Help Wanted, Help Found

Sometimes you meet someone who is doing exactly what they need to be doing in the world. I love it when this happens!  I saw Bill's Mobile Auto Detailing today when I was driving around and I thought he was one of those people.   I haven't actually met Bill.   He might to a horrid job detailing I dunno...but it feels like he is an awesome guy, doing  exactly what the world needs him to do.  Detailing takes attention to (wait for it....DETAIL) and patience. Hiring someone to detail you car for example, that buys you back precious time in a day.  This Bill guy...he takes even better care of folks by being mobile and bringing the business to them.   Bill's Mobile Auto Detailing. I was curious, so I looked Bill up. I know most people do not take the time to review businesses, but of the 18 people who did review Bill's Mobile Auto Detailing, Good ol Bill got FIVE STARS!  Bravo!  What great customer service to have a MOBILE Auto Detail...

I've always been fascinated by people, and they are everywhere!  It is interesting to watch how we all interact with each other. This is especially true in a customer service environment.  Most days all of us have several interactions with people in a customer service industry. This morning alone I bought coffee at the gas station and talked with the pleasant employee then went to church where greeters welcomed me and ushers handed me a bulletin with a smile.  I went to ballgame where ticket takers smiled and later I was waited on at dinner in a restaurant.  Each interaction shaped my day, and theirs.  Or did it? A grocery store in Chicago let you donate your bag credit to charity! A friend asked me when I last received EXCELLENT customer service and I had to think awhile.   My friend and I often taught sales people at any level that they can choose to be outstanding in their position...or not.  Even th...

My dog Steve was decidedly pleased when I got the mail today. This is a picture of him with a Kashi TLC Pita Crisp. We got a WHOLE BOX OF CRACKERS in the mail today!!! Yippee! (Note: some of my friends get free beds, trips, cards and clothes....but I have to say I am pretty stoked with free snack foods! (My caboose isn't this...*ahem*...luxurious from salads y'all!) I LOVE all things Kashi. We have eaten most every cereal, cracker and cereal bar they put out. We signed up online to get the newsletter and any freebie surprises. I have received free coupons for anything they offer a coupon for, along with four or five additional $1.50 coupons for my friends. I always sometimes share them with my actual friends. Never have I received a whole real full size box in the mail from them. (Perfect with a Three Floyd's beer!) I don't know if they are all that different from their awesome TLC "Tasty Little Cracker" line, but they sure are awesome. Of course...

We do not buy much processed food. I'm a big fan of Michael Pollan's book Food Rules and so we strive to eat real food and cook most of it ourselves. Except when we go for fast food naughtiness too often. (Ahem, I digress.) At any rate, one night when my brain was scrambled and dinner was NOT going to happen without some help from my husband John, he went to the grocery store for us. John chose a pot roast from the refrigerated section. A POT ROAST! You know, the food item your Grandma makes on Sunday afternoons because it takes hours to do it right? Well this one took a few minutes in the microwave, and was so delicious we scraped our plates and I was a little angry there was not more of it. I was THRILLED, mortified and stunned about how easy it was. Since the ingriedient label wasn't as long, complicated and gross as one might imagine, I decided we would buy this again sometime as soon as possible. A few days later we were in the grocery store and I was l...

The Apple Computer Store: Heaven or Hell? Some of you see this modern technology store as a holy place worthy of a pilgrimage. Well let me tell you, I pilgrimaged and it isn't Heaven. Maybe Hell is a bit harsh...but let me share the customer service experience I had this week. My husband has turned me into a Mac person more because he knows a lot more about these sorts of things than I do. I think the branding of Mac as hip and cool is super effective. As a Mac user I feel ten years younger and twenty pounds thinner not to mention MUCH smarter just because I use a Mac. But here is where I am not thrilled: The customer service at the telephone level. I had called a few days earlier and set an appointment at the Apple store at University Park Mall in Mishawaka, Indiana for 12:15pm Thursday June 30th to have our iMac G5 looked at. It was NOT performing whatsoever despite my hubs efforts to do all the stuff we can do to make it work usually. They asked my name and maybe my...

