Customer Service?

Last night Tara, Kennedy, and I went to Circuit City to purchase two items: a digital camcorder (for Kennedy's first birthday) and a printer (our's died last week). I had been looking around online for the best deals and C.C. had some pretty good prices on each item.

After looking at the items, we were ready to make our purchases. Only one problem, the price at the store was more expensive than it was online. I mentioned this to a clerk who promptly told me that the prices online were "Web Only" specials. I informed him that I was here and ready to make the purchase, if I got the online price. "Sorry, you'll need to go home and order the items online and then come back to pick them up." Is there some type of customer service logic that I'm missing here. I always assumed that when you have a customer in front of you, with cash in hand, ready for a purchase - you do everything you can to make it happen. Sending me home generally equals LOSS OF SALE.

So, we went home and I started looking at every other company I could think of to buy the same items. Unfortunately, C.C. still had the best prices, by quite a bit. I went back to their website and ordered the items. Second problem - You have to print the confirmation email to pick up your purchases. Remember now, what was one of my purchases? I was tempted to go back to the store with only the confirmation number to pick up my items and when questioned about the confirmation email say, "How can I print a confirmation email, when I'm buying a printer?" I decided that this would result in a brain hemorrhage for the 19-year-old GED grad at the counter, so I saved myself the hassle and printed the confirmation email next door.

I don't know why I'm telling you all of this, but now you know why I hate shopping so much!

Interesting Request

I had to laugh this morning when I was checking my email and I had a request from someone in New Jersey to reference something I had written in one of my Master's projects in her paper on Vygotsky. Take a look:

Dear Jared Covili,

I am writing a paper for a graduate class at Willliam Paterson University in NJ :Language and Culture. I read your paper which I found on the Internet and I would like to know if it would be alright to mention you in my works cited page. Although I did not use an quotes, I found your paper http://home.utah.edu/~jjc03270/papers/vygotsky2.html quite helpful in forming my ideas to write the paper. Please let me know if it is alright to include you in the Works cited page.

Thank you Mary Gould

It shows once again that once your life is out there on the web, you never know who'll find it. I guess I should feel honored that Mary wants to reference my work, but now I'm torn - Should I tell Mary I got a "B" on that paper?

Snow + UTA = @~$+*#&^!!!!!

We finally had the first major snowfall of the season in SLC, and for those of you saying, "Oh, I love the snow. It's so fluffy and white. Hooray!" I remind you that if it snows while you're at work you still have to get home. Since I ride the bus this can be particularly agonizing.

There are a select group of people who ride the bus everyday - we are the "Busers", "Bus Folk", "Bus Freaks", etc. We are a comfortable social group who like to read books, listen to music, and avoid eye contact with any other "Bus Freak". Normally, there aren't any issues which upset our little world of isolated transportation. However, on snowy days we have another group of people who show up on the bus, they're called "Wusses." Since, they don't normally ride the bus, they upset our established dynamic and force everyone into uncomfortable travel. Here's how:

1. They make the buses run late. It's not bad enough that the weather already slows us down, they slow the buses down. They don't know where there stops are, they forget when they pay, they are slow getting on and off the bus. Yesterday, the bus was 45 minutes late picking us up and the U.

2. They take up extra seats. A "Bus Freak" knows how to make room so that more people can fit onto the bus. "Wusses" are only concerned with themselves and their problems. Yesterday, I was forced to stand in the isle on over half the trip home until a good percentage of "Wusses" left the bus.

3. They talk to you. A "Wuss" always wants you to know all about themselves and why they are riding the bus that day. "Bus Freaks" don't talk to one another on the bus. We simply try to get from place to place as quickly as possible and with the least amount of human interaction. I almost never talk with anyone on the bus and yesterday I was annoyed by two separate "Wusses."

It has cleared off today and I hope that gets rid of the "Wusses" I rode home with yesterday. It's bad enough that you are outside in the snow and 20 degree temperatures. It's even worse when riding home with "Wusses" makes me want to walk home instead. Can't you leave a "Bus Freak" alone?!?!?!?

Bagong Gupit

Over the weekend I did something that only happens about twice a year. I got a haircut. Many of you are thinking that a haircut really isn't blog worthy, and normally I would agree, but there isn't a whole lot going on right now...

Two things determine where I will get my haircut: 1. Whether or not there's a line. 2. If the place has a coupon or special going on. I'm not that particular about who cuts my hair; I only care about the price and the time involved. Too high on either account and I'll simply wait another month or two before I have the locks cut.

On Saturday, Sports Clips met both of my difficult criteria. No line and a coupon - what could be better!!! One of my favorite questions when you go to get your haircut is, "So how would you like it cut?" I always have the same response, "Short." You can tell that I comb my hair a certain way, based upon how it looks when I come in. I want the same style, only shorter. I don't think there should be much of an issue here. I don't go to the barber for a lifestyle change, I simply want to see past my bangs again.

The only tense part of the haircutting experience, was when Candy, or Barbie, or whatever the girl cutting my hair's name was, got into an argument with one of the other stylists over some kind of salon etiquette issue. If you're like me, the last thing you want is someone to be angry while they are coming near your head with scissors. I managed to keep Candy calm, and got out of Sports Clips without a Mohawk or a giant nick in the back of my head. Crisis averted!! Oh well, wait another 6 months for my next haircutting adventure.

Tis the Season?

I never know whether or not it's too early to start getting ready for Christmas. At my office, Vickie starts listening to Christmas music in July, just because it may be snowing somewhere, and Ross practically shoved presents down our throats on Dec. 1. Is that getting a bit ahead of ourselves, maybe? I've always had a rule that you can't start getting ready for Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. That being said we began this week getting our home decorated for the Holiday Season.

Last night we took turns, with Kennedy's help, putting lights on the tree. This has got to be the worst part of decorating for Christmas. Getting poked by a million pine needles and watching half your lights stop working, once they're on the tree of course, is not my idea of a good time. Once they're on it's great, but the process of applying lights to a tree is about the same scale of difficulty as putting mittens on an angry cat. Anyway, we're almost done with the decorating and then the Holidays can officially begin at the Covili home.