In which I realise I haven't posted anything yet this month, and try desperately to string together some coherent thoughts.
Puns
Yes, I've written some more. Yes, you can skip this section if you want to.
Continuing my theme of puns better said out loud than written down...
- I saw a sentence about something that had already happened. It was really stressed, I mean it was past tense.
- I'm going to open a coffee shop near a courthouse and call it Legal Grounds.
This one feels like it should be funny to a very specific audience but I don't think I've quite nailed it yet...
- I was trying to fix an old train engine but it turned out there was no smallest cog. I thought that was essential but turns out it's a matter of a pinion.
Corporate attitudes
I recently visited the Lego House in Billund Denmark, about which I could write a great deal (long story short - it was brilliant). The thing I wanted to highlight though was the helpfulness and friendliness of the Danish people and in particular the Lego employees.
For example. My friend's daughter's scooter had a loose front wheel and needed an allen key to fix the problem. Thinking there must be a technician with a toolbox somewhere they asked at the reception desk, who were very friendly (and assured him they get asked this kind of thing all the time) and radioed for help.
The technician was held up for ten minutes (about which the desk staff were very apologetic) so my friend waited. After five minutes the staff on the desk decided they could probably find an allen key themselves so set off to do so, but were unsuccessful (and again, very apologetic).
Then a technician turned up. He looked at the scooter and asked my friend to go with him. They went through an employee door, up an elevator and into a massive room, one corner of which was filled with a workbench and piles of tools. A suitable allen key was found, but then they discovered that it wouldn't solve the problem.
Undeterred, the technician examined the scooter and worked out a further and much more complicated solution and worked until the scooter was fixed. The whole thing must have taken at least five minutes, if not longer.
The technician was chatty and friendly throughout and determined to help, even though the scooter was clearly not his problem.
Corporations often talk about customer service and staff engagement, but that's just management speak. What the Lego House demonstrated here was that if you want to keep your customers happy, hire genuine, friendly and helpful people.
Thirdly
Normally I like to have at least three items in these 'Things' posts, but I've been trying to write a third one for the last few days without success. I've had a few ideas, but nothing's really inspired, and I thought it was important to acknowledge that. Writing is hard sometimes. And writing consistently (at least once a month for the past twenty years - wow has it been that long) is not only a challenge, but a tough legacy to maintain (even if it is entirely self imposed).
I'm going to think on this a while, and maybe try to not be so hard on myself in future. The world isn't going to end if I don't post something this month, and maybe it doesn't have to take quite so much effort and rewriting. It's entirely possible I could do with a break, and should maybe be concentrating on other things instead.