It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Christmas Eve and I'm a happy elf - wrapping presents, baking a ton of stuff that I normally wouldn't eat. I even went grocery shopping (battling the other three thousand people that needed to run to Kroger today). By the way apparently chicken breast and fat free cream of mushroom soup are the big sellers - sold out!! How do you sell out of cream of mushroom soup and chicken breast??? Isn't that kind of a staple like bread and milk?

Anyway, I got all my shopping done. My house smells like a cookie factory. Most of the presents are wrapped. I'm ready!

So today's Santa Claus is all things Christmas - Jesus being born, mangers, going to church, family, sparkling light, Santa (of course), presents, cookies, food... do I need to keep going?

Merry Christmas everyone!

PS no Grinch post tomorrow - hello its Christmas!!!!

Road Raging

You all know this Grinch. Bad drivers. Do I need to say more? At times we've probably all been guilty of making other drivers want to scream. But I'm talking habitual offenders. Those people that probably never should have gotten a license in the first place. Cringe-worthy drivers that make you want to dive for cover or yell obscenities. This post is for you Bad Driver Grinch...

Mr. Traffic Signs Don't Apply to me. What speed limit? Road ends? I think I'll just keep going, those other cars will move. This is the jerk going 75 in a 55 and driving in a lane that clearly ends in 10 feet. This is the guy who you drive past every day. And every day you both pass the "do not cross solid white line" sign and while you wait patiently in the right lane Mr. I Don't Read Traffic Signs flies by in the left, throws his signal on at the last second and tries to cut in front of you. Hey, Grinch, that sign that said no passing - that meant you. That sign that said 55, I don't care if you go 75 but do it in the left lane - not tailgating me and shouting at me like I'm doing something wrong for going 60. And I see you every day so its not like you didn't realize the lane ended - it's been like that since the Model T.

Mrs. Soccer Mom. I know you drive a mini-van with your 2.5 kids in the back and three dogs. Nice sticker family by the way. But I don't need you swerving into my lane because you're trying to check your kids homework, talk on the phone, put on make-up and break up a fight. Pull over.

Ms Hot Shot New Driver. Glad your dad bought you a new compact car and you've now crammed ten of your besties in. I don't even know what to say for this one.... Go to driving school maybe?

Mr. Sunday Driver Only It's 7:00 am on a Tuesday.... I know you think it's appropriate to go 25 in a 55 but it's not. And it's certainly not ok in the left lane.

I'm sure there are more Grinch drivers. I see them every day going to work. It's the habitual offenders that really tick me off. We all have our moments, changing the radio station, chatting on the phone... just try to pay attention. And if you see any of the Grinches mentioned above give them a wave...

Rocking Around The Christmas Tree

My Santa Claus today is Christmas songs. How can you be upset with Christmas songs playing? It's like an instant pick-me up and I'm loving that Sirius has at least three channels (that I know of) rocking the Christmas tunes.

What are you favorite songs? Here are a few of mine (I'll probably think of more once I post):

White Christmas
Silent Night
So This is Christmas
Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer
The Hanukkah Song
Auld Lang Syne - the Kenny G version he did back in like 2000 or so with the newsclips - I will cry everytime
Bells Will Be Ringing
Christmas Shoes
Grown Up Christmas List
Same Old Lang Syne
Holly Jolly Christmas
Silver and Gold
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Last Christmas
Silver Bells
Santa Baby

Yikes ok so I like a lot of Christmas songs... I know I've totally forgotten some though... let me know your favorites!

Snow - A Santa Or A Grinch?

Snow. For little kids you hear a scream of joy (visions of snowball fights, snow angels, snowmen fill their head). For adults there is this groan (unless you're a school teacher because around here you're guaranteed to get out of work for even the chance of flurries). There's a mad rush to the grocery store (apparently we can't live without milk and bread). The frantic watching of TV in hopes your work or school closed. Then the waiting. I for one did get the obligatory milk but also margarita mix and champagne to help wait it out.

