What NEVER to do...

Hey, me again. I just saved a lot of money on my phone bill. NO, this isn't a geico or cell carrier ad, I just realized that I really don't need 1,000 messages per month. Most months I top out at 30. Actually, I just saved five dollars, but still...that adds up. I now have the 400 message plan, the smallest one they have.

Meh. OH MY GOODNESS. Let's just say we had a BAD customer last night. She was totally irrational over a ward directory. ONE PAGE in this directory was messed up. She had proofed it (approved it) with the wrong page before it was printed, she said she was "drunk with anger" over having waited there for "five hours" for the proof and thus did not notice. Now, I agree that our machine takes a while processing jobs with a bunch of photos in them, but:
1) She was NOT there for five hours. She came on Saturday, when we are open from 12 to 6. Kara (my coworker) worked from 1 to 4, and saw neither hide nor hair of her. This means she was there for one or two hours, tops.
2) SHE PROOFED IT. That's the bottom line. She neither told the technician there was a larger page in there, nor noticed the problem when she looked at it. How was anyone supposed to know there was a problem? After she proofed it, even if they had noticed the problem they would have assumed that's the way she wanted it.
3) We offered to replace the directories with the map correct, but she would not have it. Apparently, she had a ward party she was late to that she wanted to hand them out at. She had waited till the LAST MINUTE to pick these up. How smart is that?
Anyway, while we were trying to placate her, she was making remarks about the competence of the employees, etc. EXCUSE me, but we can hear you. We're right here, and we're people too. We're SORRY your job turned out wrong, it's not our fault, and you wouldn't let us fix it. GRR. She said, "I'm never coming here again." Seriously, Kara and I looked at each other. We were both going to burst out laughing. She looked at us and repeated, "Never." May I just say: GOOD. We really don't need customers like you. We would love it if customers like you NEVER came in. I wish I could have just said, "Thank you. Please be sure that you don't."
So then her guy friend (who has been in the shop before) came in. She ran on at the mouth at him, so he went to the computers. Then he comes back and tells me, "I just sent the ward map to the Docutech (our LARGE VOLUME printer). Print four." Well, we already had a ward directory processing on that machine, but I was afraid to contradict him. So I interrupted the job and set the map to printing. We waited...and I went to the CougarPrints manager to start another job as we waited. We waited...long story short, it wasn't printing. So, I asked him to send it to the 65 which would print automatically. Well, apparently the 65 was having an error where it wasn't showing up on the network.
SO... We asked him to send it to the 55 on the color side. It was slow, and only printed one of his map. Honestly, I think it was a problem with his file. So he waits. Meanwhile, the girl is talking and talking and talking with her friend, attacking the character and efficiency of the employees. She was saying (about me) "All she does is: (moves her hand in a typing motion)." Well, EXCUSE ME if we have other people to serve! There are other people in the universe besides you! Anyway, so the guy goes to her and shows her the map. Instead of looking it over to make sure it looks all right, she shrieks, "ONE?! WE WAITED IN HERE ALL THIS TIME FOR ONE?!" They had been there for 45 minutes, and had only been trying to print the map for ten.
SO we finally get this printed off, and he says to the girl, "I'm going to write a letter about this." She says, "Yeah, and I'll sign it." Like she expects that to strike fear into our hearts. Then she says, "ALL of their machines broke down? Sheesh, these people need to be trained." Well, we're not superbeings. Things break down. There's nothing we can do about it. Training has nothing to do with it. Then the guy comes up to me and says, "What's the name of the manager," once again like he expects it to strike fear into my heart. Smiling, I told him the manager's name. I really don't mind if he writes to Fred. In face, Kara and I wrote to Fred detailing the customers' complaints (I am quite proud of the fact that we were able to do it in an impartial manner).
This took up ALL our time from 7 to 8. So we had to stay late to finish up other jobs. GRR!

