Common Sense: The Lost Art

Since leaving the city, it has been my utmost pleasure to become knowledgeable about rural postal service.

There is none.

When we moved to the country, we were informed that our local post office did not deliver to people's homes. If you wanted to receive mail, you were required to get a post office box. Most of us did not have to pay for the boxes since having it delivered to our homes was not an option.

You can imagine the joys of trying to receive merchandise ordered online from companies whose customer information request clearly states NO PO BOXES in the shipping address line.

I recently ordered some shirts for the Bear and chose to have them shipped to my employer's physical address via UPS. You'd think since the UPS guy has been in the office delivering other stuff, choosing UPS was a safe choice and I wouldn't run the risk of having my purchases returned.

You'd also think, with their current financial woes, that postal workers would put a little extra effort in pleasing the customers that actually still use the post office for their delivery needs instead of using the internet to pay all their bills and correspond with loved ones.

You'd think.

Apparently, nobody is too concerned with customer service these days.

My UPS package (with the physical delivery address on it) was delivered to the post office (which requires a PO Box number on it) where I had to track it down myself before it was sent back (for not having a PO Box number on it) and where I was told to use a PO Box number for my shipping address (which requires a physical delivery address).

Gas is starting to sound cheaper than a migraine at this point.

Beware the disgruntled customer letter-writer!!

We are in the process of redecorating our offices at work and, being the person in charge, I took a day off to travel to the city for some furniture shopping. We need a conference room table with several chairs, we need some guest chairs for the individual offices, and we need two really nice chairs for our reception room.

I put together a short list of all the best clearance and outlet locations so that I could use my one day wisely and, hopefully, successfully.

I started out yesterday at about 9am and by 1pm I had everything I was looking for except the two chairs for the reception room. I had seen a couple of nice riveted leather chairs earlier in the day but it was one of those "What if I find something I like better?" situations. But by the time I had visited all the stores on my list, I had not found anything better so I went back to make a deal on the two riveted leather chairs.

Keep in mind that this store is basically the scratch and dent dumpyard for a local furniture chain. And if you get lucky and have a little initiative, you can find great deals on furniture that requires minimal repair. Or can be strategically placed so that no one ever sees the damage.

Okay, so I go back to the store looking to make a deal on the two chairs. They were marked $244 each. One of them had a leg that would need to be removed, repaired, and re-attached. So I asked the salesman if he would take $400 for the pair. He told me that he couldn't make that call but I could speak to the store manager. So I go over to the manager's desk and say, "You have two chairs over there marked $244 each. Would you be willing to take $400 for both of them?"

Here's the part that tee-totally pisses me straight off:

He just looks at me.
Smirks a little.
Shakes his head.

Me: "Sooooooooooo, you're not interested in making a deal?"

Looks at me.
Shakes his head.

WTF?!!?!?!!! HE DIDN"T EVEN SPEAK WORDS TO ME! As if I am so dim that shaking his head is the only form of communication that I will understand.

And you know what? If he had just said to me, "Ma'am, we have this stuff priced as low as we can" or "I wish I could" or "That has been a popular item and it sells really well at that price" (or anything!) I STILL WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE FLIPPIN CHAIRS! I was willing to take the hit on the $88 if he wasn't.

But you know what I did?

I walked out.

And straight to my computer when I returned to my office to write a letter to the company to inform them that they had lost a good customer forever. I bought my new living room and bedroom furniture there when my first husband and I divorced. I bought several tables and shelving units there when I opened my gift store a few years ago. And we were in there just last month looking at new mattresses and home office furnishings.

So yes, that company just lost a good customer. A good customer who USED TO spread the word about their good quality and great prices.

This time, I hope my letter elicits a termination of employment. Maybe that manager would do better as a telemarketer or something. NOT.

Wrong Thoughts on Products e-Store Grand Opening!!

It's official. Wrong Thoughts on Products is now open for bidness.

I have launched myself out in to the all-consuming void that is known as e-commerce. We'll see how long this lasts.

But I had fun creating the products just for you in my e-store. Or rather, I had fun coming up with the smarmy comments to put on products. There are lots of products offered on CafePress so if you see a product I don't have but think I should and you even have a good idea what to print on it, let me know. Not that I would share the loot with you or anything but I will give you props on the blog. Just saying.

Now, where's your credit card?