Bye Bye Big Red, Hello New Company

After five years, I've decided to break up with the big R and join a new company. Monday July 29, 2013 marks my new adventure.

It was surreal at first, since the big R is (was) a complicated landscape filled with crazies. I managed to succeed there.

No doubt I will be successful in my upcoming adventures with the new company... I just have to re-engineer my old ways and get used to new things like taking the subway, starting over as the new girl, getting to know people, etc.

What I will miss most about the big R is my old team (most of them). And the 50% discounts. But that's about it.

I am Christopher Columbus.

Sears Home Services Review

What did it take for me to get my furnace serviced by Sears Home in a no-heat emergency situation?

An email to the Sears Canada CEO, Senior Vice President, and Ellen Roseman @ the Toronto Star.

Scroll down to the first email at the bottom of this page and read the story in chronological order.

--

On Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 1:29 PM, Peter Kalen wrote:

Thanks for the note, Elaine. I apologize that it took so much effort on your part. It is not reflective of the type of customer service we are striving to provide.

Warm regards,

Peter Kalen
Senior Vice-President
Sears Financial and Home Services
(416) xxx-xxxx
xxxx@sears.ca

On Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 1:16 PM, Elaine wrote:
 

Dear Peter and team:

I can confirm my furnace was fixed by 2 service technicians this morning. Heat has been restored in my house.

Peter, my sincerest appreciation for your help in turning this bad customer experience into a positive one. I'm hopeful that my future interactions with Sears Home Services will be smoother the next time around.

With thanks,
Elaine

On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 8:59 PM, Elaine wrote:
 

Dear Peter:

I wish to provide you an update on the situation.

Thanks to your intervention and assistance, a gentleman by the name of Lissandro from the Sears Executive Offices called me around 7:30 PM today to offer help. He has made arrangements for a service technician (Adrian) to come to our home tomorrow (28-Jan by 12 noon). I understand that Adrian (the technician) will first have to provision the furnace parts required from local suppliers tomorrow and will be in a position to repair the furnace at the earliest possible time.

I am grateful for your prompt reply as I am able to see the light at the end of the (cold) tunnel. It was not my intention to escalate, although I felt I had no other recourse or option as no one from the Sears Customer Service team (except Adam and Brae (the Sears sub-contractor I mentioned in my original email below)) was willing to help me and my family.

I will provide an update to this distribution list shortly following tomorrow's service appointment. A special thanks to Lissandro for his empathy and taking the time to contact me tonight. I look forward to the forthcoming resolution.

Sincerely,
Elaine

On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 6:08 PM, Roseman, Ellen <eroseman@torontostar.ca> wrote:

Thanks, Elaine, sorry about the bad furnace experience. I sent this to my Sears contact to review (xxxxx in communications). Hope he can get you some quick action.

Best wishes,

Ellen

Ellen Roseman

Toronto Star personal finance columnist

www.moneyville.ca/blog/onyourside

www.ellenroseman.com

On Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 6:09 PM, Peter Kalen wrote:

Elaine, I apologize for your experience and will have this looked into immediately.

Peter Kalen
Senior Vice-President
Sears Financial and Home Services
(416) xxx-xxxx
xxxx@sears.ca
 

---

  From: Elaine   Sent: 01/27/2012 06:05 PM EST
  To: Sears Executives
  Cc: eroseman@thestar.ca

  Subject: Furnace Problem: No heat for 30+ hours and Sears Lack of Customer Service

Dear Sears Executives:

I purchased a furnace with Sears which is still covered by full warranty. On Thursday 26-Jan at approximately 7:00 AM, the furnace shut down after making grinding noises. I promptly called Sears Home Services  http://www.searshomeservices.ca/  at 1-800-4-MY-HOME to book an appointment. 

I understood a no-heat situation constitutes an emergency especially given we are in the middle of winter. I was assured by a Sears CSR that the service appointment will be for the same day. 

I have received very little help from Sears Home Services thus far.

I made 4 calls to the 1-800-4-MY-HOME number on Thurs 26-Jan following my initial call (10 am, 11:34 am, 3:22 pm, 6:00 pm) as no one from Sears had followed-up with me since I first called. I was provided no commitment, no ETA for when a technician would be able to troubleshoot my furnace.

