Is Customer Service a Lost Art?

In the past few days I have received terrible customer service! And not just at the grocery store or at department stores, but at places that matter, places that you spend a lot of money – the store I bought my wedding dress at and at our apartment complex office! It just boggles my mind!

Basically, since day 2 of my dress experience I have been disappointed by the customer service I have received, which I will go into more about it at another time. Since it has just been an awful experience since the beginning, getting the call to tell me that my dress wasn’t ready for me to try on this past weekend sent me over the edge! Back in January, I had my final dress fitting. When I put it on, it wasn’t fitting me right, which shouldn’t have been the case. I asked what the deal was and they told me that they had removed some of the boning…oh, I’m sorry, I must have heard you wrong…what?! You took out the boning without asking me?! Again, what?! They said they would fix it and take the rest of it out. I told them I wanted to try the dress on again before the wedding because I didn’t feel that I could just trust that they would fix it for the wedding so I made the appointment 3 weeks ago to try the dress on.

I get the call telling me that the dress takes about 3 weeks to alter and that it wasn’t ready and they had to reschedule. I was floored! I couldn’t believe it! They had made this mistake in January…4 months ago…why wasn’t it ready?! It’s a good thing I made the appointment because if I didn’t I would have gone in to pick up the dress and they wouldn’t have had it ready for me…for me wedding?! Really?!

Fortunately, it got itself figured out, but I was so mad and I definitely made it known! It’s not just about the dress, it’s about the experience I am not feeling like a very valued customer!

Recently, Sweeter and I have noticed that there have been a lot of bugs right around out apartment and they somehow find a way to sneak into our apartment! We got home on Sunday and there were bugs all over our white bedspread! It was gross! Yesterday morning I went to the garage to get my car and there were these flying nat things that were swarming all around the garage door. And when I get into my car, they take that as an invitation and fly right in alongside me.

When I got home last night from work, they were still swarming so I went to the apartment office and asked them if they could spray the area…they guy told me that an exterminator comes every other week and if it wasn’t this week, the guy would come next week. What?! These bugs are in my apartment and swarming outside, get someone out here asap! And I asked if the exterminator isn’t coming until next week if they could call and have him come sooner and he told me probably not because they were on a contract. Again, what!? I am a paying tenant! Make this situation better! 

And lets not forgot my Nordstrom experience!

Phew! 

What is the deal with customer service these days?! With the economy the way that it is, people are choosing wisely on how they are spending their money which  means that if a company still has business, they need to be taking exceptional care of them!

Do any of you have any crazy customer service stories?

Happy Tuesday!

The Passage- The Gospel

Sweeter and I will have Padre Juan read the verse Gospel during our wedding ceremony.

We have decided that we thought that Mark 10:6-9 would be the best verse for our ceremony.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

Jesus said:

“From the beginning of creation,

                God made them male and female.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother

                And be joined to his wife,

                And the two shall become one flesh.

So they are no longer two but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together,

                No human being must separate.”

The Gospel of the Lord

We felt that a lot of the Gospel's were a little over the top in regards to women being below men etc.

We felt that this was the best quote and was the most equal :-)

We are in May now...our Wedding Month!

This is so surreal!!

Wedding Countdown: 29 days!

Happy Belated Easter

Side Note:

We are exactly 30 days away from the wedding

WOOHOO!

Sweeter and I had a great Easter celebration!

It was lovely!

Sweeter woke up before I did and he surprised me...

I woke up to this note:

Sweeter knew how much I wanted to do an Easter Egg hunt and we didn't have the time to get any Easter Eggs.

So sweeter made paper eggs and taped them all over our apartment.

It was soo sweet!

After the Easter Egg Hunt, we walked downtown and we got some sweet treats and got some drinks at Starbucks and walked to the beach and sat and relaxed.

It was amazing!

Then we got ready and we spent the rest of the day with family!

It was lovely!!

I just watched Cougar Town and Bobby said something that I wanted to share with you all!

"You can't hear the world laughing at you if you are laughing harder"

-Bobby Cobb Cougar Town

Who knew that that show could be so profound!?

I really liked this quote!

Life is too short to take it too seriously :-)

Have a great day!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm lovin' that it is Wednesday!

We are half way through the week!

And Sweeter and I are so excited to go up North this weekend for a co-ed bridal shower!

I'm lovin' waking up to my Sweeter in the morning!

We fall asleep snuggling and when we wake up we are on opposite sides of the bed.

Whoever's alarm goes off first, always snoozes it and hops back into bed and we snuggle some more

It is a great way to wake up!

