Customer Service

Customer Service

At some point in your life you have or will have to deal with a customer service problem, how it’s handles can be a make or brake customer relationship. Whether you are the one seeking customer service or the one giving customer service there is one important thing to remember “respect the person you are dealing with.”

I had a terrible experience in a TJ Max store, I was checking out when the girl scanned an item and put it in my bag and I commented to her, how happy I was that it was on sale, that I had passed it up last time I was there because I thought it was to expensive for that item.

The clerk took it back out of my bag and took it over to another cashier and told her that she thought the price on the item was wrong. The woman looked over at me and then turned over the item to where the price was and started to peel up the label. If she was looking to see if there was a label underneath it, it was very plain to see that it was an only label and cleanly attached.

Then a third clerk came over, again they stood whispering and then I overheard one of them say she was going to look that up in the book. The clerk went and got the book and low and behold she couldn’t find the item. The line behind me is growing and the three clerks now are shaking their heads in my direction.

The three walked over and stood at the register next to mine and looked at me. No one said anything to me they continued to talk among themselves. Finally I said look I didn’t mark the price that is on the item, that’s your responsibility, to be honest with you it’s not that important to me so just take it off my receipt and let me leave.

They did that and the two clerks still holding the item kept repeating how they didn’t believe that was the correct price. My time and the customers waiting behind me had to wait while these three clerks made more of a problem out of a problem.

That is an example of poor customer service. On my ride home all I could think of is that I wanted to take the rest of my purchase back and get my money back and not shop TJ Max or Marshals, the other store they have. Needless to say I did call their customer service and let them know what happened…

Letter From God

Sometimes I wonder what God would say to us if he could write us a letter. I thought that maybe it would go something like this...

Hello My Child,

What is that you are thinking you are too old to be my child? That's not so, you will always be my child no matter what age you are.

I am writing to you because I have heard all your prayers, and each time you ask why I am not listening to you. Let me first say, I do hear all prayers and all are answered, not always the way you think that they should be, but trust me I do know what's best for you. Someday you will understand that what I tell you is true.

One of the questions you ask me is why I allow so many bad things to happen, another is why don't I just stop all the bad things that are going on. I want you to know how badly it pains my heart to see the misery that all my children seem to partake in, hurting each other, by robbing, adultery, killing and lying just to name a few. I could stop it all, but have you forgotten my child the earth is not mine to rule just yet.

The earth is under the devils rule; he has a certain amount of time to win over some of my children, to prove to me his power. I watch over you hoping you will not give into his temptations. I have given you the commandments to follow as your guide. I have faith in my children, I have given you free will, it is the only way to prove that I truly do have the love of my creation and in the long run they will turn back to me, and I will rule the earth with them, there will be no pain or wars then, glory will be for all of us.

He who rules the underworld will throw many temptations at you. I know they are hard to deny, greed, wealth and corruption. Wealth is not a bad thing as long as you don't let it become your end all. You must always remember to help those who are less fortunate then you, they are my children too. In fact they are the ones that though they have less their beliefs are much stronger then those that have more.

It saddens me so, when I look down to see a child starving, I have truly provided enough food for the entire world population to eat, yet no one has yet figured that out. I cry when I see spoiled food thrown away, some have so much and others have nothing... this is not the way I wanted it to be. I have given you everything to work out the troubles of the world, and still you do not see it. I have given you every cure for the diseases that plague your world, money stops the progress along with ignorance, I am sorry to say.

Man still wages war on each other, why? The power you seek doesn't really exist; it only serves a false purpose and history will show you anything that becomes too powerful seems to fall. Power is not the answer to help mankind; the word kind is part of man I have linked them together and still you don't get it. There are many things I have given you as a subtle reminder, yet your eyes are closed. Your tear down the beautiful gifts, destroying the wonderful creations I have given you. I look and see cold cement wrapped around this lovely earth, it saddens me.

Give to me your pain, your worries, and your hopes; I in turn will give you faith to know someday all will be right. You already have that knowledge when I created you I placed it inside you, it is that little voice you hear that lets you know right from wrong intuitively. When you pray, this is where I answer you, if you are quiet you will feel it, yes that's right, sometimes you feel it and it doesn't have to be spoken it is an abundance of love with hope that assures you it will all be okay.

