That is my serious question…what has happened to customer service?

There was a time that people enjoyed their jobs and even if they didn’t, the customer never knew. I have always said, if you don’t like your job, get another one…and please don’t take it out on me, it’s not my fault you have this job, it’s yours, make the most of it.

I work with customers every day and there are times I’m not happy, I might be in a bad mood, they may have pissed me off, but you/they would never know it, because I would never let them see it.
Enough on that rant.

I know I could probably go on for hours and so could you, but I’m not going to on the bad attitude, what I want to talk about next is attention to detail.

One of my jobs is as a writer, I write here on my blog, I don’t get paid for it (oh how I wish) and I know there have been typos, but professionally, I am a technical writer. I write process documents, procedures and training materials, I am incredibly detailed (which is way contradictory to my desk!) in my writing, which is one reason I am good at it and I get hired to do it (its also something most people don’t like to do, more work for me!).

In college, I majored in Communications, TV studio production. During one of my film classes, I was I charge of continuity, that thing in movies where you catch the things that could really trip a movie or TV show up. For example, you end the day shooting a scene, you come back to it the next day or even next week, I was the person who made sure the clothes were the same, the makeup the same, the bruises, etc. I paid attention to detail and even to this day, if I can watch a movie and not pick out flaws, it was really good.

I waited tables for a while, and I was good at it, people would wait to sit in my station because I listened, I paid attention to what they wanted and I even remembered the next time. There are times I have a really low tolerance for bad service, I will put up with a lot because I know how hard it is for a server. What gets me is when they don’t listen. When you start at any restaurant, you are given an order pad, hopefully, and it’s given to you for a reason, so you get the order right. Of course we are impressed when a server remembers our entire order or the entire table’s order, good for you, but I’m more impressed when the order is correct and the food is good.

I know some of my friends think I’m picky, there are times I am and there a times I want to try new things. I’m also a vegetarian with certain restrictions due to dietary issues, so I have to be careful of what I eat and how much. When I say I have dietary restrictions, I mean that if I eat something I shouldn’t I’m going to pay for it later (and sometimes it’s worth it!)

I like the flavor of foods, but I don’t like to be overwhelmed by certain things. I will order salads with the dressing on the side so I can moderate the amount I get, pasta with the sauce on the side, as long as the kitchen says they will do it, I try to order it that way. Why is it so hard to get what I asked for?

Case in point…I do not like ice in my water, I ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS order my water with no ice and no lemon, how often do you think I get my water the way I want it? I have taken to ordering my water naked, (no ice, no lemon) that seems to work (95% of the time) feel free to borrow it!

The other day at breakfast, I ordered my omelet with the hollandaise sauce on the side, no dice, and it totally overpowered the meal. At dinner the other night, I ordered Caesar salad with the dressing on the side, guess what…

Last night, we went down to Pearl Street in Boulder and if you’ve been there, you know how charming it is, lots of shops and restaurants, some galleries, pubs, several blocks, lots of street performers, artists, magicians, musicians, even a string quartet! A really pleasant place!

I ordered Caesar salad with the dressing on the side and no anchovy on top. I know…I am a vegetarian and there is anchovy in the dressing…as I gave up fish about 8 years ago, I am ok on occasion, eating fish, if I’m in the mood, or if it’s in the dressing. I got the salad with a great big anchovy (relatively speaking as anchovies are not that big!) which led to a good portion of the salad being fishy from the oil. (I couldn’t finish the salad, so I got it to go, guess what they forgot to pack with the salad!) Then I ordered gnocchi with a sauce from another pasta dish, I get my food and it was good, the sauce was very tasty and the vegetables I wanted were in it and very good, I couldn’t finish it, so I got it to go.

Here’s where you are free to laugh at me because I did and I didn’t get mad until today when I was talking to CKM and realized that I didn’t get gnocchi, I got the other pasta! Yes, I had forgotten what I ordered by the time it arrived, but that is not the point. I made a change to my order and it was not followed as I ordered it, I think I was so annoyed by the anchovy I lost track.

Whenever my order is wrong, I always look at DCM and ask…didn’t I say this…didn’t I order that? Yes I did.

I apologize if my making changes is frustrating, but you are in the customer service business and if it’s not possible, please tell me. All I ask is that you place the order that I asked for and don’t try to impress me by not writing it down, get it right, from my experience, tips are bigger when you get the order right!

