My Dad and Grandmother. Warning to businesses, when you see them coming in their
walker, cane and handicapped parking plackard, GIVE THEM GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE.
As many know I have a 91 year old Grandmother who is amazing. She is not your ordinary 91 year old Grandmother (as if there are that many). Grandma only just gave up driving and retired from working last year when she turned 90 years old. As amazing as she is, she does have problems walking distances and is afraid of stairs and curbs. You see, her eyesight is not what it was at, say 85 years old.

I also have an amazing Father who has had his share of health issues. He went in to have knee surgery and ended up having a heart attack. Over the last year, he has been in and out of the hospital for a combined total of 90 days between the rehabbing knee, the heart attack, the pacemaker, and a couple of falls while trying to get his “legs” back. He is out of the wheelchair, off the oxygen and gets around with the assistance of the walker.

As if that is not challenge enough, neither of them hear very well. So it is slow going and repeating everything at least twice.

Although both Grandma and Dad are a challenge to “take out”, they enjoy going to lunch, have the need to venture out to the store and everything else that all of us in perfect health take for granted. There is so much that I have taken for granted when I must run to the grocery store, hardware store, or out for a bite to eat….that is until I have taken them. What a new experience~!!!

Therefore I am putting businesses on notice. Read what I have to say and learn from it. You might even find that your business will increase because of it. I know that times are tough for you and profits are down. There is one thing that everyone of you can do right now that will increase your customer satisfaction, increase your business and best of all, it will not cost you anything.

It is….CUSTOMER SERVICE

Here is a couple of examples of the lack of customer service and how it affected our lives. I left the company’s name in because, no one thinks they are the stinky kid….and these company’s customer service STINKS

Mimi’s Restaurant
Campbell, California
Dad and Grandma go to lunch at Mimi’s. The hostess who can clearly see that Grandma is elderly and Dad is walking with the aid of a walker, takes them on the scenic route through the restaurant to the furthest table away from the front door. Although there are numerous tables available, she decided that the table that would require the longest walk is appropriate table for them. Regardless of how wonderful the food is, they are already having a bad experience as they are in pain and pissed off. Note to hostesses: if you see the elderly and handicapped walk in, seat them at the closest table to the door. If that section is closed, seat them anyway. The thoughtfulness will be rewarded to the waitress or the manager who will cover that table for these special guests. It will make for a much more pleasant experience for them and they will frequent your restaurant often because you treated them like you really care about them.

Cingular/AT&T Store
Campbell, California
Oh this one about killed me. I am still cringing as I type this. My dad wanted to upgrade his cell phone to one that had blue tooth capabilities due do the new cell phone law in California. It was a rainy day but it was the only day he did not have a doctor’s appointment. I pull up to the store at Westgate to find that the handicapped parking spaces are the furthest from the door in that strip mall. I pull into the red zone directly in front of the entrance of the store. Get out of the car in the rain, get his walker set up, help my Dad out of the car, help him over the curb and positioned safely. As I am opening the door to the store for my dad to enter, I look to see six employees standing there watching me. There is not one customer in the store, they are all standing around watching me handle all of this and get the door too. Not one of them thought, “Hey I can get the door for this customer and welcome them in AT&T so they will really like me. I work on commission after all.”

Anyway, I get my father in the store with the instructions to tell them that he wants to upgrade his phone. I run out, move the car and run back into the store. I return to the store soaking wet to find my dad in the same spot that I had left him in and the six employees still standing around apparently watching me running back and forth in the rain. One employee walks up to me as I enter and asks what I need. I reply that my father needs to upgrade his phone – nothing complicated. He just needs a simple phone similar to what he has now but with blue tooth capabilities. He walks us all over the store to see the different types of phones. Dad finds one he likes and the salesperson moves us to the counter to bring up his account.

After what seemed like an eternity for my father, I finally have to ask for a chair to be brought out for him to sit down. You see, in the whole store, there is not one chair for a handicapped or elderly person to sit at as they listen to the salesperson go through their sales pitch and complete the paperwork.

It is mind boggling that out of six sales people and a manager, that not one of them thought to get the door for my father or me, and did not have enough common sense to think that a chair would be helpful. I have always thought highly of this company and have been a long time customer. This was by far the worst experience ever~!!!!

Home Depot
Campbell, California
Oy Vey. My dad wanted to cover the side of his house and had lined up a neighbor friend to do the work. My dad just needed to supply the materials. Of course this would include plywood, a roll of roofing paper and some nails. My dad asked if I would take him to Home Depot – which has always been Dad’s “Happy Place”. So we took the El Camino over to Home Depot for what seemed like an easy errand.
Now you would think that those people in the orange aprons would see a man using a walker to get around the store in the plywood section and KNOW that he is going to need some assistance. OH NO. I am having to hunt down personnel to get assistance to load the plywood onto the cart. I finally found someone, he helped me get the five sheets of plywood off of the shelf that is taller than me, then leaves us. Ok, I am hanging in there pushing the cart to the cashier. I alert the cashier immediately that I will need assistance loading the plywood into the back of the El Camino. She calls for someone. She completes the transaction and calls again for assistance. We wait and wait. Long story short, no one ever comes. As I am loading the plywood by myself, I am dropping it, banging it along side of the car, and almost wacked my dad with it. I got it all loaded – thanks for the help Home Depot. You give new meaning to the term, “Do It Yourself”

To the male customers around us in the parking lot watching my debacle: Thanks. I am so glad that I could entertain you…and you did seem entertained by the way I had your undivided attention. A special thank you to the man who, AFTER I loaded everything into the car, asked if he could help by taking my cart for me. Thanks, I got it Pal.

So to the businesses out there, PLEASE raise your level of customer service especially when you see an amazing elderly person and/or a handicapped person walking through your door. Treat them as if you would if it was your parent struggling to get around in a walker. You may find that the extra care you give them will carry you through these hard economic times.

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST
Emergency The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile; network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.

SECOND
Have you locked your keys in the car?
Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other “remote” for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).
Editor’s Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!” (My hubby and I tried this. He went to the grocery store approx 3 miles away. He called me….I hit the button on my cell phone and his truck door opened! It was a hoot!!)

THIRD
Hidden Battery Power
Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

FOURTH
How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
To check your Mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 # A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can’t use/sell it either. And Finally..

FIFTH
Free Directory Service for Cells
Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don’t have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.