The time will come when the count is taken and I come for my children, I will take back the earth and make it a place of peace for all those who have suffered under the hands of the devil and his evil ways. Those who have found faith in what ever name they may call me, and who reach out to help others, I will not forsake you.

So when you think I am not answering your prayers, think again, the lessons of this life do not go unanswered but will someday be rewarded. Know that I love you, take a look at the commandments, easier still just remember this one, "Love thy neighbor," If you feel that your neighbor is evil or bad, that is more reason to pray for him.

You are my example, created in my image, and all you need to know is hidden inside you open your heart and you will have all the knowledge that I have gifted to you.

The words that are contained in this letter will melt into your heart and not stay visible on the paper; it is up to you to spread my word. I could have easily written everyone a letter, but it is a better if you share my words.

LOVE, God

Neglected Blog

I have so neglected this blog, please except my apologies. I have been very busy with so many other things that have come up and I simply put this blog on the back burner while I still pretty much kept up with MyParadiseMoon.com. I started this blog it was my first, I started it when I joined Helium, thinking it would be a good place to get my thoughts and ideas together, well so much for that.

I went to it today as if visiting an old friend, feeling a bit guilty because I didn’t keep in touch. I have no real excuse it was just easy to put off expressing myself on these pages. Today I sit wondering what words I would place here and decided to just think out loud. Express what I am feeling at the very minute I sit here at the keyboard and type.

I find it difficult to focus, yet I want to share some sort of insight, perhaps my mind is tired now and I need to come back. I will not neglect this blog for such a long time as I have in the past. I will comeback shortly to share with you a small portion of whom I am or those I know.

I will share with you a picture taken at Niagara Falls, It is amazing. It was taken by my son. Look at the rainbow streched out over the boat



Link

Vacation Part Two

My husband had never gone cat fishing before so it was an adventure that we both looked forward to. We live in New York, but have a house not far from Myrtle Beach, and we decided that we would like to go further down to Santee Cooper to fish on the lake. We careful made our plans. We decided to stay for two days in Santee Copper, which would give us time to also look around.

My husband got on the computer and he found this place that was close to the lake, real close. He gave me the number and told me the decision was mine whether I wanted to book a cabin or a room. I called I asked for a cabin, the voice on the other end asked if I wanted to cook or wanted room service. The voice mentioned that they had a restaurant located on the grounds.

Convinced I took the room, and thought I could relax, just in case my husband caught a fish and was tempted to cook it. In a room we couldn’t do that, okay I thought I felt smart taking no chances. Room service wow, this really is going to be a vacation, I couldn’t wait.

The day we headed down for Santee Cooper, the weather was perfect, we packed loaded the car and headed off. The ride down was fun we talked about the lakes and we enjoyed the scenery and by night fall we were ready to find our room and settle down to get rested up so that in the morning we would be ready to catch the big one, the fish you could go home and brag about, I had my camera ready to snap pictures.

We headed toward the lake both of us very tired; we turned down the road and found the place we would be staying. It was just getting dark out, but it was still light enough to look around. I suddenly felt a bit puzzled, what I was seeing was a run down hotel, with small buildings dotting the property along with trailers that looked deserted and run down. This was the place, my husband and I looked at each other and said maybe it looks worse then what it is. I reminded him the voice on the phone said they reserved the larger room for us; I was sure it looked worse then what it was.

We were told where I room was and with key in hand my husband I stood outside the door for a second we both looked at each other without saying a word. He placed the key in the lock and turned it, the door opened, he stepped in with me following right behind him. “Let’s leave,” he turned and said to me.

Knowing we were both tired and not knowing where the next place would be, I told him no, we would stay and this would be an adventure and a story we would one day look back and laugh about. When he went out to the car I immediately stripped off the top spreads on the beds, they looked yucky! The sheets looked clean I was grateful for that. I moved the mattress and looked all around for creatures. I could see that the room wasn’t cleaned there was a pile of junk between the bed and the wall including dead moths and beetles. It’s only for one night I told myself, pretend you are camping.

I used the bathroom which was just old, it could have been worse, but then I smelled it. What the heck, I thought and then realized it was coming from the water that I had turned on to wash my hands. It smelled like excuse the expression “farts”. There was no way I was going to take a shower, brushing my teeth I did with a one of the bottles of water that we had brought along.

