. Son #3 and I found a few series that we could enjoy together. Thanks to Netflix we could start with the beginning of the first year and work our way forward. When I know he is coming home for a week or so I try to have the next DVD ready to go. Our favorite series at present is Dexter. It's an oddly intriguing series about a sort of vigilante serial killer. Sometimes we would find ourselves talking about the plot line and suggesting ways that we thought it would progress. Even though it is a passive activity, it is a shared activity. For a short time our experience was shared. A small part of our life was the same.
So, while I think TV can be overdone, I think it can also provide a shared experience for people - family or community - to unite around. And like so many other aspects of life (think diet), there is a balance to TV viewing, an amount that enhances life without overtaking life.
And so we circle back to balance.
But, like many things, my opinions have mellowed as I got older. I came to see that TV, particularly local stations, in some weird way provide some unity to a community. They are a common thread that a broad spectrum of the population are exposed to and experience. The same can be said for TV programs that are shared with others. I enjoy watching TV with my husband and following particular TV programs each week. TV is much less enjoyable to me when I am alone. If it's not a really good story, I'd rather be reading a book or doing another activity.
Over the past year son #3 has given me the gift of TV. Now, there are few activities that a mother can share with her grown son. Even hiking, which we both enjoy, is difficult to share. He is young and strong and not only prefers more challenging hikes than I can't handle, but hikes at a pace that is just about impossible for me to keep up with. But, TV viewing does not discriminate. As long as you can see and hear and still have your wits about you enough to follow a story line, you can enjoy TV. Unlike the theater or movies you don't have to travel to get there since basically, it comes to you. Son #3 and I found a few series that we could enjoy together. Thanks to Netflix we could start with the beginning of the first year and work our way forward. When I know he is coming home for a week or so I try to have the next DVD ready to go. Our favorite series at present is Dexter. It's an oddly intriguing series about a sort of vigilante serial killer. Sometimes we would find ourselves talking about the plot line and suggesting ways that we thought it would progress. Even though it is a passive activity, it is a shared activity. For a short time our experience was shared. A small part of our life was the same.
So, while I think TV can be overdone, I think it can also provide a shared experience for people - family or community - to unite around. And like so many other aspects of life (think diet), there is a balance to TV viewing, an amount that enhances life without overtaking life.
And so we circle back to balance.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Old Person Alert
I don't feel old yet. In fact, sometimes I think the very core of who we are is very similar throughout the years. There are parts of me that feel like the same person I was in high school. I'm not so sure that is a good thing, but that's how it seems. But, I guess I'm seen as older than I think I feel.....
A few weeks ago I had some help here cleaning the house. When I came down the hardwood steps, the woman was cleaning the hardwood floor at the bottom. She said with alarm, "Be careful! The floor is wet! I always worry when old people walk on a wet floor!" Boy, did that one hit me. She thought I was old! I thought we were peers! Wow.
Then, a few days ago I had my glasses off to read something. I went to move on to the next task and couldn't find my glasses. I looked all around where I was sitting without success. So, I decided to walk into the bathroom and put my contacts in. When I looked in the mirror, there were my glasses - on top of my head!!
Maybe the cleaning lady was right.
A few weeks ago I had some help here cleaning the house. When I came down the hardwood steps, the woman was cleaning the hardwood floor at the bottom. She said with alarm, "Be careful! The floor is wet! I always worry when old people walk on a wet floor!" Boy, did that one hit me. She thought I was old! I thought we were peers! Wow.
Then, a few days ago I had my glasses off to read something. I went to move on to the next task and couldn't find my glasses. I looked all around where I was sitting without success. So, I decided to walk into the bathroom and put my contacts in. When I looked in the mirror, there were my glasses - on top of my head!!
Maybe the cleaning lady was right.
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Gift of Mail
I love to get mail. I've been this way forever. I remember waiting on the porch for the mailman when I was growing up. Believe it or not, during the holidays in the old days we sometimes got mail twice in one day! Of course most of the mail was for my parents, but they allowed me to claim some of the "occupant" mail for myself. Occasionally I received a real letter. Of course, people wrote more back then. Writing letters was a way of life. My oldest sister lived in Florida and she wrote us regularly. She sent letters to my parents but she also sent ones to me - addressed to seven year old ME in my OWN envelope! Of course I wrote back. Sometimes in the summer I would pick a pen pal from the back of a comic book (those were kinder, gentler, safer days) and exchanged letters until one of us lost interest. When you met friends during the summer you would exchange (no, not emails) addresses with promises to write faithfully - or at least until the activities of the new school year took over.
I still look forward to the mailman (or the mail lady in my case) each day. Most of the mail is junk variety looking for my money either by direct donation or by selling me something. But occasionally there is a letter and of course this time of year there were cards, some with little notes keeping me up to date on friends and family. To me the mail has always represented promise. You never know just what will show up in your box. Each day is the chance to receive a nice surprise. Granted, sometimes these are not nice surprises, but I don't focus on that. I'm always hopeful that there will be an unexpected good thing in the mail.