Back in November 2011 I had a my furnace maintained by Sears via a Sears sub-contractor, luckily I kept his phone number and called him directly on 26-Jan to seek help. He immediately contacted Sears Customer Service to investigate, only to find out that no service appointment was booked for me on 26-Jan. Rather, it was for the next day. He was understanding of the no-heat situation and arranged to go to my home on 26-Jan to look at the furnace. In short, the furnace needed parts replacement ordered before it can be fixed. The sub-contractor placed the order on the same day and was kind enough to leave us one of his portable heaters to assist us through the night.

On Friday 27-Jan, I called 1-800-4-MY-HOME again at 8:45 AM to inquire on the status of the parts order. At this point, I expected the Sears CSR to be able to advise me when the replacement parts will be available. I was advised by the CSR that the parts had arrived on Friday 27-Jan, the technician had it, and my furnace will be restored on 27-Jan. This made me feel really good.... until I received a call two hours later that the parts did not arrive, the technician does not have them, and the earliest we could expect our furnace to be restored MAY be Monday 30-Jan, but they are unable to commit whether Monday will be doable.

This is confusing to me as a Sears Call center Team Leader advised me specifically that the parts were shipped from Belleville today 27-Jan and the truck rolls go out at 2pm EST with arrival in GTA by 5 PM on the same day. The Team Lead / Supervisor (Malisha - sp?) - who promised to call me before she leaves work at 5 PM to provide an update on the parts order - has not called me back, not that I am surprised anymore.  

Essentially this means we will be in a no-heat situation for 5 consecutive days. 

I do not know what type of service provider lets their customers go 5 days in the middle of winter without any heat. Perhaps I would have been in a better situation if I called another Furnace Repair Service provider, however, my furnace is still under warranty with Sears and I expect the company to honour our legally binding agreement.

As I am writing this letter at 5:32 PM on 27-Jan, I am again on the phone with one of your 1-800-4-MY-HOME CSRs. 

Another Team Leader (Adam, Toronto Office) is trying to help me, the first Sears employee to actually provide assistance. He has called the Parts Department who advised that the parts will be arriving Monday 30-Jan. Assuming this is the case, my furnace may possibly be restored by Monday.  In the meantime, Adam is trying to make arrangement for Sears Scarborough Town Centre to hold three portable heaters to get us through the weekend, which he advised me to purchase with my Sears Credit Card and Sears will re-imburse me for the cost of the heaters ($90 + HST x 3).

I have been a loyal Sears customer for 5 years and I never thought that I had to beg Sears to provide me with assistance. I am disenchanted by the lack of service, the complete disregard for my well being by at least 5 CSRs. Adam was the only one who even attempted to make an effort to assist.

I am not sure how this story will end, if we will get our furnace restored on Monday 30-Jan, or perhaps we go on without it for another week or so. I will keep you and Ellen Roseman http://www.ellenroseman.com from the Toronto Star (an advocate for the consumer) posted.

--

Elaine

Sears account phone number: 416-xxx-xxxx

Mobile: 416-xxx-xxxx

Practical Career Strategies - Dress Code

I will randomly post gold nuggets of wisdom on practical career strategies. Most of them will be based on personal experience and several books I've read in the past. I appreciated these tips throughout my professional life and I'm certain you will too.

It doesn't matter if your workplace has a business casual dress policy. This is a trap. People (especially Executives) are judgmental and will totally assume certain things about you based on what you wear to work.

If you're a man, do not wear dress shorts to work. Seriously. 

I don't care if you look like Brad Pitt or that devastatingly handsome dude named Turkish from Snatch. You won't be able to pull of this look, even if your friends tell you it's totally rockin' the Miami Vice vibe.  You will never be promoted and people will laugh behind your back (or worse, they will laugh in your face).

Instead, wear jeans and a dress shirt. If your ego is out of control and you really really want to stand out, wear a suit jacket paired with a crisp white shirt and jeans. People will look at you and think Tom Ford.

