Recently, it’s been the lack thereof.  You’d think in these  competitive times, customer service would be a priority. I know lots of companies say that is their top priority but there are some that are lacking. I will be naming names.

• DIL#2 decided to look for a new refrigerator and/or mattress set. It was a sultry Sunday afternoon and with nothing else to do, I said, Sure, I’ll tag along.  Our first stop was at Sears since she’d seen a flyer advertising their current sale. We walked in and several workers were standing at the registers/CS desk. A fellow said, “Whatcha looking for today?”  She said a refrigerator and could she get it delivered in a day? He replied, no – usually takes 3-4 days but take a look and let me know any model numbers you’re interested in and I’ll see what delivery time would be.  No offer of going with us to the appliance section or engaging us in any way.  While we were looking no one ever came over to check  on us.  We  found a couple and went back to the front of the store. There was no one there so we left.  Our next stop was at Ashley Furniture. As soon as we walked in we were greeted and asked what we were looking for. She said a mattress and the salesperson directed us to that area and said he’d send someone right over. In a few minutes the manager of that department introduced himself and began asking questions about what she had in mind and if there was a specific health issue she was hoping to alleviate with a new set. His explanations of foundations, toppers, pillows and firmness was illuminating.  Needless to say there’s no new refrigerator at the house but she’s sleeping much better at night.
• I recently accompanied Son DM on a business trip to Northern Mississippi (what was I e thinking: Mississippi in late August?!).  He had a rental car reserved with  Avis that he was to pick up at 9:00. We were going to be a bit late so he called them to let them know and make sure the car would be ready. When the phone rang, a voice said, “Hello.”  Not, Good morning,  this is Beckie at Avis. How may I help you?”  Just “hello”. That should have been our first warning. He told her we’d be a bit late. She replied, “OK, car is getting oil change so it may be ready when you get here.”  When we did get to the location, DM went in. He returned in less than 10 minutes so I knew something was wrong. He was upset and explained: when he entered, the woman behind the counter (dressed in a tee shirt) sighed loudly. When he jokingly said, having a bad day, she replied, Yes, due to people like you reserving cars and expecting to pick one up.  OK then.  He inquired as to the status of his rental and she said it wouldn’t be ready for an hour, if then. Not once did she offer another vehicle or an explanation as to why it wasn’t ready.  He immediately called Avis Customer Service. The lady who answered was very apologetic but that didn’t get us a rental vehicle.  He then called Enterprise and was told yes, there were rentals available at their location a few miles away.  When we got there, the employees were wearing their company jackets and said Hello, how can we help you as soon as we entered.  They offered bottles of water and a phone charger (that he forgot to bring) at no extra cost. Needless to say, he’ll be using Enterprise Rental from now on.

That’s what I thought when friend VR called and said she had tickets to a match for Saturday night of the Race City Rebels. Well, nothing else happening on a hot, humid July evening so I said sure, let’s go.  VR’s co-worker is on the team (#9 Rebel Yell) and invited her to attend.  Since the match didn’t start till 7:30 and was at Ellenberger Ice Rink (minus the ice) we had time for dinner and picked Chef Dan’s in Irvington.  If you’ve not tried out this place – shame on you.  It’s Mississippi/Louisiana cooking in the heart of Indy.  Check out their link: http://chefdansindy.com

We got to the Rink with a few minutes to go in the Naptown Roller Girls match and discovered without the ice, the Rink is very toasty, especially on a late July evening.  They did provide energy efficient fans: cardboard on a wooden stick.  We found a couple of chairs and started to peruse the crowd.

Obviously, our clothing color was wrong – almost everyone had on black, and we def didn’t sport enough tats. No matter, the crowd was excited and totally engrossed in the match.  We had no idea what was going on; all we knew was they were going around in a circle, trying to stay between the markers and the referees blew their whistles and made all kinds of hand motions. During a time out a fellow would skate out and re-tape the circle.  The Roller Derby Girls won by a large margin; we have no idea who the opponent was. At the end of the game the crowd jumped up and stood around the circle to get a hand slap from the teams.

There was a short break then the men’s team took the floor.  The acoustics were terrible, it sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher: wha, wha, wha. Plus, there was loud music playing so we were at a complete loss but determined to not use technology for information. Everyone jumped up again and got hand slaps as the teams were introduced. I wish we could have heard the announcer, the web site has a team roster and their names are very colorful!

During the men’s game we did figure out that there was one guy trying to get through a group of opponents and if he did it three times, it was a grand slam.  We never did figure out the scoring or any of the penalty calls. I think there were seven officials; it took that many to keep an eye on all the skaters.

I looked up the Race City Rebels after I got home and they have a handy FAQ on their website.  We weren’t too off in how we thought the match was played but I learned a lot more.  Check it out for yourself:  http://www.racecityrebels.com.

Just one more thing I can add to my Life List of things I’ve done.

Back when there was a cable ‘box’ I enjoyed the early years of HGTV. Since I’ve ‘cut the cable cord’ I get my remodel fix by watching PBS shows. When Son #1 asked me to pet-sit while they were on vacation I said sure – they have satellite and Netflix – win/win for me! I remembered all the fun shows I used to watch: Design on a Dime, Decorating Cents, Curb Appeal, and Holmes on Homes. Then I got a rude awakening – it was nothing but repeats all day or night long of the same shows: people looking for houses on a beach, in another country or less than 150 sq. feet; people flipping houses, people remodeling then selling a house, people letting brothers remodel and sell their house. . . . Not any of the quick and easy fix it shows from the old days.
I tried watching but after a few, it became apparent that there are plenty of highly opinionated, non-imaginative folks looking for a home. The price tags for these are incomphrendable to me. Guess things are different outside the Midwest. This was just another version of reality TV with whiners and it’s all about me participants. I was also very disappointed that when they did a remodel, the cabinets and fixtures were completely destroyed. You’d think in this day and age they’d reuse and recycle all of that. Habitat for Humanity would be glad to get those things for their ReStore facilities. I checked on-line to see why the changes and found out most of them are scripted and produced in Canada even tho the HGTV headquarters is in Knoxville, TN. The homeowners are carefully chosen and of course the hosts don’t do any of the actual work.
I suppose you can find all the projects you’d ever want on Pintrest with videos and instructions. Just search on YouTube and you’ll be able to learn to knit or crochet. Gone are the days when you learned these things from your Grandmother.
On my “free” TV there was a Live Well Network and it had some hands on, crafty shows. But the local station discontinued it so I watch it via my laptop now. I still watch This Old House but deep down, the Scott brothers are much better to look at than Norm and Roger!