Part of me still likes snow. How can you not like it? It's so beautiful and everything just sparkles, especially with all the Christmas lights. The other part of me that knows it would take a massive blizzard for my work to close dreads it. That part reads up to 12 inches as meaning "great, I might get in an accident on the way to work on Monday".

The funny thing is in NJ my work was super flexible about snow. Come in if you can, if you can't not a big deal. They plow roads in NJ and there isn't as much ice so driving in snow ends up being not as huge of a deal as driving in snow and ice in VA. Still my first snow storm up there we got 18 inches (which was more than I had seen in awhile coming from VA). I was like a little kid playing outside with K's dogs, enjoying a snow day and the best part - roads were clean by mid-day so off to the mall or Starbucks.

I'm not going to bash my job specifically here (even though their policy is they won't close unless its some earth shattering event) but I'm going to bash companies in general that don't think 12 inches is enough to close. My dad called me this morning to tell me the mall was opening at 8am. Is it really worth it for Victoria Secret (or anywhere else) to open and drag some poor high school kid out of bed? I mean they may get five customers all day - fools that drive SUV's and saw the commercials and think they can tackle a snowbank. We'll be lucky to be plowed out on Monday.

I can understand companies that say essential personnel - like fire departments, police, hospitals, security, power companies. But the key here is essential personnel - you don't really need the VP's secretary back in the office to get the hospital running, or the power back on, or the police out on the roads. Essential personnel should be people that you need to keep the city going not randoms. Essential personnel knew when they got hired - get an SUV for the few times you might need it to get to work. They get overtime or extra money or whatnot. I don't get extra money to try to navigate my 2000 Mazda though 12 inch snowbanks. My car couldn't even get in the driveway last night and there was barely an inch on the ground. Now I'm hoping I'm far enough in my yard that a plow or some stupid kid doing donuts in the street won't hit it.

So snow is my Santa and my Grinch. I like seeing it for all of an hour or maybe even half a day on Saturday. But I'm ready for 80 degree weather and to melt all of this away. I'm convinced I was born to live somewhere with a beach and warm weather all year - I just need to win the lottery first.

Santas and Grinches - Oh My

So I try to take my own advice and think of something awesome happening to me but today it's not working and my sister called to say hi and I ended up venting to her for ten minutes until which point she said she had to go. I don't blame her. But sometimes you have to vent and sometimes letting it out helps.

I was reading this Good Housekeeping article that said women cry more than men and it went on and on about why but it wasn't like I was shocked about this statistic. It actually makes me feel better sometime to just let everything out whether venting or just sobbing into my pillow until I'm drained of all the negative energy.

So my Grinch today I don't really want to talk about... but basically I'm a little irritated by something, we'll leave it at that. And my Santa is my sister for actually listening to me and not saying that's nice. She actually agreed with me so I know I'm not a raging lunatic on this one. So love you Sis. :)

Santas and Grinches

So I missed yesterday and would probably miss today except I feel guilty not writing as if this is some mandatory assignment not something I just made up. This whole Santa/Grinch thing has gotten me thinking about the holidays and being grateful. Too often (and I've said this before) we look at the world half empty - that things aren't going our way. And perhaps we're our own worse Grinches - grumbling through, complaining about the little things when really our life isn't that bad. So today, even though it's a Grinch. I want to challenge everyone to be their own Santa Claus - to figure out something good that's happening to you right this second and when something negative happens think about that. It could be something small - like a killer pair of heels, or your favorite team winning a game or it could be big - like a new baby, buying your house. You get the idea.

I got this idea because I've noticed at work when I get tired or frustrated. Or it's just one of those days. I take a second and think about coming home later. The house is nice and quite. C is so happy to see me (puppies are a nice self-esteem boost - K and I are the coolest people in her little world). And I just relish for a second that in her day - my coming home is the best thing that could have happened to her. Suddenly that big assignment seems doable - because to C I'm a superhero and if that's not something special I don't know what is...

Santas = Good Customer Service

So I know I should write a Grinch today but I pretty much Grinch'd out from Friday and Saturday. So here is my missing Santa Claus post for Saturday, instead.

I complained a lot about stores and companies with bad customer service. (Shame on you companies!) That I feel the need to write about companies I've had good experience with... because if nothing else they deserve the recognition for a job well done.