If you're a woman, that outfit you bought from Le Chateau or Stitches or some other random store in a mall looks good. In a club. Or if you're at a bachelorette party. Or if you're doing some sort of extreme speed dating thing. Or if you're with Hugh Hefner.

How can you be taken seriously at work if you look like this while doing a presentation or chairing a meeting? How??? Exactly.

Running Log - Week 2

Sun 29-May-11  27:25; 28:00

Mon 30-May-11  25:26; 26:36

Tues 31-May-11 30:25; 30:25

Wed 01-Jun-11  28:20; 29:00

Thurs 02-Jun-11  - Rest -

Fri 03-Jun-11  31:55; 31:55

Sat 04-Jun-11    - Rest -

Willing and Able

Source:4grandesverdades.wordpress.com

I've been reading about and thinking a lot about what I want to do this year... and if you're close to me you'll know what that is. Otherwise I won't divulge publicly.


So, because I'm such a cerebral person, I read and absorb as much as I can about anything in life. I believe you can learn anything you want from reading about it, then applying what you have learned in books into your day-to-day activities.


I do not want to psyche myself out, but there's a little Shania Twain-esque fear in me. I know it's my superego saying, "maybe you won't make it, crazy face".


But I know I will, so shut up superego.

Running Log - Week 1

Sun 22-May-11  09:25; 30:00

Mon 23-May-11  10:00; 30:00

Tues 24-May-11 28:00; 30:00

Wed 25-May-11  27:00; 29:00

Thurs 26-May-11  - Rest -

Fri 27-May-11  30:00; 31:05

Sat 28-May-11    - Rest -

Goal Setting

I have two (2) S.M.A.R.T. goals that I am targeting to achieve before end of 2011:

1. Learn to swim. I have signed up for swimming lessons at Olympian School of Swimming. Lessons will start end of June. Measurement of success = stay afloat for 2 consecutive minutes and swim 50 meters.
2. Run for 30 minutes outside, 6 times a week. Measurement of success = ability to run 2.4 km in less than 15:25 minutes.

I hope to have positive ROI. Actuals spent-to-date:

1. Sportchek = $320.84 (the best of what I need - New Balance, Under Armor, Speedo, blah blah blah)
2. Olympian School of Swimming = $160 (10 lessons)
3. Isagenix = $300-ish (sports nutrition healthy type stuff)

I'm an extremist. I hope to find balance and not burn out by trying to achieve my goals 50% faster than planned. Greggy will pull me back when I start losing my mind and going on the deep end (no pun intended).

Here are my very girly, but very good New Balance running shoes. I only wear New Balance for running. Everything else is sub par. Seriously.

M & M Meat Shops Saved My Life

Die-hard vegetarians and pescetarians - don't let the "meat" part of M & M Meat Shops fool you.

In my attempts at simplifying my life and outsourcing most of my domestic responsibilities, I've looked for solutions that will help me with my daily dinner dilemmas (aka DDD). Do you remember the crazy amount of money that I spend every month on food alone?

Anyway, I tested some of M & M's products last weekend and was pleased with the results. Typically I always have to put my own stamp on premade food, but was pleasantly surprised when all I had to do with M & M's Chicken N' Dumplings was add freshly squeezed lemon after it came out of the oven.

Also tried their Supreme Homestyle Meatloaf and Grilled Vegetables, both were a hit with Greggy and T!!!

The best part about M & M products?

- They are super easy to prepare. How hard is it to preheat the oven and stick the product in there per the number of minutes outlined on the user-friendly instructions label?

- Ingredients are all natural. Like, if I cannot pronounce the ingredient listed on the box, I will not buy the product.

- A generous dinner for four days and three people cost me just $87 all in. We spend more than that in one restaurant dinner for two people!

- I can call-ahead (my preferred store is the one near my Shiatsu therapist) and order over the phone. When I get there, my order is already packaged and all I have to do is pay for it and put the bags in my car.

I can go on and on about the benefits of M & M... and no I don't work for them and I don't own a franchise.

But what I really value most above all? Getting a few hours of my time back and not being stressed out about dinner.

This is my love letter to M & M.

Tonight: Flattened Chicken, Gourmet Stuffed Potatoes, Spinach & Feta Supreme Side. And Jeff Lewis' Flipping Out.