Help FOUND through Assistant General Manager Ron Potter at Menard's in Valparaiso, IN We bought this grill with some yard sale proceeds and were excited to return to our charcoal grilling foodie heaven! It was on sale, nice sized and good lookin'! My dear Husband battled with some shlocky hole alignments in putting it together, but other than family entanglements expected with two tiny kidlets, assembly was timely. We used it for the first time on Father's Day. (If you must know, we grilled onion burgers. Yup, they were tasty.) What left a bad taste in our mouths was the top of the grill on which the paint peeled up. We are not idiots, we didn't light a huge fire and close the grill or anything...this was just a shoddy product. A shoddy product that we paid cash for since we live debt free. A shoddy product for which we threw away the receipt , not expecting this would need to be returned. The booklet for "The Original Outdoor Cooker" charcoal...

Help Found: Michael's Craft Store By Heather Curlee Novak We moved to Valparaiso a year ago, but the basement and garage look like we have yet to unpack. Among the little often overlooked chores were several art pieces I had purchased over the years but never framed or hung up. One inspired morning (After six years or longer per piece.) I finally drug out all that needed to be framed in our home. My previous professional framing experience was Hobby Lobby, which I love, but everything always cost fifty dollars. Three small things framed: fifty dollars. One poster framed: fifty dollars. And it took two trips because I had to go back and pick up my completed pieces a week or two later. Which now meant hauling tiny tots in with me and carrying them and my work out again. So you may see my reluctance to take four items in to Michael's to get them framed. I towed along my sleeping infant and charming two year old to finally get this nagging "to do" TO DONE...

I am a fake redhead. I've been a fake redhead for about 20 years and most every month of those years I have colored it red my very own self. I love salon color and know it is better in every way, but I just rarely have the budget for it when I know I can do a fair second for so much less. I have even tried beauty school color but it is just too hit or miss for me. Besides, I can color my hair in my own bathroom as my two bitty kidlets sleep instead of hiring a sitter and scheduling everything to go to have it colored by professionals. So I slack. Recently I gawked at a beauteous head of red red red hair as we dropped our kids off at the YMCA to go work out. I said, "Please tell me that is not natural, and then tell me where you get it done!" The pretty lady laughed and said, "Actually I work at a salon, Vanis , here in Valparaiso." We talked and I struggled not to ask to touch her red hair like I did before when I had hair lust." I plan to che...

NOTE: This is a review of the OLD BUCK"S Shoe Repair. As of Fall 2011 new owners have taken over and the store looks great and the folks are attentive and personal...I cannot wait to have a reason to go in there again! Help WANTED: Buck's Shoe Repair, Valparaiso, IN PART TWO By Guest Blogger Sharon Angelina (If you missed part one of this hilarious and harrowing tale of terrible service please check out yesterdays' Part One!) (continued from yesterday) I would have interrupted, but never did find a polite pause in their important conversation to do so. I coughed, cleared my throat, insinuated myself in FRONT of Mr. Customer, and plopped my bag of boots on the counter. Finally, in one grand irritated gesture, Mr. Buck gave me a quick scowl, swished a customer repair ticket out of his chest pocket, growled, "Fill this out," and resumed his deep conversation. That was enough. I said "NO, I just want to know if these can be fixed." I reached in...

NOTE: This is a review of the OLD BUCK"S Shoe Repair. As of Fall 2011 new owners have taken over and the store looks great and the folks are attentive and personal...I cannot wait to have a reason to go in there again! Help WANTED: Buck's Shoe Repair, Valparaiso IN Sharon Angelina, Guest Blogger & commentary by Heather Curlee Novak This one came in to me loooong but so good and painfully bad I just have to keep it intact. Enjoy PART TWO tomorrow! It all started in fall of 2003 with the fake snakeskin boots. They were trashy, had chunky 5 inch heels, and were found in a bin at a resale shop. I couldn't pass them up. They spoke to me. What can I say, I was going through a phase, that's another story. But after I got them home and snuck upstairs past my kids to try them on in private with my plaid mini skirt, I discovered the heel on the left boot was wobbly. I knew they were too good to be true. I immediately regretted the six bucks I had spent on them, t...

