Jason English
Help a School That Needs a Nickname
by Jason English - September 11, 2009 - 11:23 AM
bloghead_fridayhappyhour1.gif

Every Friday, I post a series of unrelated questions meant to spark conversation in the comments. Answer one, answer all, respond to someone else’s reply, whatever you want. Very casual. On to this week’s topics of discussion…

1. A couple years ago, I posted a quick guide to naming schools. I’m still waiting for the freelance school-naming projects to start rolling in. But last week I received an email from the principal of a new school opening in Happy Valley, Oregon, called Verne A. Duncan Elementary. The school needs a nickname. Any suggestions? They want something unique and tied to the region. (Anyone know anything about Happy Valley, Oregon?) I’ll send all your suggestions to the school’s principal. Perhaps you’ll be able to add “School Nickname Provider” to your resume.

2. I like to ask this question at least once a year. We all have colorful stories of terrible customer service. The most satisfying thing I’ve ever written was a running diary of my battles with Sprint Customer Care in 2007, which I posted on YesButNoButYes.com and led to the removal of a bogus $630 charge that had magically appeared on my bill. But I want to hear stories of good customer service. Have you had any restored-your-faith-in-humanity experiences with a company that treated you well?

3. My father-in-law told me yesterday that he bought a pack of (six) English Muffins and happily found an extra inside. This might not sound like a big deal—OK, it’s definitely not a big deal—but I can distinctly remember the joyous time I found a seventh McNugget in my 6-piece. Do you recall a time you got too many of something?

4. Earlier this week, I asked if anyone wanted to make a New (School) Year Resolution. There’s still time! Head on over to that post and leave a comment with yours.

[See all the previous Friday Happy Hour transcripts.]

« Previous Post   -   Next Post »
Click here to get a Risk-Free issue of mental_floss magazine
Comments (66)

  1. The Duncan Donuts

    posted by Joe on 9-11-2009 at 11:32 am

  2. 1. Joe’s going to win this one, I think.

    2. I am a huge klutz and the other night I spilled a coke all over my table (and the floor and myself) at Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Two employees came over and mopped it up, and they even refilled my soda for me.

    posted by Kelly on 9-11-2009 at 11:39 am

  3. Bighorn sheep have been reintroduced. Chinook Salmon would be a bit unusual. Owls are native nearby, and are predators. The town’s highest point is Mount Scott, an extinct volcano. “Volcanos” would be an interesting and unusual choice. Bears, cougars, eagles, elk are native but not so unusual. Pelicans and are local to the sea, but I don’t know how far that is from the town.

    posted by Eric on 9-11-2009 at 11:40 am

  4. After doing some research, I found out that Happy Valley has been experiecing rapid growth over the past 10 years. In 2006, they were awarded their own Zip code in 2006, which was 97086.

    Hence, I think they should be named (in shades of the SF 49′ers and Philly 76′ers)…the 86′ers!

    posted by Scott on 9-11-2009 at 11:41 am

  5. 1. Since Happy Valley seems to be located on the Boring Lava Plain, how about the Lava People? (Lava Boys? Lava Girls?)

    2. This week I went to my local deli and bought a coke that was flat as a pancake. (The expiration date was June 09, though I didn’t notice until I got home.) I called Coca-Cola, and they couldn’t have been nicer. They offered me a coupon for a free six pack for my trouble.

    posted by Paul on 9-11-2009 at 11:42 am

  6. 2. I have had two serious car accidents in a row. I have dealt with 21st Century Insurance (slightly less than descent), Allstate (GOOD HANDS MY FOOT!) and Progressive. Everybody needs to switch to Progressive! They were wonderful from step 1! I drove my car to their office, they looked at it, asked which shop I wanted to go to. I told them, they took me to their ON SITE Enterprise lot, where I got to pick any car I wanted (They did not force me into a tiny Kia, I got a Pontiac G6!) Progressive followed me to the lot in the rent car. They handed me the keys and told me they would take care of everything from then on. A month later my car was done, I dropped my rent car off, picked up my fixed car and drove away.

