It is sure going to be a nice ride today, although it looks like it will be a tad cold. Getting ready to head out and will post photos via mobile to this gallery. Enjoy…
Scott
My intent of writing this post is not to go off on the restaurant that my wife and I had lunch at today for Valentines day. In fact, as you read later on you will see that the manager of the Old Country Buffet, Mr. Lewis was quite amazing in his reaction to my issue. Customers, right or wrong, just or unjust, cranky or polite are the means to which businesses are funded. They are the ones that pay and although situations my arise that both the customer and money should be turned away, most of the time things can be worked out. Both the business and the customer can in fact be happy, but a business should never make a customer feel uncomfortable. Not online, in a store and especially not in a restaurant.
So what happened?
Today I took my wife Nanette to the Old Country Buffet in Lynwood, WA for a Valentines Day lunch. We go there often and the lunch hour is usually not quite as busy as the night. We paid our way and received red cups as we did not pay the extra $2.00 each for drinks. We both got water, Nanette’s with ice and mine without… no big deal. We had both been sitting there for some time eaten, near half way through the meal and a waitress came over to Nanette and asked if it was soda in her cup. My wife being shy did not really know what to say and in situations like that, being Filipino seems to stumble on conversational english. I myself found it odd because I had been sitting there the whole time and Nanette did not get up to get a refill or anything so I said, “I am not sure” but suggested that Nanette dump it out and get fresh water. A blank look from the waitress followed by her asking Nanette for $2.00. The waitress was quite nasty and actually grabbed the cup, dumped it out, (It looked like water to me) and filled it with water and handed it back to Nanette.
She then said nothing and walked away. My poor wife sat there quite upset, and we were right next to the beverage bar and for the next ten minutes saw several people with red cups load up on soda. We really just sat there feeling that for some reason Nanette was singled out. Sort of like TSA and the airport, but at least with that there is some justification. As I went back to the get a second plate of food I asked for the manager and told him what had happened. I could tell that he felt bad but what he did ten minutes later shows how someone who understands customer services addresses a situation like this. He brought over two glass to our table and asked my wife what she would like to drink. He then proceeded to get us both an ice cold soda.
That meant a lot to both her and me and the Valentines Day lunch was both enjoyable and delicious. As online sellers we make certain that our customer know that they are special to us, even if at times we have to lose a buck or two in shipping, spend extra time with product selection because we want them and their friends to shop again. We are thankful that Mr. Lewis understood this as we will certainly be back to Old Country Buffet again.
Being a dad is sure something else and as my 6 year old grows I notice many features in him that I see in reflections of my own youth. I actually remember being that age somewhere around 1979 or 1980 and remember my old man taking me to RadioShack, a place of wonder and mystery. Of course back then it was filled with much less than the modern iPods and Smart Phones of today but rather you would find fuses, somewhat expensive toys and rolls and rolls of black electrical tape. The product base of todays RadioShack, in general, seems to be able to be had at any Walmart or Big K, and the aisles of cool electrical doo-dads seems to have been replaced with what customers want these days. I understand. I get it.
A recent trip to RadioShack was brought on by a vile tantrum the other day from my son, not me. It was true that the first grade bus driver had announced that the kids could bring a radio with headphones on the bus to listen to. Renato was upset, nay, pissed to high Hell that we would not let him take his iPod nor my rather expensive Bowers P5 headphones. Perhaps simply to young to understand the agony of another kids lifting it or simply loosing it and having to come home to explain it to Mom and Dad. Years of picking at auctions and flea markets failed to turn up anything suitable so a trip to Target was arranged for after school.
I was surprised that they did not have a simple AM/FM Radio or even a basic MP3 player, but the clerk explained that no one buys them anymore. So off to RadioShack with little Renato we journeyed and where we found a nice little gray model that was perfect for only $14.99, model 12-586. Renato seemed immediately amazed by it, not that he had never seen a small radio before but I could tell in his eyes that this was obviously going to be his very own, “Big Boy” Radio. The kid at the counter was really cool also and put some AA’s in it and gave me two packs for free for buying two more packs of batteries. Renato has kept the radio in his pocket for several days and seeing him step off the bus with an ear to ear grin with the little blue headphones was priceless.
RadioShack, thanks for keeping cool all these years.
From time to time we stumble upon the most unusual things. behold this twenty by sixteen inch mounted wood wall display of what appears to be either Desi Arnaz or someone who certainly looked much like him. the age and condition seem to all lead the correct period and it is with out doubt a quality piece of art but my intrigue is the simply question as to who is this person. If it is him, there is no doubt that the photo is of a much younger Desi Arnaz SR than most available images and one where his most brilliant smile is replaced with a cool smirk of the day. If you are a fan please help us identify the image and share with the world another item of this most fantastic of men.
Cripes, as a picker, auction hunter and frequent gatherer of stuff I am often times amazed at what I find. Although the golden rule is to always bring items to market, I think that this fine treasure will remain in my own collection. I am not particularly a collector of vintage aluminum kitchenware, but I love vintage advertising and I was also in Philadelphia just a couple months ago for eBay on Location. Wear Ever is a relatively popular brand for the period as was the Aluminum Cooking Utensil Company, Inc. New Kensington, Pennsylvania.