The funny thing is thinking about good customer service is harder - because sometimes good customer service is simply completing the job as promised.

Like take Amazon for instant. I have never had to call them for anything. Everything I've ever ordered has shown up intact and on-time. Is this good customer service or simply doing what was promised when I placed my order? In a way I think it's good customer service since bad customer service seems to run wild. But the part of me that isn't jaded - thinks no this simply what was promised when I gave them my credit card. Good customer service is going the extra mile. It's making sure your customers not only get what was promised when they walk through the door, they walk out feeling good (and in turn loyal to the store).

One of my best examples of this is The Limited at VCC. I used to like The Limited - it had cute work outfits, a little pricey but good sales. Then I started going to the store at VCC and I fell in love with The Limited. Half of what I own or more comes from that store. If I go to VCC I'm going in The Limited whether I need something or not. And what changed my attitude about a store that I liked but didn't have to go to into something I can't live without? Well, their clothes and sales help but the sales people in the store always act like nothing you ask is going out of the way. I'm not talking about kissing your ass nice. I'm talking normal friendly - a hi when you walk in, a quick can I help you. It's starting a dressing room when you're holding multiple garments. It's being helpful but not annoying. And because I go there so often they remember me and well go out of there way to point out new things.

In response to my blog post on NY and Co here is how they should have handled the situation of me wanting to try on the shirt. It was late and K and I had swung by the mall after dinner to pick up one thing. I had begged him into running into The Limited when I saw "the dress". It was the prettiest blue and so simple but elegant. I had to try it on. They had a four and an eight so I scooped them up and ran into the dressing room. Let me tell you right now it's almost 9:00 pm (closing time). I try on the dresses, the eight is too big, the four is a tad too small (you know the type of outfit you're afraid to dry or eat too much because it might not fit). I was bummed. The sales girl offered to call another mall for me but I said no, it was ok.

We started to leave and there in the window was the dress on a mannequin. I rushed back inside and dashed into the display. It was a six. I found the sale associate and asked her if I could try it on. I fully expected since they were five minutes away from closing a no but she dutifully got the dress of the mannequin and let me try it on. She never complained to my face. She said it was no problem and let me know if I needed anything else. I bought the dress.

But it's more than the dress (which I wear all the time), its the fact that she not only did her job, she went out of her way to do her job well. She could have grumbled that I should try on something else or refused to undress the mannequin and I would have probably been okay with it since it was so late but she smiled and said okay.

So kudos The Limited.

The sad thing is this is one of the only stores I can think of off the top of my head where a company went out of their way to do something for me. I'm sure there are others but I'm so discouraged about customer service these days they aren't flowing freely. So share your own good stores about companies and stores and if I can think of others I'll add them.

The Customer Service Grinch Part 2

Ok so my last odd day I talked about the bad telephone customer service so today my Grinch is the bad in person customer service.

I'm telling this to all business people - customer service is key (well and good products). You could have great products, great prices and lousy customer service and people won't come back. People want to feel like they are valued and that you appreciate them spending money in your store. Otherwise I have hundreds of other options I could go to instead.

Now, I'm not going off the customer is always right principal or you have to kiss the customer's ass. I'm saying act like a decent human being - be kind, be helpful, be respectful. If a customer gets an attitude with you - take a deep breath and smile and listen. Half the time that's all they want anyway - is someone to let them vent. And it wouldn't kill you to try to make whatever their problem is go away (replace the broken merchandise, give them a coupon, whatever...).

I'm going to stop here and say I worked retail for about three years and all my jobs since I've had to deal with clients/customers/outside and inside people. So I'm not saying this as a whining customer. I've had to deal with real jerks but I always take a deep breath and realize how I act reflects on my company.

So here are my examples. I'll try to be brief and funny.

1. NY and CO SPTC Mall Grinch
Ok I was nice and didn't use names in the other blog and in this one I won't except in instances where I actually complained about service and still didn't get good treatment.

