Customer disservice

I had an experience which I am certain many others have had before me. I had a watch battery replaced on Sat. in a waterproof sports watch. Unfortunately, the young woman who replaced the battery did not place the rubber seal properly and when I went swimming the next day, within a minute the screen flickered and went dead. When I removed the watch to inspect it, I could see a bit of the rubber seal sticking out from under the back case of the watch where water had seeped into the watch and shorted it. The young woman had botched something as simple as replacing a battery. Here's where the hatred rises to the surface:

I returned on Monday to the store to show the saleswoman the crippled watch caused by her improper closing. I expected her or her manager to apologize and replace the battery or offer a replacement watch (or at least a discount on a replacement) as her incompetence had caused the watch to short circuit when exposed to water. No such luck. They refused. Not only did they refuse, the manager had the nerve to suggest that I had tampered with the watch and they were not responsible for it no longer functioning. I was furious and become increasingly incensed when I realized they had no intention of admitting their mistake or making any sort of amends whatsoever. They even shooed me away saying they were closing and had to lock their doors before mall security arrived. I couldn't believe it. I was so angry for the next half hour and then incredibly disappointed at being let down again by salespeople who, in this case, were happy to sell items but completely unskilled at offering technical service and having no concept of customer service. I know a number of people who have had their watches damaged by jewelers attempting to replace batteries - why can't they get this simple task right? Could you imagine a bike mechanic causing damage while replacing a flat or an auto glass repair centre cracking a replacement window and suggesting it's your fault? Obviously, a number of jewellers are there to make high margins selling you bling and don't think we're worth their time to provide quality technical service or post-sales customer service. As for my case, it's not worth my time to fight for my watch as I know they won't change. Weasels 1 - Customer 0.

Try Tri Again

A number of years ago, I did a couple of sprint triathlons for fun with friends, both individually and as a team. Now, some ten years plus later, I'm training to do another one in a few weeks. While I don't have high expectations, I have personal goals I hope to meet or beat, particularly in swimming.

I've always found that despite being in decent running and biking shape, swimming would leave me wiped out. I thought at first that maybe it was I'm fairly lanky, but that doesn't fly as top swimmers are also fairly streamlined. That meant I was probably in need of corrections to my technique. This is where the fun started. As I began to research swimming technique, I came across a number of articles and training clips breaking down the strokes of elite swimmers and what they did to make themselves more efficient. Here are a few that were helpful:

- Swim Taller
- Swimming in Circles:
- Of Gravity and Air:
- Total Immersion site clips. Chose your bandwidth, then choose appropriate clip samples to view, such as Use Your Head to Swim Better, Freestyle Made Easy, and The Secrets of Freestyle

The combination of the total immersion notion of maintaining a horizontal body position by keeping your head aligned with your spine by looking down and front quadrant swimming have made a big difference in the effort required to swim. While I don't think that there's enough time to noticeable speed improvements by my triathlon date, these techniques are definitely helping me swim more efficiently which will leave more energy for biking and running. If you swim and haven't heard of any of these ideas before, check them out as there will likely be at least one thing new for you to try. For more seasoned triathletes, there may be some tips you find helpful in the ACTIVEdotCOM series of videos, such as this one.

Some great things about this upcoming race are that it's short enough to make training reasonable and it's been a great incentive for me to get into good shape.

Intelligent Business

Having recently completed contract work for a company, I'm currently filling the position of Head of Business Development for Me Inc. After years of working in roles which require various degrees of technical or analytical ability, the field which sounds the most interesting to me given my work history is Business Intelligence. I've seen it defined as "the art of sifting through large amounts of data, extracting pertinent information, and turning that information into knowledge from which actions can be taken", though that Wikipedia entry has now been modified. Just the same, the idea of helping people sift through data to extract the information from which they can make meaningful decisions appeals to me. If anyone has a suggestion, link, or contact for a smiliar position, please let me know.

