An oldie but a goodie

In honor of the Snowpocalypse the rest of the nation is experiencing.... for your viewing pleasure...

SNOW DAY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zVi-fwciXw

Marni's dream job

(This conversation just happened.)

Marni: We shouldn't have gone to college. We should have gone to trade school.
Emily: What? Why?
Marni: Electricians and plumbers have such specialized skills, they are never out of jobs!!!
Emily: So you want to be a plumber?
Marni: No, but do you know how much garbage men make????
Emily: Marni, garbage men???
Marni: Starting salary is $70,000. STARTING!!!!!!

Take a good look... this could be your future neighborhood garbage (wo)man.

*I am Marni and I certify that this interaction DID happen (starting pay is 70K!!! that is hard to pass up!). I do, however, want to clarify that this outfit is not a part of my regular wardrobe. Remember Tomás? The one who occasionally gives random/funny gifts (we did a post about that here). Well, he gave these shirts to Emily and I sometime last year. They are ridiculously flattering, right? Perfect for my new career as a "Sanitation Engineer" :)

Customers in 2011

Customer Service. A necessary evil.

Marni and I work for a company that operates online. The company is highly tech savvy behind the scenes, and very user-friendly for our customers to navigate through the website to complete their purchases.

The only time a customer will call is if they have a problem. Therefore, we have the pleasure of, for the most part, only getting phone calls from extremely unhappy customers.

Here are a few assumptions we've learned that our customers have about us:

1. We are incompetent.

2. We are 18 years old.

3. We are in India.

4. We won't be able to help them,
so they might as well come out
the gate kicking and screaming.

We've been cussed at, yelled at, insulted, hung up on, and so on.

You get the idea - Customer service is not for the faint of heart.

However.... something happened when the ball dropped at midnight on January 1st... something strange, something mystifying, something.... good. When we returned to work on Monday, January 3rd, there was a shift in the way customers talked to us. It was unmistakable. It was quite simply... too good to be true.

For the first time, maybe in the history of mankind, the customers were NICE to us lowly customer service representatives. They were happy, laughing, and smiling (you could hear it). It's like everything in the world was right in 2011. Birds were chirping, dogs were wagging their tails, and children were frolicking in meadows under the radiant sun.

...

Here's what customers were saying to us:

"Let NOTHING stop you from having a great day, Marni!!!"

We can't believe it!

"You made my day, Emily!!!"

"Oh my gosh! I can not thank you enough! Have an INCREDIBLE new year!!!"

"I hope you have the HAPPIEST NEW YEAR of all!!!!"

"Now put a smile on your face!"

[Marni laughs]

"There ya go!!! hahahahaha!"

It was amazing. We couldn't believe it! We actually looked forward to the phones ringing...just to discover what sweet words would tickle our ears next!

Unfortunately, this was very short-lived. After just one week, our customers are back to their old selves. We're not blaming them. It's the nature of the biz. We are all programmed to hate customer service...probably because by the time we've gotten to the place where we need their assistance, we're already frustrated...sometimes hopping mad.

So, it was fun while it lasted.

We'll end with this.... be nice to customer service. We're really not that bad!

Video: Mo's Dark Bacon Bar Review

Our boss doesn't observe Christmas (Think Dwight Schrute - the boss also doesn't observe birthdays or any nationally recognized holiday), but without fail for the past 3 Christmas' within the first week of January, our Boss has enthusiastically come into the office with "Family Update" cards and gifts for everyone.

This year's gift: Mo's Dark Bacon Bar

(as the name suggests, it truly is a dark chocolate + bacon bar)

Marni and I decided to review this controversial Bacon Bar.

Back from Christmas Vacation

Christmas is over (tear) and we are all together in the office again (yay!).

Here are a few of the oddities that our co-workers brought

back with them from their Christmas vacations.

1. Happy New Year programmed in lights (homemade by Juan)

(2) A gallon of tea from "Taco Casa" (compliments of Diego)
*note: this is exactly how the tea was positioned in Diego's office

(3) A group of random men (supposed friends of Jorge)

*note: our office never has more than 7 people total, so this really threw us for a loop

Happy New Year!

The Elevator Shuffle

An elevator is the most awkward space in the entire world!!!! I dread the elevators! I am an outgoing person, but something about the elevator just takes the wind out of my sails and I find myself struggling to even muster up a full-strength "hi" to a stranger. It comes out being a very high-pitched whisper.....

"hhh...i"

...the result is a confused stranger not knowing if I was breathing or giving a salutation. Elevators are the absolute worst.

The looming thought of riding 24 floors with a stranger in silence is enough to make me go crazy.

Then there's the shuffle. I know it. You know it. We all know it.

The shuffle.

When the lady gets off at the 14th floor, there is a sudden urgency to balance the equilibrium in the elevator. We all shuffle no more than 1 to 2 feet to a more satisfying position.

Why shuffle?

The 8th wonder of the world, the psychology behind the elevator shuffle.

The Bachelor : Episode 1

Overall, a normal first episode of the Bachelor.
Although Chris Harrison claims that this season is ALREADY the

"MOST DRAMATIC SEASON OF THE BACHELOR IN THE HISTORY OF THE BACHELOR."

Yeah, pretty sure he says that every stinking season! I guess that's what we get for watching mediocre-at-best television programming. Nevertheless...

Emily's prediction: I am predicting that Brad will pick Ashley S.
Marni's prediction: I guess we're a little boring because I think he'll pick Ashley S., too! But stay tuned, folks. Emily and I usually deviate at about episode 3 or so...

X. These NEED to go home:

Madison (creepy creepy creepy {vampire teeth?!?!})

Chantel (violent {slapped Brad} - NOT ok!)

:) These are our favorites:

Ashley S. (just adorable {and seems genuine} - we love her)

Emily (nice and has a pulls-at-the-heartstrings sob story {husband died} - could be high maintenance, though, but it's really too soon to tell)