    They even gave me $1,500 in Diminished Value when I asked for it (They are NOT required to do that in Texas!)

    posted by Witty Nickname on 9-11-2009 at 11:51 am

  7. 1. Verne A. Duncan Elementary Volcanoes. I wiki’ed Happy Valley, and its highest point is the now exinct volcano, Mt. Scott.

    2. It’s upsetting that I can’t thikn of any off the topc of my head, but I can rant all day about companies that have treated me more like a number than a human. I have learned that good customer service starts by being a good customer. No matter how bad the service is for everyone else, as long as I maintain rapport and a friendly attitude with the people servicing me, I usually end up with better service. I find it easier to cooperate with them rather than argue. One instance would be Wednesday at Burger King, where the cashier was swamped with customers demanding help, and she was the only one up front. It was finally my turn to order, and I kept upbeat about the situation even though I had waited nearly fifteen minutes to get acknowledged. I eased a joke in as well while handing her my money. My order came to me exactly how I requested (it was a special order). She handed it to me personally and with a smile.

    3. I’m a tabletop gamer, and was buying a box containing 4 collectible figures. The box I had purchased packaged five by accident, and two of the same model were very rare. One paid for the package. I had my cake and ate it too!

    posted by Steven on 9-11-2009 at 11:53 am

  8. 1. Duncan Fighting Ducks
    2. My MP3 player stopped working for no reason (or so i thought) while i was driving. I went to Best Buy with no reciept, missing accessories, and no box – i literally pulled in just to price a new one. I told the lady in customer service that it stopped working. Since I used my credit card they had my info on file (SCARY I KNOW) but they found me and she replaced it without question
    3.I have also benefited from the extra McNugget…and the seventh one always taste the best

    posted by PG on 9-11-2009 at 11:57 am

  9. 2. Bed, Bath & Beyond — I did some on-line pre-shopping, figured out what brand I wanted, and then went to the store to use my handy “10% off one item” coupon (which cannot be used on-line). When I got there, I couldn’t find the brand I wanted. The sales clerk asked me if I needed help, and after I explained what I was looking for, he checked the computer and found that the brand I wanted was only available on-line. So…he ordered it for me from the store’s computer, didn’t charge me shipping, and let me pay for it in the store so that I could use my coupon. I was amazed at how helpful he was, and my order arrived at my door only three days later.

    posted by Sam on 9-11-2009 at 12:06 pm

  10. 1. Verne A. Duncan Elementary Mighty Joys

    posted by Laura on 9-11-2009 at 12:15 pm

  11. I don’t know anything about Happy Valley, but the school’s nickname should really be the Imperials.

    posted by Eriq on 9-11-2009 at 12:17 pm

  12. Joe..thank you for the best laugh I have had all day!
    1) My uncle lives in that area of Oregon and he has commercial cherry orchards..they could be the Verne Duncan Cherry Pickers!

    posted by Rbow on 9-11-2009 at 12:26 pm

  13. V.A.D.E (R)

    there’s a star wars reference there somewhere

    posted by Bethany on 9-11-2009 at 12:28 pm

  14. 2. Just this week my postal carrier paid the postage due on a package so that I would not have to go to the PO to pick it up!

    2. Turtle Mountain makes non-dairy frozen desserts (fake ice cream). I got a couple of containers that I felt didn’t have enough of the \goodies\. I emailed them expecting nothing in return. What I got was the best customer service I have ever received! They wanted to know specifics and followed up with me to let me know that they had identified the problem and how they fixed it. Then they sent me enough coupons for free fake ice cream for a month! On top of that the product is good enough that dairy-eaters like it.

    posted by Vicki W on 9-11-2009 at 12:29 pm

  15. Since they live near Mount Scott and Duncan is a Scottish name, I think they should be the Duncan Scotsmen (or just the Duncan Scots if they’re really PC). Kilts, bagpipes at sporting events, the possibilities for fun are endless. And they should have a mascot like Big Otis, the Kellogg’s OK cereal guy: http://www.lavasurfer.com/cereal-kelloggs2.html

    That being said, Joe’s Duncan Donuts is far more hilarious.

    posted by Jessica on 9-11-2009 at 12:33 pm

  16. 1. Verne Volcanoes sounds pretty good. Or the Verne Velociraptors…not so much a regional tie, but you have your alliteration and one sweet mascot.