I hope you all enjoy your Wednesday!

The First Song

So...I need some advice!

Which one?!

Sweeter and I both like each song, but I want one and he wants the other

{and no, I am not telling you who likes which...I want an unbiased opinion :-)}

or

What do you lovelies think?!

I hope you all enjoy your Thursday!

Bachelorette/Shower Weekend

This weekend could not have gone any better...

...well, okay, that's a lie, I wish that all of the bridesmaids were there, but sometimes you can't have it all, can you?

Anyways, I will leave out the frustrating morning and focus on the great weekend that I had!

I got ready on Saturday at my house in a haste. Miss Laura picked me up and drove me to the meeting place.

We all compiled into 2 cars and we got on the road to Napa.

that's me!!

We went to lunch at this cute and delicious Italian restaurant and then I was treated to a Swedish Massage that turned into more of a deep tissue beat up...ha!

at lunch

 Anyways...after my massage, we went to to Plump Jack Winery and did some wine tasting! They have some tasty wine! After we tasted their wines, we headed up to a little terrace and brought more wine and I opened a few x-rated gifts ;-P

the gals!

drinking some tasty wine!

Love this one!!

my beautiful Christine!

Friend!

on the little patio!

a beautiful day!

We spent a while up there chatting and enjoying the beautiful sunshine!

Around 5:30, we headed back to the East Bay and waited at my house. A friend of mine came in and my mom offered to pick her up from the airport. At this point, it was just me and the BMs and my friend from our new home. We headed to dinner at this Mexican place in Melissa's hometown.

We went back to Melissa's house and hung around and talked. It was very nice and relaxing. Melissa showed us a video of Sweeter when he was on their Elementary School's TV station. It was adorable. He makes all of the same facial expressions! It was hilarious!!

We got ready for bed and talked a bit more and then went to sleep. We were all exhausted from drinking wine all day and being out in the sun.

On Sunday morning I woke up and I had a little bit of Friend time! It was lovely!

She went down to help set up for the shower and I stayed upstairs and got ready for the day because my mom was picking me up and taking me to lunch while the girls got everything ready and set up.

My mom picked me up and we went to a winery for lunch. I had the most wonderful lunch with her! We cried a bit :-) It was so sweet! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful mom!!

my beautiful mom!

At 2, we headed over to the shower and we started everything! It was a blast! We took lots of pictures, had tea and mimosas and opened lots of presents! Sweeter and I scored some good loot!

the shower

We played 2 games. The first game was like a talk show. My Christine had emailed Sweeter and bunch of questions and he had to answer them. Then she asked me the questions and I had to answer them how I thought Sweeter would have.

i.e. What was the moment that you knew you were in love with La Tache?

and I had to guess how he had answered.

It was so romantic :-)

she won the hat contest...obviously! :-)

And the second game was MadLibs! It was hilarious! I'll have to type it up and post it!

And of course, Miss Laura was writing down everything that I was saying as I was opening gifts and then read them aloud as what I will say to Sweeter on our wedding night! Oh my gosh, it was hilarious! I haven't laughed that hard in a while!! I think it didn't help that his mom and grandparents were in the room...haha! It was hilarious!!

the gals!

I love this picture!

all my girls...minus 1

once my little, always my little!

my alpha gams!

all of the ladies!

Awe, Liz!

the R&L cookie and my bow/ribbon bouquet!

best wishes to the soon to be mrs! Love this!!

There was a lot of delicious tea time foods and lots of great company! The weather was beautiful and I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life!

us with our Mommas!

I have been thinking a lot recently about the people that I chose to spend my time with. Every woman that I have created a friendship with is unique in her own way and is special to me in her own way. I have been so blessed to have such amazing people that have been so supportive and always on my side.

Sleepy Mondays...

 ...are the worst!

Can it still be Friday night at 5?!

Side Note:

I had the best weekend!

I am such a lucky gal to have such amazing friends and people in my life!

I and very blessed to have the wonderful friends that I do, and I am eternally grateful!

This post is not about my weekend, but about how good looking my Sweeter is and how much I love my family!

My family was down visiting for my brothers' Spring Break. 

We went to a ceremony and Sweeter had to wear his Dress Blue Alpha's...

He is so nice on the eyes :-)

Isn't my Sweeter is so handsome! :-)

Oh boy, he is so good looking :-)

 

We got a group shot! I love this picture!!

I hope you all had a marvelous weekend and I will update you tomorrow about the shower and the bachelorette party! :-)

1.  Who would be your dream celebrity date?

Please don't judge me...