My husband went out to the car to get another bottle of water and as he opened the door every flying bug that was out there came in. They were flying about and we were smacking them against the walls and then I was sitting in the middle of the bed with the sheet pulled over me smacking them on the bed. .The one corner on the bottom of the bed looked like a graveyard for the bugs that I was hitting all night. We had slept (barely) all night with the bright lights on. That’s right, on the ceiling there was two sets of industrial fluorescent light fixtures that had at least three lights in each.

In the morning we left early to go fishing knowing there was no way we would stay there another night. Fishing was great my husband caught more then a dozen fish, and cat fish are pretty big. Our fishing trip turned out great! The fishing guide was wonderful we had so much fun. Later when we came back we decide to use the room to go to the bathroom and then check out.

Reluctantly we entered the room, the beds were made the dead bugs that we smashed the night before that flew in were still on the walls. I picked up the corner of the bedspread and there before my eyes the bug graveyard remained intact. Shivers went down my spine, my husband and I left and found another place to stay the night and when we talk about out fishing trip we somehow manage to joke about the room from hell.

Vacation

It is very rare that we take a vacation, so this year when we decided it would be fun to go check the house in South Carolina; we would also go fishing down at Santee Cooper.

We arrived at the house, by Myrtle Beach and it was late so we went in and showered and went to sleep, anything else could wait for morning. Well the sun came up and so did we, having coffee and leisurely enjoying our morning before going outside to tackle whatever would be waiting for us.

My husband was the first one to venture out, every once in a while I would catch a glimpse of him passing a window, I decided I would go ahead out and see what he was up to. I opened the front door and noticed that they had added a few new houses into the development. Then I looked to the side and I saw it! A dandelion that was as tall as I was.

I stepped further across the lawn and looked down the side of the house; there they were tall big dandelions, their trunk thick, nothing like the ones back home. I knew them by their leaves and the yellow flower. Of course the flower and leaves were much larger then I was used to seeing, but none the less they had to go. I put my husband in charge of that, got out the honey does list and started writing.

I attempted to help but those weeds were in tight. I watched as my husband pulled them and I followed along grabbing the smaller weeds. That was our first day, but it was nice to get it done with so that we could relax. Looking around the yard we saw the neighbor to the back of us flower beds extended well into our own yard, in fact our sprinkler was in the flowerbed. Later that day we told her that we would appreciate her moving her flowers back, we were going to be putting up a fence. (Picture shows weeds all gone)

The next day we decided that we would go to the Crab Fest, in Little River and it was fun. We parked our car and a bus picked up us and drove us to the Fest on the waterfront. It was hot out and waiting for the bus the crowd was growing larger and larger. A bus came that sort of looked like a trolley and we were loaded in, but because it stopped and picked up people before us there was just a few seats and the rest was standing room only. We all squeezed in tight, and the trip was so hot the buses windows didn’t open and there was no air.

By the time we arrived we were ready to get off that bus, everyone was starting to get edgy and complaining. The Crab Fest was great it was a lot of fun and there were all different kinds of food. There were vendors and they sold everything. It was fun going around and seeing everything. The trip back to the car was in a large air conditioned bus, thank goodness.

The next blog I will tell you about the fishing trip, it was fun!

Spring Is In The Air

...........................................................................................Beach in Hamptons NY

Spring is here and I have to admit, the fever has tickled me. My son brought home plantings today, I am afraid that it is too dangerous to leave them out in the night, because of frost, so I placed them all on the counter in front of the kitchen window.

Spring does get my blood flowing and the mind going, I have so many ideas going through my mind, hmm I wonder if I should tell my son that some of those ideas involve his plants. I think it is a good idea that he is planting tomatoes, a few herbs and some peppers. I already picked a place for them to be put in the ground…right near my kitchen door.

Grapes would be a good thing to start this year; I think I’ll have him put in a few around the one section of the patio. It would make a nice privacy fence and a tasty snack on the summer days that we are sitting out there. In fact many years ago the house I lived in had a grape arbor, it was beautiful, many summer days I sat out under it on a blanket eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with my two year old. The house was located in Babylon New York, it has been since taken down and Condos have replaced it.