    2. Comcast has been amazing for me the past 2.5 years in terms of customer service. Basically, when you sign up and get a deal for say 6 months to a year, when it is up, all you need to do is call in and they will set you up with a new promotion. I just did it the other day and got my internet reduced from $50/mo to $22/mo and my cable bill dropped like $8/mo and added a new premium channel.

    3. Sort of like getting too many of something, but a lot of times when we go out drinking in a big group, almost always someone ends up with something free.

    posted by C on 9-11-2009 at 12:39 pm

  17. 2. Last year I had a problem with my Canon camera and I called their customer service. I was beyond impressed with their service. I didn’t have to wait on hold to speak to someone and after the representative (a nice man in Atlanta) walked me through a few steps over the phone to determine it wasn’t something simple, they emailed me a mailing label to send it to them to be fixed. They had it back to me within one week (which in Alaska is unheard of), fixed with a detailed report of what they did. I’m still blown away by how friendly and helpful they were on the phone. I recommend their cameras to people now simply because of how great their customer service was.

    posted by Moth on 9-11-2009 at 12:40 pm

  18. 2. I was trying to fly home a few days before Christmas and of course as with all holiday travel in Canada, there were delays due to snow storms. My 8 p.m. flight had been moved to 10 o’clock, but there was no mention of a.m. or p.m so I went to the service desk (which was swamped with angry and tired people) to ask if my flight time was that night (10 p.m.) or the next morning (10 a.m.). The agent was confused too and made a few calls. He said, and I quote, “the people who should know don’t know”. He said to come back in 20 min. and he would try to figure it out in the meantime. Well, no less than 5 minutes later, he found me in the ridiculously full lobby (people were even sitting on the floor because there were no seats left), and handed me the last ticket on the last flight to my destination that night. I was so surprised and thankful! I don’t want to name the airline here because despite this good news story, it has managed to screw me over too many times… If you’ve flown in Canada you surely know who I’m talking about.

    posted by Ranger J on 9-11-2009 at 12:41 pm

  19. 2. On the east side of Cleveland there is a chain of independent grocery stores called Zagara’s. (Well, not really a chain, there’s only 2). Anyways, I went there one afternoon to get some beef for some kebabs, and I asked the butcher whether the stewing beef already in cubes would work ok, since it was on sale. He told me that sirloin was the only way to go, went to the back, cut me two packages of sirloin cubes and then labeled it as stew meat. I paid $13 for nearly $30 worth of meat. The same day, I was in the beer section looking for hoogaarden. The kid working in the aisle told me that he thought they were out. while I was waiting for the butcher to cut my sirloin, he came running up to me with a 6-pack of hoogaarden that he found in the back. I love Zagara’s.

    posted by Becky on 9-11-2009 at 12:48 pm

  20. 1. Magma!

    2. I once spent two hours on the phone with a customer service rep from Verizon trying to figure out my wireless internet wouldn’t work. After trying countless things to fix the problem, we at last figured I had two wireless routers hooked up at the same time. I said he deserved a raise for being so patient and polite.

    3. I swear I once got an extra pair of socks in pack.

    4. I’m no longer a student, but if I still were, my resolution would be to join more student organizations.

    posted by Vanessa on 9-11-2009 at 12:49 pm

  21. I’m liking the “Verne Volcanoes” suggestions. I did remember, though, that most elementary schools have less intimidating names than junior high and high schools seeing as they do not play any sports. I was a beagle and pioneer in elementary school.

    Maybe they could do an Oregon Trail tie-in since Happy Valley is in Wilamette Valley. The Verne A. Duncan Wagoneers?

    posted by Carly on 9-11-2009 at 12:53 pm

  22. I was a victim of a bad tornado in Minnesota last year, and my car was destroyed. Not only did Travelers Ins indemnify me for my loss, but gave me more than I had paid for the car originally because I had kept it in such good shape and had very low miles on it. The turn-around time from the claim to being reimbursed was about a week. Fantastic to deal with.

    posted by Anne on 9-11-2009 at 12:57 pm

  23. A few suggestions for the school nickname:

    -The Duncan Sheiks

    -Since Happy Valley is also where Penn St. is found, why not the Nittany Lions.