John Travolta...Grease Style!

2.  Do you have any food restrictions?

Fortunately no, just pickiness...

3.  How much time do you take to get ready in the morning?

It takes me about an hour from when my alarm goes off, to when I actually get out of bed, to getting ready, to eating to getting my stuff together and finally out of the house.

ha!

4.  Sausage or bacon?

Sausage! 

Yumm!

5.  Do you Google, Bing or Yahoo?

I Google everything! Ask Sweeter, if he has a question or I do and neither of us know the answer, I always tell him to "google" it!

Have a Magnificent Monday!

Wedding Fun!

Side Note:

I am going up North this weekend to celebrate my Bacheloretty Party with my Bridesmaids 

and Bridal Shower that they are throwing for me!

I am just so excited!

And I just can't hide it!

Also, I am doing my hair and makeup trial run on Saturday! 

Oh boy! 

I'm so excited!!

 

I saw this over on Liv's page a while back and I want to do it too!

Enjoy!

 

 A. Attending- We planned for 120, but someone (my madre) just added a bunch more people..so we will see!

 B. Bridesmaids- 4...3 from High School and 1 from College. I am one lucky gal to have these amazing women in my life!

 C. Catering- Yes... Scott's Seafood

D. Dress- Priscilla of Boston. I am not showing you until after the wedding! 

E. Engagement- You can read our proposal story here. We have been engaged 16 months

 F. Flowers- Stargazers and white roses will be the main focus.

G. Groomsmen- 4...we will be matching!

 H. Honeymoon- Switzerland and France

 I. Invitations-You can read about the invites here. I got all of my paper "stuff" for the wedding done at work. One of my bridesmaids/best friends drew the wedding bells and flowers! She is amazing! And I am soo happy with how they look!

J. Junior Bridesmaids & Groomsmen- {I changed this because I am not a June bride} I have 4 young kids in my life...my two little brothers and 2 little girls who are around my brother's ages. I wanted to incorporate them into our special day and so we decided to have a slightly older flower girl/ring bearer {hey, its my day and I can do it however I want!} and giving my older brother and the older girl the honor of being Junior Bridesmaid/Groomsman! 

 K. Keepsakes- {Is this like favors?} We are having these favors. I will be making a photo album for guests to sign with our engagement pictures in them. We got a blown up picture of one of our engagement photos that we have had mounted and will have guests sign that.  Hmmm, Sweeter has asked one of the guests to video our wedding, we are very excited about that!

 L. Ladies and Gentlemen {Bachelorette / Bachelor Parties}- I am going up North this weekend for my Bridal Shower and Bachelorette weekend! My friends are taking me on a surprise trip to Napa and other fun things that I don't know about! I am just so excited!!

M. Music- We are having a DJ. I think that with a DJ you have more of a Music selection. We are trying to decide between 2 songs for our first dance song. I will consult you all in another post :-)

 N. Something new- My wedding gown/shoes

O. Something old- I would like it to be unique..I'll get back to you on this to!

 P. Parson- Honestly, I am not sure what this means...ha!

 Q. Question popping- You can read our proposal story here.

 R. Reception- The Blackhawk Museum

 S. Service- Catholic Ceremony. Unfortunately, it won't be a full mass because we are getting married on a Sunday and we are not allowed to take communion after the last mass of the week. We will be going to the Saturday Evening Mass before the Rehearsal and I will take my communion then :-)

T. Time- 4:30 pm

 U.Uniqueness- We are naming all of the tables instead of giving them numbers. They are places that we have been together and there is a small story to go along with it!

V. Vows- Traditional Catholic Vows.

 W.Wedding Woes- I am worried that I will forget something/everything and I will be scrambling last minute! 

{Do any of you lovely ladies have any tips on {maybe} something you forgot until the last minute and wish you hadn't???}

X. X-Rated- I have a few tricks up my sleeve! In my invitation to my Bacheloretty Party, the guests to encouraged to bring me some lingerie! I am very excited for that! :-)

 Y. Your day- and my mom's {ha!} oh wait, did I just say that out loud?! ;-)

 Z."zzzz"- We won't be waking up too early, well I am sure that I will {I imagine that it is just like Christmas and you wake up super early because of excitement} With that, I hope to make sure that I get plenty of rest that entire week/weekend! It will be busy, and I sure don't want to be walking down the isle with big bags under my eyes!

Eek! 

Doing this made me soo excited!!

We are 52 days away! Wow, can you believe it?!