"When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear." -Mark Twain
April 25, 2008
When Good Customers Go Bad - Tender Greens in Culver City
Nothing will send customers running out the door faster than the clerk/host/order taker who is chatting up his buds while you wait in line. Tender Greens in Culver City has great fresh salads, and usually pretty efficient service. But if they want to keep that reputation they should probably rethink this hire (guy on right with quote over head).
At first I thought it was just a complicated order he was inputting for the couple that was in front of me. As the man stood talking to the order taker pictured above he pawed his girlfriend and squeezed her and generally acted like he was NOT in public. Turned out he and the Tender Greens dude were just buddies catching up on old times.
Finally, the customer (not the order taker who should have known better) said, OK, let's see, I'd like...
OMG you mean you were just having a friendly conversation while you watched other customers standing and waiting? Nice. Bye now.
Posted by smashmonster at 06:25 PM
March 20, 2008
Mar Vista Roofing - Roofers in Culver City and West Los Angeles
My friend recently hired Mar Vista Roofing - a roofing company that serves Culver City as well as the west side of Los Angeles - and she was incredibly impressed with their work. I decided to write this review because her story has so many elements that remind us how important customer service is, especially in challenging economic times. Also - she is one tough customer - so if she appreciated the service it was definitely exceptional.
If you are anything like me - you would rather pay a little more to get excellent service than save a few bucks and be disappointed and frustrated. That famous saying, "Penny wise, pound foolish" is more true today than ever before. You can get cheap labor - but is the job going to be done the way you want it? Not only that, but is it going to be done in a SAFE way that protects you as a homeowner from liability?
These roofers are fully licensed and insured, including for workers' comp. The rates are reasonable - even if they are a bit more - if you find a company that can do it for significantly less, they are likely not carrying the appropriate amount of insurance to protect you and your property. Don't think it won't impact you if you hire workers who are not properly covered.
I think this speaks to the shrinking pool of small American businesses and entrepreneurs who really deserve our respect for trying to play by the rules in a hyper-competitive environment where many do not.
Beyond that - the service was exceptionally fast and efficient. If you have ever torn your hair out waiting for someone you hired to finish the work they were hired to do, you know the value in finding someone who does it on time, on schedule, and doesn't leave a mess behind. With Mar Vista roofers they left the are pristine so it was as if they were never there. No crushed bushes, crap lying around - none of that - they really finished the job.
How refreshing!
Posted by smashmonster at 02:17 PM
March 05, 2008
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Southwest airlines clusterf#$*
still waiting to board a plane after arriving at the airport early getting moved to an earlier flight then SWA cancels the flt to take it to vegas instead and makes everyone line up for new boarding paaes (and ignores my business select fare and drops me from a3 to b33 - the kind of day that turns you off an airline forever
Posted by smashmonster at 05:32 PM
January 27, 2008
Garth Brooks Concert
Garth was in rare form for his last of 5 shows in Los Angeles benefiting the San Diego firefighters.
Millie managed to get us fourth row tickets to a show that sold out in ten minutes. I won't tell you her secret - don't want too many people to know the trick of getting the best seats ;-)
Garth's wife Trisha Yearwood showed up to do a duet and one of my favorites of her songs, Walkaway Joe.
(Photos by Millie)
Posted by smashmonster at 11:42 AM
January 26, 2008
Garth Brooks Concert - moblog from concert seat
Row 4 tickets due to millie's ingenuity
Posted by smashmonster at 08:51 PM
December 26, 2007
Christmas Monkeys - A MoBlog from the Tampa Bay Area
Aw yes, the Christmas monkey and Christmas frog. Who doesn't have fond memories of these beloved icons?
Posted by smashmonster at 10:11 PM
December 23, 2007
Ladera Heights REO - Just above Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery
This neighborhood just to the south of the Holy Cross Cemetery has rather large homes priced on the high side. They are starting to see some cracks in prices up there, with homes priced below what they paid or bank-owned homes for which the bank is unlikely to make back its loan.
Sale history below indicates the bank bought the house back (my guess is that they bought it in auction when they couldn't get bids high enough to cover the outstanding loan). The sad part is that 3 years after buying, the owners should have had some equity. They either withdrew equity or had an interest-only (pay-what-you-will) ARM that readjusted - something that made their outstanding loan owed more than what they originally paid in 2004.
Posted by smashmonster at 02:35 PM