My family is well aware of my love for mail. Son #1 faithfully sends me a post card whenever he travels. Often he has been home for weeks before the postcard finds its way to me. But they are always appreciated and I've even started to keep them in a special notebook.
But this year he gave me a gift of mail! He gave me a set of hand made notecards with my state on the front and all the envelopes stamped and a nice pen. Then he told me that he bought a similar set (with his location on the front) for himself. And he told me that if I would write to him, he would respond with his notecards - hence the gift of mail!
I still look forward to the mailman (or the mail lady in my case) each day. Most of the mail is junk variety looking for my money either by direct donation or by selling me something. But occasionally there is a letter and of course this time of year there were cards, some with little notes keeping me up to date on friends and family. To me the mail has always represented promise. You never know just what will show up in your box. Each day is the chance to receive a nice surprise. Granted, sometimes these are not nice surprises, but I don't focus on that. I'm always hopeful that there will be an unexpected good thing in the mail.
My family is well aware of my love for mail. Son #1 faithfully sends me a post card whenever he travels. Often he has been home for weeks before the postcard finds its way to me. But they are always appreciated and I've even started to keep them in a special notebook.
But this year he gave me a gift of mail! He gave me a set of hand made notecards with my state on the front and all the envelopes stamped and a nice pen. Then he told me that he bought a similar set (with his location on the front) for himself. And he told me that if I would write to him, he would respond with his notecards - hence the gift of mail!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
A Winter Alternative to Salad
I had commented in a previous post that I find it difficult to eat a lot of salads in the winter. When the weather is cold, I want warm food. And without salads my vegetable intake really declines. Well, quite by accident I stumbled upon a great winter substitute: greens. When I was growing up my mother made greens for most holiday meals. They had an Italian twist both in the type of greens that she choose and the meat she used to flavor it with. She used the shank bone from a prosciutto that she would buy from an Italian deli. Although that cold cut is still made, they no longer use a piece of meat with the bone included. The prosciutto you buy today in your local supermarket is make of a boneless piece of meat that will easily slice on their machines.
My mother's greens were also sort of polorizing. There were those in the family - immediate and extended who loved the dish and couldn't get enough. And there were those who wouldn't touch the stuff. Interestingly that was repeated New Year's day when I presented my twist of greens. Son #2 wouldn't touch them, son #1 tried a small bite and then went back for more, son #3 wasn't present, but I can tell you with certainty that he would NOT have tried them and probably wouldn't even want the serving bowl near him!
The dish started out this way: my husband wanted boiled cabbage, another family member suggested collard greens (something I never even heard of until I moved "south"). I saw this as an opportunity to try to recreate a bit of my old Italian holiday meals. So, I made cabbage with collard greens using bacon and onion as the flavoring. The result was surprisingly tasty! I could see experimenting with other greens that are readily available here. You can pack a lot of vegetable servings in a moderate sized bowl of greens! And since I didn't boil them - they were steamed in the water that sticks to the leaves when you rinse them - most of the nutrients stayed intact.
I had to look up on the internet how to use collard greens. So, if anyone is interested: you don't use the middle vein or stem. They should be rinsed to remove dirt, although mine were pretty clean straight from the store. They have a lot of flavor and blended well with the more mild cabbage. A medium head of cabbage and one bunch of collards fed five people. I would put the recipe here, but instead I'm going to suggest that if indeed there are any readers out there interested - comment or email me and I'll send it to you.
My mother's greens were also sort of polorizing. There were those in the family - immediate and extended who loved the dish and couldn't get enough. And there were those who wouldn't touch the stuff. Interestingly that was repeated New Year's day when I presented my twist of greens. Son #2 wouldn't touch them, son #1 tried a small bite and then went back for more, son #3 wasn't present, but I can tell you with certainty that he would NOT have tried them and probably wouldn't even want the serving bowl near him!
The dish started out this way: my husband wanted boiled cabbage, another family member suggested collard greens (something I never even heard of until I moved "south"). I saw this as an opportunity to try to recreate a bit of my old Italian holiday meals. So, I made cabbage with collard greens using bacon and onion as the flavoring. The result was surprisingly tasty! I could see experimenting with other greens that are readily available here. You can pack a lot of vegetable servings in a moderate sized bowl of greens! And since I didn't boil them - they were steamed in the water that sticks to the leaves when you rinse them - most of the nutrients stayed intact.
I had to look up on the internet how to use collard greens. So, if anyone is interested: you don't use the middle vein or stem. They should be rinsed to remove dirt, although mine were pretty clean straight from the store. They have a lot of flavor and blended well with the more mild cabbage. A medium head of cabbage and one bunch of collards fed five people. I would put the recipe here, but instead I'm going to suggest that if indeed there are any readers out there interested - comment or email me and I'll send it to you.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
2011 Wrap Up: Year One of Retirement
Well, the holidays are over. The tree and decorations are down. The big meals have been made, eaten and cleaned up. It's time to get back to everyday living. I've caught up on most of the details of life that get pushed aside this time of year and I feel the need to touch base here before fully moving into the new year of activities. I've had many ideas come into my head that I wanted to write about but little time to do it. But for now, let's just stick with the recap.
