Random Monday Thoughts

"Random Monday Thoughts." I might make this a new feature on the blog. We'll see. I just figured that since most folks have today off, I could mail in the segues and just write a bunch of unrelated stuff that wouldn't rate as a full post by itself. So here goes.

1. Telephone Tips: Believe it or not, your calls are important to us. Really. We like talking with our customers and helping them get what they need. Sometimes we get busy, or it's midnight and we're not here, and you'll get our voicemail. If you do, please make sure to leave a 10-digit phone number where we can reach you during the day. Don't assume that we know your area code, and don't leave more than 10 digits, as we don't know which 10 to choose.
   
   And if you don't hear back from us, please call us back instead of telling everyone you know that we have lousy customer service. We want to call you back, but we can't if we don't understand your phone number.
   
2. Blogger was down on Friday afternoon, which is why I never got to my other big announcement last week. I'm not getting to it today, either, because sending out information on a Monday holiday is like putting a billboard on top of Mount Everest.
   
3. Sometimes our packages show up early. It happened at Christmas, and it happened again last week. Why? Our friends at UPS have a policy of moving things as fast as they can during the busy times, and Valentine's is second only to Christmas for shipping. We do our best to get things there on the day you specify, but we are at the mercy of our shipping partners. I'll throw a nod to a competitor who shall remain nameless for turning this occasional event into a bonus. In their shipping information, they say, "May arrive early at no extra charge." That's good marketing.
   
4. Buy a King Cake, but do it soon. We're closing orders for these on Thursday, if not sooner. Remember that you'll be helping a Louisiana bakery recover with each purchase. I'm thrilled with the response so far from our customers, who have moved the King Cakes into our Top-10 products faster than anything we've ever offered on the site.
   
5. Finally, it seems that NBC is lamenting poor ratings for the Torino Olympics. I'll give you three reasons why they're down: First, the lackluster performance of Team USA, especially on the ski slopes, where it's like watching a train wreck. Then again, Americans love watching train wrecks, so that's only part of the problem.
   
   Second, the fact that we know the results before the broadcast. That always cripples the ratings for an overseas Olympics. Would you rather watch Bode Miller when you know he's been disqualified or watch the always unpredictable American Idol? I'd rather watch the Olympics, but I've got to go out of my way to avoid the coverage.
   
   Third, too damn many commercials. Those "Life takes Visa" spots have become such a pervasive nuisance that I'm reaching for the remote at the first sign of a break. More than once I've seen NBC come out of a commercial break, run about two minutes of coverage, and then go back to commercials. There's too many breaks, and too many repeats of the same ads. If I wasn't going to buy a Chevy the first 7 times I saw the ad during the Opening Ceremonies, I'm not going to buy one now. In fact, I'm so annoyed that I won't buy one ever, and I may even tell my friends not to buy them, in the hope that they run out of advertising dollars so I can enjoy two-man bobsleigh without screaming at the TV every time I hear the Olympic theme played on car horns.
   
   The incessant advertising has made watching the games a chore. Couple that with already knowing the day's results, and you've got a healthy audience for "House" over on Fox. NBC would do well to follow the "less is more" rule and give us 15-minute blocks of programming with higher-priced commercial breaks in between. IF Chevy and Visa want to buy all the spots, let them sponsor the night. Fox did that successfully with Ford for a couple of "24" premieres.
   
   Just stop ambushing us with the same ads over and over again. It's like going to one of those "salespeople on commission" stores and having people jump at you with sales pitch every time you turn a corner. I don't shop in those stores.
   
   And I'm not watching those Olympic commercial breaks, but I'm trying to watch the games themselves. I guess that puts me in the minority.