53 Americans of Iranian Descent in Under 2:00

Beijing: Environmental Focus of Olympic Proportions

(source: newsimg.bbc.co.uk)

It was most certainly not the intent of the organizers of the upcoming Olympics to have the world focus on environmental issues, but that's what seems to be happening. By now, most of us have seen, read, and heard commentary from climatologists, meteorologists, and other scientists who have described the pollution situation in China near the Olympic sites. The government is frantically trying to perform a clean up, but in doing so, has captured the world's attention in how it proceeds in trying to resolve large-scale issues with water and air quality. Hopefully, some good will come of this attention and intentions:
First, the world is becoming more aware of how China operates. We are certainly no environmental angels in North America, but perhaps our business leaders will be forced to take notice. As savvy and conscientious consumers, we need to pressure them with our wallets and choices into considering the ecological impact of their decisions when considering options such as outsourcing. The term filthy rich may take on a whole new connotation in today's economic climate if companies continue to operate based solely on shareholder's equity and increasing the bottom line.

Second, now that China has drawn attention to its ability to mobilize, it will be difficult for it go backwards. It, too, will be (and should be) forced to continue to consider the environmental impact of its economic growth. It will no longer be able to sweep its soot under the rug as its own citizens, as well as the eyes of the world, have seen that it can be forced to change. What it needs now is to ensure sustainability as it grows in order to promote long term economic benefits and a healthy environment for that growth.

Lastly, when the IOC considers host cities for the next games, there needs to be consideration of the impact of the games by consultation with the scientific community. Why? Because host cities bend the truth to be chosen. In China's case, the world may actually benefit if it forces them to adopt better environmental practices: they may not have realized that in today's world of blogs, cameraphones, and YouTube, you can't hide for long. London is the next host for the 2012 games. We already know that the UK has the highest rate of landfill use per capita in Europe. How do you plan to handle waste of Olympic proportions? We'll be watching, London.

Hey, you with the cell phone - pay attention. It could save your life.

On the way to the metro this morning, I witnessed something that gave me quite a jolt. A man with a cell phone glued to his ear jogged across a busy thoroughfare when the light was red for him. After he passed the median, he kept going. A car was coming in the centre of three lanes just as he got there, slammed on the brakes and hit him. With a screech and thud my heart stopped as I watched him bend at the waist and then bounce off the hood of the car and roll back onto the road. By some miracle, the man got up, phone still glued to his ear, and ran up the street. I couldn't believe it. I imagine he felt some pain after the shock wore off later on. That poor driver must have been shaken by the experience, as well.

The point of my telling you about this is not to wonder at his good fortune, but to underline the inevitability of the event. People lose focus while they're on the phone. I've had many occasions where I've had to honk at oblivious jaywalkers and judgement-impaired pedestrians as they wander into the street absorbed in their phone or music player. If this sounds like you, then I'm asking you to keep your head up, your eyes open, and to be more aware of what's going on around you. The last thing I'll say is that guy is damn lucky the driver wasn't on the phone.

White vinegar = cleaning product

I've read a number of useful columns on a site called Dumb Little Man. This one confirms something with which others have also agreed: white vinegar should be placed under the sink as a cleaning product and not used for cooking. The article suggests a few ways to use vinegar for cleaning and if you're interested in natural cleaning products, you can also look up what you can do with lemon juice or tea tree oil, as well. I know that lemon juice works really well in removing calcium deposits in the bottom of a kettle, for example. Even if you don't use them exclusively, it's a good idea to use them on surfaces where you prepare food so that you don't have to worry about any harsh chemical cleansers in your meals. Happy cleaning.

Notice to Attached People

A few times now over the past few weeks, I've received surprisingly insensitive comments from Attached People about my currently being single. The comments were particularly blunt from those with children: "You have to stop doing this; you know, you're almost out of time; etc." Here's a little reminder to those who spoke those words: there's a 50% chance you won't stay attached You have the same probability of maintaining your current status as you do winning a coin toss: heads you win, tails you lose your wife/husband and kids. Is that really something to gloat about?

Another related topic is the idea of a Soul Mate. While the idea that there is a perfect person out there for someone, I think the odds of meeting The One is astronomically small. I think that people end up with someone with whom there's good chemistry and who meets enough of the items on the checklist. For you to meet that person takes luck and for things to last takes effort, compromise, and a little more luck. Granted, you can improve your luck by adopting certain attitudes and behaviours, but you can't control all events. If you're attached, how certain are you that you would stay together if you lost both your savings due to your investment choices; if you changed physically and weren't attractive to them anymore; if you discovered your partner wasn't really working late?

Given all the things that need to go right for a relationship to work out, I'm asking you, Attached People, to be a little more understanding and encouraging with those of us who, despite the odds, are trying.