So I head off to this pretty ritzy mall that's in the suburbs of Richmond. I decided to go in NY and Co and browse. Now, I had come straight from work so I wasn't dressed in sweats or looking like a bum (which can affect service although it shouldn't). I go in the store and there are two people working - one girl was at the register and then went into the back and the other was close to the door folding sweaters. Neither said hi when I came in. I thought ok - like I said I don't need my ass kissed but since I'm the only person in the store it wouldn't kill you to say "Welcome to New York and Co". So I walk around and find this shirt on a mannequin I want to try on. I look around the store twice (walking by the sales person each time) looking for said shirt out on the floor. Does the woman even once look up or ask me if she could help me - no. Finally, I check the size on the mannequin and it's my size. I go over to the woman who is still folding shirts and say "Excuse me."
She looks up and waits.
"Do you have anymore of the red shirt on display over there?" I point to the mannequin.
"That's the only one."
"Well, it's my size do you mind if I take it off of her and try it on. I think it's cute."
"Could you try something else on instead?"
Excuse me? "I really want to try that shirt on. It's in my size."
"I'd rather you try on another shirt and if you decide you want to buy that shirt I'll take it off."
First, I'm not buying a shirt that I don't even know what it looks like on. And second, I don't get the reasoning on trying on any random shirt instead of that one.
I take a deep breath, "I'd really rather just try that shirt on."
"Well I don't want to take it off the mannequin."
At this point I want to punch this girl but since I'm not a violent person and I don't have any desire to be arrested. I manage to smile at her. Let me explain too this isn't some bratty teenager bored and pissed she's making $8 an hour. This is an adult - a woman who was probably older than I was. "Ok that's fine. I'll go to VCC then."
"Do you want me to call for you and see if they have it?"
"Don't bother." I snapped and walked out.

Now I was going to drop it and not say anything but then I got to thinking. The economy sucks and I was basically begging to buy something in your store and you're going to cop an attitude with me. I don't think so. So I emailed NY and Co from their website. I praised the VCC store (b/c they do have good customer service and I've never had a problem) and then told my story about the SPTC store and the sales assistant. I thought I would hear back - at least an email saying they were sorry for the bad experience, etc. NOTHING.

So not only do they have bad in-store customer service but whoever monitors their website is horrible too. So I don't care if they know I'm bashing them I hope it's a wake-up call because I will never shop at the store at SPTC again and I've made sure to tell my family about the horrible service as well.

2. Steak Restaurant Grinch

So I won't say the name of the restaurant because this didn't actual happen to me but to someone in the group I was with. He ordered a salad and had started to eat it when he found a piece of balloon in the salad. He told the waitress, who never apologized and made him pay for the second salad. WTF. I would have pitched a major fit on that one but he was too nice.

3. La De Da XYZ Company Grinch

Ok this one has to be a little more discreet.... basically I work with this company pretty regularly. They regularly cop an attitude, ignore requests, and generally pull a "I'm more intelligent and cooler than you" attitude. It's annoying and disrespectful. Yeah, ok you won't like all of our ideas but what part of we're paying you to just do the job do you not understand? And when you don't like a request - try just saying nicely why you don't think it will work.... Enough on this.

4. Department Store Grinch

I won't say who this is just because it did end up getting resolved. I ordered a tool set for K two Christmas's ago. It was on special and they had sold out. The guy in the store swore up and down they were getting a shipment the next week. Well the next week turned into December 22. I waited it out. I called constantly. I drove down there to see if it had come in. I never got a straight answer about when or where the tool kit was. December 22 came and went and no tool kit. I complained. I pitched a fit that it was a Christmas gift, that the sales associate promised it would be here. I got a few lame I'm sorry's and the guy should never have promised me... I finally got the tool kit in February! I will say they ended up giving me a huge discount on top of the sale but still....

So sorry for the long post. I'll probably come up with more experiences after I post this but I'll just add them later. Tomorrow I'll post some Santa Claus's of customer service (my little brag post to all the stores and companies I love).

