Monthly Archives: October 2011

A day with Francis

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Yesterday, I stayed at my girlfriend’s apartment to wait for SoCalGas to light the pilot for her stove, oven and heater. Fortunately, Francis kept me company.

My girlfriend insists that I’m his favorite person, and it’s tough to argue with that. Most of the time, Francis wants to lay on top of me.

The downside: I can only read from my smartphone or Kindle. If I’m reading a textbook or using my laptop, he tries to run the edges with his face. But, how can I get mad? Look at that face! He’s so precious.

I just want ice cream (a review of Mother Moo Creamery)

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I’ve visited Mother Moo Creamery in Sierra Madre twice. While each visit brought spoonfuls of goodness to my mouth, it was overshadowed with bouts of service inconsistency and mathematical error.

The first visit was good. I ordered two scoops (cinnamon and chocolate) and got a heaping bowl which seemed to contain four scoops. Awesome.

After I paid and received my change, I realized that the employee had only broken my $20 (two fives and one ten). I ate my ice cream inside and waited until the other customers left before informing her of the error and paying.

The kicker: she didn’t seem to realize what she did wrong, even after I explained.

My second visit was yesterday afternoon. A lone employee was cutting strawberries, and a few customers enjoyed their ice cream at the tables. My girlfriend ordered two scoops in a waffle cone, and she was charged $3.50. I ordered two scoops in a bowl (cup?), and was charged $3.50.

One (or two) scoops from Mother Moo Creamery

I glared at the tiny cup size, clarifying that I’d ordered two scoops (cinnamon and coffee chocolate). I could technically see two scoops, but we told her that a two scoop order in the past has been much bigger — big enough to fit in a paper bowl.

Nope. We were mistaken. The employee insisted their sizes were smaller than most places.

I stared at the paper menu on their wall, and noticed the “official” pricing of their products:

  • 1 scoop (with an tiny drawing of one scoop): $3.50
  • 2 scoops (with a tiny drawing of two scoops): $4.75
  • Waffle cone substitution: $1.00 extra

The employee seemed unfazed, so I gave her a five dollar bill, expecting 25 cents in change. But, I received $1.50 in change.

By her logic, I ordered one scoop?

My girlfriend should’ve been charged $5.75, and I should’ve been charged $4.75.

I shouldn’t be confused at an ice cream shop. If I’m compelled to write a blog post about your customer service, your employees need to be retrained on your item costs, serving sizes, and pricing.

I’m not complaining as a disgruntled customer, but as someone who wants your business to flourish. Since this business is still new, I’d rather give them a chance to make things right for future transactions. Consistency.

I want to enjoy ice cream, not argue about correct portion sizes and arithmetic errors.

Additional notes:

Goodbye, Steve Jobs

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While hunched over my Java textbook on the fourth floor of the university library, I gazed out the windows and saw rain clouds hovering over Pomona. Earlier that morning, my mom complained that it was supposed to rain yesterday. The clouds knew something I didn’t.

At 4:38pm PDT on Wednesday, October 5th, 2011, a flood of Twitter updates moaned that Steve Jobs has died. I didn’t know him personally, but I was stunned. Looking around the huge room, I was unsure if any other students realized the tragic news. (If they were on Facebook or Twitter, I assume they did.)

I found it difficult to focus the rest of the evening.

Fact: I didn’t own an Apple product until the iPod Classic (3rd generation), and the MacBook Air (late 2010) I bought in March 2011.

As a sixth grader, I was part of a group with fascinating computer chops. (Or, something like that.) While I honestly don’t remember much, we demonstrated a slick presentation made for our parents and faculty.

Along with my still functioning iPod Classic, those are my only personal experiences with Apple products. Steve dangled all this stuff in front of me for years. Now that I can finally see myself going completely Apple, he’s gone.

My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all the lives he’s touched (directly and indirectly).

Thank you, Steve.