Moral of the story:
1) Don't be OCD.
2) Check your jobs THOROUGLY before approving them. The staff aren't psychic.
3) Allow yourself time when scheduling pick up for any random mistakes to be corrected (just in case).
4) If there is a mistake, BE KIND and PATIENT. Remember that these people are human. They deserve to be treated with respect. They will be more willing to fix your error and give you a discount if you are kind than if you treat them like dirt. Remember that they are there to serve you, and take pride in a job well done. They will be more than willing to fix the problem, and will do it as quickly as they can.
5) WATCH YOUR MOUTH. Just because they are behind the counter does not mean they cannot hear you. It also makes you look bad to the other patrons of the establishment. We had people coming in and out who were giving us VERY sympathetic looks. This girl going on and on about her problem wasn't gaining her a bit of sympathy, it just made her look bad.

I think that's it. If you made it this far, CONGRATULATIONS! Buy yourself some balloons and stop over at the shop for some hole-punch confetti. Go on, you deserve it!

((I need bubble wrap.))

Monday, Monday!

What a weekend! Saturday I went to Alicia's house to drop off a tape I borrowed a bit ago, and to give her her Christmas present (a singing frog). She loved the frog, and she gave me a DARLING little chinese box with two sets of chopsticks, a chinese doll pen, notepad, magnets, little dish thingies (;P) and other stuff. I love it!
(Insert picture here of darling chinese lunchbox)
When we came upstairs (we had gone down there to get my present), her dad said my parents had left and they'd be back to pick me up in 30 minutes. Now, Alicia's dad is quite the trickster, and he's expressed interest in "adopting" me many a time, so I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. Then I remembered that Mommy and Daddy had talked about looking at some of the used car lots in town (we're still looking to replace the Suburban). So Alicia and I talked about everything under the sun. She's jealous of my phone and my laptop (hee hee). She still hasn't found another job, so there go any plans for together time anytime soon. Maybe not, though: The best news is that she may be taking some classes down at the main campus this summer! That's not far from my house!

Alicia. I took a pic with my phone. What a cutie, even when pouting!

Then I got to go home and eat lunch with Mommy and the kids. Mommy ate all the yummy hash browns, however. *pout* I wonder if I could make some of those this Saturday. I had a tuna fish sandwich (Janette made it, and it was YUMMY). Then Mommy and Janette and I went to...let's see, what DID we go to do? Oh, yes, we went to go get fabric for my underskirt for my Chinese dress, and a few shirts for Mommy. We got a cute Tinkerbelle shirt for Janette (it says something like, "What's not to love?"). She LOVES Tinkerbelle.
Then I had to go home. *sigh* Not the family home, home home. I found some funny Star Trek bloopers on YouTube and consoled myself by watching those and completely forgetting about my laundry.
Sunday I was visited by home teachers (no, wait, that was Saturday). I got up and went to church. We had some good lessons. Then came the FUN! My family and Wendy came over for lunch/dinner! We had scones (muchly yummy) and cheezy chicken (also muchly yummy). It was sooo good, food wise and company wise. Then we had FHE and did an activity where we sang a lot of the old lullabyes into a tape recorder for posterity (my idea). It was fun listening to everyone's stories about what they associated with each song, and to hear the different versions everyone remembered.
Then we played games (mommy, grandpa, daddy, janette, andrew and I all played password in the kitchen, grandma, catherine, wendy and gordon played Racko in the dining room) and ate Wendy's yummy Golden Graham s'mores. I had learned to use my chopsticks and cheerfully annoyed everyone by eating the popcorn with them. (After all, I have to practice!)

Now for today: Smog, smog, smog! It CAN'T be good for you. It's like a permanent smelly fog that makes me cough. GRR. I wish it would just go away. Mommy says we need to pray for snow, she says it will help. I'll do anything to try and get rid of the smog. Grandma went to the doctor this morning to see how here leg was healing. We'll see what he said when I get home. She hopes to be able to go the the FHL, but I don't know...she hasn't been staying off of it as much as she should.
In HEPE today we learned about cardiovascular fitness. Did you know your thumb has its own pulse? So did I. Was pretty much a repeat of 7th grade health, but it's useful, I guess.
In Physical Science we are doing our Mini Lessons. My subject is:
"Use a drawing and/or model to explain that changes in the angle at which light from the sun strikes Earth, and the length of daylight, determine seasonal differences in the amount of energy received. "
I have NO idea what that MEANS, much less how to teach it. Ah, well, thank goodness for google and wikipedia.
AAH! I almost forgot! I have to sing a solo in Vocal today. Fun, fun. I also am missing two comments on my Teaching Experience for Marriage Prep (thanks, mommy and daddy. I asked you for them three times!), so I'll have to talk to him and explain it. NOT fun. At least he seems fairly nice.
Anyways, got to get doing other stuff!