Christmas Party Santa

Tonight was my work Christmas party. I know some of you may groan and be like augh that stupid event that HR or some committee puts on where everyone stands around listening to crappy music and drinking watered down punch from paper cups (ok that might have happened on The Office - I don't know). But I like Christmas parties - work or otherwise. Work ones are always interesting because people are 1. happy (they are out of work and drinking) and 2. out of their element (so you learn things you might not have known). And Christmas parties with friends are fun because its a nice excuse to just get dressed up and celebrate. So cheers!

Grinches Attack By Phone

Grinches. The thought of one can send chills down your spine. A growing sense of dread beats in your heart. You steel your nerves and confront them.

I was all set to write about traffic Grinches today but alas they will have to wait for another odd day as today will be devoted to another Grinch.

I’m going to divide this Grinch up over two odd days (today: bad telephone customer service Grinch and Friday: bad customer service Grinch). Now you could argue they are one and the same but I’m saying if anything they are twins – equally annoying and aggravating but in the end separate beast. I know stores that have excellent customer service in their store but once you get them on the phone you’re talking to a third world country with a bad phone connection, limited English and no earthly idea about their products.

So The Bad Telephone Customer Service Grinch (TBTCS for short – mainly because I can’t write that out five times without getting a cramp)… what can you say. You know calling any major company you’re probably going to run into this Grinch. Not running into him and running into a Santa Claus instead is pretty rare. You want to leap through the phone and hug the person for the sheer fact that they are nice, helpful, speak English, and are not a computer. Now I want to say up front I’m not here to bash companies that outsource their customer service to other countries – I have dealt with companies that do this and still get excellent service (I’ve never had a problem with Capital One for example) but for the most part it’s the worse. It would be the same if they outsourced to the backwoods of Arkansas and you’re trying to decode an accent and local dialect. So it has nothing to do with where the person is and more to do with one’s ability to understand them and they you. That and my biggest pet peeve - bad customer service. If they had half way decent, trained customer service reps answering the phone they wouldn't even be a Grinch!

So let’s talk about what bad customer service looks like… even better I can give you examples. Against my better judgment I will leave out company names to protect them when really I want to shout from the rooftops that their staff needs better training.

Round One: Large Entertainment Provider vs. Poor Consumer
Calling re. product no longer getting reception.

Grinch: Thank you for calling xyz, my name is Bob, how can I assist you today?
Me: Hi Bob, my radio is no longer working and I was wondering what I can do to correct the problem.
Grinch: I can offer you a great deal on a new radio. 50% off. Today only.
Me (grumbling as Bob has now turned into a used car salesman): Thanks Bob. My old radio is ok but every now and then it gets full of static and asked to update channels.
Grinch: 50% is a great offer.
Me: I think it’s the antenna – can I buy a new antenna anywhere?
Grinch: Oh I’m sorry, we no longer make your radio. Would you like to buy a new one?
Me: No.
Grinch (actually turning into a Santa for a minute lowers his voice): Well, I could get in trouble for telling you this but you should try abc electronics.

Round Two: Large Department Store vs. Poor Consumer
Calling re. Department Store computer phone service calling me repeatedly about a delivery. I finally connect with a human after navigating a computer, being told I got connected to the wrong department and need to hang up and call again, getting disconnected and waiting for 30 minutes (not kidding) on hold.

Grinch: Thank you for calling Department Store. Please verify your phone number starting with the area code.
Me (thinking already did this twice with computer, once with Grinch who got disconnected. Smile.): Give phone number.
Grinch: Great and your full name.
Grinch: And your address.
Grinch: And what did you order?
Me (does she not have a computer that she can look all this up on? Seriously their security is better than my bank).
Grinch: And it shows here that you are set to get your appliances on Friday.
Me: Yes, I'm calling because your computer system keeps calling me. Yesterday it said Friday. Today it called and said it was delayed and wasn't shipping to the store until Friday.
Grinch: It says here Friday.
Me: Okay, well I just wanted to check...
Grinch rambles about having an 18 year old present and me getting a third call from the computer announcing the time on Thursday.
Me: I just want to make sure... I took a day off from work.
Grinch repeats the part about being 18 and the third phone call.
Me (frustrated): Okay, well see you Friday.
Grinch: Would you like a complimentary quote for a kitchen redesign?
Me (already having told another Grinch no): We're not interested.

