May 20, 2009

To know about the Giggle Loop is to become part of the Giggle Loop.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under laughter
1 Comment 

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

 

May 18, 2009

How can I not help you today?

Posted by Grendel's Mother under kindness, manners, marketing
1 Comment 

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?

 funny-pictures-cat-ignores-your-phone-call

Technorati Profile

 

May 15, 2009

If we had money.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under free, marketing
Leave a Comment 

Dilbert.com
 

I had lunch this week with some pretty fun people I used to work with. In fact, this whole week has been great for getting out of the house and seeing friends. And getting out of the house has allowed me to observe more things—which is what this blog is supposed to be about.

So other than noticing that a whole lot of my neighbors are home during the day, I’ve noticed that one of the main topics of conversation everywhere seems to be about cutting costs.  On that note, let’s talk about a word we all love so much—FREE. In the old days people thought they liked free stuff. In the old days free stuff was really crap. It meant not valuable. (Because here in American we rate the value of things by how much they cost.)

It’s a new day folks. Free takes on a new meaning. It’s a necessity. And after ringing the office budget so much that even the Splenda gets cut, it’s time to realize how much fun free can be. It’s also good business. Using social media—the free networking sites—for marketing has become a hot new trend. (But that’s part of my professional expertise and you’re going to have to pay me to learn my secrets.) 

The truth is, there can be value in free. And as cliché as it is, we know deep down that the best things in life are free. Here’s a list—some very important and some just for fun.

  • Love.
  • Salvation.
  • Laughter. (Always share a good joke with your friends.)
  • A walk in the park.
  • For DC metro residents and visitors, the National Mall and the Smithsonian museums. (Hey, there’s a new Ben Stiller museum movie coming out that looks funny. But that costs money, sorry.)
  • Today a laptop. Tomorrow—not sure. Visit the free deal of the day to find out.
  • Air.
  • Network TV.
  • Swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand.
  • Great books in the library.
  • Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Word press.

 What do you like to do that’s free?

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »