rustynickel's Blog

Jan. 12:    It's starting to snow.  The first real snow of the season and the first one we've seen in years.  The wife and I took our hot buttered rums and sat by the picture window, watching the big, soft flakes drift down, clinging to the trees and covering the ground.  It was so beautiful!

Jan 13:    We awoke to a lovely blanket of crystal white snow covering the landscape.  What a fantastic sight!  Every tree and shrub covered with a beautiful mantle of white.  I shoveled snow for the first time in years and loved every minute.  I did both our walk and driveway.  Later a city snow plow came along and accidently covered up our driveway with dirty, compacted snow from the street.  The driver smiled and waved.  I waved back and shoveled it again. Jan 14:    It snowed an additional five inches last night and the temperature has dropped to around eleven degrees.  Several limbs on the trees and shrubs snapped due to the weight of the extra snow.  I shoveled our driveway again.  Shortly afterwards the snowplow came by and did his nasty trick again.  Much of the snow is now a brownish gray. Jan 15:    Warmed up enough during the day to create some slush which soon became ice when the temperature dropped again.  Bought new snow tires for both cars.  Cost me a damned fortune.  Fell on my ass in the driveway.  Cost me $500 at the chiropractor, luckily nothing important was broken.  More snow and ice is expected tonight. Jan 16:    Still cold.  Sold the wife's car and bought a 4X4 in order to get to work.  Slid into a guard rail and did considerable damage to the right rear quarter panel.  Had another eight inches of the white junk last night.  Both vehicles covered in crud and slush.  More shoveling in store for me today.  That damned snow plow came by twice today. Jan 17:    Two degrees outside today.  More snow!  Not a tree or shrub hasn't been damaged from the weight of the ice and snow.  Power was off most of the night.  We tried to keep from freezing to death with candles and a small kerosene heater.  Unfortunately, it tipped over and nearly burned our house down.  I managed to put out the flames, but suffered 2nd degree burns on my hands and lost all of my eyelashes and eyebrows.  Car slid on the ice on way to emergency room and was totaled.  Spent another $1,000 I didn’t have at the hospital. Jan 18:    And the white s--t just keeps coming down!!  have to put on all the clothes that we own just to get out to the mailbox.  If I every catch that SOB that drives the snowplow, I'll chew open his chest and rip out his bleeping heart.  I think the SOB hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling the snow.  Then he comes down the street at 100mph and buries our driveway again!!  Power is still off!  Toilet froze and part of the roof has caved in under the weight of the white stuff. Jan 19:    Six more inches of the white stuff.  More sleet!  More ice!  I wounded the SOB who drives the snowplow with an ice ax, but he got away.  Wife has left me.  Car won't start.  I think I'm going snow blind.  I can't move my toes any longer.  Haven't seen the sun in several weeks.  The temperature hasn't been above freezing in over a week.  More snow is predicted for tonight.  Wind chill is down to minus 35 below.

 TIME FOR THIS TEXAN TO MOVE BACK TO TEXAS!!!!!!!               

What ever happened to customer service?  Was there a funeral and I wasn't notified?  It upsets me, after all my years in retail, to find that there is no such thing as CUSTOMER SERVICE anymore.  Just today, the wife and I went to a large pet retailer.  We passed by six associates, dressed in uniform, with name badges on, not one of them even spoke nor acknowledged our presence in the store.  Much less attempt to ask if we were locating what we had come in for.  At the register, the cashier didn't even speak -- not one word!!  And then, there was no "Thanks, come again" or anything.  To even make matters worse, we passed by the store manager on two different occasions and even he didn't speak.  Not one single word.

Later we went to one of the larger office supply stores.  Again, we were met with the same indifference to our being there.  No one was interested in assisting me with my purchase of an expensive fax/scanner/copier.  One associate (employee) even asked me to move out of his way, so he could get some loose papers off the shelf behind an item.

Maybe, just maybe, these stores are hiring the handicapped more than I ever expected.  Maybe they are now hiring those who cannot speak.  If that's the case, more power to them.  But as for me, I'd really rather shop where I can communicate with them.  My wife has a second language of American Sign Language and that didn't even work at the office supply mega store.

I managed stores in the '60's, 70's, 80's, & 90's and I can guarantee you that none of these people would have lasted past the first day in any store that I managed.  I expected superior customer service to all guest (customers) who came in.  Each associate was required to speak to each and every guest they came within ten feet of.  And, it didn't matter if another associate had just spoken to a guest, the next associate had better acknowledge their presence in the store.  If a cashier made the fatal mistake of not speaking to, visiting with and thanking a paying customer, they were verbally warned of their infraction and explained the expectations once again.  The second time, they were looking for other employment. 

When I was promoted to the front office, as Vice-President of Store Operations, I again insisted that each associate practice the "Ten Foot Rule".  Each store showed considerable gains over the next ten years.

It only makes good sense.  What does a smile, a quick response, a small question, an acknowledgement hurt?  After all, don't these stores, store managers, or the executives understand that people shop where they are wanted?  Who wants to shop with a bunch of lazy people who would rather you just leave? 

Because we do NOT demand better service, we get what we expect.  And, these companies keep on doing what they are doing.  Letting these young people get by with the least amount of effort.

Believe me when I say I've already sent off nice letters to these corporations and I will be expecting their standard reply -- We appreciate your comments and look forward to further serving you.  Bull!

My soapbox is over.

IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME!!!

