Fiber 1

You ever try this stuff? This shit will clear you out in no time! (no pun intended) Good stuff!

Holy Cow!

How does one lose 5 pounds in one week? I have managed to but it does not seem scientifically possible. I am still up over my all time low, but hopefully heading back down.

Salespeople

I miss the days when electronic sales people worked on commision. Why? Because they really knew their products. You could ask them anything and they knew it...they had to in order to earn a paycheck. An "I don't know" wouldn't suffice to a customer.

Today, with the sales people making an hourly rate that they get paid wheather they make the sale or not, they aren't motivated to learn their products so much.

Case in point: Yesterday I went to a store that will remain nameless to pick up a gift card. But while I was there, I wanted to check out the video mp3 players. I am trying to decide between the video Ipod, the Zune and the Creative Vision. I walked up to the kiosk and a sales person asked if I needed help. I said "yeah, I am trying to decide between these three". The sales person looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language first of all. Then he couldn't figure out how to power up any of them except the Ipod. When I asked questions, he started spouting the basic facts that I already knew from looking at the manufactuers web site. I was frustrated. I said, "yeah I know all of that, what do you think of them". To which I was greated by silence so I thanked him and walked away.

So readers, if you have any feedback on either the video Ipod, the Zune or the Creative Vision, please let me know. Because I can't seem to get any information from the electronics store. Thank you.

My cat

I have a cat

My cat is big

He weighs 14 pounds

He sleeps on my head

I love it

Good Kitty

Packers vs Bears

I live in a northern suburb of Chicago Illinois, but I am orginally from Wisconsin. Living where I do I find that there are just as many Packer fans as there are Bears fans. So when the question is posed to me, Packers or Bears, I half heartedly say "Oh I really don't follow football". Which is the truth, I don't. Sure I go to Superbowl parties, but that is only for the food!

So unless you are living under a rock, you know that the Bears lost yesterday. It was a decent effort but they just didn't have it in them. Listening to the radio on the way in to work today and here at work all I am hearing is Bears bashing! You would think that the Bears had committed murder or something!

Again, I am not a football fan. but one thing I will say is when the Packers went to the Superbowl in 98 and lost, the fans and the state still stood behind them. They were still the heros of the state. They could do no wrong.

So based on how the fans have reacted to the loss of their beloved Bears, I have decided that when someone asks me who I like better, I will now proudly say Packers. For the simple reason that I would rather be lumped with those die hard, we don't care if you win or lose fans then the fly by night Bears fans.

Go Packers! Go Brett Favre! (who I once met but that is another post)

You want me to do what?

I have posted before about how employees act like you are asking for their first born child when you ask them to do work. But I have to continue on this topic because I still don't get it.

I am a customer service manager. You know, you call the 800# to ask a question, I manage the people who answer the phone. The last week will be the busiest week of the year given the industry we are in. We talked about how busy it would be for 6 months before it came. We set realistic expectations. We gave them no less then 15 hours of training to prepare, and these are some of the things I hear come out of their mouths:

1) Why do these idiots keep calling?
2) I can't take another call
3)I need a break! (this is 10 min after returning from a break)
4) That moron!
5) Jesus Christ! This idiot won't shut up!

Now these are some of the tamer things I have heard. You get the general theme though that the people aren't happy with the people they are talking to. Even though, we are paying them a hefty salary to talk to them (one of the top in the area)...paying for their benefits...providing them snacks and lunches daily. I won't even go into how many extra breaks I find people taking. I mean, who in this country gets 5 breaks a day...my employees seem to think they do. Or should I say, a small handful of them do. Not all...I shouldn't say that. But the loudest complainers about everything else do.

Now on the other hand, I have heard some doosies come out of customers mouths. We are a software company..keep this in mind when you read these:

1) Do I need a computer to use this?
2) Quit being a buthead (after not giving a credit for some thing he used)
3) Why can't you print these for me? (um, because the printer is on your end not ours)
4) Sir do you have your computer turned on? I have to have my computer on for this to work?
5) I bought this so my white trash babysitter could use it and it isn't working (no lie on this one)

I want to also say, out of a team of 11, I have 3 who are not what I would call professional. So it isn't everyone. The majority are good, hard working, caring individuals. But these 3 make my life a hell. Not only do they gripe after every call, they take 5-6 breaks a day, do crappy work overall, and bitch about everything from our dress code (we have none) to our attendance policy. Seriously if they put as much energy into their job as they do bitching they could be running the company. But instead they bitch about how they didn't get a promotion, how they got written up for calling in 4 times in a month...etc. Someday I hope to be able to turn these 3 bad seeds around...but for now, I just try to get through my day without wringing their neck.