What a day!

Yesterday was CRAZY!
Dance class was fun. We reviewed a few dances and learned a new dance that is mostly stepping and jumping, including a lot of one step who's name starts with a B (bolero or something like that). You basically cross one leg over the other, jump out (like jumping jacks), and then jump feet together. It was fun. I love dance class!
Then in New Testament we had a raging debate about whether or not Christ was married. In that class, we have assigned seats. I've decided that I like that because it eliminates all the worry about where you will sit if you are a minute or so late (which I usually am, because I'm coming all the way from the WSC).
At work, it was CRAZY. EVERYTHING was broken down. We seriously considered putting up a sign that said something to the effect of "Everything's broken today, so we are not taking walk-in orders." We had THREE priority jobs to do on 1 machine (the slowest machine there), and we kept having to interrupt it for people who just couldn't wait. It was insane.
Today in Marriage Prep we learned that nobody's perfect. Meh, there goes all my dreams (^_^). The two boys on either side of me were VERY friendly.
(To be continued...possibly)

1/24/07

Today I have a horrible throatache. You know, the kind where your throat feels raw like you've been shouting all day? The kind that make you gain weight because the only time it feels better is when eating? Yeah. Anyway, it kept me up all night. Literally every 3 hours I would have to get up to try and fix it. So, I'm tired and in pain. Meh, whatever, enough complaining.
We studied igneous rocks in Physical Science lab today. I came up with some fun sayings to help remember what anaritic, phanaritic, and porphorytic rocks are. Anaritic rocks get an "A" because they are so "fine" (they are fine-grained in texture). Phanaritic rocks need a "fan" because they cool so slowly (phanaritic rocks usually form in the magma chamber, and have large grains due to slow cooling). Lastly, porphorytic rocks are "poor" because they are neither fine nor large-grained (they have a mixture of both), so none of the other rocks will play with them. Problem is, I'm having trouble. Everything I look at looks porphorytic!
In marriage prep we talked about the Marriage Trends of society. A lot of them STINK. Did you know that in places like France they sell "sex suits," where...no, I won't tell you. The name itself says it all. Suffice it to say they hook up to the internet for those "long distance relationships." DISGUSTING.
Next I have World Music Cultures. I'm trying to learn how to tell the difference between a sitar, a sarod, and a vina by sound. A tambura is easy to recognize because it only has four strings, and is only used for a drone. However, look what I learned: In Indian music there are usually four sections: Alap, which is introduction of the raga (musical scale) and improvisation, Jor and Jhalla (I don't remember much about these...I think one is free rhythm and one is steady), and the Got. The Got has a set rhythm, drums are added, and it usually has a set tune. Hey, did you know in South India they echo what the vina plays with a violin? They hold the violin between their chest and foot, and slide their fingers up and down the fingerboard to get the notes. I couldn't imagine putting my violin on my FEET. Blegh. Think of all the stuff that foot has touched, especially in India!
Then I have vocal class. We're supposed to be soloing "Shenandoah" today, but I am going to ask for an extension because my voice is really gone.
After that, I had work. Nothing really to say about that, it was a slow day. Oh! One of my coworkers did a cartwheel because she thought nobody was watching. Turns out somebody was on the computers. She blushed and said, "Oh, I didn't know you were there!" I clapped and laughed and she said, "Did you see that?" I nodded yes RIGHT as our manager walked in clapping. HE had seen it! It was classic!

Kara, my crazy coworker (not the one that did the cartwheel)

I'm going to try to get to bed EARLY today, although if my throat keeps me up like last night, I don't see what good it'll do me.
Ah, well, tomorrow is Folk Dance, which will be way fun!