Find Time

Where did we go wrong? Who did we appoint as the navigator of society, as they are failing miserably? We never appointed anyone, oh, our bad! That would explain how we got so off course. We have always been a society of driven high achieving folks. That is how we came to this land, separated from Mama England, and went on to lead the world in productivity, technology, and lifestyle. But somewhere along THE way we lost OUR way. We have always been a society that values others, family and friends.  We now live to work, and not work to live.

The 40 hour work week is now considered part time in some circles. Family vacation time is something that now gets scheduled with your boss before it can be discussed in the casa. Family dinners are rarer in the good 'ol US of A, than dodo bird eggs in Alaska. Come on folks how often do we forgo plans with friends during the weekend, so we can do the household chores that we did not have time for during the week?

I am all for productivity, that is what makes us who we are, but if we put it above all else, then we have failed. We are a societal animal at the core and as soon as we lose that, we have lost ourselves as well. 

Are Facebook and Twitter our new way to replace IRL (in real life)? I hope not. In the end they should be a way to expand our social circles, not replace them. A hug in person, is infinitely more fulfilling than a "HUG" coming from your loved ones across the monitor of your MacBook of Blackberry. 

I don't mean to go off, but a dear friend of mine moved away today, and for the last month I knew she was leaving, but I was too busy to find the time to have a face to face goodbye lunch.

I have many other friends with whom I am always say we need to get together, but we are always saying it and not doing it.

As we run like hamsters on our wheels, I wonder if we are missing the point. We need to keep in mind that our time with others is all that we have, and it is limited. While I can still stay in touch with my friend, not so with my sister who suddenly passed away last fall. You never know, so value each interaction and place a priority on those around you. Don't ever stop being a productive member of society, but remember to be a member of society. Ruth, I am sorry, I will call you soon. Katie, I will see you again someday. 

But thats just my opinion...

Customer Service, a lost art?

Okay, I know that we live in a me society, but since when did that mean that we need to totally disregard common courtesy and respect for others, especially when they are our customers, choosing to share some of their hard earned wage with us. In the last week I have been slapped in the proverbial face on multiple occasions by those who simply don't care. I was unaware that when the T-Rex slipped into oblivion and June cleaver started wearing jeans that the old adage, "the customer is always right" took a fatal tumble down the stairs of time as well. 

Tell me this, is time a fixed measurement or an approximation? The other night before leaving town for spring break my wife accidently bought the wrong Nintendo DS travel charger. (Please forgive her for not knowing that the DS and the DS lite are NOT the same.)  Well no harm, no foul, I go back to Target, arriving at 8:50 to make a quick exchange with a few minuets to spare.  The only problem is that when I get to the desk, the ever so polite woman informs me that the store is already closed. I very politely pointed out to her that in fact we still had ten minuets to spare. and no big deal, I could do the swap in three minuets or less. She then informed me that once the dimmed the lights, she could no longer conduct transactions. At this point she leaned over dimmed the lights and picked up the phone and announced; "Thank you for shopping at Target. Our store is now closed, please bring you final purchases to the register." She then walked away, leaving me left holding the bag, yes with the DS charger that will not work on my son's DS Lite. Luckily, Walmart is 24 hours and they too sell DS Lite chargers.

How about my call to the DMV, yes the state department of motor vehicles, that I in fact help fund with my tax dollars, sans choice, but my money none-the-less. After 28 minuets on hold, I get recorder message that due to technical problems they are unable to help me and I will need to call back at a later date, at which point, IT HANGS UP ON ME! Are you kidding, only my wife and kids are allowed to hang up on me. The worst part is at no point in the automated process did it ask me anything other than did I want english or spanish. How did it know they could not help me? Was their english broken, if so I am okay with broken english, in fact most customer service calls are that way anymore anyway! So, if I had pushed 1 for spanish would that of helped, I am fluent after all, but somehow I bet after another half hour, I would have gotten HUNG UP ON again!

Or did I tell you about the family event in the park in Salt Lake City? $10 a person, kids under 5 are free, and in 20 minuets your kids get to hear the F-BOMB, yes that F-bomb, from both the recorded sound track as well as the live acts at least 20 times in 20 minutes, before you decide that you are not being over protective by leaving. Just in case your 4 year old is deaf, the beautiful thing that the band was ADA compliant and used sign language as well.  The best part is that when we asked for a refund, as this was really not a family friendly deal, at least for our family.  They told us they couldn't because since it was cash only they had no way to to know how much we paid. There are 5 of us, 5 wrist bands to return, $50, the math is easy. Well they went on to explain that if we had all been drinking Monster Energy drinks, (the title sponsor) when we bought tickets they we would of only had to pay $5 each. Great, thanks for telling me now. OK, so, let me get this straight, if I would have given my kids a near lethal dose of sugar and caffeine, I would have only had to pay half as much for then to expand their vocabulary, Cool! But please, I just want to keep my kids in the monster and F*** free bubble, so, can I have my money back? NO, after a while of arguing, while they sell tickets to more kids, they give us half. I know that makes me want to go support their sponsors! One sponsor, Zagg, gets it and is now offering a refund to anyone who was offended! Thank you, Zagg for appreciating what made our country great, respect for others! Even if you don't agree, you can still respect.

I know that this was too long, but you will never know how much better I feel, with it off my chest, sorry to bring you into it. It is time to hold the corporate machine accountable. All we ask is treat us with respect and courtesy. Appreciate the fact that unless you are a bank, insurance company, or auto manufacturer, you need us to stay in business. Please, this is what separates the good 'ol USA from most of the rest of the world.

But that's just my opinion...