~Monday~ I was running behind this morning, and arriving at the bus stop at 8:18, I couldn’t be sure if I hadn’t missed the 8:15 bus. At 8:29, I was just about to admit defeat, when the bus pulled up to the nearby intersection. There was a new driver behind the wheel, and he didn’t have any obvious quirks to suggest a possible buscapade character naming, at least in the foreseeable future.
Madonna—of Madonna and Genetically Beautiful Daughter, but without the daughter—was aboard, and I guess it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen her last, because today it was very, very obvious that she’s expecting a potentially as genetically beautiful son.
The cell phone of someone sitting behind me rang, but then stopped after two short rings. Then it rang again, and again stopped after two short rings. And then again. And again. And then it dawned on me that each ring was different. Really? Really??? You’re really going to go through all 25 or 30 available ringtones on your phone to chose one here? Now? On the bus?
Is it good and loud so we can all hear it, because you’re going to ask us what we think, too? Here’s what I think, “I think you’re self-centered and bloody annoying; that’s what I think.” Later, I ordered this shirt to let him know exactly how I feel when I see him again:
A lady one row back from me and on the other side of the aisle said to the guy she was sitting with, “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to the doctor. I’m tired of this. It’s spread all up in my face and I’m just tired of it.
You know I wanted to turn around and look at her face, but I actually didn’t.
I didn’t realize the girl on the other side of the aisle and up one row from me was on the phone until it was almost my stop. She was even talking hands-free, with earbuds in, and I still couldn’t make out what she was saying. Now that’s how to talk on a phone in a public place.
The lady who’d made the comment about seeing the doctor was onto a new topic now. She said to her seatmate: “Yeah, I want to move to Charlotte. Charlotte big. Raleigh can fit inside Charlotte; that’s how big it is. The bus ain’t as good there, though.”
Walking the block from where I get off the bus to my work building, I passed three people who would not have passed the driver’s ed parallel parking test. The worst was an RDU Taxi van who started off with both of its right wheels up on the curb, and by the time I’d passed it had managed to get the front one off the curb after three forwards-and-backwards and ins-and-outs, but the back one was still jacked up on the curb.
I had a quiet morning at work, and I attended a very interesting education seminar from 1:00-2:30 on how to measure the success of using social media. There were several take-aways that I hope to give a try over the coming year.
I caught the 5:30 bus home, and after a late dinner and diddling around, I dragged my ass to the gym at around 8:00. I did 300 (15 sets x 20) ab crunches, followed by an upper body workout.
Some of these muscle dudes just kill me in that place. Using those free weights, they do some of the most inane looking exercises that just make me shake my head. Maybe they read about them in Men’s Health or something. And they walk around all rigid-looking with their chests thrust out and their hands stiff at their side and a little forward of their torso, like they’re so bulging with muscles that they can’t relax their arms at their sides.
This one guy, with no visible muscles at all, set the weights to some ungodly amount on the double pulley machine:
tightened the wrists straps on, and then just fell completely backward like he was fainting and he knew the weight would keep his head from banging on the cement floor. He remained practically
I had intentions of reading once I got back from the gym, but I ended up online most of the night doing:
- Some volunteer work for Manbites Dog
- Responding to some e-mails that I was delinquent on—namely to Sarah and Anna
- And responding to a response I actually got from the owner of the Boylan Bridge Brewpub regarding my customer service feedback on the price of their drinks when I was there on Friday with my co-workers after work
Here’s the complete exchange, with the first being the e-mail I sent on Friday, which you may have already read if you read Friday’s blog entry:
| Subject: Customer experience and feedback
Hello Andrew, Not that you’re probably looking for customer feedback, but here’s some. I was delighted to hear that the Brewpub had started serving mixed drinks since I’m not a beer drinker, so I was excited to be coming out there tonight to join my colleagues for some after-work drinks. Unfortunately, I won’t be coming back with the price of the bourbon (house) and Diet Coke that I had. $7.00 is just way too expensive for that drink. Stop by The Borough sometime and order a bourbon and diet. The glass is at least a third bigger than what I got at the Brewpub and they use a heavy pour there… and it’s $5.50. I almost always drink at least four drinks, but tonight at $7.00 each I stopped after two, solely because it was not value for the money. So, I would have had (at least) 4 (at $5.50 each) and spent $22 on drinks, but instead I stopped after 2 for $14.00. So in the long run you lost money on me tonight, plus I won’t be returning to drink at those prices. Anyway, I don’t expect you to do anything about this; I just thought I’d share how one customer experienced the new mixed drinks offering in case it turns out to not be too popular. At least you’ll know one person’s reason for not coming back. I’m sure there are a lot of customers who will be willing to pay that, though, so I doubt you’ll reconsider your prices. If I note that they change though, I’d certainly come back and enjoy the nice view there while hanging out with my co-workers on occasion after work. Sincerely, |
| Dear John,
I would first like to apologies [sic] for any miscommunication that our marketing and or servers made about our liquor bar. The Boylan Bridge Brewpub added a premium liquor bar to supplement our guests who do to [sic] enjoy craft beers. That being said we don’t have any house liquors or a [sic] well liquors. I do understand where you are coming from and as a company we like to keep our craft beer as our main focus and only having liquor as a supplement to our beers. The bourbon they where [sic] serving at that price point was the Jim Beam Black Label 8yr aged. I would once again like to apologize for any miscommunication on our part about not having or serving any well or house liquors. Comments from our guest are always important and we encourage feedback as it helps us fix these miscommunications so we don’t cause confusion with our guests. Paul Kellum |
| Ah! Thanks for taking the time to reply, Paul.
Your server didn’t say that there were no house or well brands when I clearly said “house bourbon is fine” when I ordered, so I certainly didn’t understand—or notice—that I’d received a premium liquor, which is precisely why I’m not willing to pay for premium liquor. I can only hope that one day I become one of your target clientèle, but until then best of luck, and again, I do appreciate you responding to my feedback. At least now I’m not angry, only disappointed. Best, |