1-800-FLOWERS Can Suck It

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This is NYCWD. Poppy is not here today, so I am guest posting on her blog. Her absence is not because she was deeply hurt by the lack of appreciation she was shown while trying to demonstrate the bubbles from Saturday via video in yesterday’s post that was requested by you, her friends. No, that has nothing to do with it whatsoever.
/sarcasm

Valentines Day
Image by Chaddycakes via Flickr

I have had a long relationship with 1-800-FLOWERS. I’ve used them for years to send flowers and things to people out of state, and with the eventual collapse of the local florist industry for people in the city as well. I spend, on average (between birthdays, special occasions, and of course Valentine’s Day) around $1,000 a year. I also have some purchasing power in my job that gives them an additional $2,000-$4,000 worth of business.

I am used to their fuck ups. No, really. I expect them to be somewhat delayed during the big holidays of Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. This is why I try to get things delivered a little early during these holidays. I even pay a little extra for it. This year’s service however has insured I will never use 1-800-FLOWERS again for anything!

On February 11 I ordered a dozen red roses to be delivered to Poppy’s place of business. I put all the actual specifics into the order form for business deliveries and set the date for February 13. Sadly, Poppy did not receive her flowers by 5:00pm on February 13. A call to 1-800-FLOWERS customer service gave the regular explanation of high volume, traffic, busy day, blah, blah, blah. I accepted this. I just asked that the flowers be delivered before noon on Monday February 16.

I am a loving and considerate consumer.

Monday I got an e-mail confirmation at 11:54am that the flowers had been delivered. I called Poppy and asked how her flowers were. She was getting Subway (yum) and would let me know when she got back to the office.

She called me about 20 minutes later and guess what? No flowers. So I called 1-800-FLOWERS again. The customer service was apologetic and whatnot and tried calling the florist… but after 20 minutes of trying and getting voicemail it was determined they were out to lunch. They had the signer of the flowers on their system as being “Y“. Yes… the signer was the Letter Y. I expressed this was unacceptable. They agreed and sent a message to the actual florist. I told them I wanted resolution today… and they said they would call me back.

They never called me back. However, Sam the florist called Poppy at 4:45pm and laid a guilt trip on her for working a 9-5 job because he wanted to send the flowers out that day.

Sam upset the Poppy.

The Poppy called the Dawggy.

The Dawggy called Sam.

Sam is obviously a fucking moron. He tried putting the blame of the false confirmation elsewhere stating he was the “third party”. He did not understand that the confirmation he had 1-800-FLOWERS send was fraud, that he was responsible for this fuck up, or that he needed to resolve it without being a nasty fuck. He continued to insist he was just the “third party”. I then reminded him that he was the “third party” since fucking Friday, and therefore my “first party” will be coming to his “third party” place of business, that I got from a reverse phone look-up, for a “blanket party” if things were not rectified.

Sam understood this last portion of the conversation.

Poppy got her flowers yesterday.

1-800-FLOWERS lost at least $3,000 worth of business over this debacle simply because they failed to follow up with their promise to call me back and instead expected their Brooklyn fraudulent confirming delivery florist to do the right thing.

Posted on February 18th 2009 in Don't fuck with the Poppy, Real news, Word to the wise

I think you’ve confused me for someone who…

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…ever makes up her mind. I’m not keeping any particular blog template. I’m fucking around with templates until I find the one I like, if that ever happens. I hate the one I had. The cool features stopped working a long time ago and that’s enough to make me hate it. So, blog template: I HATE YOU. Plus the smilies stopped displaying after the 2.7 update so… meh.

…doesn’t know what she means. (Yes, contrary Poppy puts these two back to back. You love that about me.) So, the kid behind the counter at the Columbus Circle Barnes & Noble actually said to me of my Windows Server 2008 Inside Out purchase: “If you find you’ve purchased the wrong book for your server just bring us the receipt with the book.” Yah, no asshole. I really meant to buy that book, hence my schlep in the snowstorm all the way to your fucking store. And when I went back to my office I also really meant to buy Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Resource Kit. But not from you.

