"We have a lot of angry customers out there. This puts us at threat level midnight." --Michael Scott

When do you complain about customer service? It's a question I've wrestled with a lot recently, to varying results. As a consultant, I attempt to give my clients the highest level of service and attention. Not only because that's what I would want as a client, but also because I know I am "representing my firm" (how many of us have heard that speech from a school or camp?).

Recently I had a great customer service experience. Unlike New York, make-your-own-salad places are few and far between in Chicago. I have found one place - Freshii - that I now frequent often. A few weeks ago, I unfortunately noticed a piece of bacon in my salad. I was able to avoid it, but was still pretty grossed out and thought I may have to abandon my new-found salad place. That afternoon, I decided to send in a complaint on their webform, just to see what would happen. One day later, I received an email from the President of the company, genuinely apologizing for the mistake. Granted, they are a pretty small company, and I realize not all restaurants would provide the same response, but I truly appreciated the overwhelmingly nice note. In addition to an apology, he gave me two free meals - for me and a friend - anything on their menu. I wrote him back thanking him, particularly for the fantastic customer service. I'm happy that I can continue to enjoy my salads, but I also really appreciate and admire their customer service.

After work yesterday I ran a few cool shopping errands (eyeliner, socks, underwear...really

exciting stuff). The last errand was Victoria Secret. Since I started shopping at VS a few years ago, I have been pleasantly surprised at their fantastic customer service in stores. They are quick to ask if they can help, point you in the right direction or explain a new line. They gladly measure and remeasure you, and will personally walk you around the store to find items in your size. That's what I call above and beyond, and it's one of the main reasons I continue to return.

Last night I had two unfortunate experiences. First, I asked a sales associate for help finding an item. I had the name of the product (it's not like I tried to just describe it to her) and she pointed me to a completely different product and basically ran away. After finding the item I wanted about 10 minutes later following another search on my own, I was ready to check out. This is where the real fun began. Not only were the line(s) completely disorganized (one of my major pet peeves), there was a group of tourist (Denmark?) who had a very complicated order of sizes, items and which way they wanted this convoluted mess organized and wrapped. The woman directly in front of me must have been paying with pennies because she spent at least 15 minutes checking out for what looked like one bra. By the time I actually got up to pay, I received no apology, no comment whatsoever, despite the 15 minutes I had just spent glaring and rolling my eyes at the sales associates. It was at this point that I debated saying something to the floor manager. When there are additional associates available, I expect someone to see that I am trying to buy three small items, and lead me to another register to pay and get the heck out of there. But that didn't happen. In the end, I decided to not say anything because those tourists seemed really obnoxious and demanding and I felt bad for the girls who had to deal with that cluster. But as I walked away, I couldn't help feeling mad for having my time wasted and upset that their usual level of customer service had taken such a hit.

What would you guys have done? Complain? Or just walk away? Would you have purchased the items? And does anyone ever actually send back soup?

what's the time?

just had to show you all my new watch, 1 of 2. Two new watches in one weekend!! i think i have reached my quota for the year now....

i am a black belt in gift wrapping.

ever wanted to design your own tote bag? now is the time! check out the jonathan adler site, where you can design your own rugs, pillows and tote bags. better than the personalized mug or mousepad gift! enjoy!

love and love it.

only wish i had ever thought of this project. but as the deb said, it's a good opportunity to clean out my closet (which it has needed for approximately 10+ years.)

sometimes, fashion posts are for the boys.

i'm a late bloomer to the j crew land. i used to think their pants were too boxy for me and therefore never shopped there. but a recent trip taught me otherwise, and i am now in love with their skirts and fancy tshirts (my new fav across the board).

so, i was walking by ex-co-workers mailbox today and saw the new j crew catalog. finders keepers! as i was flipping through, i noticed a picture of the moon is down. the pic looked exactly like what you see here, all vintagey and old. um, what? the line next to the picture said "shop our vintage book collection at the Men's Shop in Soho". so - now j crew is telling me how to further accessorize my preppy/hipster lifestyle with old books? that does work well with my already-beat-up leather messenger bag... ok, i'll bite. after some research i found this post about the new soho store, with a very cool slideshow. i lourrrrve the vintage cufflinks they show, as well as the general old-timey vibe of the store. have any of you lovely men been out to the new j crew manland? is it extra cool? or just regular j crew in disguise?

not heelarious.

if you saw the daily show last night, then you've already heard of the newest and most shocking product -

high heel shoes for babies.

that's right. a company called heelarious (ha ha... not.) has been selling heels for 0-6 months old babies. they are all designed to look like stiletto heels (aside from a few pairs that are cowboy boots), but the whole thing is made out of some mushy material so if your 0-6 month old kid were to try to walk anywhere, the heel would just sort of mush down and collapse. i'm already opposed to kids dressing as adults, but this is above and beyond. can anyone explain why this is necessary? why does this even exist? who would buy these for their kid?