Retirement: This was my first year of not working. I was a bit hesitant to retire at a younger age, but anxious to try it. As the year progressed I grew to love the freedom more and more. I've purposely NOT signed up for anything this past year - no gym membership, no volunteering, no regular commitments. I'm sure I won't continue that trend for the rest of my life, but it has been so freeing to have my time to myself each day. I know that my retirement won't look the same for the rest of my years, but for now I'm happy with how it looks.
Diet: I ended the year just a few pounds shy of my goal. Over the holidays I maintained the lost weight, but didn't continue to lose. I've stayed active and changed my eating habits for the better. I want to lose ten more pounds in 2012. This will bring my BMI into the acceptable range and should help keep my family history of Type II Diabetes in check (I hope).
Quilting: I've embraced quilting wholeheartedly. One of my gifts this Christmas was a pair of quilting books that will continue to teach me some of the basics. My first project of the new year will be a small wall hanging summarizing my projects of the last year. I hope to make that a yearly thing and a way to catalog what I've done. I also have a top that needs to be quilted and a few small projects in mind. Then I will start down my quilt list. The books have given me a few more ideas to add to the list too!
Travel: When I thought about retirement I expected to travel more especially with my husband on some of his business trips and to spend some time helping my oldest sister. Neither of these happened as I expected. I did get some awesome travel in, though, but I didn't accompany my husband as much as I thought. That may change a bit this next year. We'll see.
Parenting: The boys (men) are all in a good place in their lives. It's funny that I still consider this parenting even though they are adults and one is married. The thing is, sometimes as they grow older you see the outcome of decisions you made years ago in their upbringing. Some, I'm glad for; some I wish I could do over. I wish I was able to spend more time with them; I wish we were closer (relationship wise). Maybe additional years will bring that to pass.
Blogging: I've enjoyed my first attempt at blogging. It gives me a good outlet for writing down my thoughts and keeping track of some aspects of life. I don't know how long I'll continue or if I'll try to change my strategies any. I may work on changing the look of the blog some, just for the educational experience of it all. I enjoy watching the stats, slow as they may be. I'm curious how people come to find my blog since it has been pretty under the radar. I have yet to get my first official on the blog "comment". So, if anyone out there has anything al all to say, I'm all ears.
So, like it or not, the book is closed on the holidays and 2011. It's time to move forward and see what this next year has to bring.
Retirement: This was my first year of not working. I was a bit hesitant to retire at a younger age, but anxious to try it. As the year progressed I grew to love the freedom more and more. I've purposely NOT signed up for anything this past year - no gym membership, no volunteering, no regular commitments. I'm sure I won't continue that trend for the rest of my life, but it has been so freeing to have my time to myself each day. I know that my retirement won't look the same for the rest of my years, but for now I'm happy with how it looks.
Diet: I ended the year just a few pounds shy of my goal. Over the holidays I maintained the lost weight, but didn't continue to lose. I've stayed active and changed my eating habits for the better. I want to lose ten more pounds in 2012. This will bring my BMI into the acceptable range and should help keep my family history of Type II Diabetes in check (I hope).
Quilting: I've embraced quilting wholeheartedly. One of my gifts this Christmas was a pair of quilting books that will continue to teach me some of the basics. My first project of the new year will be a small wall hanging summarizing my projects of the last year. I hope to make that a yearly thing and a way to catalog what I've done. I also have a top that needs to be quilted and a few small projects in mind. Then I will start down my quilt list. The books have given me a few more ideas to add to the list too!
Travel: When I thought about retirement I expected to travel more especially with my husband on some of his business trips and to spend some time helping my oldest sister. Neither of these happened as I expected. I did get some awesome travel in, though, but I didn't accompany my husband as much as I thought. That may change a bit this next year. We'll see.
Parenting: The boys (men) are all in a good place in their lives. It's funny that I still consider this parenting even though they are adults and one is married. The thing is, sometimes as they grow older you see the outcome of decisions you made years ago in their upbringing. Some, I'm glad for; some I wish I could do over. I wish I was able to spend more time with them; I wish we were closer (relationship wise). Maybe additional years will bring that to pass.
Blogging: I've enjoyed my first attempt at blogging. It gives me a good outlet for writing down my thoughts and keeping track of some aspects of life. I don't know how long I'll continue or if I'll try to change my strategies any. I may work on changing the look of the blog some, just for the educational experience of it all. I enjoy watching the stats, slow as they may be. I'm curious how people come to find my blog since it has been pretty under the radar. I have yet to get my first official on the blog "comment". So, if anyone out there has anything al all to say, I'm all ears.
So, like it or not, the book is closed on the holidays and 2011. It's time to move forward and see what this next year has to bring.
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