No You Can’t Fix It, And That’s Okay
Posted: February 12, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »So my credit card number got swiped (thank you asshole who did this, I believe in karma) and was used to purchase what I can only imagine are awful songs on iTunes. My bank is already on top of it and canceled the card while the charges were still pending. But I also got in touch with iTunes to see if they would reverse the charge and give me any information for the police report.
I got a very nice but templated response back that iTunes can’t do anything but they had some helpful suggestions on what steps to take. All of which I had already done so I didn’t respond. This apparently concerned the nice boys over at iTunes because they e mailed me again to see if the original e mail had been helpful and to tell me again that there was nothing they could do. This time I responded and let them know that by not being able to reverse the charges or give me any info for a police report they had not fixed my issue.
This was the wrong response. I have since gotten two more follow up e mails to give me more suggestions on what to do (I already have a fraud alert with the credit bureau thank you) and asking if they are being helpful.
It could be an iTunes thing, but I feel like it’s more of a guy thing that they cannot let go until they feel they have fixed/helped me. Although the first thing I was told and keep being told is that they can’t do anything, they keep asking if they have resolved my problem. Is this the modern age version of not being able to slay the dragon? Do I just need to indulge these boys and tell them how very helpful they’ve been so the don’t develop a complex?
Grow a Pair and Plan a Date
Posted: February 9, 2012 Filed under: Dating | Tags: dating etiquette, dating protocol, online dating Leave a comment »Okay, so one of my biggest pet peeves about online dating is that it allows men to never ask you out almost to the point where you will actually ask them out. Call me old fashioned and sexist, but I actually think that men and women have different roles in courtship and the man’s first role is to ask the woman out*.
A lot of websites now have spaces for both sexes to say what types of dates they would want to go out on. On actually uses the language “A cool date I would like to take you on” – for both men and women. Now, as a modern(ish) woman I am happy to give a guy a little help and share some of my favorite things to do. But I don’t want to take a guy out on a date. I want to be the one being taken out on a date.
So boys take your balls out and act like men, at least for the 92 seconds it takes to ask us out for a drink.
*My reasoning is twofold. 1) Men like pursuing and women like being pursued, why fuck with biology. 2) If I have to convince a guy to go out with me on a date what else am I going to have to convince him of in the future – that he loves me, that we should get married, that we should have kids. Not a situation that’s going to end well.
Why Does Otto Need a QR Code on the Menu?
Posted: February 8, 2012 Filed under: Eating Out | Tags: lacrosse, Mario Batali, Molto Mario, Otto, QR code, The Chew Leave a comment »Had a yummy (as always) dinner at Otto last night. If brussel sprouts and lentils always tasted like that I would be a very healthy eater. And why did we only order three cheeses?
While perusing the menu I saw that Mario Batali (or his crack marketing team) had decided to put a QR code on the menu. As a marketer I know that QR codes are hot(ish) right now and getting slapped all over the place. Major League Lacrosse should consider allowing QR codes on the butts of players. But there can definitely be a disconnect between what consumers want and a bright shiny marketing object.
The QR code said that it was a welcome message from Mario. I did not whip out my phone in excitement to view the video. As a diner, I don’t need a welcome video – that’s the host/hostess’ responsibility and they already did a great job. By the time I see a menu I’m not only inside the restaurant, I’ve been seated and have a drink in front of me. And I probably also procrastinated at work for 30-45 minutes by poring over the menu online. I can sort of see a tourist getting a bit of a kick out of a welcome video from Chef Batali. But as tourists they probably picked the restaurant because of Molto Mario or The Chew (which I watch when I am home on a weekday) and they are not going to order anything interesting.
What I would recommend is that Otto think about why diners are there and what would be useful to them from a QR code and what might inspire them to order more. Consider providing info about where the ingredients come from, recipes to try at home, upcoming events to bring people back. Something that makes the dining experience better and invites them back.
My ideal content would be an app that lets me know and see what other diners are ordering to compare how delicious each dish looks and help me decide what to order.
PS – very honored that V and JM asked me to pick out the wine, hope I didn’t disappoint.