Well I could go on and on but I'll probably only be amusing myself. Everyone knows dealing with a company over the phone is nothing short of pure hell. I push zero frantically hoping against hope an operator will pick up instead of reciting my name and phone number to a computer. I'm not sure how to rid yourself of this Grinch its a necessary evil and since most companies are about saving money over customer service I doubt it will go away anytime soon.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Ahhh Christmas. Thinking about it gives me chills. I turn into an anxious six-year-old girl dutifully arranging homemade sugar cookies onto a plate, pouring a glass of milk and writing my note to Santa and my elf Shorty. The elf thing is a long story but started back when it was okay to say Christmas in school and the teacher had us write to Santa. Instead of Santa writing back an elf did, saying how busy Santa was but he was so glad to hear from us... anyway...

As I was saying Christmas just makes me happy. And the thing that makes me the happiest is all the traditions. So I'm not waiting for the Toy's R Us Toy Book anymore but I might still sneak a peak and wish I was still young enough to play with Barbies. And I'm not too grown up to admit that I still look forward to Christmas specials. How can you not love Rudolph?

And one of the best things ever is that where I live Santa comes along on the fire truck every year. They publish the route and days in the local paper. I actually have it written in my calendar so I don't forget. It's this Sunday!!! I'll try to post photos but my camera is notoriously bad at taking photos at night.

It's not just the bells and whistles of putting up a tree and singing carols. It's going to church at 11 and walking out in silence holding a candle. It's laying under the tree and just watching the lights twinkle. It's relaxing. I'll even say you could mediate doing it. It's the extra time with friends and family.

7 Grinches Grinching...

So the title doesn't make sense but my blog my rules. Today the biggest Grinch to all workers - Monday Morning. Is there anything worse that waking up to the sound of an alarm clock knowing you have five full days before the weekend? I love my job (well most of the time) but I dread Mondays. I think there would be nothing better than four day work weeks and three day weekends - or four day weekends would be nice too. So I'm counting down the days until our office is closed for Christmas and I have a few blissful days to do nothing but watch bad TV, hang out with family and friends, eat lots of food and open presents.

Baby It's Cold Outside... 1 Grinch and 1 Claus for C

So I skipped a day and I had to force myself to come up with something for today. I could come up with a witty excuse but really I just wanted to finish up some projects around the house. And even now I'm procrastinating reading entertainment blogs...

But to the topic at a hand - a Grinch for yesterday and a Claus for today.

Yesterday we took C to her make-up puppy class and to get her photo with Santa. You paid $10 for the photo but half the money went to the Humane Society to help homeless pets. I hate thinking about homeless pets - they make me want to cry. Those animal abuse commercials come on and I have to change the channel. I can't bare to look at those poor little faces. So my Grinch today is all those people that hurt animals. Really? You're such a man (or woman) you have to hit an animal for no reason? Grow up psychos. And if you can't afford your animal anymore you can't do him or her the common courtesy of finding them a new home? There is no way in hell I would just leave C on the side of a road somewhere - the thought actually makes me want to cry. And even those she's decided to chew on three pairs of my favorite shoes I'm not going to hit her for it. I might yell about it but in the end it was my fault for not watching her.

Maybe having C makes me more aware but even before her I loved animals (I had three bunnies and a dog growing up). I will study faces of lost pets hoping I can find them (not that I actually go out and look but if the animal happens to stumble into my yard). I called the non-emergency police number before because I saw this lady leaving cages outside of a dumpster. The police sent out the Animal Rescue people who actually called me back to thank me because it's a crime to just abandon your animal. It turns out the lady I called the police on actually was catching wild cats to rehabilitate but she actually told the police she wished more people would call because then the cats wouldn't be abandoned so I still feel good about that.