Hines Plumbing ...these guys are like a good (not great) relationship; the end result is satisfying but you might be doing most of the calling! Jack the owner is very upfront about cost which is helpful if you are on a tight budget like we are. We have called them for a number of issues from a leaking sink to a flooding basement. I have had to call a few times to confirm appointment times or even get them to come out but since we have a relationship already I haven't given up and called someone else. Persistence here seems to get me the guy in the end, right? But I'm paying them...wow, lots of joke potential there right? My only true disappointment was when they assessed the front water and sewer lines needed to be replaced they didn't warn us what the yard would look like when they were through. Destroyed. War torn. Embarrassing. Sure, they tried to do a bit with the dirt pile and spread some grass seed after I asked, but they sure aren't landscapers! I al...

Help Wanted: www.borders.com By Heather Curlee Novak with Lee Burdorf, Guest Blogger My friend Lee sent me this story about his experience with Borders Books online: I ordered a book online from Borders.com. I feel badly about their closing the store here and having problems. So, I thought I would give them some business. When you order things online you usually get an instant confirmation by email. When I hadn't received the email confirmation after several hours, I decided to call Borders to see if there was a problem. After sifting through several recorded messages, I got a live human. But he obviously was in a foreign country, probably India.* I could barely understand him and it took forever to explain to him my problem. I was on the phone with him for an agonizing 20- to 30 minutes and he was still unable to find my order. Finally, I asked if I could speak to his Supervisor. A woman came on the line and told me they had my order but for some reason it hadn'...

This story is from my friend Sara from her trip to Germany. This is real "Raving Fan' service. As a matter of fact I do have a Customer Service story. While in Munich earlier this month I stayed at the BAYERISCHER HOF. I slept in the first morning. When I finally got down to the lobby it was beyond the breakfast hours. I asked the Concierge where we might find a coffee at this time of day. He named a coffee house on the town square. As I looked blank he whipped out at map to show me where to go, Then he said "No. It is too complicated. My colleague will show you. Also, as they might be busy at this time, I'll call to get you a table." So he called and his colleague,Tina, took us to the door. I thought she would point us on our way. But NO. She began walking with us, down the street for two blocks, then across a sweet little park, turned right, across this new street and on a few buildings, in the door, into the elevator, up to the "first" floor an...

This customer service experience story is from my friend Dana. She is a web savvy and customer service oriented woman I met eons ago in Chicago who runs "Words To Sweat By" out of San Jose California. Find her funny motivational workout gear here . This is the story in Dana's words: What should have been a quick trip to Sears turned into a two-hour long debacle. We went into the tool section to buy (you guessed it) a tool chest for my DH. He knew what he wanted but also needed to fiddle for a couple of minutes to confirm. After 20 minutes someone finally came to help him, but then once he had decided (10 minutes after that) it took another hour and half to complete a transaction. Because we had started working with one sales person, it appeared we couldn't be helped by another and the one who had helped us kept helping others and telling us "one more minute". When he was finally ready to help us, he took the numbers that we wrote down, but didn'...

Yesterday the hubby and I headed to Uptown Kitchen for breakfast. It is such an inviting place to eat with fresh food and lots of healthy options. We don't choose the healthy options, but we are glad they are there. The host was a pleasant guy who didn't offer us a highchair even though we had our baby with us in an infant carrier. It was no big deal to us, I made myself at home and went to get one. He saw me do this as he hustled through the kitchen running food and smiled sheepishly. I was so happy to be out to breakfast that I really didn't mind, but someone else might. Our server was Alyssa, though I am probably not spelling it right (I'm sorry!). She was an almost perfect waitress. Alyssa was warm, friendly and thorough. She was elegant and professional and smiled a genuine smile. I really appreciated how polished she was but I did get the feeling that she was this way with everyone every time. That is of course an excellent quality in customer service,...