updates.

first off, you know my life is busy when i haven't read people.com or ew.com or any of my blogs all week at all. there really should be a someecard that says, "thank you for quitting so i now have the opportunity to do the job of two people for the same pay!" well, at least i get a fancy office out of the deal, right...?

next, i met with some awesome old friends last night, and a certain mr. k notified me of a brewing conflict! if you recall, i recently posted about the newest american girl doll, rebecca. (the deb said i could get her for my birthday yessssssss!) apparently, there is a woman on the fbi's most wanted list with the exact same name - rebecca rubin! she is some ec-terrorist who has organized bombings of a ski resort and an Oregon power plant. so now when little girls google "rebecca rubin" they are getting this eco-terrorist lady. good work, mattel.

...and a new obsession is born.

while i can't mention how i happened upon this site, i'm quite glad that i found it. i was enticed by the schlep tote (shown here). that is something that i definitely need to carry around town. i love it. i am also enjoying the yiddish cat in the hat (though i'm not sure what dr. suess would think, or if i'm even allowed to officially endore it) and i'm pretty sure my mom will want to get mimi the kosher bone and bagel chew toys. ohhh, excitement...

shopping and working DO mix.

since my boss has been out of town all week, we've been a bit more relaxed than normal. it's not all because she's gone - we have recently finished a major project, so some relaxation is in order. i've been researching several products, including a new hair dryer, the perfect sandal and a big summery tote bag. the sandal part is quite frustrating as i really shouldn't be wearing sandals in the first place, and therefore i have to be careful. last night, l told me about a site (endless.com) that has free overnight delivery on everything. even though i was working late, i rallied my coworkers and picked out the best shoe ever. and at 11:00am the next day the mail guy at work dropped off my shoes! thank you to my new favorite website!

product alert!

if you've facebook-stalked me enough, you'll know that one of my favorite activities is researching "the best" of different products. when i finally find a lotion or something like that that is perfect, i like to share so you can know also.

today's product news is about covergirl outlast lipstain! (am i ready for my commercial, mr jay? easy, breezy, beautiful!) i had seen a commercial for it the other day, and went to DR this morning to check it out. in the commercial, drew (gag) tells me that it gives you color, but no sticky, creamy nonsense (that's what she said), which is why i very, very rarely use gloss or lipstick.

basically, it's like a felt-tip marker that you use to draw on your lips. it comes out really matte and actually (i kid you not) does not rub off on anything (you are welcome to come check my mug if you don't believe me). the covergirl website tells me that i can add a clear gloss over it, but why ruin a good thing?! i will not. so - thank you, covergirl. i am a happy camper and am glad to close the book on "best lip color".

my friends are t-shirts.

was just browsing my absolute fav, threadless.com when i started finding shirts that would be good for certain awesome people in my life...

for a: "biggie was right"

for z: "pancake mountain"



this one can be for z too, but mostly if you swap out "raisins" for "olives." ew. olive cookie.



for e. well, i think it speaks for itself.



clearly for l. she loves the dance.



for j. considering the trouble she gets me into, i can't imagine what she does on her own.



um. that's what she said.


seems appropriate for all involved.

dreams do come true.

one set of take shelves at my office. it's so tall i can't even begin to get to all the shelves, and books are stacked at least two rows deep. i don't ever want to leave.

solution.

instead of going the old boring route to bookshelves, i (well, z) found a cooler solution. if you recall, i have had a slight book overload as of late (which is due to a disease called "Must Buy More Books Than I Have Time To Ever Read"), and this is due to only get worse in the very near future. hoorah for floating shelves! can you figure out the secret?

new and improved!

at a recent shabbat meal, E (yes, you!) mentioned a certain TEFILLIN BARBIE. considering that i had every barbie under the sun as a child (and often cut their hair, which once led me to give myself a very crappy haircut at the age of 5), i am shocked and appalled that i was not aware of this! if you were wondering what i want for my birthday in... 9 months... this would be it! thank you in advance.

p.s. - question. why is barbie covering her hair and wearing tefillin? that confuses me. but i guess it happens somewhere...
p.p.s - if you click on the link above, be sure to at least read the caption of the picture at the very bottom. hi-lar-ious.

chicago recap.

#1 - Lost.
If you haven't read the ew.com recap yet, you really need to. The past few episodes have been particularly confusing, with all the time travel and "when are they now" type questions. The Doc did a good job this week of explaining the episode and all of the important time changes. He also has some particularly good insights into the characters. (Which reminds me - wtf is going on with Sun?! I love her, but who is she crossing/doublecrossing?! Where the hell is Ji Yeon? Why did she show Kate a pic of baby Ji Yeon, when she really should be about as old as Aaron??) (Also, if you haven't read The Little Prince, you really should. Not only because it shares a title with the most recent Lost episode and has many similar ideas and themes, but it is just a fantastic little book.)