Source:dipity.com

What a Difference a Day Makes

So... we were super prepared and very much looking forward to our Roman Holiday... for months now, right? I seem to recall geekily triangulating the grocery stores around the amazing apartment we were supposed to stay in...

But then Mother Nature decided she did not want us in Europe this time around, so she sent an angry snow storm towards UK and its environs and shut down Heathrow.

Source:ctv.ca

I got the cancellation notice from British Airways last night. I was heartbroken, furious, disappointed, and... did I say heartbroken already? I called itravel2000.com to see what our options are (there were none that worked for us), so feeling defeated (and annoyed) I finally decided to opt for the full refund.

Source:wannasmile.wordpress.com

Note to the rude and bitchy itravel2000.com Sales Rep who wasn't helpful at all: I'm sorry that you had to stay an extra 10 minutes past your skeleton shift to talk to me. Your manager and the Executives of itravel2000.com should expect a nice long letter from me next week.

Anyway, I just couldn't accept that our travel plans were 86d. I just couldn't. I'm not one to just give up. I spent the whole night looking for an alternative arrangement. I'm obsessive about this. I would have been more enraged if I just stayed put this week. I would have obsessed and obsessed over it and likely I would have driven Greggy and T and my parents bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.


So for the same price as my airfare refund, I found a good deal to go on nice warm holiday on the beach from December 21 to December 26. Over the last few weeks I have been buying specific items for a European winter holiday, some of which I won't be able to use on this trip on account of the warm vs. cold destination and all. Oh well.

Source:hirsutehistory.com

I called itravel2000.com on Sunday morning to book it. Yes, this sounds a bit masochistic, but really since I booked my original flight with them and since I'm expecting the refund from them, it was going to be easier for me to track the credits / debits to / from my Visa. 

And you know what? I had a pleasant experience with a gentleman of a Sales Rep; his management should expect a letter from me too.

Trastevere Supermercati (Planning, Obsessing)

Source:ketchupandsoup.blogspot.com

I'm obsessed with food.

Not in an eating disorder kind of way (although I did have a bout of that in the early 2000s).

Rather, I'm obsessed with food because I grew up being obsessed with food. When we celebrate with friends and family, or just need some quality time to catch up on things, or if we want to go out to an event or even to watch movies, etc etc, all plans revolve around food and answers to these questions:

- What are we going to eat

- When are we going to eat

- Where are we going to eat

Among other things, I show love and affection and caring and all that other great mushy, wifey, mommy kinda shtuff through food. 

My biggest panic attack is at the end of my very busy work day when I have not planned for dinner in advance. I keep our neighborhood restaurants in business as every week I cycle through the same places for take-out at least 4 times a week:

- Memories of Japan

- Congee Star

- Arkadia House

- Fiesta Filipino (Levi's Catering)

- And thanks to thefoodpursuit.com I totally just remembered Niji Restaurant

I spend about $350 a week on groceries, plus another $150 or so on take-out a week! For a family of 3, that is a lot!

But I justify this by telling myself that I work really hard so I can have the extra luxuries in life like good food and traveling twice a year. I probably spend majority of my disposable income on food and travel. And maybe the occasional shopping spree at Winners (the Leaside location is my favourite store in the whole wide world).

We own an affordable house, don't really go crazy on cars, T gets her stipend and vocal lessons, and my cat Mitzy Pepper Pie gets groomed every quarter.

I think part of my food obsession now is knowing that back in the day when I was a single mom at 19 years old, I didn't have enough money left over from my measly $22,000 per year salary in 1994 to feed myself. Rent got paid first, then T's baby food and formula, then her subsidized daycare, then T's other necessities, then well... nothing left for me.

But I digress, because this post is about how I have triangulated the grocery stores near the apartment that we will be staying at when we go to Rome in December! The area is called Trastevere and it is supposed to be a mecca for foodies.

Point A is our Apartment in Trastevere.

Point B is where Standa Supermercati is located. Standa is a large modern supermarket underneath the Oviesse department store on Viale Trastevere.

