I am sure there are some who read this and think to themselves "Florida is not/can't be all that bad! She needs to be more positive about it all, life/locations/situations are just what you make of them" Or "Good gawd, enough already!"
Ok so to those this might satisify you... let me put this in context a little bit, first...I originate from a place on this earth that no man should ever have been allowed to inhabit. The only things that live there are cracked and parched, including the people and their attitudes. The middle of summer is like living in the face of the sun both day and night. The indigenous creatures are just about all poisonous, so if the heat doesn't get you they will...or so the saying goes.
Side note: I once saw the greatest t-shirt and kick myself every day for not buying it. It was in an airport gift shop, so of course with inflated prices they charge, I vowed not to buy it, surely I could find it somewhere else - no such luck, anyway it had the words "BUT ITS A DRY HEAT" on the front, which seems to be the mantra that most NON-desert dwellers like to fall back on when you are trying to describe the life sucking effect that 120+ plus degrees has on the human body, It also had a cactus or two on it, then scattered all around, various skeletons of different sorts of creatures and people.... It was funny!... guess you had to be there.
SOME TOP REASONS YOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN THE DESERT:
You wake up with a 6" Tarantula, several lizards and a horned toad in your house during 'Monsoon Season' and think nothing of it.
You have to drive your car with oven mitts on
Most of the restaurants in town have the first name "El" or "Los".
You've signed so many petitions to recall governors that you can't remember the name of the incumbent.
You run your air conditioner in the middle of winter so you can use your fireplace
You (and the businesses in your area) dont know the meaning of "customer service"
It is to this last reason I want to speak and the reason that I started this post lol, but my attention span is like that of a nat so I tend to go off on little side roads, so lets get back to the point shall we.
Yesterday was a rare treat for me, I got to have the car for the day and decided to do some exploring. It was a cold day, but the sun was shining so it was nice to be out of the house for a change. I actually drove myself to the doctor, the pharmacy, stopped in at Petco and had a nice chat with the grooming dept in anticipation of the choods next beauty day, and just had a nice look around the area. I am starting to notice something that I am not used to coming from Arizona, specifically Yuma and that is the idea of REAL customer service.
Yuma, is pathetic in customer service. IF (and that is a huge IF) you manage to get a clerk, cashier or other business person to acknowledge your presence, you are met with the attitude of "what the hell do you want, can't you see I am busy" Inevitably ALL fast food, and many sit down restaurants get your order wrong. My husband could eat for free for the next couple of weeks for all the complaint letters he has written to places like McDonalds and Applebees over bad service or wrong orders, and we are not picky, we simply want what we ordered and a smile goes a long way. Complaint letters usually result in some sort of apology from the home office and a coupon for a free meal, or part of a meal, hence why he could eat with very little money for the next few weeks. Oh and I might add that IF you can get the clerk/cashier/store help to notice you, if that person speaks english you have stumbled on a shopping jackpot!
So this is all that I know. Real customer service does not exist in Yuma, Arizona...and really not so much in most of Arizona. There was a huge controversy some years back when Olive Garden was wrestling with whether or not to build a rest. in Yuma. The results of their in-depth analysis of the area? Basically Yuma is not up to the "standards" of the employee base that Olive Garden likes to hire from - meaning Yuma has unintelligent and rude people in it. LOL you can bet this started a firestorm in the community, but I had to agree.
So back to my outing. I noticed something really odd when the clerk in Petco actually took an interest in me... not so much hoovering over me as I just walked around knowing I had only $10 to spend and not finding much for that, but making sure he was available AND accessible to me should I need anything. Strange I thought...he must be bored. I managed to find a little tennis ball and some treats for the dogs that would fall within my budget and made my way to the registers. Said clerk quickly came to the register to check me out, he made pleasant, but highly informative conversation with me. He informed me of all the good things that Petco does in the area with adoptions and donations. He got me signed up for their little rewards card thingy, he got me paperwork for all the upcoming events for the store including "Santa and your pet" photo day and then pointed out the grooming area. I told him I was very interested in that so after we finished the transaction, he escorted me over to the area and introduced me to the groomer on duty a very edgy looking (tattoos, emo hair) looking young man who was about as pleasant a young man as I have had the pleasure to talk with in a long LONG time. He was informative, seemed to really know his stuff and eased my concerns about the patience that he and his staff shows to newly started pups and young dogs to the whole grooming scene. I have a real fear of my dogs (especially the choodles, since they are very young. Rikki my older dog knows the routine and she always gets glowing reports from groomers who groom her) being mishandled by a groomer so as to ruin their grooming experience for the rest of their lives. This is a result of after taking them to Petsmart in Yuma for thier first time and was met with a frazzled, frustrated young woman, who told me that they were a "real handful" I was pissed and let the manager know it as well as the young woman who fancied herself a groomer.
