tsunamii
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posted on April 3, 2001 10:09:31 PM
Whenever I start feeling like I want to throw in the towel with ebay I call the owner of the restaurant that I used to manage and tell him to give someone a few days off because I need a reality check. I always come home feeling much better ! when you think about it we have it pretty easy.
Demanding customers? Try explaining to an irate customer that :
1. The other table got their food first because it's fried and yours is grilled.
2. You ordered a 4" thick filet well done and it takes longer than 5 minutes to cook.
3. We don't accept checks.
4. The drinking age is 21 and they have already been drinking somewhere else.
Or try smiling when :
1. "It's not what I thought it would taste like - fix it"
2. Someone eats all but a half dollar sized bite and finds a hair. Of course the hair doesn't match anyones color who works there but is identical to the person eating. Get ready for the Health Department visit.
Or -
1. Suing the establishment because their car was towed from another restaurants parking lot while they were eating lunch at yours.
2. Bus boys stealing tips off the tables.
3. Chefs with egos who have fits when a customer complains and it takes you 30 minutes to get them back to the kitchen.
The funniest?
Running a credit card for a busy bartender and it was a paypal debit card.
We just happen to live in a very demanding society where a lot of people cannot admit their own mistakes. It goes both ways with buyers and sellers. I would still rather deal with the occasional problems on ebay than the daily ones that come with a "real job". I could add a zillion things that go on but we all know them or something similar. I just thought I'd start a thread that was somewhat nice  BTW....the employees love reading these threads when I bring them in...it makes them appreciate what they do. I suppose it works both ways.
Karen
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loosecannon
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posted on April 3, 2001 10:15:49 PM
Whenever I get too b*tchy about ISP problems, ebay problems (and so on and so forth), my wife always reminds me that I could give up this small business and go back to truck driving. Usually shuts me right up too.
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katzname
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posted on April 3, 2001 10:21:06 PM
I love the time it gives me with my kids. If I need to go on a field trip or rock a baby, I can. Today I may ebay from 10 in the morning and tomorrow I may do it from 10 at night.
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sparkz
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posted on April 3, 2001 10:25:53 PM
Loosecannon,
Having been in the trucking business for 40 years, I can see your point. The sellers who complain about negative feedback don't really know what a neg is until they've received one from a Highway Patrolman.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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loosecannon
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posted on April 3, 2001 10:35:47 PM
sparkz
You're in the trucking business?
I was never a first-rate driver, I have to admit. I did some minor damage to equipment on a couple of occasions.
Once, when I was brand new, I ran a scale (accidently of course) in California. I was so scared that I doubled back and went through the scale, then parked and went in to face the music.
The officer said "What do you think I should do with you?"
I said if I were him I'd give me a break.
He did, but not before chewing me out. Never ran a scale again and never had another problem with cops.
Oh shoot. Forgot about the brazen U-turn in Long Beach. I did get into trouble for that. No ticket though.
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sparkz
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posted on April 3, 2001 10:49:00 PM
Loosecannon
I retired from the trucking business recently. I was in the moving and storage business. No traffic managers or receiving clerks to deal with. Instead, the owner of the goods. Sort of like Ebay, only no annonymous email addy to hide behind when something gets damaged. They charge right into the office and get in your face. You have to learn customer service skills fast or you're sunk in that business.
You got lucky at the scales. Here in California, we call the commercial chippies at the scales headhunters. I agree, I'll put up with a lot from Ebay before I'll ever get back into that business.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
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loosecannon
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posted on April 3, 2001 11:01:05 PM
I've probably driven the equivalent of 20 times around the Earth just up and down I-5 alone. They used to get me on that corridor and I'd run from Seattle to L.A. or Portland to L.A and back all the time. I got used to it and knew all the good places to eat and all the pretty waitresses.
Wait, maybe I will go back to driving!
You ain't lived until you've come North down the Grapevine grossing nearly 80,000 lbs. Or that pass on the California-Oregon line, can't remember the name now.
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elecdata1
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posted on April 3, 2001 11:31:26 PM
tsunamii ~~ I do like this thread, and I certainly agree! Been there and done that many times!
P.S.
I've never driven a big rig, but sure have felt as if I've been hit by one a time or two!
Bill (elecdata1 here and everywhere else)
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katzname
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posted on April 4, 2001 12:04:47 AM
My hubby drives a big rig for a company, but we used to be in business for ourselves. Went broke and would have gone hungry if it were not for family. Driving for someone else has worked well for us. Ebay is a nice second income to his.
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stamper3
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posted on April 4, 2001 12:17:27 AM
Good thread Tzunamii. Right along the lines I was thinking tonight. I'm trying to make a decision if I want to keep up the 12-16 hour days and be independent, or go back to work and listen to doctors rant and rave all day! You brought up some good points!
Loosecannon:
You made me homesick. I have made the trip over the Grapevine many times, but not in an 18 wheeler. I used to live in the Central Valley, which if I'm not mistaken, is home to someone else here? Didn't I see that on one of the boards Sparkz? I lived in Merced till 3 years ago and still miss it.
Well, invoices are awaiting! Still don't use the AW ones till they get the bugs out. Besides, I kind of like saying hi to my customers.
Have a good one all!
Anne
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loosecannon
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posted on April 4, 2001 05:53:24 AM
I miss it too. I used to live in the Sacramento area for several years.
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eventer
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posted on April 4, 2001 08:25:28 AM
ever feel frustrated?
You mean there's any other way? 
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discoverybooks
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posted on April 4, 2001 02:30:22 PM
Whenever I get frustrated with eBay, I just wander into my husband's office for a while.
I worked in the computer industry for a number of years, and hated every minute of it. I started selling books two years ago, and I haven't had a work-related nervous breakdown since.  But the sight of five or six partially disassembled computers is all I need to remind me of why I'm no longer a computer tech...
I much prefer my eBay work environment:
Rima
http://discoverybooks.org
[ edited by discoverybooks on Apr 4, 2001 02:31 PM ]
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gjsi
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posted on April 4, 2001 07:35:08 PM
loosecannon The pass at the CA/OR border is usually called "Siskyou Pass", or just "The Siskyous". I grew up in Yreak and my parents still live near Hornbrook.
Greg
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ubiedaman
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posted on April 4, 2001 09:48:09 PM
Excuse me???Chefs with EGOS NO WAY!!!
LOL
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
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loosecannon
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posted on April 5, 2001 08:39:18 AM
Greg, yes! Siskyou.
You grew up in Yreka? Nice place.
That mountain valley just northwest of town? (I mean the one just a few city blocks outside of the downtown area). I've been up there gold panning a couple of times. Found a little bit but not a lot.
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thepriest
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posted on April 25, 2001 04:45:07 AM
fun topic and interesting talk - thanks
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