I like to stink good: I LOVE good perfume and I prefer to only use one flavor as a signature scent. For five years (or fifteen, who's counting?) I wore Estee Lauder "Beautiful" like everyone else on the face of the planet. Then for the past six years it has been Jean Paul Gaultier in that sexy female-in-a-bustier bottle. My life has changed dramatically this year and I am ready for a new signature scent to celebrate it. I'm picky about fragrance and it does funny things when I wear it, so I need to wear it for a few days to tell if it will work on me long term. I have returned many a bottle of perfume I thought I loved after only a week of wearing it. A few weeks ago (or a month, who's counting?) I went to Sephora to shop for a new perfume. Sephora is awesome for customer service because they will not only give you perfume samples, but they give them to you in spray bottles so you can actually apply it in the normal manner instead of rubbing yourself like a ...

As a rule I am not a fan of Walmart. I prefer to shop locally but sometimes you gotta run in there, squint against the harsh lighting, grab cheap stuff and go. That is what I was doing on July 6th (2009) when I tried on a few tops in the fitting room. I had my four month old baby with me and after I was finished trying things on and leaving the room, Neila was taking my cast offs when I realized I wasn't quite done. Baby was cranky. With a breastfeeding baby they are pretty clear when they want to eat, and you darn well better cough it up for them on demand or else. I apologized to Neila and explained that I needed to go back in the fitting room, this time to feed "Sweet Baby Girl" before she turned into "Not So Sweet Beulah The HUNGRY and MAD". Neila was so pleasant about it and I really appreciated her personality. She had been that way when I brought my clothes up to try on, when I handed back my rejects, and now even when I needed to go back in for...

Today's guest George Garner shares some simple ways we as customers can help those in the service industry to help us more effectively. ("Help me help you help me..." anyone?) Garner has worked in the retail industry for seven years and bought stuff from it for over thirty. Help, Wanted? By George Garner I’ve been in the working world for about sixteen years so far, and roughly seven of them were spent in the glorious world of retail. During those seven long years I’ve learned one very important thing: I cannot read minds. No really, it’s true. Yet, in my store on any given day, streams of people walk in and out expecting me to instinctively know what they need and when they need it. I’ve spent a lot of time behind the counter offering help, but, like every service employee, I’m often on the other side of the counter seeking help. And those of us who spend time behind the counter have a unique perspective on how to the find help we’re used to giving. So to you, dear reade...

We checked out the new restaurant by the airport for you! (I know, another food review...I swear this isn't a food critic blog hiding inside a customer service blog) I want to share our wonderful experience at Times Square Restaurant on Lincolnway across from the South Bend airport. You can see their menu via their other location under "Bravo Cafe" here . The first thing I noticed was they had environmentally savvy florescent bulbs in their outdoor lighting...you know the twisty kind we are all supposed to be buying. I also really liked the landscaping outside of the restaurant. It is unlikely you spend a lot of time hanging out on Lincolnway but it isn't the nicest part of town from a curb appeal standpoint. Their bright flowers, borders and raised beds make a difference. Everyone was "opening week nice" so we started off well. They didn't have highchairs which was kind of odd for a family restaurant but they are getting some soon. It was fine, o...

Win a useful & unique gift (my favorite combination!) for any nursing mother...also a fantastic shower gift. I'm offering THREE free milkband bracelets from "www.milkbands.com" and I'll even cover the postage for you. I posted in May about Udder Covers from www.milkbands.com and the great service I received from them. Unfortunately I did not receive my package in a timely manner which surprised me. I called Jenny at their 800 number and left a message. She called back mortified and together we figured out it must have been a snafu at the Post Office. Jenny continued the great customer service streak by reshipping my order that day and including five milkband bracelets for me...super nice. I'm sharing like the thoughtful gal I am, of course. To win, simply comment on this post with a customer service experience story I can share on the blog. It can be good or bad but must be truthful and as detailed as possible. The first three stories win bracelets, ...