So I finished my chat with Tommy ( the groomer) and exited the store, but I found myself walking in a daze to my car. What was this new and wonderful experience I had just been subject to???
I sat in the car for a moment and let it soak in...oh that was fun, strange but fun. Brightened my day considerably.
So off to the pharmacy, surely I would feel in my comfort zone there! Walgreens in Yuma is ALWAYS busy, the pharmacists and pharm techs are ALWAYS rushed and rude!
I was met with a clerk with a large and what I thought a very sincere smile on her face. I turned around for a moment thinking she must be smiling at someone she knows or her manager - not me, surely! no way!....I turned around to find no one there, incidentally no lines to stand in either. I shyly told her I was here to pick up some prescriptions expecting to be glared at and a huff as she went to search for my scripts in those over stuffed white tubs that line many shelves behind her. Instead she pleasantly asked my name, looked me up in her computer and then said " Ok, Ms Rodriguez we have them all ready for you just give me a moment to get them!" no really! she said that to me as though she was happy to find them! I stood there for what must have been all of 30 seconds to see her happily skipping (ok not skipping, really) back to me with my prescriptions and rang me up. Pleasant conversation ensued as I paid her and she bagged everything up. "Do you need a consult with the pharmacist for anything Ms Rodriguez"? She blinked her eyes a few times waiting for my answer, as I let my jaw hit the floor - That has NEVER been asked of me before, I have had to request it but never was it offered. "No thanks I have taken all of this before" She smiled brighter and said "ok Ms. Rodriguez Thank you, have a great day!" and she meant it! At least she gave me the impression that she did.
So far I have heard my last name more in the span of an hour then I have in about a years worth of shopping in Yuma. I sometimes forget that I am Ms Rodriguez, and get used to being a number or a "you", seems Florida likes to make people feel as though they are really a person and not just a number rung up on a register.
I stumbled out to my car in that heady dazey feeling that I had when I left Petco. Wow.
Next stop the bank. Ok I KNOW this is FINALLY going to be the downfall. Bank clerks are rude and snobs, at least the ones I am used to are. Finally I will be in my element!!
I find the bank, park and inside I go and my ears are assaulted from all directions with "welcome to Suntrust!" "how are you doing today?" "Looks cold out there, is it?" I mumbled something about it being freezing especially for a girl from Arizona and I swear to you all the clerks, managers and any other bank employee with in ear shot, not helping another customer, gathered around me asking me questions SHOWING INTEREST in me. After I answered their questions and squeezed myself out of the huddle of groupies, I found myself confronted with a bright shining face of the clerk that I was to do my business with..
"Hi! What can I do for you today" she said. "Just two deposits, one into my personal account and one that my husband asked me to make to his business account." I knew that this, of all things, would throw the wheels off the "customer service" train that was rolling through the countryside of my life. " I would be more then happy to help you with that!" she jingled...I swear there were bells tinkling in her voice... sure you would, I thought to myself cynically... now comes the "I am sorry you are not your husband I can't complete this transaction" or "I need some I.D. please" Instead I found two deposit slips being inserted into my hands and the question "is there anything else I can help you with today?" being asked of me. "Well no, thanks. I turned and as I am walking to the door my clerk is wishing me all manner of goodwill, happiness, joy, offering to have my car pulled around to the door so I don't have to be assaulted by the cold ( 70 degrees) weather...ok, ok not really, but I nearly expected her to say that!
I was in a great mood the rest of the day, thanks to these people and the little effort that they took to ensure that I knew that they appreciated my business.