#2 - What Recession?
Word to the wise - if you have the means to keep shopping during these lametastic economic times, get in your deals now while they are running rampant! M and I stayed at a fancy fancy downtown hotel in Chicago this weekend, and not only did they fall all over us to be nice and accommodating, they gave us money up the wazoo in spa, food and parking credit. At Nordstroms - same thing. At Banana Republic - same thing (ended up getting 25% off EVERYTHING I bought in one day of NEW stuff). N wanted a new down coat. She went to Macy's and found one that was already half off, marked down from like $250. Then, it was some American Heart Association day, and since she happened to be wearing red, she got another 10% off. Check out what deals are to be had, because they are out there, my friends.

#3 - Airport Weirdness.
I must have traveled on odd days this week, where the gods of travel were all napping (or out shopping). On Wednesday on my way to Chicago, I got through security in about 3 seconds. Literally. It was like the TSA agents came out that day to solely get me through security. There was NO one else there. Also, my plane got in 35 minutes early. When does that ever hapen?!
Today on the way to LGA, I was getting coffee at O'Hare and also on the phone with M. When I got the coffee, I walked over to the bar to sugar it up -

Me: Hang on a sec, Ma, I need to put the phone down to put sugar in my coffee.
Dude at Starbucks bar next to me: (Chuckle)
Me: Oh, that's ok. My mom is at a Starbucks drive through right now, so she understands.
Dude: Yea, I have that conversation with my dad just about every day. "Dad, stop talking! I need to fix my coffee!"

So, apparently we are not the only people who are so insane about coffee/Starbucks. Good news.

#4 - Lost, again.
As I've been writing this, E, goddess of Lost, has posted her The Little Price recap. I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it's delightful and insightful. Let me know what you think.

#5 - Le Office.
One important thing about last week's episode that I doubt anyone noticed aside from me. When Andy is trying to get advice about how to woo the hot new client lady, he turns to Creed. (Big mistake, as far as I can tell. I doubt I'd rely on Creed for anything, much less relationship advice.) Creed suggests just trying to go in for a kiss, as a way to get the girl. He mentions that this is what he did to woo Squeaky Fromme. For all those who are not obsessed with cults (i.e. everyone besides me), Squeaky Fromme was one of the main chicks in the Manson Family (!!!). While she was never charged for any of the Manson murders, she was later charged and convicted of an assassintaion attempt on President Ford. She is currently serving a life sentence for this crime. Whatever conclusions you want to draw regarding Creed potentially being involved with the Manson Family (or at least its outer circle), go for it.

sign of the times.

so, thanks to J's input, i present to you: the hyundai assurance. but don't just stop at that name. (even though, naming a car "assurance" is pretty blatant.) if you lose your income within a year of purchasing or leasing the car, you can just return it! i'm pretty dumbfounded about this policy. is anyone else scared that this even exists??

happy belated birthday to me

if you're still pondering what to get me, here is my second birthday present help post. i would very much like this tshirt please!

makeup alert!

love makeup? want to get a ton of great makeup, all for $1? (if you answered no, you are either a guy, or maybe shouldn't be my friend anymore...) the brand e.l.f. was recently bought by nordstroms. because everything needs to be repackaged with the new branding, they are selling every item on their website for $1! ahhhhhhh!! it's a brand i've never used, but on a quick spin through their site, they seem to have really great stuff, good colors, lotions AND cute makeup bags! have i mentioned everything is only $1?! go there now!

two mid-monday tidbits.

numero uno - i am equal parts giddy and shocked at the following nytimes article: 12-Year-Old's a Food Critic, and the Chef Loves It. first off, the kid's name is David Fishman. jewish much? if you weren't convinced, he lives on the Upper West Side. the article goes on to explain how his parent's left him alone (wtf?!) and instead of get his usual "hummus take-out dinner" he decided to try out this new, swanky restaurant that he had noticed. i partially want to hang out with him because he seems like a super cool, mature kid. but on the other hand - what kind of kid thinks it's normal to eat by himself at a brand new, hip UWS restaurant?! weirdo. you'll have to read the whole article for the full story, but it's pretty much out of control.

dos: for those of you who don't know, i will be a bridesmaid in a certain person's (ok, two people are getting married. and i think they are both equally superb) wedding next year. instead of the usual tradition of making bridesmaid dresses, we decided to check out what the internet had to offer us. what we found is something you all should see, whether you are in the market for bridesmaid dresses, or just general hilarity. can't wait to wear my mormon dress to a very relig jewish wedding!