    -Duncan Hinds (as in deer, but also as in Duncan Hines), but I suppose an elementary school with a nickname that could cause butt jokes is just asking for jokes from all the budding comedians.

    -Sasquatch, or better yet The Cryptids

    -playing off of the name Happy Valley again, they could go with the Lillies or Lillies of the Valley, but that’s not very intimidating (though LotV are poisonous.)

    posted by Craig on 9-11-2009 at 1:06 pm

  24. I was thinking the Duncan Yo-yos…

    posted by Fred on 9-11-2009 at 1:09 pm

  25. Duncan Fifes

    I had two good episodes of customer service in recent memory (and many more bad ones). 1) Grange insurance (the other guy’s co.) is the best I have ever dealt with. While it took Geico over 6 months to settle a very small claim, Grange had me in a rental, at the shop of my choice, my car fixed, a few minor medical bills, plus $500 in my pocket for my trouble. All inside of two weeks.
    2) Kettle potato chips did a great job too. We ordered a Make-a-Chip kit and one of the sample bags was open. I emailed them with the issue, and within a week we had four more bags to replace the one! I love Kettle chips, and I don’t even like potato chips (usually)!

    posted by Hyacinth on 9-11-2009 at 1:15 pm

  26. The colonel’s – Verne Duncan was a colonel.
    The Dear’s/Deer’s – The orginal settlers were the deardorff’s

    posted by Joe on 9-11-2009 at 1:17 pm

  27. Twice we’ve been undercharged at our favorite pizza place and, when we pointed it out, we got free shots for the whole table. And the second time they gave us a pizza free and we still got the shots. Love that place.

    posted by Kristen on 9-11-2009 at 1:26 pm

  28. 1.) The Duncan Covers

    Their logo can be a Conestoga Wagon.

    (also an inside volcano joke for South Park fans)

    posted by Traci on 9-11-2009 at 1:26 pm

  29. 1. Happy Campers

    2. USAA, they were more than helpful after my wreck and even seemed to care that I was really shaken up.

    posted by Victoria on 9-11-2009 at 1:45 pm

  30. 2) I work in customer service myself (not in the typical way, but I deal with a LOT of customers) and I now fully understand how difficult it can be to deal with customers who know absolutely nothing about the product they’ve purchased. Coming from that background and having som abhorrent customer service issues from the customer side, I can honestly say that Apple Computers has some of the BEST customer service I’ve ever encountered. I needed a new battery for my laptop, and had to call them twice (the first time I didn’t have my computer with me). When I called back, they already knew who I was and knew the problem without me repeating it, and after a couple quick checks to make sure there was nothing else they could do, offered to send me a new battery totally free, for my 2-year old computer. The package was at my house in less than 2 days, shipped from California to Canada. Pleasant, knowledgeable, and very competent.

    posted by Bert on 9-11-2009 at 2:05 pm

  31. 1. I think it should be the Verne A. Duncan Elementary Pioneers. Based on a website I found, Pioneers played a huge roll in helping the town get supplies and opening it up to the rest of the state in the 1800′s. A lot of them liked it so much they parked their wagons and stayed for life! found the info on http://www.gustaf.com/hvonweb/hvhist1.htm

    posted by Jamie on 9-11-2009 at 2:18 pm

  32. Whatever the high school does they should add “Boring” to their name because of the nearby Boring Lava Fields. The hilarious mascot possibilities are endless. Try it with these:
    –Lions (in reference to the other Happy Vally’s football team)
    –Eruptions (because of Mt. Scott Volcano)
    –Scott (because naming a team with a person’s first name is just plain funny)
    –Beavers

    posted by steve-o on 9-11-2009 at 2:49 pm

  33. 1. After reading about Vern it turns out he was a politician from Oregon and was called a moderates moderate, so I propose Verne A. Duncan Moderates.
    2. I called Verizon and after being on hold the guy that answered was really cool. He recognized the Pavement CD I was listening to and we talked about music for about fifteen minuets.
    3.

    posted by David on 9-11-2009 at 2:55 pm

  34. 1. I was going for the \Duncan Hines\.