I don't think that I will ever be the same, the cynic in me is being strangled and might not survive Florida if I have many more experiences like I did yesterday.
Ok so to those this might satisify you... let me put this in context a little bit, first...I originate from a place on this earth that no man should ever have been allowed to inhabit. The only things that live there are cracked and parched, including the people and their attitudes. The middle of summer is like living in the face of the sun both day and night. The indigenous creatures are just about all poisonous, so if the heat doesn't get you they will...or so the saying goes.
Side note: I once saw the greatest t-shirt and kick myself every day for not buying it. It was in an airport gift shop, so of course with inflated prices they charge, I vowed not to buy it, surely I could find it somewhere else - no such luck, anyway it had the words "BUT ITS A DRY HEAT" on the front, which seems to be the mantra that most NON-desert dwellers like to fall back on when you are trying to describe the life sucking effect that 120+ plus degrees has on the human body, It also had a cactus or two on it, then scattered all around, various skeletons of different sorts of creatures and people.... It was funny!... guess you had to be there.
SOME TOP REASONS YOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN THE DESERT:
You wake up with a 6" Tarantula, several lizards and a horned toad in your house during 'Monsoon Season' and think nothing of it.
You have to drive your car with oven mitts on
Most of the restaurants in town have the first name "El" or "Los".
You've signed so many petitions to recall governors that you can't remember the name of the incumbent.
You run your air conditioner in the middle of winter so you can use your fireplace
You (and the businesses in your area) dont know the meaning of "customer service"
It is to this last reason I want to speak and the reason that I started this post lol, but my attention span is like that of a nat so I tend to go off on little side roads, so lets get back to the point shall we.
Yesterday was a rare treat for me, I got to have the car for the day and decided to do some exploring. It was a cold day, but the sun was shining so it was nice to be out of the house for a change. I actually drove myself to the doctor, the pharmacy, stopped in at Petco and had a nice chat with the grooming dept in anticipation of the choods next beauty day, and just had a nice look around the area. I am starting to notice something that I am not used to coming from Arizona, specifically Yuma and that is the idea of REAL customer service.
Yuma, is pathetic in customer service. IF (and that is a huge IF) you manage to get a clerk, cashier or other business person to acknowledge your presence, you are met with the attitude of "what the hell do you want, can't you see I am busy" Inevitably ALL fast food, and many sit down restaurants get your order wrong. My husband could eat for free for the next couple of weeks for all the complaint letters he has written to places like McDonalds and Applebees over bad service or wrong orders, and we are not picky, we simply want what we ordered and a smile goes a long way. Complaint letters usually result in some sort of apology from the home office and a coupon for a free meal, or part of a meal, hence why he could eat with very little money for the next few weeks. Oh and I might add that IF you can get the clerk/cashier/store help to notice you, if that person speaks english you have stumbled on a shopping jackpot!
So this is all that I know. Real customer service does not exist in Yuma, Arizona...and really not so much in most of Arizona. There was a huge controversy some years back when Olive Garden was wrestling with whether or not to build a rest. in Yuma. The results of their in-depth analysis of the area? Basically Yuma is not up to the "standards" of the employee base that Olive Garden likes to hire from - meaning Yuma has unintelligent and rude people in it. LOL you can bet this started a firestorm in the community, but I had to agree.
So back to my outing. I noticed something really odd when the clerk in Petco actually took an interest in me... not so much hoovering over me as I just walked around knowing I had only $10 to spend and not finding much for that, but making sure he was available AND accessible to me should I need anything. Strange I thought...he must be bored. I managed to find a little tennis ball and some treats for the dogs that would fall within my budget and made my way to the registers. Said clerk quickly came to the register to check me out, he made pleasant, but highly informative conversation with me. He informed me of all the good things that Petco does in the area with adoptions and donations. He got me signed up for their little rewards card thingy, he got me paperwork for all the upcoming events for the store including "Santa and your pet" photo day and then pointed out the grooming area. I told him I was very interested in that so after we finished the transaction, he escorted me over to the area and introduced me to the groomer on duty a very edgy looking (tattoos, emo hair) looking young man who was about as pleasant a young man as I have had the pleasure to talk with in a long LONG time. He was informative, seemed to really know his stuff and eased my concerns about the patience that he and his staff shows to newly started pups and young dogs to the whole grooming scene. I have a real fear of my dogs (especially the choodles, since they are very young. Rikki my older dog knows the routine and she always gets glowing reports from groomers who groom her) being mishandled by a groomer so as to ruin their grooming experience for the rest of their lives. This is a result of after taking them to Petsmart in Yuma for thier first time and was met with a frazzled, frustrated young woman, who told me that they were a "real handful" I was pissed and let the manager know it as well as the young woman who fancied herself a groomer.