My brain is just bubbling over with ideas, I want to get back and add some chapters to my book, and my mind is already designing new jewelry pieces that I can’t wait to get started on. There are cards waiting to get done and scrapbook pages waiting to get made. Spring wonderful Spring, I just hope these ideas roll into summer with me and don’t melt away somewhere in my mind. The older I get, there is a feeling that time goes by faster, the seasons just don’t last as long, or it could be that I am truly getting slower…just a thought.

I will plant something in memory of Buddy, not sure what yet, but it will be special.

Dedicated To Buddy - Passed Away March 23, 2008

"This Is Dedicated To Buddy"
_____________________________________________________________Picture of Buddy and Missy 2005

Buddy passed away on Easter, he was a loyal companion and was about fifteen years old when he died. Buddy was found in Northport, Long Island by my daughter and her boyfriend and has been a part of our family since, that was fifteen years ago.

Buddy was a Dalmatian, he was half starved when we first found him and you could tell he was beaten, his body was bruised and he was very frightened and scared. We put signs up and called pounds to see if someone had lost him, and perhaps he fell into bad hands. No one claimed him, he became my daughter’s dog.

He went through many trails and tribulations with her, he shared our home and her home during the first few years of his life. He was always welcomed at our home, and felt safe and comfortable when he was here. His true comfort was my daughter, he loved her and would follow her around when she was home. He went through two relationships in my daughters life, and it took some patience because Buddy had a habit of whining.

When my daughter was married they decided they would get Buddy a puppy to keep him company. They purchased a Jack Russell Terrier and called him Freddie. Well Buddy was a very good big brother, Freddie on the other hand was tiny compared to Buddy, and he wasn’t to nice to him. He never gave Buddy a moment of peace, but Buddy was very good with him and never hurt the puppy. It got to be to much with the puppy, he would bite Buddy and never leave him alone. Freddie was very good at my house when he was here, so I adopted him.

My daughter was going through a divorce when Buddy became very sick. He was around twelve at the time and contacted a virus that most animals do not survive. Buddy was in a hospital and in very bad shape, this was during the Christmas Holidays, we went to see him, and was told to keep the visit short, things did not look good for him. When we saw him, he looked very bad, but he perked up when he saw us. The staff was surprised to see such a sudden change in him, and they allowed us to stay as long as we wanted. Even my daughters future ex went to visit Buddy when he was in the hospital.

We visited him every day and sat with him, and we could see him improve day by day. The doctor told us he would make it, she was surprised because he was an older dog, and he survived what most dogs did not. His will to live was great, and his love for my daughter kept him going.

We thought we were out of the woods when a few months later he was sick again throwing up, he could barely eat and he was having a hard time. An ex-ray showed that he had swallowed something and there was a blockage, surgery was required, whatever he swallowed was trapped in his intestines. After the surgery we were informed that Buddy had swallowed a small rock, the reason it didn’t pass through his system was because it was stopped by a tumor. Had he not swallowed the rock the tumor would have been undetected. They removed the tumor but the prognoses wasn’t good. The tumor was cancerous and it was the kind that would be elsewhere in his body.

Buddy came home and recuperated, and the decision for chemo therapy was given up for herbal medicine, since it would at least give him a quality of life. Buddy went on and did very well, with this therapy for three years he is cancer free. My daughter met someone, and her wedding was set for March 29th. Buddy died on Easter with his family around him, we went to spend Easter with them. His death was sudden, he had been to the doctor just the day before, and they told my daughter he was doing fine that he just needed more exercise. On Easter, suddenly Buddy wasn't fine, he seemed to be in pain, we had to call the Vet, and Buddy was put down in the comfort of his home with the ones who loved him at his side.

Buddy had many people who cared about him, and many will miss him. He will always remain in our hearts, he was a good boy and a loyal companion, no one could ever take his place...Buddy, may you run free in Gods Heaven.



Sometime ago I wrote a poem about Buddy, it is on Helium along with a story about Freddie and a story about my daughter. I hope you will take the time to read them, they will leave your heart a tad lighter.


http://www.helium.com/items/574562-buddy-puppy-tortured-hours (Buddy's Poem)

http://www.helium.com/items/606957-story-other-phone-friend (Freddie's Story)

http://www.helium.com/items/575932-brighter-daughter-around-seven (Daughter's Story)