Didn't get up in time to get to Quest early, but decided to take a chance I could get in when I arrived about 8:00. It was jammed--I found out later the Loma Vista Quest had been flooded out, so more came to Ventura. Had to wait almost an hour, but I got it done. (It's so much better when you don't have to fast.)
Just a bunch of running around here and there went on after there. There wasn't much of interest except for an e-mail from my erstwhile Singapore son, who asked me to get him fifty bucks worth of Powerball lottery tickets, as he'd like to have an extra 800 million in his wallet. I got them and fervently hope that's the last time he sends me on such a fool's errand.
Betty called; nothing much of interest down there, either. I was amused to hear she bought lottery tickets, too, but accidentally, only for the 61 million or something in the regular lottery. She's annoyed with herself that she didn't get the Powerball one. Well, of course, who wants a piddling 61 mil?
Went to Staples for printer ink and was surprised to realize it wasn't nearly as well-stocked as the one I frequented in Jersey; the staff didn't seem as knowledgeable, either. I already had new black cartridges, thick and thin, but they didn't have the color only ones in, so I had to spend extra and get one I didn't need. The young man--very young--I consulted seemed blank when I explained--I had to go into great detail.
As a matter of fact, I hate to generalize with blanket condemnations, but this kind of thing seems somewhat prevalent here. From the fact that I have yet to find a hairdresser to do my hair the way I ask, to my dealings with the seemingly scatter-shot medical world, to the blank stares I sometimes get when I ask a simple question at the supermarket, to my "go here, go there" experience at CVS--is there a pattern?
Greg remarked that possibly, the east has more of a tradition of intellectualism than here, so events and practices are expected to be on a more competent level. Sounds horribly snobbish, but could there be a grain of truth there? Dunno, but I'm going to consciously try to find examples that refute the idea.
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Had a delightful lunch with my new (Wellspouse) friend, Mary L. yesterday. No problem getting to TGI Friday's in Toms River--in fact, ...
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Thursday, August 23: Lunch with the most recent gang of company was nice. Had the menu I planned and everybody seemed to like it; just serve...
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Ellen scrambled eggs for breakfast, then she and I went to the meadow preserve and took a long walk. Here are some pics from that very enjoy...
2 comments:
Rosemary,
Re your hair.....do you have a photo of the way you like your hair that you could show the hairdresser?
Re...workers of the world. It's less expensive not to use supervisors to oversee much of the work, and orientation to a new position is seriously limited in scope. Workers are thrown into the mix...and that's how it goes. When I worked at the Bell as a high school student...I went to 2hr classes after school for several weeks before being set free with 'live' calls.
In addition they had service assistants i.e. supervisors overseeing all the operators experienced and new.
Now days quality is not a top priority...
....and that's how I see it.
Yes, that's the bottom line, Pat: It's less expensive. You start to realize it takes money to keep people on the payroll if they're not actually working; you still have to pay them. So if you skimp on training, the bottom line (and the owners) benefit. Also, wages are so abysmal for lower level workers--say, supermarket clerks--that many have no sense of being in respected positions; nor are they generally regarded with respect. The difference is striking in Asia, where members of the staff are well-trained, efficient and courteous, and make a living wage. Such jobs are often considered careers and people stay in them for years.
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