    2. I went to Chick-Fil-A a couple of weeks ago and expected the usual fast food fare – cashiers who can barely understand you and whom you can’t understand at all, dirty floors and tables, and get you out the door quickly service. Despite it being crowded, an employee helped us carry our trays to the table, cleaned the table off for us, got us ketchup packets, and then cleaned our table after we finished!

    3. I once got an award at work that was supposed to have $100 Amex gift card. When I got home and opened it, there were two!

    posted by Martin on 9-11-2009 at 3:19 pm

  35. The Duncan Yo-yo’s

    posted by JaneM on 9-11-2009 at 3:28 pm

  36. 2. I ordered some Godiva chocolate products to be shipped to some friends around Christmas. What was shipped was a package of stuff I did not order. I called Godiva and told them, and without any hassle they shipped the correct products OVERNIGHT and allowed my friends to keep the products shipped in the first package.
    4. I never make New Year’s resolutions. I hate waiting till the beginning of the year to start something I could just start today!

    posted by jamie on 9-11-2009 at 3:36 pm

  37. My husband once opened a package of pop tarts to find THREE inside, instead of the normal two. He was so excited that he saved them for me to see when I came home.

    posted by Julie on 9-11-2009 at 3:41 pm

  38. After reading the quick 10 about football trophies, it seems like a Platypus would be the perfect mascot for this school.

    posted by Craig on 9-11-2009 at 3:48 pm

  39. 1. How about the Verne A. Duncan Elementary Raptors?
    A sweet mascot(as C suggested) and a Star Wars reference, V.A.D.E.R,(as mentioned by Bethany)

    posted by Eli on 9-11-2009 at 4:20 pm

  40. 1. Well, I do like the alliteration created by choosing the Volcano for a mascot. Do not go the NYU route — The Fighting Violets is NOT a good mascot.

    2. I also love USAA. It’s a credit union for family members of service members. I do all of my banking with them, have car and renters insurance, and a car loan. They have consistent, friendly customer service and their services are designed to be flexible for people who move frequently. My glowing accolades have convinced my sister, brother, and 2 friends to join USAA and they are as happy as I am.

    posted by Laura on 9-11-2009 at 4:30 pm

  41. 1. Smiling VADEs! “Smiling” for Happy Valley and “VADE” being the accronym of Verne A. Duncan Elementary. Or instead of “Smiling”, use Duncan – the Duncan Vades. In fact, the mascot could be a Lava Vade, a flame covered (smiling) cartoon critter.
    2. K-Mart is close to my place of work, so I often shop there during my lunch hour. I had bought a $15 robot type transformer toy for my grandson, but it didn’t work at all. I took the item back and the manager could not locate another one in the store. It was right after Christmas. He replaced my defect with a $40 robot at no charge to me.
    3. Taco Bell gave me an extra taco on my take out order. Yum!

    posted by Hummer on 9-11-2009 at 4:48 pm

  42. VADER Raiders! Using the school name as an acronymn again.

    posted by Hummer on 9-11-2009 at 4:52 pm

  43. 1. Pioneers sounds fitting for an elementary school.
    2. My physician is very cool. I was at an appointment, talking about the symptoms of whatever illness I had at the time. Somehow we got into conversation about music and realized we had very similar tastes. He sent me home with a ‘prescription’ of bands to listen to. When I came back in for another visit, about a year later, he asked me which ones I liked and gave me another list of bands. He’s great!
    3.At a self check-out I got $2 back in change instead of $1. The bills stuck together when it came out of the machine and I didn’t realize until I got home. It was only a buck, but it was still cool.

    posted by Dani on 9-11-2009 at 5:01 pm

  44. 1. The Duncan Platypuses (Or Platypi. I just think it’s fun.)

    posted by Pete on 9-11-2009 at 5:07 pm

  45. 1. Verne A. Duncan Vulcans, (referring to Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, volcanoes, and blacksmiths), not the Star Trek planet.

    posted by JohnHo on 9-11-2009 at 5:11 pm

  46. 2. I bought a Fossil watch in the store on a cruise ship in May 2008. One of the pins that holds the watch band to the face kept falling out and less than a month later I’d lost the pin entirely and couldn’t find a replacement. I took the watch to a Fossil store a few months later to see if they could fix it. Instead, the sales woman asked me when I bought it, took my broken watch, and handed me a brand new one identical to my broken one. She never asked for a receipt or anything. I was in awe.