…wants to watch you get your physical on. A few employees were having physicals performed in the lunch room. This included standing on chairs to be measured and HAVING THEIR FUCKING BLOOD DRAWN. One of the IT guys warned me what was going on in the lunch room and I almost fainted at the thought of it. Ask Dawg how I react to needles. Ask Dawg how I react to blood. Do it. Ask him. I think it would be hilarious to hear his side of Sunday’s sugar check.

…cares. Every time the salespeople at my company are absolute cuntyasswhores to me I laugh in their face. I do. It’s deserved. They need to be taught some fucking manners, but I’m not the person for the job, so I insult them by laughing at their abysmal social skills. I already worked another job where the people who made money for the company thought they were above everyone else. I don’t encourage that behavior in the least. Enjoy supporting yourself. Poppy don’t play that.

…hates cookies. I don’t hate cookies, I love cookies! I’d like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie right now! But I’m kinda on this semi-diet right now (I knoooooow, I knowiknow) because I gained precisely 6.8 lbs over the holidays and when I add weight my back and leg starts to hurt so I need to nip that in the bud.

…doesn’t have healthcare. My insurance card arrived yesterday! w9999009999980000t! Going an entire month without insurance due to a “misunderstanding” was wildly uncomfortable. I was definitely much more careful about what I did with myself, though! And I saved $498! (Some of that was dental, which I also now have, but I think only $67 of it.)

…never thinks about her family. All day yesterday and today I’ve thought about my cousin who used to live in NYC, through college and at her first few jobs after, and who posted a profound piece of information about herself in her 25 random things about her on her Facebook page:

On 9/11 I took the subway home instead of walking across the 59th
Street bridge –neither seemed to be a particularly good option, and I
wasn’t wearing practical shoes. I now keep comfortable shoes at my
desk

Not only do I love how she wrote that, not only is it sound advice, but it brings me back to a day where I was worried sick about her because I didn’t understand how the city was laid out and that where she worked was absolutely nowhere near the towers. Did you know I now ride the subway train that goes to the World Trade Center 5 days a week? I do. And I think about that every day. But not about my cousin, so it’s good to think about her and know she’s safe. I should invite her to read my blog so she knows how much I care about her.

(I had to end my bitter ranty post with a little :love: :)

Picking apart the Poppy

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As I’m writing this a little box below this one says “Saving Draft” then it says “You do not have permission to do that.” Great… probably because “You are using a development version (2.7-RC1). Cool! Please stay updated.”

At approximately 1:00pm Eastern on Thursday I told the IT director I was going for a walk so I didn’t hurt anyone and promptly walked around several city blocks. The rage fog I was feeling quietly lifted and I went to get a medium three lentil chili from HALE and Hearty Soups on W 55 St and 8 Ave. And then I came back and finished out my day!

Friday went a bit better, but I did get told something would be done, it wasn’t delivered, and I had to go chase after it. The person who was supposed to deliver it knew I was not pleased with him, as did the director. I chewed him out with silence, the director told the guy not to ignore me in front of everyone. And then when I wasn’t looking or listening my work buddy who listened to me gripe about this situation chewed the guy out with harsh words. Deserved, muthafucka. Deeeeeeserved.

I stole this from Frankie because I think she is rad:

9 Layers
A meme to peel away the layers of you.

Layer One:
- Name: Poppy
- Birth date: July 25
- Birthplace: Vermont
- Current Location: NYC
- Eye color: Hazel green
- Hair Color: Strawberry blonde naturally, auburn red unnaturally
- Height: 5′ 4″
- Righty or Lefty: Left-handed, right-brained
- Zodiac sign: Leo

Layer Two:
- Your Heritage: English, English, and more English AFAIK
-The shoes you wore today:
New sneakers
- Your weakness: My animals (yup)
- Your fears: I had none while I needed to have none, now I have many.
- Your perfect pizza: Quadruple garlic. Break Boy and Knitting Girl know how to make that happen for me.
- Goal you’d like to achieve: Get a very deserved raise during a dire economic time

Layer Three:
- Your most overused phrase on AIM: Hmm, I haven’t been in chatland for a while, but probably “hehehe”
- Your first waking thoughts: If I had a dream it’s a recap of the dream. If Dawg is holding me, it’s “I love him so much, I hope he never lets go.”
- Your best physical feature: My braaaaaaaain, which Sylar totally helps me show you when I feel like it.
- Your most missed memory: I’m guessing they don’t mean it how it sounds. I miss the animals who touched my heart but have passed away. Humans are animals too.

