Nelda Davis

LATE BREAKING NEWS

Sorry to interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging, but Nelda Davis is having a six hour spinning workshop this weekend on Saturday, February 17th. Specifically, she will be teaching five different methods of drafting.

I got an e-mail from Deb at “Twist” in New Hope, so I’m assuming the workshop is at the store. Any non-beginners should contact Deb immediately, if they can attend…I’d be there if I wasn’t going to be in Cancun. The phone number at the store is (215) 862-8075.

If anyone goes, please send my warmest thoughts to Nelda.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

It’s The Principle

The service standards in this country have become dreadfully bad, and I’m glad I have a friend who demands at least a minimal level.

Uncomfortable Lesson
A number of years ago, I was at a CVS (drug store chain) with Maribeth, a co-worker/friend of mine. The one cashier on duty was ringing up some items Maribeth had bought, and there were two people behind us in line. The cost of the purchase came to $2.73, and Maribeth gave the cashier a five dollar bill.

The cashier handed Maribeth two dollar bills and a quarter, and said, “We don’t have any pennies.”

Now, I know Maribeth, and I knew things were going to get ugly. Maribeth said, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait while you get some.”

The cashier was incredulous, and I was starting to leak sweat at the glares we were getting from the two customers behind us. I said, “Maribeth, forget it, I’ll give you the two cents.”

And then Maribeth did something I could have never done. She turned to me, and in front of the stupid cashier, and the two customers, taught us all a lesson. She said, “If she had said ‘I’m sorry, I don’t have any pennies, would you be willing to wait while I got some?’ I would have left without them. If she had give me $2.30, I would have left happy. If she had said, ‘Do you have three cents, I’m out of pennies?’ I would have happily left without the two cents.”

“But instead, she shorted me two cents, without leaving me any option. Do you think if I was two cents short, she would have sold me these things? I’ll wait for my correct change.”

At which point, the cashier locked her drawer, walked to the back of the store, got a roll of pennies from the manager (who never once left his/her perch behind a two-way mirror) and paid Maribeth her correct change.

As awkward as this situation was for me, I knew Maribeth was right, and I was glad to have gained from her wisdom.

Current Knitting
I sewed up the shoulders on the dark tweed pullover and started working on the first sleeve.

Dark Tweed 02-12-07

This is about 11 inches of about 18, before start on the should cap. I’m thinking that I will bring the other sleeve with me to Cancun to use as my vacation knitting.

I do very little knitting when I’m away on vacation, so I don’t expect to be finished by the time I get back.

Current Spinning
I finished plying the last of the multi-colored Merino.

Multi 02-12-07

The last hank (the one on the left) came out to be about 450 yards, at a slightly heavier grist than the last one, but still in the Sport weight range. I still have to wash the three skeins and hang them to set. I can only hope they stay as soft as they are now after washing, because I’m looking forward to knitting with this yarn.

0 comments on “LATE BREAKING NEWS

  1. Oh, Joe, your friend Maribeth is awesome.
    I mean awesome.
    I get the sweaty uncomfortable looks from people around me too.
    I am so weary of having things like this happen and seeing that no one calls anyone on rude uncivilized behavior.
    We all used to depend on the kindness of strangers and the fact that folks understood the social contract.
    We need to again.

    Yay Joes’ colleague Maribeth!

  2. Bravo, Meribeth!

    But it is rather extraordinary that the USofA has made no changes whatsoever to the currency I grew up with as a girl in NJ, whereas every other country I am acquainted with, has accomodated itself one way or another to the onward march of inflation.

    Have a great holiday!

  3. In NZ they have done away with 1c, 2c,and now 5c coins. In Aus we still have the 5c but have dumped the 1c and 2c. Get with the program, USof A! πŸ™‚

  4. I, too, would often feel uncomfortable at any sign of a confrontation, but as I get older, and customer service gets worse, I find that I have no problem making comments like this from time to time. You go, girl!

  5. Oh Jeez, Queer Joe, thank goodness Twist wasn’t there when I lived in New Hope…which corner is this on…I lived in the house on the SW corner of that intersection…I think it is now a real estate office…of course, I could only afford the “good” stuff at Woolworths then…enjoy Cancun…miss the ice/snow storm comin at ya..

  6. Maribeth sounds like my Ma. Once, the telephone company overcharged her 10 cents, so she went into the office to get a credit. The woman said “for heaven sake, do you know how much trouble that is??” So Ma said, “well then, give me 10 cents from your purse”. The woman answered that she wasn’t giving Ma her own money. And Ma said, “and I’m not giving the phone company mine”. She got her credit.
    I love people like that.
    Barb B.

  7. I have to add my 2 cents here (tee hee, couldn’t resist), I agree that rudeness is rampant, and your friend was right. But after working for years in retail customer service, I have to point out that the customers have also gone off the rude end… service people are treated horribly every day as part of their jobs, and expected to smile about it. While I do get bad service sometimes, I always take it with a grain of salt, because I know what their days are like, and I know how little money they make. Respect is a two-way street, and these people don’t get any.
    ps. love your knitting and your politics. keep up the good fight. -amy

  8. For a great inside peek on both rude customers and rude retail clerks, check out the StarbucksGossip.typepad.com items. Much to be said on both sides of this discussion!

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