Points C and D show where Todis and Panella are. Todis is a German supermarket chain and Panella is a place where we can get baked goodies and one of the only places to buy Italian Pancetta prepared like bacon we know back here in good ol' North America.

Source:tripadvisor

Point E shows where di Per di is, vaguely described in guide books as a "modern supermarket".

To top this off our Apartment (Point A) is right across Piazza di San Cosimato (San Cosimato square) where there is a daily open air Farmer's Market offering all sorts of Italian produce, fresh seafood, fruits, meats, cheese. In short, everything that makes the food obsessed alter ego inside of me very very happy! Yippee! Fa la la la la, la la la la..........

Source:lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs

Vatican City in December (Planning, Scheduling)

Today I contacted the Vatican for 3 main reasons:

1) I want to see the excavations below St. Peter's Basilica (also known as the Vatican Scavi or Vatican Necropolis).

Source:fitforholiness.com

Instructions from the Vatican website:

Reservations

Reservations are only accepted in writing (by e-mail: scavi@fsp.va, by fax: (39-06) 6987-3017, or directly in the Excavations Office.)

With your request to visit the excavations, please provide the following information:

• The exact number of visitors
• Their names (in case of groups, the composition and provenance of the group is also needed [e.g. university, parish, etc.])
• Language desired for the visit
• The dates available during which the Office can arrange the visit (The precise time of the visit will be determined by the Excavations Office).
• Contact information (an e-mail address, fax number, or full postal address) so that the Excavations Office may advise you about your visit.

When a visit is possible, the Office will send a proposed date and time. If the proposed date and time are acceptable, the visitors must so inform the Excavations Office, which will then definitively confirm the visit.

When a visit is not possible:

Given the limited number of group possible, not all requests can be answered positively.

• On occasion, due to the vast number of requests received and the time needed to process them, it may not be possible for the Office to even respond to an application prior to one’s arrival in Rome. In such cases, the Excavation Office regrets that a visit will not be possible.

Office hours

The Excavations Office is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, except Sundays and holidays.

• Orario Ufficio: dalle ore 9.00 alle 17.00: tutti i giorni escluso DOMENICA e FESTIVI vaticani
• Excavations Office Hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Closed Sunday and Holidays
• Bureau des fouilles: 9.00 - 17.00 (Ouverte tous les jours sauf le dimanche et les jours ferés)
• Geöffnet: Werktags von 9.00 Uhr bis 17.00 Uhr: Geschlossen: Sonntags und an Feiertagen
• Abierta desde las 9:00 a las 17:00: Cerrado los domingos y festivos

Usually the last tour each day begins at 3:30 pm

Tickets and Reaching the Excavations Office

The visitor must always confirm his reservation in the way and during the time period given by the Excavations Office in positive responses to requests.

Visitors ought to be at the Excavations Office [without large bags and backpacks] at least five minutes prior to the beginning of their tour.

The Excavations Office may be reached through the Holy Office Gate to the Vatican (through the colonnade to the left, on Via Paolo VI). The Swiss Guard will direct the visitors to the Office.

The visit to the necropolis ends back at the Excavations Office.

On occasion, the basilica and the excavations may be closed for unforeseen reasons. In such cases, the Scavi Office will attempt to reschedule those groups affected by the closing. When this is not possible, any reservation deposit will be refunded.

Excavations Office
Fabbrica di San Pietro
00120 Vatican City  

Tel. +39 06 6988.5318
Fax +39 06 6987.3017 - 6988.5518

E-Mail: scavi@fsp.va

 2) I also want to spend Christmas day or Christmas Eve at St. Peter's. I believe this is the epitome of Christmas. We are a spiritual family and we love Christmas, what better way to experience it?

Source:monachos.net

This time, the Vatican instructed us to complete a form and fax it to them.

Prefecture of the Papal Household

00120 Vatican City State

Fax +39 06 0698 85863

3) I've been doing a lot of research on the Vatican Museum, and most have recommended to get a guided tour. We're not really the guided tour types, but I think this one may be worth it.

Viator.com looks pretty good, I will book a couple of weeks before we leave Toronto. Thousands of positive reviews about this particular tour. Very exciting!