Layer Four:
- Pepsi or Coke: I mix them together at the 7-11 :grins:
- McDonalds or Burger King: McDonald’s fries and Coke, Burger King Whopper and chicken sandwich, Wendy’s everything
- Single or group dates: Single
- Adidas or Nike: I don’t care about that.
-Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Neither; fresh, please.
- Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
- Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee

Layer Five:
- Smoke: I have, but never regularly
- Cuss: Since I was 3! Thank you, Big Brother! :pinkpuffyheart:
- Sing: I am an alto.
- Take a shower everyday: I do almost every day, but twice this week I didn’t quite get enough morning time for that. :smiles: When that happens I take nighttime showers.
- Do you think you’ve been in love: I know I am in love right now.
- Want to go to college: I was already there, I don’t do well with standardized schooling.
- Liked high school: Loved it! (I know, I’m a paradoxical enigma wrapped in a burrito.)
- Want to get married: My truthful answer should probably be communicated to Dawg first. :smiles:
- Believe in yourself: Almost always
- Get motion sickness: If I read in a car, yes. If I read on the train, no.
- Think you’re attractive: Yes
- Think you’re a health freak: No
- Get along with your parents: I get along famously with Mom and Marvin, I attempt to tolerate Dad and Stepmom.
- Like thunderstorms: I love them.
- Play an instrument: Nope

Layer Six: In the past month….
- Drank alcohol: Yes
- Smoked: No
- Done drugs: Only the legal ones
- Made out: It’s a favorite pastime
- Gone on a date: Yes! :grins: We go on dates! It’s so much fun when we get to do that.
- Gone to the mall: Yes
- Eaten an entire box of Oreos: No
- Eaten sushi: No
- Been on stage: No
- Been dumped: Uhhhhh, not that I’m aware of, which, if anyone (friends, I mean) did dump me they did a silly job of letting me know.
- Gone skating: No
- Made homemade cookies: No, but thought about it, and did make brownie batter!
- Gone skinny dipping: Haven’t done that in years…
- Dyed your hair: No (my poor hair hasn’t been taken care of since July)
- Stolen anything: Yes :smiles: but gave it back.

Layer Seven: Have you ever….
- Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yup
- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yup
- Been caught “doing something”: Yup :smiles: but not by my mom
- Been called a tease: Yup!
- Gotten beat up: Hmm, gotten beaten on, but not up
- Shoplifted: Ohhhhhh, yah, but not since I was a kid.
- Changed who you were to fit in: Used to do it regularly, don’t bother anymore.

Layer Eight:
- Age you hope to be married: This is what happens when I don’t read memes…
- Names of children: …all the way to the end…
- Describe your dream wedding: before I commit to doing them.
- How do you want to die: Without knowing it, but when people who love me are somewhat prepared.
- Where do you want to go to college: If I did go again it’d be through SANS.
-What do you want to be when you grow up: Career-wise I’m already doing it. Life-wise I’m almost there.
- What country would you most like to visit: When I was a kid it was Sri Lanka just cuz. Now it’s Switzerland, because they have three official languages and that’s really cool.

Layer Nine:
- Number of drugs taken illegally: Without a prescription that’d be zero.
- Number of people I could trust with my life: It depends on the circumstances. Under any and every circumstance imaginable I only trust myself, if even myself, but that’s just because it’s not fair to rely on others to save you from certain things.
- Number of CD’s that I own: Hundreds
- Number of piercings: 2 closed over (ears)
- Number of tattoos: 0
- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: I dunno.
- Number of scars on my body: Many, but I love them all.
- Number of things in my past I regret: I used to regret nothing, now I have been told I will always feel regret for something I shouldn’t. At least I’m in good company for that one thing, and at least I did the right thing to cause me to regret unnecessarily.

Also, I got this from Dawg and originally answered the cooking question incorrectly so now I’m up from 54% to 58% – yay!



You Are 58% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression

Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you’re the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don’t overspend, and you aren’t very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love… which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression.

Could You Survive Another Great Depression?

Ok, that’s that.

Posted on December 5th 2008 in Don't fuck with the Poppy, Memes and quizzes, One of each, Work