The Pepperoni Stinks

This week, my son turned 12. Since we are getting ready to leave for California in a couple of days, we decided that just having a few boys over for swimming, food and video games (overnight) would be the perfect way to celebrate. 

Before all the boys (3 of them) arrived, the hubby and I went shopping. We bought soda, pizza, hot dogs, chips, breakfast sandwiches, cake and ice cream for the event. These are all video-game playing pre-teens, they'll pretty much eat anything, we laughed. Might as well just keep it easy on ourselves. 

One boy called ahead to say that he doesn't eat cake/ice cream and was worried Bryson would be offended. I told him Bryson would be fine with it. If we told Bryson he couldn't have any--well, that would be a different story.

The Pack. For the first time ever,
I wish I had a basement.

So, the boys arrive and all head straight into Bryson's room to start the destruction process. As 3 of the boys (including Bryson) start pulling stuff from everywhere, one of the boys...wait for it...starts CLEANING! He cleaned and organized Bryson's bookshelf and comic collection. He cleaned and organized Bryson's desk. He was about to start on the closet, when I made him stop. As much as I appreciated what he was doing, I wanted him to enjoy the time with friends. 

In the back of my head, I'm calculating how I could talk him into doing two other rooms for me...

Fast forward to dinner time. I make the pizza. The chronic cleaner who doesn't eat cake/ice cream, says he forgot to mention he doesn't eat pepperoni. He won't eat the pizza with it picked off, either. He doesn't eat pork. He doesn't eat vegetables. He only eats a particular kind of bread. He doesn't eat chips, potato or otherwise. He doesn't eat cereal. He doesn't eat pears or apples or pineapple. So, he's pretty much ruled out anything we have in our house. (We're going out of town, remember? Jim says he's only eating steak and cereal while we're gone. Riiiiight.) 

Wish he concentrated on homework like this.

After 30 minutes, he states he's not hungry anyway. 

Finally at about 10pm, he decides he is hungry.

The boys are eating every chip they can find. The pizza is gone. Oddly, no one wanted cake. (I wanted ice cream, but felt strangely possessive of it and didn't want to crack it open. My Precious...)

So, "Emeril" hits the kitchen. He pulls out bread, asks for a can of tomato sauce. Pulls out cheese then raids my spice rack. He finds a sheet pan and bakes his own little cheese pizzas. At least he's satisfied. 

The mother in me, finally starts to breathe again. He won't starve. 

This is what has them all transfixed. 

But, it does get me thinking. How much do we lose out in life, because we are so set in our ways? How much are we missing because we don't try something new? Personally, I would have missed out on A LOT. (Hello, I now live in Puerto Rico. If I was looking for the food I ate in the States, I'd be...well, maybe not as heavy, but that is beside the point...)

I remember, as a 20-something, my friends and I would set out on the road, looking to get lost. We found the best places and adventures when we got lost. We met interesting people, ate some great (and not so great) food, and saw some beautiful sights.

Maybe I need to check back with this kid when he's nearer to his 20s. In the meantime, what's the going hourly rate for a pre-teen home organizer? 

The Countdown Begins

What originally started as a short visit for Bryson, has exploded into a summer long adventure for me. I think I'm okay with that. 

Wine country...yum!

Bryson was really missing his friends and family in California. The hubby and I started discussing the idea of sending him to stay with friends and family during the summer. The airline companies, however, had the final say. And it wasn't good.


Because of his age, he would have to fly unattended and could only fly on a direct flight. Which is good, because he's been known to get lost on the trip from his room to the bathroom. But, there are NO direct flights from San Juan to San Francisco. 
                                                                       
So, the hubby suggested that, since I'm not  really working at the moment, I should take Bryson out to NorCal. After more discussion, a week or two turned into a month. 

So excited to see her smiling face!

At first, I didn't really want to go. Try to follow me here: I've gotten used to certain things in Puerto Rico. Such as no family, the language (I don't speak Spanish, but am able to communicate a bit.), the weather (as much as I can--it's hot and humid), the food (or lack of my faves, really). Going to California concerned me because I am afraid of making coming back more difficult. I'm thinking that I will miss people and places more when I come back. 

San Francisco Bay

But, after making plans and thinking about it, I'm ready, anxiety or not. I will embrace the challenge, live life to the fullest. Eat, laugh, cry and drive the whole month away. And throwing some camping in there for good measure.


So, the countdown begins. T minus 10 days. Ready or not Cali, here we come!

Epic Fail

Let me start by saying, I have held a job since I was 16 years old. I quickly was trained the value of giving great customer service. Whether by chance or by knowledge, each position I had required a high level of customer service be given. One of my employers even went so far as to tell me, "treat the customer like they're stupid. You have to give them all the answers." While I may not like how that sounded, there is some truth to this. 


I now live in an area that is really laid back in its attitude. Lots of island thinking here, leaving customer service by the wayside. Being in 'Rome', I just chalk it up to that's how it is, but my business will never be run that way. 


But, where did we, as paying customers, give up the control? When did it become okay to put the bottom line above the customer experience? 


Look at the airline industry. As a whole, no genuine customer service exists, above marketing efforts and bad press. I called one to ask a question and after 15 minutes on hold, was told (via recording) that they were "experiencing a higher than normal call volume" and the call was disconnected. 


Okay, I'm a big girl, I can deal with rudeness. So, I sent an email. After all, my question was not urgent. Thankfully. I sent it March 23, and finally got a response May 29. And the response I received? "We are experiencing a high volume of email", followed by a step-by-step guide to joining their mileage club. No response to the actual question I asked. I responded (thinking to no one in particular), that this did not answer my question, but thank you. One week later I received an email with a partial answer, again, urging me to join their mileage club. 


Since moving here to Puerto Rico, 99% of our USPS problems have occurred in California. When we tried to change our address from Fairfield to Caguas, the CA Postman carried the request around in his pocket for over a week, all the while delivering the mail and leaving packages on the doorstep of an obviously vacant house. It took 3 phone calls and two arguments with another postal worker to finally see the problem was on their side. 


I recently sent a package via USPS to my family in Northern California. $50 for Priority Mail. I mailed it in April and it has yet to arrive. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do. I did not pay for a tracking number or insurance. 


But, I ask, should I have to? 


I paid for the service of getting a package from Point A to Point B. Why should I have to pay EXTRA to guarantee they do the job? It's not like I gave them money to perform a service and possibly deliver a package. The payment was specifically for that service. 


Why is it I can hear Dee Schneider in my head, singing "We're Not Gonna Take It!"?  


For as many negative, funny stories I can tell, I obviously have good ones as well. All I can say is that these things reinforce to me that I will not run my business this way. I will stand by my work, treat people as people and deliver what I promise. 


And THAT is how a business should be run.