Why we have to pay so much for the items we need.     My, what's this world coming to?  The Better-Half and I were at one of the area's huge indoor malls this past weekend.  And, to tell you that I'm SHOCKED would only be an intro.   While my wife was doing her shopping - at one of those fancy stores that I have no business in - I saw three teenage boys stuffing large Sears bags with merchandise near the entrance of a national retail store.  Not just a few items.  They were filling the bags with large quantities of all sorts of items.  They saw me and didn't seem to care, not even in the least.  They even laughed that I should mind my own business -- and called me an "old man."  When I said that I was going to call security - they just laughed and continued.  I went to find a manager.  When I told the store associate what I had witness, he said, and I quote,  "YEA, IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.  THERE'S NOT MUCH MY COMPANY WILL LET ME DO.  I CAN'T EVEN CALL SECURITY ON THEM UNLESS I PERSONALLY SEE THEM COMMITING THE CRIME."

I later saw one of the mall's security officers and reported the incident to him.  He placed a call to other officers in the mall.  But informed me that they would probably not find the culprits and that "IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME."

These stores have so few employees that they just invite this sort of thing.  There were probably no more than two or three associates working in this store.  These guys probably stole more than three to five hundred dollars in merchandise.  Gosh, that seems like that would have paid the salary for another employee or two.

Does anyone really believe that a four-day work week is going to help decrease the usage of gasoline?  Doesn't it seem that this would just give people more opportunity to use those days for recreation, travel, etc?  I know that I don't have all the answers (heck, I don't even know all the questions) but this just seems stupid to me.  What do the bloggers say?

Are there serious plans to ever remove the HOV bumps from I-635?  You know, those things that are remaining after all of the uprights have been destroyed.  With more missing poles than those upright it only seems logical.  But "logical" is a word seldom used by those in charge.  Logical might have meant using the additional 20% of roadway for traffic, with or without two people in the vehicle.

First, let me be totally honest.  I'm a safe driver who follows the rules.  I've only had one moving violation in the past 35 years.  And, I still don't believe that I deserved that one, but it wasn't worth fighting.

What I have a real problem with is this:  Why is it that everyone who has absolutely no place to go; all day to get there; no care about anyone else -- why are they ALWAYS in front of me, regardless of where I go?

There can be no one behind me for miles and yet, some idiot with a junker of a pickup or car just can't wait another 30 seconds and will pull out in front of me?  Then they drive 10-15mph.

Then there are those in front of me who can't remember that it doesn't take a personal written invitation to move when the light actually does turns green.  Or, they will sit there on their darned phones until the light is ready to turn yellow again before they move on.  Usually making it unsafe for the next vehicle to move.

I now know why I never learned to cuss before I learned to drive. 

Wonder why Texas hasn't come up with a Texas Driver's License refresher course?  Those who received their license 50 years ago can simply renew their license each five to seven years by passing an eye test and paying the fee.  Nothing about the fact that new laws have been passed, laws have changed, etc. 

Ever wonder why people have to take all their relatives to the doctor's office with them?   I went to the doctor today and there must have been fifteen kids sitting in all of the chairs, making it rather hard to find a place to sit and wait.   Other kids were playing on the floor and running all over the place.  You would have thought I was in the middle of a Day Care, not in a doctor's office.

One man must have had his wife, mother, sisters, daughters and all of their kids there.  When he left, so did about twelve other people who had been talking and sitting around him prior to his going in to see the doctor.    I wonder which bus they got on cause they couldn't have all come in one vehicle otherwise.   My, it must be wonderful to have that many people worried about you.  Either that or these people just absolutely have no life.

Anyone else as amazed as I on the number of roll over accidents that occur on our freeways?  It seems that each time we see a picture from the Fox4 Chopper,  there is a SUV on it's top or side that has been involved in an accident.  Is it the design of the vehicles or could it just be the fact that there are that many people who drive our freeways that just do not  have control over the vehicles they drive?  Many times it seems that it is a one vehicle accident!  How does this happen?

No proof of insurance  -- car gets towed.

What's the consensus on this issue?  I, for one, do NOT feel that towing a persons car for failing to have insurance is a just cause.    Giving the driver of the vehicle a ticket will move traffic along much, much quicker than to have the bald headed, muscle bound, egotistical, arrogant occifer sitting in his squad car doing nothing but holding up traffic for one to three hours waiting for a wrecker.

I'm a WEATHER FANATIC...........love springtime.  Chasing storms just for the fun of it.    Love to watch lightning, hear the thunder and watch the wind and rain.  

Wondering if one of our great meteoriologist or program directors could explain WHY all t.v. stations have the weather at the same time and the commercials at the same time?    And, how do you guys coordinate that sort of thing??  Don't you think that we might want to change over to see what the other guys at station XYZ are lying about?

It never fails that when Channel 4 goes to a commercial, the other stations have commercials also.......As you might tell, I'm not a fan of commercials.   But, would rather compare the stations in their weather forecasting and delivery.

     Anyone other than me have a problem with the fund raising car washes?  Saturday afternoon, while driving from one mall to another, I bet that my wife and I passed no less than fifteen different organizations holding "car washes."    Skimpily glad young girls of ten, eleven, twelve (in matchbox size bikinis) strutting around with signs, whistling, yelling and stepping out into traffic in an attempt to catch your attention.  Young boys horseplaying into traffic and making just getting around an intersection rather difficult.

     Should one of these young people be injured, or God forbid, killed, would the proceeds from that one day of being stupid be worth the outcome?

     First off, I have a real problem with beggers.  And this is exactly what I feel these organizations are doing.   They are "begging" me to help in their financial needs.  Well!!!!    No one helps me or my family with our financial needs.   And, I'm not going to stoop so low as to go on a street corner and harrass or beg someone to help me.    I have a little too much pride for that sort of thing.

     Also, where are the sponsors, parents, guardians or the police?   These actions are dangerous, if not to motorist, to the participants who act like they just came in from the monkey gage.

     Am I alone in this?  Or, is this something that others have questioned?

Wonder if this campaign might have caused a few chuckles??