Quick note from the Adobe on Hillside Drive Our week was a bit subdued as the Man of the house continues to fight lack
of energy and thus, ours has not been a house filled with unlimited enthusiasm
for activity. Luckily, the LA Dodgers
have been doing their thing with the Boston Red Sox and Ken has been tied to
the television. He is not much of a
sports fan until they get down to the brass tacks of championship battle and
then he develops interest especially when it is a home team. He is a Dodger fan but not until they get
down to the final games does he sit up and take notice. It has been several years since he attended a
game but alas, he has been known to enjoy attending on occasion when life was a
bit spryer. I was surprised that he stayed up until almost 1 AM Friday/Saturday
to see the Dodgers win game 3. That was
late for him but he was glued to the tele. Inasmuch as it was the only game the
Dodgers won, it is good that he was able to share that one loud burst of
applause!
Thursday, I Had my semi- annual checkup of my pacemaker and
it seems to be running smoothly and according to plan. Doctor says I have eight more years of
battery and that will probably outlast my need. After the pacemaker checkup we drove to Beverly Hills to my
eye Doctor for a look see at my eyes that seem to be of concern by others
including Dr. Daood who seemed to think I should consult my eye Dr. She prescribed an eye drop which is an
anti-biotic but she did not see anything that was a source of concern for
immediate action. So, I will continue to
haunt everyone with my red eye!
Ken and I vote absentee ballot and our votes are in. I learned that you cannot write in a
candidate when there has been a primary balloting process so I simply did not
vote in two races that seemed to be a choice between two Socialists, neither of
which I cared to be on record as supporting by vote or otherwise. I emphasize with all of those who lament that
they no longer identify with the country where they were born because of
President Trump’s policies. I wasn’t
born in California but I can assure all who care, I do not identify with
California’s politics. While I love the
State, the politics of many of its inhabitants are offensive to my values and
beliefs. The political climate does not
live up to the promises inherent in its many other inviting characteristics
sans earthquakes mind you!
No blog can post without a complaint, opinion or observation
that I feel you need to know. This week
I want to share with you my experiences in the new services for home delivery
that are being lauded by on line retailers i.e., Amazon, Walmart and Costco. I believe that Target is readying themselves to join this new wave as well but I have not checked them out. Daily we discover new issues related to the
aging process. I thought that ordering
heavy groceries and staples on line to be delivered to our home would remove
some of the stress of shopping and carrying stuff in from the car. Ken does most of the shopping and carrying the groceries in also seems to be a chore that he bears. I enthusiastically made out my shopping
list for Costco on line, pushed send on my computer order and sat back to await
delivery of our first order promised in two days. As promised, two days later my orders arrived
in relatively good condition in spite of a few small dents in a couple of cans). I was encouraged by this modernized and
greatly improved version of the house to house peddlers that I remember from a bygone
era. It is amazing what good ideas
can come from new thought processes!
I was now encouraged but Costco does not carry some things that
are required by our lifestyle or or their quantity is too large for our small
pantry space. Back to the on line shopping
cart at Walmart I went and placed my order with Walmart, again for delivery two
days later. Once again, my delivery
arrived as promised and again, a few dents but all still usable. I was excited. Ordering on line was less
expensive because I was not encouraged to buy items that struck my fancy as a result of tasting, looks or emotional appeal. In addition, the packages were delivered onto the porch where we could open the boxes and
easily carry the items into the those and not have to unload them from
the car. This was good. What a help!
A few weeks later, I placed a second order with Walmart and
Costco and again, both companies delivered two days later as promised. Costco’s order was in good shape but
Walmart’s packaging did not live up to expectations with several cans dented bad
enough for me to be suspicious as to their reliability. I had ordered 20 items and seven had to be
returned to the store. Now I am dealing
with reverse inconvenience though the returned items were not heavy or bulky. Nevertheless, this was not a desired
effect. Ken assumed responsibility for
the return. Although the wait to return
the items was extraordinary he reported
that the customer service was pleasant
with no questions asked and a refund in full was credited to our credit
card. Somewhat disappointed, I was now
having second thoughts about this great new service but I still felt somewhat
upbeat inasmuch as Costco had managed to retain my enthusiasm. I assumed Walmart would soon learn from its
mistakes and I held out hope that their service would improve.
Last week I decided to bite the
bullet and try again. Costco lived up to
expectations but Walmart really blew it.
I ordered four jars of Alfredo sauce and they appeared to throw the
unwrapped jars in the bottom of the shipping box with some miscellaneous items
on top. (I know they have a protocol for
wrapping breakables, I have a trash can full of the stuff but alas, whoever
packed the Alfredo sauce apparently was not aware that glass breaks!) As you
might suspect, the Alfredo sauce arrived broken with sauce all over the items
that had been thrown on top. Once again,
Ken returned the items for a credit that was issued without question and in a
pleasant manner but that simply does not cut the mustard (or even spread
it). I have advised Walmart’s
on line customer service of my disappointment. Further, I plan to write Walmart's CEO suggesting that they should not waste their money on
college educations for their employees and that they (and the country in
general) might be better served by teaching their employees how to think and
the importance of competence and customer service. In the interim, my Walmart loyalty has undergone rethinking . Perhaps their shipping department uses those same people who answer my telephoned request for help with my Internet question?
I am now going to try Amazon and
see how they do. They recently announced
pay increases to all of their workers and I am curious to find out if that has
helped their employees in using their head better than Walmart’s promised
college education. We do live in interesting times.
Life is a bowl of cherries!