    posted by Erin on 9-11-2009 at 5:16 pm

  47. 1: The Duncan “Lava”, the area sits on an old lava flow, and it has the benefit of being a plural mascot (which I personally like).

    posted by Nate on 9-11-2009 at 5:35 pm

  48. *not

    posted by Nate on 9-11-2009 at 5:37 pm

  49. Anyone else find it weird that DUNCAN was the yacht in one of jules VERNE’s novels and the school is VERNE A. DUNCAN Elementary

    posted by John on 9-11-2009 at 5:38 pm

  50. 1. Duncan Pines

    2. AT&T Store… employees stayed 2 hrs after closing to help me save $200

    3. When I was in the Navy there was a Soda machine that used to give out 3 for 1 cokes.

    posted by Gregg on 9-11-2009 at 5:44 pm

  51. Duncan Kings/ queens or monarchs… or something in relation to Duncan from Macbeth, Education can be fun! Haha I looked up the synonyms for King and found Mogul, Baron and my favourite OVERLORD!

    posted by Shawn on 9-11-2009 at 6:05 pm

  52. 2. I have worked as a customer care rep for several years now, I’m sure most people have no idea how difficult this job can be. I have seen in so many situations in so many places, the nicer you are, the better service you will recieve.

    Bad service? I was at a Denny’s with some friends, one girl asked for a side salad with nothing on it (no onions, tomato etc) and dressing on the side. It came with everything all mixed in on it. When she asked the waitress to take it back, (I swear im not making this up) the waitress says, “Oh I dont care, just eat it anyway” and walked away.

    Another time i went to Taco Bell to complain about an order that was totally messed up (normally i dont complain about stuff like that, but it was majorly messed up). I asked to talk to the manager, turns out she was who i was there to complain about … awkward! i did score some free burritos…

    At a seafood resturant in Orlando, my friend was having a hard time peeling her crab legs, so the waiter came over and gave her a lesson. He was so super cool, but she was still embarrased which just made it funnier. I was really thirsty after a long day of walking, I was drinking tons and tons of water, faster than he could refill my glass. He brough another glass, and refilled 2 at a time so I never ran out.

    3. 2 weeks ago I ordered some chicken strips from KFC, and got like, 3 extras. I’ve also gotten my Mcflurry upsized with extra topping free.

    posted by Ashley on 9-11-2009 at 6:22 pm

  53. The Duncan Donuts was my first thought as well. This IS an elementary school, and few people outside the school will know or care what their mascot is.

    As a serious suggestion, the Colonels does at least tie back to who the man is. Pioneers is OK, but a bit generic.

    posted by Daniel on 9-11-2009 at 7:29 pm

  54. 1. Donuts is the best by far. The Scottish theme is worth pursuing, so how about the Highlanders? Then in a few years they can rename themselves the Yankees and begin a century-long dominance of all the other elementary schools in the area leading to the entire school being actively loathed by pretty much everyone else in the country that doesn’t live there. But I digress…

    2. I work in customer service at Home Depot and let me tell you, lots of those crappy customer service stories are absolutely true, but lots of them are also passed along by customers who won’t be happy no matter what.

    3. When you accidentally get 2 Butterfingers out of the vending machine when the little spiral thing that holds them goes too far.

    3. There was a soda machine at bank where I worked that woulld occasionally give you 2 cans for the price of one. That was even better than living next door to a guy who worked for the local Pepsi bottling plant (free cans of Dew at Halloween!) But then I left that company for one that gave away free beer on Friday afternoons.

    posted by eric! on 9-11-2009 at 7:45 pm

  55. 2. I have always been very impressed with the American Girl catalog customer service center and the associates in their stores (the one in Minneapolis anyway). Several years ago, when my daughter got glasses (at age 4) she really wanted to get glasses for her Bitty Baby (an American Girl product for little girls). There are no glasses specifically for Bitty Babies, so we called their customer service center and asked the rep if she knew if the glasses for the regular American Girls would fit on a Bitty Baby. The rep said “I don’t know. Hang on and I’ll go see.” SHe came back a few minutes later and said “I just tried a pair on a Bitty Baby and they fit great.” We ordered 2 pair from her on the spot. It was wonderful service.