Thank you for letting me rant! (And if there is a typo…sorry!)

So first…as I told you before, I don’t have carpel or cubital tunnel syndrome! Wahoo! Wait, s what do I have?

What I have, I had to write to down, is Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, TOS, for short. Wahoo, it has a name (there was a Golden Girls episode like that, “at least it had a name!”), but what does it mean?

Thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare condition that involves pain in the neck and shoulder, numbness and tingling of the fingers, and a weak grip. The thoracic outlet is the area between the rib cage and collar bone.
(See, told you I was special!) (it’s ok GES, I have a real pain in the neck, it’s not just you!)
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/DS00800

So, I drive 45 minutes to go see the doctor who did the EMG because Dr. S. said that since it wasn’t cubital or carpel tunnel, there was nothing more he could do for me (I hope you remember that discussion). After my 45 minute drive, I get in to an exam room pretty quickly and about 10 minutes later (I studied the posters of the body thoroughly), Dr. R. comes in and after pleasantries, he actually asks “Was I supposed to see you again?” Really?

I said yes because Dr. S. suggested I see you since it wasn’t cubital or carpel tunnel. He agreed, especially since it was no longer an issue for a surgeon. Now we’re on the same page, the doctor and I and after that, a successful visit going forward.

Now that we know what’s wrong, it’s a muscle issue instead of a nerve issue (and still workers comp), he decided I would need physical therapy, he left to get me a list of places near me that I could contact for PT (really, I drove all the way in so he could tell me I need therapy and then I leave?)

I saw Dr. S first June 24, EMG with Dr. R scheduled on July 12, then it wasn’t until July 29th that I got a follow up with Dr. S, couldn’t get an appointment with Dr. R until today. I get that schedules at tough, but here it is almost two months later and I’m still in pain and would like to start feeling better.

Dr. R is a very nice person, he remembered me and what I did, we talked about work and posture and what would be included in the PT. Twenty minutes later, list of PT locations in hand and I am back in the car to drive an hour home (traffic). Did I really have to go in for him to tell me I needed PT?

I’ll keep you posted on the PT and my progress, thanks for keeping up with me and worrying.

Ok, I know this was a bit of a rant on top of an update on my “condition”, thanks for listening.

Ok, so…my original topic for tonight won’t work because it’s tied into something else and I need to finish it before I can share, so, I promise, when it’s finished, I’ll share.

Tonight, I want to talk to you about time zones and consideration of those time zones. I’m sure wherever you live, you believe the world revolves around you and your time zone. Hey, when I was a kid, growing up on Staten Island in New York, I thought everyone had to know that there were five boroughs that make up New York City and they are…? (Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan, and now you know. Did you know that Staten Island and Manhattan are the only two true islands? Little bit of trivia for ya)

I have to tell you, and I think you’ll laugh about this. I went and looked at the title of this post and it was originally time zen!

So, back to my point about time zones, being in the eastern time zone, I looked at everything in that zone, EST, I knew that Pacific time was three hours behind, Paris, France is six hours ahead and Hawaii is five hours behind. I was always a bit wonky on central and mountain time. I know that Central is one hour behind and now, because I live in Mountain Time, it’s two hours behind eastern. See, I can be taught!

Moving to Colorado and MT has been an adjustment, for everyone, people back east have to remember not to call me at 9am on a Saturday, and who’s going to do that anyway! because its only 7am for me and I need to remember that when it’s only 9pm in Colorado, it’s 11pm back east! It’s confusing when watching some shows, things that come on at 9pm eastern are coming on at 7pm mountain, so prime time TV starts a little early. How about the night time talk shows, watching David Letterman, Jay Leno or Conan O’Brian at 10pm is a little unsettling! (Good thing I don’t watch them!)

I remember when DCM moved and didn’t always remember the time difference, so when he would text me at 11pm MT to say goodnight, it didn’t translate that it was 1am EST for me! Sometimes I had already fallen asleep! Ok, who are we kidding, not very often, but it happened!

