Sunday, October 31, 2010

Customer Service

I think this will be kind of a random blog post.  Over the weekend I went out to eat at a restaurant for the first time.  While I was there, though, I noticed something that has made me think.  When I go to restaurants I like to talk to the restaurant servers or other workers for their suggestions on what to order.  Many workers automatically recommend the most expensive thing on the menu, and it is clear that they are only trying to increase my bill and their tip.  Other can't even give a good recommendation because they really aren't even familiar with the menu.  I'm kind of weird and I like to observe the different responses that I get and then compare them with my own opinion of the food after I finish eating it.  I usually find my opinion of the meal to be quite different than the description from the original suggestion.  The other night, though, the worker at the restaurant we went to, gave us honest, blunt descriptions of the menu items and even talked us out of what we were going to order in favor of a less-expensive item that was his personal favorite.  My post-meal analysis found that he had been extremely accurate in his description and we tipped him heftily.  I learned how much of an effect a worker can have on the satisfaction of their customers.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Venting

I really am a positive person, and happy too.  Once in a while, though, I think it's ok to get some feelings out in the open, or, as I like to call it, vent.  Last week was pretty rough, as far as school goes.  Last Sunday  night, I sat down and made a list of assignments and tests that I needed to complete last week.  I only had a few in mind originally, but as I thought about it, more and more "to-do's" came to mind.  I knew right then, that I was in for a crazy week.  My assignments and tests included (remember I'm venting, so just listen and go along with it all) PAR stories, resumes, and a cover letter for MCOMM, four accounting quizes, a test in D&C class, an assignment for Econ that took about 10 hours to complete, a Spanish test, an Excel final exam, a PowerPoint final exam, and a grammar test.  Wow!  I can't believe I survived last week.  This heavy load of homework had a few negative side-affects.  I didn't get adequate sleep (there was a night where I got only two hours of sleep) and walked around like a zombie.  I didn't do much exercise.  I need a haircut.  And, I am currently a week and a half late on getting my brother a birthday gift.  So, that's my venting session, thanks for listening.  I can now forget about last week and move on.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Waffle Party

Tonight changed my life.  Following our ward prayer meeting, I attended my first ward waffle party.  It is true, our ward has a called and set-apart waffle committee, whose sole purpose and responsibility is to periodically prepare waffles for the ward.  When the callings were announced in sacrament meeting, we were sure that the bishop said "welfare committee," but we've come to see that he actually said "waffle committee."  We showed up tonight to find a plethora of waffles and waffle toppings just waiting to be devoured.  This is going to be a revolution that will catch on throughout the world-wide church.  I built myself a cinnamon-flavored waffle, topped it with chocolate ice cream and powdered sugar, and sat there wondering how I had ever been able to survive life without a ward waffle committee.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Thanks Shayne

The topic for today's blog is an interesting one.  In MCOMM class this week, the teacher gave us a random assignment to buy a stranger a coke and then write about the experience in our blogs.  The first thing I did was consult Rob, because I know he has a reputation of being a smooth criminal.  He gave me a few pointers, built up my confidence, and then sent me off to fulfill the assignment.  
My pre-developed plan was to find a girl in the "Twilight Zone" of the Bookstore and buy her a drink that she probably would have bought for herself anyway.  I figured that this would be easy and low-risk, because I'd know that the girl already wanted the drink and wouldn't mock my offer.  As I made my way to the "Twilight Zone" on Saturday afternoon, though, no one was there.  The store was empty, except for one, lone, female worker at the cash register.  My brilliant plan wouldn't work because the worker wasn't about to buy herself a drink and besides, she was the only person in the store and that made me nervous and jittery.  Nevertheless, I manned up (i don't know if that phrase works in the past tense) and did it.  I asked her if I could buy her a drink, she smiled and agreed, and I bought her a "Simply Raspberry Lemonade" at her request.  After that, I left.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Ready to Roll

This has become a Sunday night tradition; every week, the last task left on my weekly "To-do" list is to pull up my blog and jot down my feelings.  Tonight my feelings include excitement, peace, contentment, and happiness.  I just got back down to Provo after a great conference-weekend with my family at our home in Sandy.  Every time that I visit my home and family I feel grateful for the all the things that they do to support and provide for me.  I find it interesting that as a poor college student, a delicious, home-cooked meal is seems almost foreign and is such a big deal!  I was humbled and inspired by the messages that were given by the Prophet and Apostles of the church.  I feel motivated to be better and to do more to serve the Lord.  I am excited to take on another week of college and look forward to what life will offer this new week.  Tomorrow, Monday morning, I'm going to wake up early to birds chirping and everything will be perfect.  Then, I'll cheerfully go take the big grammar test for my MCOMM class.