While picking up some prescriptions, I asked the pharmacist if she could change the date that some of them automatically refill each month. Among other benefits, synching up the dates would eliminate the duplicate calls that I receive when each prescription is ready. Since the pharmacy has the technology to track and process these automated […]

Although I stop in there periodically to grab a few things, I rarely walk all the aisles of the small and overpriced grocery store near me. But when I was there a few weeks ago, I noticed they had knocked down a wall and built a shiny new extension to the refrigerated foods section. To […]

Looking at some of the products around my apartment, it’s amazing to see all the different ways that expiration dates are shown. For instance: – Black text printed on the top of a dark green plastic lid – Gray text printed on a yellow package, below a bunch of sales-oriented messaging – Text embossed onto […]

Without getting into any specifics, I was involved in a scenario recently where a service provider gave me an estimate before performing a fairly common service. On the written estimate, they wrote the word “guesstimate”, though we both agreed that the final cost should be fairly close to it. But when the actual bill came, […]

When I receive an unsolicited email or phone call from a vendor, it’s usually quite easy to see who has done their homework. Perhaps more accurately, the lazy, mail merge types tend to show their colors within the first few lines of an email, or the first 15 seconds of a phone call. Whether it’s […]

A few days ago, one of the vendors we use posted a rather curious statement to their blog. They said that their network provider would be performing “emergency maintenance” later that week, and service might be affected for a brief period. This strikes me as a bit odd: if you’re telling customers about the situation […]

When you eat at a sit-down restaurant, it’s common knowledge that you should tip the server. Sure, some restaurants print a suggested tip amount on the receipt, though I believe this is mainly to encourage larger tips or make the calculations easier. But what about other businesses where the protocol for tipping isn’t established yet, […]

The other day, I got a flyer in the mail from Peapod. Being an online grocery delivery service, their messaging focused on saving time and hassle compared to shopping in regular stores. But one aspect of the flyer caught my attention: Peapod emphasizes that their produce is “untouched by other shoppers”. To me, this sounds […]

I’ve been researching the options for donating extra office furniture, since our main office has some older desks and partitions that we’re not using. (It turns out that employees prefer the newer, nicer stuff, and I don’t blame them.) Anyways, one of the first options that came to mind was Goodwill. I looked up the […]

Over the weekend, I went into a local store to pick up a somewhat obscure hardware product. While I was there, I figured I’d check for another item on my shopping list: ice cube trays. I started by asking the people in the appliances department, where they happen to sell refrigerators and freezers. They confidently […]