    posted by eric! on 9-11-2009 at 7:53 pm

  56. I read there’s a burgeoning medical industry there, how about: Duncan Doctors?

    posted by Mike 151 on 9-11-2009 at 9:17 pm

  57. 2. I used to eat at a restaurant with the same friend about once per week, and we always drank a TON of iced tea. The waitress knew us, and she’d bring us a whole pitcher of tea – which saved her trips and saved us the aggravation of waiting! She always got a good tip.

    I found two curtain panels in the colors I wanted at Pottery Barn. They were on sale (the only way they were in my price range), and there weren’t any others in the Dallas/FW area. The sales guy tracked down 4 additional panels for me in Seattle, Massachusetts, and California, and had them shipped to my new address. AND I didn’t have to pay shipping. This meant calling the stores to see if they still had the panel, since the database was only updated at the end of each day.

    posted by Megan on 9-11-2009 at 9:32 pm

  58. 1. I haven’t any ideas, but as for elementary schools not having competitive mascots, I was once a Prince of Peace Panther. We kicked ass at track and cross country.
    2. I work in retail so I have had a ton of awful customers. However I’m always glad to go the extra-extra-EXTRA mile if you’re just pleasant. My favourite customers aren’t happy all the time, but they are polite.
    Knowing this I get pretty awesome customer service almost all the time. It rocks a lot. =)
    4. I’m not starting school until January, so my goal is to study all the little things I’ve been interested in. I’m studying magic, sewing, carpentry, and my personal favourite- hedonism.

    reCaptcha: Scott Foghorn. Maybe they could be the Scottish Foghorns?

    posted by Kat on 9-12-2009 at 12:42 am

  59. I remember going to a basketball game with a bus load of people and our dinner choice that night happened to be McDonald’s. Imagine my surprise when I opened my carton and found 12, not 10, McNuggets!

    posted by Acacia on 9-12-2009 at 9:31 am

  60. I had good customer service after a series of bad experiences with the Genius Bar at my local Apple store. My laptop keyboard kept losing keys. They blamed this on me, my child or my dogs. So by the forth time in I had to ask for documentation that I had been in that many times because they claim not to keep records. By the 5th time,documentation in hand, the guy (Dan) that helped me just said “OK we’re sending this out for a new keyboard.” Thanks Dan.

    The only time I got extra stuff, I ordered baby cereal online. I ordered 4 boxes. I got 8. I gave 3 to a neighbor with an infant… figured it was good for my karma

    posted by Di on 9-12-2009 at 12:56 pm

  61. The Pioneers?

    posted by Sara in AL on 9-12-2009 at 4:10 pm

  62. 1) How about something ironic like the Duncan Downers of Happy Valley
    2)Sadly, I can’t recall the last time I was wowed with good service
    3)I ordered a guitar book on ebay and got it sent two.
    4) Read before bed instead of TV

    posted by JeffM on 9-12-2009 at 4:54 pm

  63. 1. The Jewels (haha…Jules…Verne…)
    2. Apple overnight Fed-Exed me software that was lost in the mail!
    3. one egg…two yolks!

    posted by Heather on 9-12-2009 at 10:32 pm

  64. 1) The Young Patriots
    2) Amsterdams red light district…enough said
    3) An extra woman in my bed, she was not there when I fell asleep….stupid Jameson.

    posted by CJ on 9-12-2009 at 11:05 pm

  65. 1) I like the Oregon Trail reference. Maybe something about dying of dysentery?

    posted by Ryan on 9-13-2009 at 8:42 pm

  66. 1. I can’t help but point out that Mt. Scott, according to ever-reliable Wikipedia, is part of the Boring Lava Field. You read that right. Snigger.

    I propose: the Verne A. Duncan Condors.
    Or the the Explorers.
    Or the Beavers.

    3. My Wii came with two copies of Wii Sports. Freak out.

    4.

    posted by Jacko on 10-3-2009 at 10:09 pm

Comment

commenting policy