Finding the Dedication

During my relaxing vacation as I was sitting by the pool enjoying the fantastic Orlando weather, I came to the realization that the dedication I have for my work I don’t have in my personal life. I wasn’t always like this but I can’t seem to pin point when it happened. I felt like I had to choose one over the other without thinking it through all the way. I can have what I want but just need to stay dedicated to the tasks /goals I have set. That brings me to my goals I set at the beginning of the year and my failed attempt at staying the course. Well, enough is enough. I am declaring today that I am dedicating myself to my goals and will make sure that I achieve them by years’ end, no excuses, no wimping out. But isn’t that what many of us do if there isn’t instant gratification-we stop trying!

Well, I am grabbing my support system, restating my goals for 2010 and making it happen. I am going to use my blog to chronicle my trials and tribulations but also celebrate my successes.

When Customer Service Fails – Two Great Examples

A couple of big companies do not think that they have to provide good customer service.  I guess business must be so good for each one of them that they cannot respond to a complaint or help with an issue that is extremely important.  Let me breakdown each of the situations and how they failed.

The first company that failed was Wendy’s.  On February 25, the hubby and I were looking for a little snack while wrapping up some errands.  We went through the drive-thru at their location on Sutton Road in Streamwood, Illinois.  First of all, the person taking our order could not understand what we were asking for and we had to repeat the order a couple of times.  Then, when we got to the window to pay with our gift card, she could not explain to us why there was not enough on the card.  Our understanding was that we had not used the card before (We keep the receipts with the gift cards just so we know what we have on them).  Anyways, she couldn’t tell us what the problem was and on top of it, was too busy talking in Spanish to one of her associates that was behind her.  A trip through the drive-thru that should have taken maybe 3 minutes top, took about 10 minutes.  When we got home, we were so frustrated that we turned on the computer to log a complaint.  I filled out their form, gave all my information including my email and phone number.  After I submitted the form, it told me that I would receive a reply back within two business days.  Today is March 9.  Do you think I have received a response back yet?  To this date I have not received a response back.  Not good for Wendy’s.  As a business, if you are going to put yourself out there to respond to emails, tweets, posts on FB, etc., make sure that the person(s) handling that for you is doing their job.  In this case, they are not.

The second company that failed this past week was Verizon Wireless.  My 91 year-old grandfather is a current Verizon Wireless customer.  Last week, he received a bill in the mailing saying he owed over $500 in fees for phones he does not own.  He called my mom to ask for her help with this.  After talking with him, we discovered that he had received a bill a month ago and went into the Verizon Wireless in Niles, Illinois to find out what it was about.  When he did that he found out that there were 4 lines that were opened up in January.  He told the representative at the store that he never opened those up.  That representative took his bill and said that they would mark it fraud.  They did not give him any other information which put us in the predicament that we are in today. 

On Saturday, my mom and sister went with my grandfather to the store with the second bill.  All they could tell them was that it was marked fraud and could not give out any other information.  They would have to contact their fraud department, which is not open on the weekend.  They were so furious with this that they gave me a call to find out what they could do since I use to work for them back in the day.  I told them that they should have never taken the bill from my grandfather and if it were me, I would have broken down what he would need to do.  I mean we are talking about identity theft.  I told them to call the 800# to see if they could help.  They were given the same story about having to talk to the fraud department.  My grandfather added my sister to his account so she could help him with the situation since again he is 91 years old and does not understand everything that is going on with this.

That brings us to yesterday’s phone call to the fraud department.  They were extremely rude to my sister, basically saying oh well, too bad for him.  They said that they could not provide her with any of the information regarding how the lines were activated, what the first address was on the account since he NEVER received any statements from them or any other pertinent information.  The representative in the fraud department said that he would have to file a police report and the police would have to subpoena the records.  Really?!  Verizon, you let this go through and should shoulder the blame for this.  In addition, you should provide people with the appropriate information in order to take care of this very serious situation.  We have no idea if this person who signed up for these lines is also doing other things with his credit/SSN.  Nice job Verizon.

In today’s economy, companies should be making sure that they show some compassion to their customers and try to help them out in every way possible.  I know that many companies cannot afford to lose customers but I guess these two companies can.

I Have To Have This

I received an email this morning from Williams-Sonoma about their annual sale.  I love looking through their bakeware section to see what new gadgets they have.  I stumbled across this new bakeware for a cake and instantly fell in love.  It is a two cookie cake pan that basically looks like a giant Oreo cookie when it is complete.  I love Oreo cookies and think this is a very cool idea.  They have a receipe to go along with the cake which I love because they aren’t just showing you a picture of this really cool pan but not telling you how to make it.  If it isn’t electronics, it is bakeware that is high up on my wishlist!

Home Improvement: Deciding What To Do

The hubby and I decided that it was time to start adding our personal touch to our home by tackling some home improvement projects.  I am a little lost without my partner in home improvement crime, my mom, but was hopeful that Jay would catch the home improvement bug.  Jay’s philosophy when it comes to home improvement is that you can pay someone to do it for you so you don’t have to do the work.  My philosophy is a little different which prompted a slight debate.  I am all about getting my hands dirty and seeing the fruits of my labor.  I will attempt to try something that I haven’t done before as long as I am not concerned that I might not do it right.  At that point, I know I need to call a professional. 