So I finished my chat with Tommy ( the groomer) and exited the store, but I found myself walking in a daze to my car. What was this new and wonderful experience I had just been subject to???
I sat in the car for a moment and let it soak in...oh that was fun, strange but fun. Brightened my day considerably.
So off to the pharmacy, surely I would feel in my comfort zone there! Walgreens in Yuma is ALWAYS busy, the pharmacists and pharm techs are ALWAYS rushed and rude!
I was met with a clerk with a large and what I thought a very sincere smile on her face. I turned around for a moment thinking she must be smiling at someone she knows or her manager - not me, surely! no way!....I turned around to find no one there, incidentally no lines to stand in either. I shyly told her I was here to pick up some prescriptions expecting to be glared at and a huff as she went to search for my scripts in those over stuffed white tubs that line many shelves behind her. Instead she pleasantly asked my name, looked me up in her computer and then said " Ok, Ms Rodriguez we have them all ready for you just give me a moment to get them!" no really! she said that to me as though she was happy to find them! I stood there for what must have been all of 30 seconds to see her happily skipping (ok not skipping, really) back to me with my prescriptions and rang me up. Pleasant conversation ensued as I paid her and she bagged everything up. "Do you need a consult with the pharmacist for anything Ms Rodriguez"? She blinked her eyes a few times waiting for my answer, as I let my jaw hit the floor - That has NEVER been asked of me before, I have had to request it but never was it offered. "No thanks I have taken all of this before" She smiled brighter and said "ok Ms. Rodriguez Thank you, have a great day!" and she meant it! At least she gave me the impression that she did.
So far I have heard my last name more in the span of an hour then I have in about a years worth of shopping in Yuma. I sometimes forget that I am Ms Rodriguez, and get used to being a number or a "you", seems Florida likes to make people feel as though they are really a person and not just a number rung up on a register.
I stumbled out to my car in that heady dazey feeling that I had when I left Petco. Wow.
Next stop the bank. Ok I KNOW this is FINALLY going to be the downfall. Bank clerks are rude and snobs, at least the ones I am used to are. Finally I will be in my element!!
I find the bank, park and inside I go and my ears are assaulted from all directions with "welcome to Suntrust!" "how are you doing today?" "Looks cold out there, is it?" I mumbled something about it being freezing especially for a girl from Arizona and I swear to you all the clerks, managers and any other bank employee with in ear shot, not helping another customer, gathered around me asking me questions SHOWING INTEREST in me. After I answered their questions and squeezed myself out of the huddle of groupies, I found myself confronted with a bright shining face of the clerk that I was to do my business with..
"Hi! What can I do for you today" she said. "Just two deposits, one into my personal account and one that my husband asked me to make to his business account." I knew that this, of all things, would throw the wheels off the "customer service" train that was rolling through the countryside of my life. " I would be more then happy to help you with that!" she jingled...I swear there were bells tinkling in her voice... sure you would, I thought to myself cynically... now comes the "I am sorry you are not your husband I can't complete this transaction" or "I need some I.D. please" Instead I found two deposit slips being inserted into my hands and the question "is there anything else I can help you with today?" being asked of me. "Well no, thanks. I turned and as I am walking to the door my clerk is wishing me all manner of goodwill, happiness, joy, offering to have my car pulled around to the door so I don't have to be assaulted by the cold ( 70 degrees) weather...ok, ok not really, but I nearly expected her to say that!
I was in a great mood the rest of the day, thanks to these people and the little effort that they took to ensure that I knew that they appreciated my business.
I don't think that I will ever be the same, the cynic in me is being strangled and might not survive Florida if I have many more experiences like I did yesterday.
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