Actual Converstaion

I was driving through a parking lot yesterday which I had never before frequented. I accidentally drove the wrong way into an exit. Honestly, aren't those things are more of a suggestion in parking lots than a rule? It's not like I'm going to get a ticket for it (insert eye roll).

As I drove my car into the exit I realized too late I was going the wrong way and to my credit the sign was tiny. I pulled into my parking spot I saw an old lady, who was going the right way, give me a dirty look as she backed her boat...er...I mean...car up to try to get into a different spot.


I again realized too late she was probably going for the parking space I just took. I knew the nice thing to do would be apologize, so I got out of my car and headed over to hers, but she beat me to it. She was already standing by my car looking supremely annoyed. Here's how our conversation went:

Old Lady: Do you realize you just the wrong way in an exit?

Me: Yes, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it until it was too late and then when I saw your face I knew I took your parking spot. I'm so sorry!

Old Lady: Well you put me in a really tight spot. You just cut me off there (she was like 200 yards away and around a corner when I pulled into the spot she had her eye on).

Me: I'm really sorry. I had no idea that there was only one way to go, I've never been in this parking lot before.

Old Lady: Well at least you said you were sorry.

Me: I really am. I was actually just getting out to tell you I was.

Old Lady: Don't you feel like a complete IDIOT when you do things like that?

Me: He he, yeah (In my mind: Absolutely not you crazy old bat! You need to chill out and realize people make mistakes...sheesh!)

Sigh...Old people hate me...

Coming Soon...

Monday, February 22nd to be exact.

I just need to have a fun birthday weekend and then I'm getting down and dirty with reality. Sigh...denial was such bliss.

P.S. Click on picture to follow the link to my new "dose of reality" blog (I know...right? How am I supposed to update ANOTHER blog when I don't even update this one that often? I feel really motivated with this one - no really I do!)

A Day in the Life...And a Crazy Sighting

Today we decided to take J-Dawg to the park. He loved it! We had some Subway sandwiches and were enjoying the warmth and sunlight. Half way through our meal, guess who we saw:



Yep - the Rod-man himself. He actually looked normal in real life. No cross-dressing or funky hair-dos. Just a baseball cap and nose ring. He took his kids (at least I assume they were his) to ride their bikes and to play a little b-ball. Yeah - Dennis Rodman plays basketball...at a park...in my neighborhood...with his kids...so weird!

I wanted to yell out to him:

"Hey Dennis! I know your friend Cheyenne (my friend Cheyenne once worked for him and they became buddies) Can we be friends too? Seriously - I would make you laugh, because I make myself laugh all the time...no really - I'm SO funny. Actually I don't think I would like to be your friend because, no offense, you're crazy, but then you probably already know that because your you and you know things about you that I really don't think I could handle. Anyhoo...Can I take your picture? Please - don't make me be in the picture. I don't want to be photographed, because I still haven't lost my baby weight and that has made me hate all pictures with me in them, but you're used to having your picture taken. So - how 'bout it? No seriously, just a quick snap shot with my cell phone camera...oh, wait! I left my cell phone at home. Do you have a cell phone? Because you could take the picture and then just text it to me. Then I could save your number in my phone and I could send you texts all the time. Don't you feel like you've known me forever? I know! We're like BFF's already. But I already told you! I don't want to be your friend - Crazy. Sheesh!"

But I didn't, because let's face it - that would be annoying.

Because I said I would...and I'm not a liar...

The following is an e-mail I sent to Larry Riley, Vice President of Circulation for the Orange County Register, along with his reply. Please note for future reference: It's a bad idea to scorn someone who rarely gets angry enough to contact a supervisor, let alone a Vice President.

Dear Mr. Riley,

I just received a call, on my cell phone, from one of your sales staff. I am contacting you because, on the Orange County Register website, you were listed with this e-mail address as the Vice President of Circulation. I assume that you are in charge of the sales department making cold calls, if you are not, I kindly ask you to forward this to the appropriate person.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many calls I’ve received from your sales department because I lost count after the 10^th call. Each time I have been contacted, I asked the caller politely to take me off the OC Register call list, and each time I was assured that I would be taken off said “list.” Truthfully, I wasn’t very polite after the 8^th or 9^th call. Why is it that when I ask to be taken of the OC Register’s cold call list, I am continually being contacted? Do you make it a policy to lie to potential customers? I really hope you reply with an answer to this one, because it baffles me. Your employees are effectively lying to me when they say I’ll be taken off the list and then I am continually being contacted. I know these are tough times, but you seem to be shooting yourselves in the foot each time you contact me.

I wish I would have been given the opportunity to speak with a supervisor when I received the call this morning, but I was assured I would be taken off the list, and then I was hung up on. If there were ever a small chance I would even think of subscribing to the Orange County Register, it was completely shattered the minute I wasn’t given a chance to speak to your representative’s supervisor. I assure you I will never agree to subscribe to the Orange County Register and I will do everything in my power to dissuade people from subscribing to it. I will post my experiences on my online blogs as well as send e-mails to every person I know who lives in Orange County, CA. Please pass along this information to your sales staff so that they may know that they have the WORST customer service I have ever encountered.

Thank you for your time,

[Em-Cat]

And his reply...

This is completely unacceptable Ms. [G]. I’m glad you wrote and that you’re holding me accountable. We adhere to strict guidelines when it comes to do-not-call compliance. We not only download against the Federal Do Not Call list (required by law), but we also maintain an internal DNC list too. There’s no sense in calling folks that don’t want to be called. It’s very unproductive the next time around. Numbers are being added daily, and I need to figure out why we dropped the ball with yours.

I need a favor please…

Our calling campaigns are managed through a sophisticated computer. It maintains unbiased records of everything we do. We can track frequency of calls and “call disposition” by agent. We maintain a call center right here in the Santa Ana Register building (foremost, for quality control purposes). However, we do supplement campaigns through the use of a vendor, but not just any vendor. We interact with them almost daily regarding call quality and calibration.

I apologize for this lengthy summary, but hopefully it demonstrates how seriously we take outbound sales. In the end, you’re being called and you’ve asked numerous times for it to stop. Regardless of whom you’re speaking with, this request is not being honored. With your telephone number reply, we can load it into our computer for DNC (which takes effect in 24-hours, or sooner). Plus, we will run diagnostics on the history of calls and figure out who you’ve spoken with.

I always say…”it is through feedback that we improve.” We have some work to do here.

Again, thanks for writing. We should be able to get this corrected very quickly. I know how these experiences go, as I do exactly what you did when called at home. There are companies that adhere to my request perfectly, while there are others that don’t. I respond the same way you have and I really appreciate the feedback.

In closing, I don’t want this experience to damage your opinion of the Register. Hopefully we can redeem ourselves quickly.

Best regards,

Larry Riley

Vice President, Circulation

Orange County Register Communications

625 N Grand Ave.

Santa Ana, CA 92701

O 1.714.796.6864

F 1.714.347.2725

www.ocregister.com

lriley@ocregister.com

cc. Bruce Blair, Director of Circulation Sales

Larry Blake, Manager of Customer Relations

Well Larry, I guess I'll just have to sit back and see if you're as good as your word. I hope you are, because I don't like being angry. It interferes with my beauty sleep...