Yearly Archives:2024

A Shout Out To Great Customer Service

It seems we cannot go through a day that we don’t hear someone complain about the lack of customer service in the retail or service industries today.  Or we get no service, and yet we asked to tip 20% or more for the lack of it.

I hear that often from clients and associates, family members and friends.  And sometimes the person complaining is me.  How do we get the service we should get from the businesses we are working with? What is the cause?  Why do we keep working with those who do not really serve us or care about us as their clients, or customers?

But every once in a while, a shining light of service comes through, and I am so excited.  Removes my fears that life could become one disappointing situation after another.

At least 6 to 8 weeks ago I went to my favorite Hallmark Card store in McMurray.  Olivia’s Hallmark.  I have been going there for 18 years as anyone who knows me, knows I like doing everything in my life on Route 19.  Easy.  Convenient.

I have been purchasing a special greeting card from there that I keep in my stash of greeting cards that fit so many situations.  It is a card with small sheep on the front who announce that they:

Do not know what to do.  Do not know what to say.  And inside it says, “But I will pray”.

I find it a great card to show my concern when someone is going through a life crisis.  Because I cannot always help, but I can pray.

For months, it was not on the shelf at Olivia’s Hallmark or on any other Hallmark that I may have visited. But when I was at Olivia’s a couple of months ago, I mentioned this to Ann, one of the store’s sales clerks, and she took my name and said if she saw it coming in, she would call me.

And she did!!! 

She called me personally to tell me the card came in and she set aside 3 of them for me.  She told me that Hallmark was changing systems, and this card had been on hold, but now it was back.

She made my day.  I could not even imagine she remembered me.  But she did.

Ok, Ann.  You need to go out into the world and teach others what customer service is all about.  You are a gem.

To our readers: If you have a great customer service story, please share with us so we can share with others.

A Mother’s Day Story

By Mary Grace Musuneggi

Although my mother passed away over 25 years ago, I still think about her every day. And with Mother’s Day approaching I think about all the special things she used to do. She was Irish and a great story teller. She found a lesson to be learned in everything I would do.

I had not yet turned five when I started Kindergarten at Boggs Avenue Elementary School in Mt. Washington. Kindergarten in those days was more about socialization and constructive play than educational courses. So every day we sang and played and did art projects. I really liked to
play; I liked to sing; but my talents waned when it came to art projects.

One day the teacher gave us a mound of clay and asked us to mold it into an animal. I tried and tried and nothing seemed to happen. My clay continued to look like a lump to me. Then suddenly the teacher came over, picked it up, turned to the class and said, “Look! Isn’t this wonderful. Mary Grace made a cow.” Really? A cow? It didn’t look much like a cow to me. A cow was certainly not my plan. But young as I was I knew not to contradict my elders, especially when they were saying good things…and when those good things were about me. So I painted it and let it dry, and in a few days I took it home.

I gave it to my mother, and I related the story of how the cow came to be. With a smile on her face she said to me, “That’s life. Sometimes successes come by accident. The important thing is to just be; show up and keep trying. And you will find that sometimes you are in the right  place, at the right time, doing the right thing.” My mother was so wise.

I look at my life sometimes and realize that a lot of it, a lot of the success, came from me just showing up, just being, just trying. And I ended up in the right place at the right time. So I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day. A day to celebrate all the times we have just shown up; delighting in being in the right place at the right time. Delighting in being the women that we are. To celebrate and be grateful for our moms who taught us to do just that.

 
 
 

Spring – Time to Learn Some New Habits

Springtime is a time of renewal, and that should be true of your self-care. Read some ideas about ways to get yourself motivated and moving this spring. We found a great article that includes nine fun and easy ways to feel better and get more done! They include:

  1. Start your spring cleaning (and keep it up)
  2. Go to bed and wake up early
  3. Start taking morning walks
  4. Designate one day a week to self-care
  5. Minimize your constant phone checking
  6. Make time to read every day
  7. Journal your thoughts
  8. Exercise and get your body moving
  9. Drink more water

Read the full article from Fracture here: https://blog.fractureme.com/healthy-habits-renew-yourself-this-spring/

What is your “Spring Resolution”? Contact us to share or visit us on Facebook or Instagram.