So what the heck is this thing?
At first I thought it was just a just a small truck but when I opened it I a saw the Wear Ever Aluminum Specialties traveling salesman’s case. The inset actually looks even better than in the photos an now I have a new mission: Try to find the pieces that actually would have been displayed and shown in the case. That might take a while but as I do I will add them to this gallery so if interested please check back from time to time.
Welcome to our 2013 blog facelift. Yep, mainly the same theme but some new images, videos, art work and some cool new widgets on just to the right on the sidebar. We have also included a new product page and are bringing some of our digital manuals and engine parts over here. Not to worry as we are not trying to suck you into the hustle. A mix of personal and business. The project was fun and although my new years diet has been disrupted with late night potato chips working on this project I am happy to say that the goals that I set out of the blog facelift was a success. Thanks in part to PayPal helping me configure express checkout and the brilliance of a freelance web geek in the Philippines who help me get things to fit when felt the need to hit my iMac with my postal scale.
Now it is about content and sharing the journey, hobbies and all the things that make life interesting.
Cold rainy weather in Seattle this morning? Yes, but we still ventured out to an estate sale. Not a lot of treasure but we still had a great breakfast at Denny’s and spending time with family always makes it worth while. Cool sale though and one of those cool old garages with tons of knick-knacks, garden tools and boxes of canning jars and things covered in cob webs. In one of the boxes of canning jars I saw these small James Keiller & Sons, LTD Orange Marmalade jars, (About 25 of them). The asking price was $5 for the whole box so I offered $4 and took it home.
Big deal? that in and of itself may not be worthy of a blog post but would you have purchased them? How about if the box was $10, $30 – how about $50? My gut told me $4 was cheap and even if they had no value, I could still use them as things to put little nuts and bolts in them. Truth be told, I was not super interested in them and left then in the garage as a searched the house for more treasure. Had I used Worthpoint which I now have on my phone as a mobile app, I would have looked them up. The result being $20 – $45 each in regular sale history on eBay.
I have used Worthpoint ever since the guys at Thrifting With The Boys have offered it to members for only $10 a month, (Regular Price is $49.99) and have used it to make some very wise purchasing decisions and prevented some rather uncomfortable nights sleeping on that sofa due to an unhappy wife. One issue that I have had on IOS was that when in full browser, I would constantly have to log in and sometimes it was a hassle… Simple solution: I installed the mobile app which is lightening fast, gives simply info you need and keeps you logged in. A simple and powerful tool for the war on trying to be smarter than the competition. So I am happy that I purchased them but they are a strong reminder to look things up and have the software and tools to do so.
To see our listings as we propagate them to the eBay Market place, simply click here. To learn more about Thrifting With The Boys and or to contact them directly about their Worthpoint offer, simply visit Jason or Bryan at: www.thriftingwiththeboys.com or #TWTB on Twitter or check out their Worthpoint webinar on November 14th….
Now off to list my Dundee Marmalade jars….
Scott
Although nothing like the East Coast, we had our fair share of rain in the Seattle area today. Nothing to stop us from heading out to the Bob’s Corn to the pumpkin fields. Take a look at these two gargantuan beasts!
Years back when we purchased our current home the sun shined far brighter on our budget and we purchased a brand new Mitsubishi 61 inch DLP Television. High Definition filled out home with joy and our soon to be born son would enter the world knowing 1080p! Slightly there after the engine went bad and despite repeated attempts to get the place we purchased it from to assist with warranty or replacement we found the company itself to be out of business. We dug deep and purchased a brand new Toshiba 52″ Regza LCD.
The first year was nothing short of bliss but we started to see vertical lines which would come and go. Since they went away we simple got used to them and it was not until a 2 inch “Stripe” appeared on the far left I did not find myself all that cranky. Another year past and we trained ourselves to ignore it. The problem according to Google as many people have experienced the same issue is created by a defective T-Conn Board. I decided months ago that I would hunt for a good deal on the elusive T-Conn board which sells on eBay for around $50. Alas, last week I found one on eBay for $20 with free shipping.
So Renato, (My six year old son) grabbed out philips screwdrivers and went to work and taking the back off and navigating our way through the sea of circuit boards and sheet metal panel to find the location of the board. The new one fit right in and after an hour of putting it all back together we were ready for the magical moment of testing! Come on baby….
Damn, the exact same thing… so not the T-Con board after all and more than likely beyond my level of diagnosis.
A quick shout out and congratulations for my good friend and fellow PayPal Ambassador, Steve Meyers as he will be representing PayPal in New York at Comic Con 2012. Steve is really a Hell of a great guy and what a perfect fit for his unique style and inspirational personality. A perfect fit no doubt for an amazing crowd which includes Mr. T and Princess Lea. Oh Heaven!
You can learn more about Steve Meyers on the PayPal for Business Facebook page or visit him on eBay.
If in New York between Oct 11 through Oct 14, why not get tickets and spend some time with Steve? He will be showing the new PayPal HERE as well as many of the newer PayPal products.
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