I have been very persistent about the projects that I would like to do but Jay was slow to come around.  I decided to jump start the process by getting a quote on what it would cost to put a new shower in our main bathroom.  He was not happy about having to allot an hour on a Saturday morning for a consultation.  I knew without knowing the cost we wouldn’t know where to start.  Wouldn’t you know it, I was right.  After hearing what it would cost, I decided that we could get a bigger bag for our buck at the moment by tackling the smaller bathroom.  However, I needed to get Jay’s buy in to start looking around.  About two weeks ago, I was able to convince Jay to go to a couple home improvement stores to start pricing out what we would need.  Wouldn’t you know that once he saw something he liked that I was able to get his buy in.  Even though I have a vision of what I would like our bathroom to look like, I want to make sure that he has his say in it as well because I am not the only person who uses it.  In addition, I want both of us to feel confident about our renovation so we can a) enjoy it while we live here and b) when it is time to sell, we don’t have to do anything to it because we keep that in mind when we were doing it. 

Here is my advice on determing what home improvement project to tackle:

• Budget, budget, budget
  • Make sure you and your significant other have discussed what your budget is.  If you don’t have a set budget, your spending could spiral out of control so quickly you wouldn’t even realize it.
  • One of you should be accountable for keeping track of the spending to ensure that you stay on budget.
• If there are a couple of projects on your to-do list make a comparision sheet of costs and time to help make the decision
• Comparision shopping
  • Don’t just go to the closet home improvement store because it is convenient.  Check all the options available within your area.  Each store carries different products/vendors.
  • Most home improvement stores also have an online store.  These stores offer you an opportunity to look at their selection and help you form your style asthetic for your project.  They also give you the opportunity to create a list of the products you see on their store. 
  • Check out discount or outlet stores that offer the product that you are looking for.  You might be able to find something that was out of your price range in a regular home improvement store that they offer in a limited quantity.
• HGTV and DIY Network shows and online websites.  They not only offer ideas, advice and step-by-step instructions, they also have a forum for do-it-yourselfers to talk about their projects and share pictures of the outcome. 
• Talk with family and friends about what you are thinking about doing.  You might be surprised the ideas they might have.  You also might luck out in getting a helping hand.

I Heart New York City

The hubby and I had our very first experience with New York last week.  It was one of my favorite vacations that we have taken. As much as I love Chicago, I think New York stole my heart. It has its own unique pulse that beats steadily throughout.

Check out our pictures at: http://libbyjaypawlick.shutterfly.com/pictures/3934

Wednesday
We flew United into LaGuardia which reminded us of Midway except dirtier. Fought through the insane New York traffic to get to our hotel which was located in Battery Park. Once we were settled in, we decided we had to brave the pouring rain to find ourselves something to eat. We wandered through the Financial District before we located an authentic New York deli. The selection of fresh meat was wonderful and tempting. We both decided on a hot corned beef sandwich. It was heaven on warm rye bread. After eating we were silly enough to walk by the river to catch a look at the Statue of Liberty. Not the smartest idea. We ended up getting soaked and decided to go back to the hotel.

That night we had dinner at Broadway Joe’s in the Theatre District before our show. We saw Burn The Floor. It is two hours of non-stop ballroom dancing. It features Anya and Pasha from So You Think You Can Dance. The dancers are amazing. It was a great show. After the show we headed over to Times Square. That area is very cool. The lights definitely draw you in.

Thursday
My feet hated me by the end of the day. We started our discovery tour around Central Park. The colors are amazing with all the trees in their various stages of the fall. We couldn’t muster the energy to walk through the park with everything else we wanted to see. Instead we headed over to 5th Avenue as we made our way to the Rockefeller Center. The ice skating rink was already up and packed with ice skaters. We really wanted to go up the Empire State building so decided not to go to the “Top of the Rock.”. With that, we started walking to the Empire State building. As we approached we saw a very long line around the building. It ended up being the line to go up. We decided not to wait and headed back to Times Square for a slice of New York style pizza. It was very tasty but nothing compares to a Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

Friday
After seeing the extremely long line for the Statue of Liberty the day before, we decided to get an early start. We went through airport-like security to be able to see the statue and Ellis Island. Once they loaded us up like a can of sardines we were off. The view of Manhattan was even better in person. We went to the Statue of Liberty first. It is an amazing sight to see. After that we went to Ellis Island. They restored the buildings back to the way they where when immigrants were coming through. Jay’s great-grandfather’s name was listed on the wall of names in the courtyard of those who passed through. It was very cool.

In the afternoon we headed over to the World Trade Center site. There are no words to describe what we saw. When we think about all that we saw on TV and on documentaries, it was almost surreal. After walking around I dragged Jay into a department store called Century 21. It is like Woodfield Mall on Christmas Eve. There were some really great deals to be had but it was so packed that we had to leave. After that we headed back to the hotel before dinner. That evening we found ourselves drawn back to Times Square. We went to ESPN Zone which overlooked a portion of Times Square. We had a great dinner of steak and sports.

Saturday
We slept in before having to head back to Chicago. It was unusually warm but very windy. We walked around and grabbed some lunch. It was sad to leave because there was so much more to see. I can’t wait for the next time we can go back to NYC. It truly is a one-of-a-kind place.