Intolerance of the Obama Supporter

So here is the e-mail that I received:

"Go to Amazon.com, and fill in "Pocket Obama" in the search area. Read all about the book, especially theh 'excerpts' part. Sends chills and thoughts of Stalin down the old spine. Chris Matthews get chills up his leg, I get 'em down my spine.This is very scary, seeing as how he has been president for less than a week. I almost sense a religious movement forming around him.RUN FOR THE HILLS!!"

That's all it said. You would think that it called for a national recall of the election of Barak Obama. No, it merely talks about a book and gives a negative opinion. If you read the excerpts of this book, they are merely sayings.  So far, the e-mail (which was forwarded to about 30 people) has generated no less than 10 e-mails full of anger and spite to someone who, one would assume, was a friend of theirs.

The thing that amazes me is the fact that these people are angry that the original e-mailer would send them an e-mail so "full of anger and hate."  Read it again, do you see any anger or hate?  I see a potentially right-wing rant (which in reading the book is totally unjustified), but nothing else.

The scary thing here is the fact that these Obama supporters are quick to talk about Hope and Change and a New World and Tolerance, but it seems to only apply to those who thing like they do.  While they talk about free speech, they don't seem to be inclined to allow it.  While they talk about respect and dignity, they don't seem to offer it (witness the boos and shouts of "go home now" to the then-President of our country) to anyone they don't agree with.

I am worried and excited about President Obama.  I found his inaugural address to be very much inspired by FDR and that pleases me.  What I find most troublesome is the media-inspired deification of the man.  It is all but impossible for him to live up to this image.  His supporters seem to feel that he is going to get back at the man and score one for the oppressed.  Well, who decides who "the man" is and who is "oppressed"?  In addition, how is this a new approach of hope and change?  How is this a new world order?  It sounds like intolerance and suppression, just now coming from the left instead of the right.

Thoughts anyone?

More customer service -- in a recession?

My wife and I recently stopped in a local A&P supermarket for some milk and bread. While there we spotted a sign that told us that Entenmann's bakery goods were on sale 2 for $5.00. Being a big Entenmann's fan, I immediately picked out two items to purchase. When we got up to the checkout, the items did not come up at the sale price. I mentioned this to the cashier and she told us that it only applied to purchases over $25.00. My wife and I pointed out that the sign did not indicate that anywhere and she then informed us that it said so in their flier. We told her we didn't get the flier and again stated that the sign did not mention that. She looked at us blankly.

When it became obvious that she was not going to take any action to remedy the mix up, we told her to take the items off the bill. She promptly did this which then required her to call a supervisor since it represented approximately 50% of the sale. The supervisor came over looked at the screen, turned her key, and walked away. She didn't ask why there was such a large void or if there was some way she could help. Disregarding the loss prevention aspect of her actions, she shouldn't have done this because she could have prevented the loss of the sale. A mere "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding" would have at least saved A&P of Midland Park a customer. Instead she showed complete disinterest and so now we've told as many people as possible about the incident, and you're reading it on a blog.

In my previous retail life as a front end manager, I was clearly instructed by my bosses as to how to handle this. I would have 1) checked the sign, 2) honored the price for the customer if that was indeed what the sign said, 3) apologized for the misunderstanding, 4) immediately removed the sign if it was wrong. That would have been customer service. Instead, at a time when every retailer should be fighting for as many customers as possible, A&P of Midland Park is turning them away.

Thoughts anyone?

Did you know....?

Did you there is a disease that is the leading cause of death for people ages 1-44?  Did you know that it is the third leading cause of death overall?  Did you know that it accounts for over 125,000 DEATHS PER YEAR in the US?   This disease is called TRAUMA.  It is slips and falls, gunshots, stabbings, and over 48,000 deaths in motor vehicle accidents alone!!  Where is the public outcry about this?  How do we kill 80 times more civilians per year than the number of soldiers killed in the entire Iraq campaign and no one knows about it?!?  Did you know that we spend $64,000,000 PER DAY on trauma?  That's $50 BILLION per year and no one mentions it.

That's a lot of people friends.  That's a lot of death and destruction.  It's time that we start to pay attention.  It's time we start to watch around our homes, wear our seatbelts, and do what we can to make our workplaces safe.  It's more than just talk.  It's entire communities of people dying each year without us taking great notice.

Thoughts anyone?

Welcome to 2009

It has, unfortunately, been months since I've last posted on this blog.  In the new year, I will endeavor to increase my postings.   I have several lines of thought that I'm working on and will begin articles within the next few days.  Stay tuned for articles on EMS, customer service, and the ever popular politics.  In addition, I will try and spend a little time looking through news to find other less noticed topics to try and comment on.   Should you have suggestions, as always, they are welcome.

I've now joined Facebook and am enjoying reconnecting with friends.  I look forward to a better 2009 and hope the same is true for all of you.