the answer is yes

The title of this article is Dumbest Packaging Ever? The answer is yes.

another one for the huh file

Governor Strickland has called for a special election to fill Stephanie Tubbs Jones’s seat — on November 18. Um, aren’t we already having an election two weeks before that date? Why go to the extra expense of a separate election when you can just piggyback on the one we’re already doing?

ugh.

This seems like it would be a really interesting article on the development of punctuation:

From Interpunct to Interrobang

Too bad I can’t get past the myriad punctuation errors. Irony, anyone?

blogging without obligation

Today I have had the luxury of following artistic breadcrumbs across the web for much of the afternoon, discovering new inspirations and connections and filling my creative reservoir. On my journey, I found a succinct and sane little piece about blogging without obligation at tartx.com, which in part says:

Because its okay to just say what you have to say. If that makes for a long post, fine. Short post, fine. Frequent post, fine. Infrequent post, fine.

I, too, have stuggled with feeling the obligation to post without really having anything to say and have been guilty of starting many dozens of posts over the years with an apology for not posting and a promise to “do better.” No more. I have enough other stuff to stress about, so I’m happy to add the little bwo link down at the bottom of the sidebar.

how to cement my loyalty as a customer

First and foremost, provide a high-quality product at a reasonable price.

Have clear, detailed photos and full and accurate product descriptions on your website.

Promptly answer any questions I have, whether about the product itself or placing a backorder.

When I order nine hundred spacer beads, include a few extras to compensate for the few that will inevitably be malformed.

Use high-quality packets and clearly label each one with the store name, quantity, item description, and item number to make it easy for me to reorder.

Offer a small discount on large orders, but avoid constant mega-sales. (Stores that offer 50% off everything every other week only make me wonder how overpriced their goods are to start with.)

Throw in a little something extra with a large order — nothing very valuable, just a little treat. You never know, I may love it so much that I’ll order more.

Package the order securely but simply, and ship it promptly. Give me the option of low-cost shipping. Better yet, offer free shipping via first-class mail for something that weighs next to nothing. Send me an e-mail when my order ships so I know to look for the package.

Thank you, Artbeads.com, for more than a year of stellar service. I’m looking forward to many more.

how not to win my business

Be one of the two hotels likely to be decent based on brand name that are close to my home. Answer your phone with a mumble. Listen to my explanation about wanting to see a room this afternoon and to possibly put in a block request for a wedding, then transfer me to sales, where I have to repeat my explanation. Tell me that someone else in sales handles those requests and that you’ll transfer me to their extension. Do not mention that said person is out of town and won’t call me back until the next day, even though I clearly stated that I need to deal with this that day. Be unconcerned that the transferer didn’t mention your out-of-townness and failed to handle the request herself or at least hand it off to someone who was physically there. Mention that you checked your messages yesterday afternoon but couldn’t be bothered to call me back until this morning. Validate the pretty bad online reviews of your hotel (which, in retrospect, I should have checked before even calling). Make me glad I didn’t even have a chance to see a room or have to contemplate sending a nice chunk of business your way.