Sufjan Stevens 2010 Atlanta

Sufjan Stevens Atlanta 2010

Things I do not understand: Part 8

This week's thing I do not understand is: why do I like "Project Runway" so much? Could it be because I have raging crushes on artsy girls? Is it because I like fashion (I do, but more along the lines of the Sartorialist or GQ's Style Guy, not so much with most of what the designers create on the show). Maybe it's the drama. Although, I do believe my life already has it's fair share of drama as it is. Who knows? I guess that's why it's something I do not understand.

night as a metaphor for life

Sitting outside, around 1AM, just coming from a light-filled room, my eyes need time to adjust to the darkness. I find that night is in a way a metaphor for life. You're young and naive--cannot see things that are obviously there--and then as you grow older, your eyes adjust and you're able to see more. Nothing happened to the darkness or to what the darkness concealed--the change occurred within your eyes.

things i don't understand: part 7

this week's thing i don't understand will be short and sweet. i simply do not understand reality television. i mean, i watch it. but that doesn't mean i understand it. oh, and all of my new posts will display proper grammatical skills (i.e. capitalization of proper nouns and hopefully fewer comma splices). so there you have it. i do not understand reality t.v.

night riding

i have just returned from my first ever night ride. i must say, it was awesome. first off, riding at night in the summer time means cooler temperatures than riding in the day. it was around 76 degrees for the entire ride. compared to around 96 degrees when i normally ride during the daytime. second, traffic was pretty much a non-issue tonight. and what little traffic there was, almost every car gave me a wide berth, this i attribute to the brightness of three taillights in their eyes. third, there's something about riding around in an area that is normally filled with cars, people, and noise, and finding it devoid of all three. the stillness and quiet were amazing. the moon was also out in force tonight, aiding my visibility, and providing a never before seen view while riding. all in all, it was pretty incredible.

things i don't understand: part 6

this week's thing i don't understand is customer service. or, more accurately, the lack of customer service. i will offer a single example, but i feel it could easily be applied to most service-based industries. first, what is the definition of customer service? i mean, the actual definition, not how a company 'defines' it. according to wikipedia (yes, i know it's not exactly the best of sources, but it will have to do) customer service is "...a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service). so where is it? for instance, one of the last times i bought coffee i ordered a vanilla latte. well, after enduring one of the longest monologues known to man about how this store's coffee was far superior to that of any run-of-the-mill coffee shop, the barista told me he could put vanilla syrup in my coffe, but only i "wanted it to taste like s***." well, of course i don't want my coffee to taste terrible, but why offer the vanilla syrup at your shop if won't allow customers to consume it? not only that, but the last time i checked i was the customer and i placed the order, this wasn't a suggestion. now i understand that the barista was simply trying to provide what he thought was customer service by protecting me from what he felt was inferior means of consuming coffee. yet, he could have said that instead of his blasting a drink i thoroughly enjoy on occasion. he could have said, "dude, i totally understand that you may normally adore vanilla in your coffee, however i feel it my duty to inform you that our syrup is not up to my standards of syrups/our syrup is rancid/our coffee is best enjoyed devoid of syrups/etc. i will still serve you what you requested, but i felt i should make you aware of this before doing so." that would have been great. instead though, i was made to feel i was an idiot because i wanted to add vanilla to my coffee. i never want to feel as though i'm stupid for ordering something (even if i am--note my ordering of two number 10's from mcdonald's, both with diet cokes). i may be stupid and my order may be the most asinine of orders, but please spare me the condescending diatribe and just prepare my order, just as i ordered it. i have not returned to this particular coffee shop. i have, on the other hand, purchased and consumed many a vanilla latte from several other area coffee shops.

i could continue my rant with various other examples of how customer service seems to be deteriorating and morphing into customer annoyance, but i will refrain. i simply don't understand where customer service has gone. i sure wish it return and bring me a vanilla latte.