So in answer to the Animal Hating Grinch my Claus is all those people that actually do something to help the animals. The people at Pet Smart that volunteered to dress like Santa, hold C and take her picture all to get a $5 donation. I think that's pretty awesome. We talked to the guy who was Santa while we waited and he was really nice - he'd been dressing up and doing this for years. He said he really enjoyed it. He actually just came over and hugged C and played with her. She was a little scared at first (which never happens). He said the weirdest pets he had to hold were two pythons. He's braver than me because there is no way in hell I would hold those things. So props to the volunteers at Pet Smart, and the lady rehabilitating cats, and even those celebrities showing me sad photos of cats and dogs... take down those Grinches one by one! :)

Even Santa Has To Eat...

So today I'm a little strapped to find goodness in people. Maybe because C has taken to destroying random pairs of shoes that happen to fall out of my work bag and I've spent half the night trying to get her out from under the Christmas tree.... ahh the joys of owning a dog.

But I said a Claus could be anything that makes you happy. Tonight we went out to dinner to Strawberry Street Cafe. Visit their website here. If you are ever in Richmond and are looking for a nice local place with awesome food.... look no further than Strawberry Street. I swear I've been there more this year than in my entire life. Why do I suddenly have cravings for a salad made from a salad bar in a bathtub? I don't know but their peppercorn dressing could have something to do with it. And don't get me started on the soups - they are nothing short of delicious.

So Santa can have his cookies, I'll stick with Strawberry Street.

The Grinch That Won't Take You Seriously

You know those people the ones that won't take you seriously (WTYS Grinch for short), lets just put it this way they're mildly annoying on a good day and downright aggravating on a bad day. WTYS Grinches come in multiple forms:

1. The Talk To You Like A Child WTYS Grinch is the person that uses a voice only appropriate for small children and dogs and only then if they've been loaded up on sugar and need to be spoken to as if they might go off in a rage at any second. These Grinches are one step away from saying "and what do you think little girl?" but of course your opinion doesn't really matter to them because in their eyes you will always be five years old.

2. The My Ideas Are Better Than Your Ideas WTYS Grinch is the one with loads more experience and age on you. Any idea you bring up is stupid simply for the reason that "did I mention I have forty years experience doing xyz" and "how old are you again?". There is nothing more infuriating then this Grinch. First off, it's never appropriate to question a person's education or age unless said person is a royal jerk or spouting off ideas like they want to do Wine Wednesdays for the next staff meeting. But alas with this Grinch your ideas can never be good enough "because you are just too young and inexperienced to get it."

3. The I don't have time for you WTYS Grinch. This Grinch is just too damn busy to slow down for two seconds and listen to you. They won't listen anyway because they're going to do exactly what they want to do and to hell with your ideas.

4. The I'm Going To Say Your Idea Sucks and Then Steal It WTYS Grinch (sorry for the long name). This Grinch will act as if your idea is quite possibly the dumbest idea known to mankind to your face and then turn around and use your idea in the meeting. "Did I hear you say that, no you must be mistaken because Silly Girl I came up with it." Rolling of eyes.

5. The I'm More Important Than You WTYS Grinch - easily mistaken for Grinch 2 this Grinch doesn't like your ideas simply for the fact that they are obviously more important than you are. This is either due to Grinch's false sense of self (Grinch really isn't that important) or Grinch's job title, education, social status, etc. Grinch believes in own ideas so much that you're ideas can't possibly be good for the simple fact that said Grinch did not come up with them.

I could go on and on (feel free to add your own in comments) but the key with Grinches is you have to take away their power. You have to make them see (through Christmas carols maybe) that they are wrong.

So how do you take down a WTYS Grinch? I don't have all the answers... I was hoping you did! But here are a few things that I've learned.

For Grinch 1. There isn't much you can do. Said person is a real jerk and no matter how old you are will continue to refer to you as "doll" and "you're too young to understand". Ignore said Grinch.

As for the other Grinches they make me work harder. Tell me I can't do something or my idea is horrible and I will fight tooth and nail to make sure my idea not only succeeds but does ten times better than your idea. These Grinches won't hold me down, irritating as they are, they motivate me. Tell me I can't pass a upperclassman class as freshman - watch me break the curve and have you begging me to help you study, tell me I can't get a dream job - watch me go in there and wow them. So Grinches beware...