Jun 6, 2008
posted by Shelley
I’ve posted before about clarity, and how we are so busy doing busy work that we forget to focus on ‘the big picture.’ As an extension of that…I will say that while we can sometimes see the big picture on the horizon — we almost never take time to feed our creative brains.
I would describe myself as being creative. There’s nothing I love more than using my creative brain to develop new concepts and ideas, and also publications for web and print. But let’s face it, one simply must be in the ‘mood’ to be creative. To get the creative juices flowing, you’ve got to feed your creative brain. Now I’m not just talking about creativity as it pertains to work and production — I’m also talking about creativity in your everyday life.
Take time to read more — soak up, experience and absorb the text — don’t just do the normal blah blah blah reading. Really take a hard look at the things around you and what inspires you. Think of other ways you can do the same old things you’ve always done. Feed your creative brain, kick back and get in a creative mood, and then apply your new creative thoughts to something you do everyday or something you’ve always wanted to try. Let me know how it goes!
Jun 3, 2008
posted by Shelley
Superman isn’t the only superhuman that can dodge bullets. I can too! Check this out…
Brent and I just got back from storm chasing. My Brother in law watches a doppler in Greensburg and was guiding me towards the storm that just went over. That cell had produced tornadoes to the northeast of us but was taking a break when it crossed 31. It went just to the north of your house. (We were there.) You dodged the bullet.
Mike
I’m hoping that Mike got a few great shots of the bad weather, and I will be keeping an eye on his BLOG (What is Cookin’ at the Pines) so I don’t miss anything. Even if he forgot the camera at home, it’s my best guess he’ll have a story to tell.
Perry snapped this shot while mumbling something about updrafts…
Jun 3, 2008
Posted by Perry
Over the past week Shelley and I have eaten at two restaurants where the service didn’t quite meet our expectations. The odd thing about them both was the fact that it wasn’t the front-line staff that made the experience bad – it was the management that dropped the ball.
The first happened at Long John Silvers. We ordered our meal and paid with a large bill due to our equally large order. The cashier took our money and handed it to a rather large supervisor in the back who (with a look of distain) examined it and returned it to her rather rudely. We then asked the cashier if we could get cole slaw instead of the drinks that came with the meals. She replied, “Sure” and proceeded to fill four little containers of slaw. The ‘manager’, upon seeing this, asked her what she was doing and if there was a problem. The clerk told her no, she just needed some slaw instead of drinks. The manager said nothing – just rolled her eyes. We left after getting our order and commented to each other about the fact that the wrong person was in charge there. The cashier handled her customers and the transaction on such a higher level than the manager that it was laughable.
Our next encounter came at a Taco Bell. Again, we had a large order and the cashier was extremely helpful and even recommended some good stuff to us. After we got our food, we checked it out to make sure nothing was amiss – it was. We went back to the counter to tell the shift lead and was met with a rude response. The cashier made our order right – even though as a customer we want them to get it right.
The problem in both of these situations is that management failed miserably to ensure a pleasant customer experience – that was handled both times by the front-line staff. The question here is that when management cannot provide effective customer service, when does an organization take a long look at how they promote their managers? When front-line staff “get it” and supervisors don’t – a company has a major problem on their hands.
Have you evaluated how your management handles customers, and more important, have you evaluated how they set an example for front-line staff in dealing with your customers?
If not – you should be.
Jun 3, 2008
posted by Shelley
It’s often hard to plan outside activities in early summer when at least some percentage of rain is predicted in each daily forecast. Such is the case today in the burg. The outside deck is about 1/2 sealed, and plans to finish it today have been squashed by Mother Nature. Libby thinks days like these are good for nothing special, and figures napping is about the most productive thing she is going to attempt to accomplish.
This little fat girl is totally a part of the office scene. She rarely leaves during work hours (there are times that she disappears to a back room to stretch out on the bed), barks when she isn’t supposed to (when I’m doing my best to sound professional), and obviously prefers UPS to FedEx. We aren’t sure if she just likes Roger (the UPS man) or if it’s a whole ‘brown’ loyalty thing going on — but she about ate the FedEx man recently.
Perry and I figure that if Libby is taking the day off, we aren’t going to hit it so hard today either. Fair is fair. Right?
