From the Observation Deck

I love to travel and won’t be getting overseas this summer, so I’m going to do a series (not in any kind of order) about various states. Since I’ve been driving back and forth to the beach I thought I’d start with the first state. Delaware is a mighty little stamp lodged smack in the middle of a megalopolis. In the north there’s the glitz and glamour of the Big Apple. In the south there’s the ego busting, political maneuverings of the DC Beltway. (All the Bostonians are upset with me right now for leaving them out but don’t fret; we’ll talk about the People’s Republic of Massachusetts another time.)

Ahhhhhh Delaware. Companies love to incorporate in Delaware because of the tax laws. Most of us in the area just love it because of the beaches and the no sales tax shopping. It can be traversed in about two hours by car and I swear that everyone in Delaware knows everyone else in Delaware. Forget the six degrees of separation; it’s more like two degrees. Northern Delaware is home to the University of Delaware’s fighting blue hens. It’s also home to the person of focus of the “what’s he going to say next fan club,” our current Vice President, Joe Biden.

Living in the fast-paced society of northern Virginia, I really have to adjust my mind-set when in lower, slower Delaware. Not that they are slow witted, it’s just that things tend to move slower there. It’s kind of funny that in Northern VA our cars are stuck in traffic and not moving but our minds are racing with our things to do list. And then when we drive in Delaware, we get mad at the cars that are moving 45 miles per hour in a 60-limit area.

 If you’ve never been to Delaware, give it a try. Here are some highlights.

• Winterthur
• Hagley Museum
• Dover Air Force Base—if you time it just right you can see those massive cargo planes come in for a landing right as you pass by underneath. Those planes can fit six school busses inside them.
• Bridgeville—this is a cute little town off 113. It has signs that say, “If you lived in Bridgeville, you’d be home now.” The Bridgeville Fire Department is home to some of the funniest guys I’ve never met. They always have a witty saying on their marquee. And don’t miss the 2009 Apple-Scrapple Festival.
• The Outlets in Rehoboth
• Historic Lewes—check out the several museums located in the area.
• Cape Henlopen
• Lewes, Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany, and Fenwick beaches and towns
• Lots of fun people
• Really slow drivers

 If you’ve been to Delaware or live there, what’s your favorite place to visit or thing to do?

If you’ve never seen the show Coupling, then rent it today. Make sure to get the British version—the Americans crashed and burned when they tried to recreate it. It’s kind of like “Friends” except a bit racier (most likely owing to the British sense of humor which I love). One of the three guys in the six member cast is Jeff. Jeff says things like “Women remember, Steve. It’s like they’ve got minds of their own.”

One of Jeff’s more famous monologues is the Giggle Loop. Jeff was talking about the Giggle Loop because he had an interview coming up. I’ve embedded the Giggle Loop video below so you can understand the concept. I’ve decided to write on this topic because it’s funny and because I thought all you job seekers could have something else to worry about. If you start laughing during your next interview just tell your interviewer that you’ve been pulled into “the Giggle Loop.” If they don’t know what it means then you’re better off not working there. Now the Giggle Loop should not be confused with the following:

• The Giggle Factory—a store in one of my favorite towns, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. (Say that five times fast—it’s fun.)
• The Giggle Machine—someone who makes you laugh all the time. Or maybe a little baby who’s giggling away. (Don’t tell anyone but I want to invent an alarm clock that wakes you up with little kids’ giggles. I could call it the Giggle Machine.)
• The Giggle Fest—a plethora of gigglers.

Watch the video and start giggling. But not in your next interview or at your friend’s Aunt’s funeral. And don’t do the Reservoir Dogs thing either. It’s not that cool. (You’ll have to click on the embedded link there if you don’t know what that means.)

http://www.vidivodo.com/video/the-giggle-loop-coupling/244949

There are certain things at which I excel. Meeting deadlines, being organized, and sending cards are just a few. And there are things at which I stink. I like to think of the stinky ones as things I just haven’t practiced enough yet. Mostly because they are boring and I don’t like them. (The truth is the reason I probably don’t like them is because I stink at them.) It’s a vicious cycle really. One of those things that I dislike doing is maintenance. Calling repair people, fixing things, etc. So imagine how happy I’ve been the last couple of weeks fixing up my beach house so we can rent it out to pay the bills. (Oh and the nasty letter I got from my VA HOA saying I need to repair my steps.) Oh joy, oh joy, oh joy.

Today I had a fan-dang-tastic conversation with a woman from the company that is providing our house with wireless Internet access. Not only had we already been through the exercise of setting up the account a week ago but English was not her native tongue. That didn’t bother me so much. Some people get pretty upset asking customer service reps to repeat themselves every other sentence, but that was the least of my annoyance with this call. I won’t go into details—let’s just say that some things never change.

Customer service should be King, but alas it’s not. What do you do when you are treated poorly by a company? With the possible exception of the post office—that evil government organization that doesn’t seem to have to answer to anyone for some reason—we could make a conscience effort to take our business elsewhere. Laziness sometimes intervenes in those plans but I can be stubborn, so all you companies out there who are getting my business—take note! Not that it would matter. They would probably just get a bail-out package and take a vacation to the Caribbean. In any case, wish me luck—I’ve got to order and install a dishwasher tomorrow. (The one that was supposed to be here a week ago.)

I know this is supposed to be a fun blog, so I apologize for the rant. There is one more thing I need some help clarifying though. Why is it that when I order McNuggets at McDonalds they always give me four, six, or ten orders of those $1 boxes? When I ask for six McNuggets, I don’t mean six orders of the four McNugget packages. I honestly don’t get why it’s so hard to understand that.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite customer service story?

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