One of the cool things I did, sort of, I think I’ve told you, is I have kept my east coast hours, 9-5pm eastern is 7-3pm mountain, so that means…I get up at 6am to do a few miles, then start my day at 7am for calls, etc. but then…at 3pm, it’s bathing suit time (sometimes I might go for a walk/run, mostly when I don’t seem to wake up at 6 with the alarm) down to the pool for a few hours of sun, reading and usually a nap, very underrated activity! until DCM gets home and we get dinner started. Not too shabby!

Now, I don’t mind having calls at 9am eastern, that’s 7am my time, I’m up and ready to go, but 6:30am mountain? That’s not fair. So this morning, I got up with my alarm at 6, well, ok, 6:15, the snooze button is too convenient and got on a call at 6:30am, I was not exactly my normal bubbly self, sorry.

I know I’m very aware of other people’s time zones when I schedule calls, why can’t other people be so observant?

I need a nap!

Ok, so today is going to be a serious, “Really?” kind of post, so bear with me. But there should be a big belly laugh towards the end.

Today started like any other Monday, get up, started working, entering my time, got everything done and then headed out to my follow up appointment. This appointment was the follow up after the EMG, if you remember, that was the nerve test they did to see if I had carpel and/or cubital tunnel syndrome. I was hooked up to some stuff, they sent shocking signals to different parts of my arm, then the acupuncture needles, same test. The process was cool to watch and learn about, the feelings from the shocks, not so much!

Turns out, no carpel or cubital tunnel, wahoo! So, what’s next? Well, it turns out it’s something to do with my shoulders/neck, tension. Thorasic something? I’m so sorry, I’m having a moment, I left a voice mail to see if someone could tell me exactly what it is, I apologize.

The first available appointment with the original specialist, after the EMG on July 12th was today, July 29th., ok. Off I go, about 40/45 minutes in the car, get there, wait about 10 minutes to get into a room, then wait for about 25 minutes for them to get my records, what? I actually heard the nurse calling the other office, where I had the EMG performed, got transferred about 6 times, forget mispronouncing my last name, I’m used to that.

[As I was arriving to the doctor’s office, I got a call from the vet about my cat, Jymy, to see how he was feeling after his appointment last week. I said she was doing better, ha ha, yeah, happens all the time; I spelled her name that way for a reason]

So, after waiting about 25/30 minutes to see the doctor, he came in, this is the one I told you about before, didn’t have a lot of time, I’m sure he’s very good at what he does, just very busy. He spent approximately 6, maybe 10 minutes telling me he couldn’t do anything else for me, since it’s not carpel or cubital tunnel, it’s not his area of expertise, so he suggested I go back to the doctor I saw who did the EMG for further care…what?

So…I now get back into the car, get on the phone to call the other office for an appointment. After 10 minutes of “your call is important to us, please stay on the line” I was disconnected. I called back and finally spoke to someone almost 10 minutes later, I have my appointment for my shoulder issues a little over 2 weeks from now, it’s a good thing I’m not in debilitating pain! It was only 3:30 and there was traffic, it felt like I was back in Atlanta, but unlike Atlanta, eventually the traffic cleared and it was smooth sailing home.

Let’s sum up…40/45 minutes there, 35/40 minute wait, 10 minutes with the doctor and 45 minutes home, Nope, not a waste, right? Good thing I don’t go anywhere during the day, it wasn’t a total waste of gas, especially since I’ve lived here almost 2 months and only filled up the tank in my car twice, not too shabby.

I realized I was a little hungry, so I thought I’d grab a quick bite at Del Taco. When I got to the intercom to order, since I had never been there, I asked what the rice and beans were cooked in. [I learned a tough lesson a while ago, I need to ask, just because it’s not a meat product, what the food is cooked in, once I asked if the beans on the menu were truly vegetarian, yes. When I got them, I asked if they were cooked in a meat stock, they taste like beef. The response, yes, but they’re vegetarian, not served with anything, yes, but they are cooked IN beef stock! that’s not vegetarian!] and her response to my question “In a pot” WHAT? “REALLY???”

In a pot???

That should have gotten a good belly laugh. I was so done!

This doesn’t happen very often, but…I am too tired to write and I’m not sure what will end up in the posting if I continue.

I did do 4 miles today, ok, 3.98 and it felt great! For dinner, we had pasta; DCM had meatballs with his and I sautéed some spinach with butter and garlic, wow, it was awesome!

I’m off to dreamland and I will talk to you tomorrow!