Source:bernini

I didn't like the book very much, I liked the movie even less, but the Angels & Demons tour looks pretty interesting... and we might just try it on December 26, since most of Romes sites, shops, etc, will be closed on that day. 

I wish I could get paid to do this stuff full-time.

Not A Super Sweet 16 (Scheduling, Negotiation, Risk Management)

My daughter T is turning 16 this Sunday.

Last year, when she was turning 15, we were going to have a mini Quinceañera for her, with just our family and close family friends... but then she got in trouble in a BIG way, so I canceled her Quinces two days before the party.

Turning 16 years old is a big milestone for any adolescent. She's very excited about it, but she told me that she was also afraid of growing up.

Her biggest fear was Taxes.

I told my daughter that she doesn't have to worry too much about Taxes, because she can outsource it to a third party, like we do. --> Risk Management

Since we are going to Rome in December over the Christmas Holidays, and that will cost a lot of money, we decided as a family that we will just keep16th birthday celebration to a minimum, and have brunch with the clan instead.

As for her birthday wish list, T asked if she could get a Blackberry and a pair of Michael Jordans.

But I told her that she doesn't need a Blackberry, because she needs a job first to pay for it. However, the final trade-off was that I will get her a Blackberry, but not a data plan. So this means that she can continue with texting on the Blackberry, but she can't use Blackberry Messenger. If she wants to have a data plan, she needs to find a way to fund it.

Today, I ordered a "nearly new" Blackberry from Ebay, which should arrive in 10 business days. Yes, the gift will arrive past her birthday, but I felt this is a good trade-off, worthy of her anticipation. --> Negotiation, Scheduling

The rest of this post deals with Scheduling, Negotiation, and Risk Management

My other objective was to schedule Brunch for 11 people.

Since 60% of our family has relocated to Stoney Creek, Ontario, I figured that the best option was to find a restaurant that is as close to Stoney Creek as possible. The target locaton: Oakville, Ontario.

I've used OpenTable in the past, so I happily booked a table for 11 at Oliver & Bonacini Grill in Oakville.

Two days later, my mom emailed me and said maybe it's a better idea to have the Brunch in Toronto, rather than Oakville, because she and my dad will be in Toronto on that day to sing at Church.

Hmm.

So, based on mostly positive reviews, my next restaurant booking was for an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet restaurant called Sushi on 7.

Two days later, my mom emailed me again, and said maybe we should stick to Oakville after all, cause my sister has been having contractions, and that she might have the baby any day now... maybe she might even go into labour on T's birthday, while we're having Brunch.

By this time I was getting really annoyed, because of all the Change Requests coming from my mom.

So I waited 5 hours, and emailed her back and said we will just stay with the Toronto plan, because majority will be here.

After 24 hours, I felt bad saying that, because it may mean Lulu and Olivia won't be able to come to T's 16th birthday brunch, and I really want to see them. Also, I'm trying to be a little less PMSy.

It is important to note that I kept the Oliver & Bonacini Oakville reservation, even though I had another reservation with Sushi on 7 in Markham. Why? Because I figured that something like this would happen, based on previous Lessons Learned from being a part of our wacky (but very much loved by us) extended family.

So to address logistical constraints, food preferences, the fact that my sister may pop out the baby any time now, I made reservations at an all-you-can-eat Japanese & Thai Buffet in Oakville, called Spoon & Fork.

I proceeded to cancel the O&B and Sushi on 7 reservations shortly thereafter.

I emailed my mom with the confirmation, and she exclaimed how good I am at project management.

Finally, direction (sort of)

A few posts ago, I wrote about not having direction for this blog.

I write (wrote) about topics that are of interest to me - I don't need to list those topics out again, because you can tell what interests me just by looking to the right of your screen - see over there ------> where it says "Labels", scroll to just below the ads delivered by Google AdSense.

But Penelope Trunk, who I respect greatly, says that Blogs Without Topics Are A Waste of Time.

Now, I don't know about you, but my time is very precious and I certainly don't want to waste people's time.

So I've decided that I will write about what I'm very good and successful at, which is Project Management.

But not just project management related to my professional work. I will write openly about my experiences in applying project management tools and techniques to my personal life as well.

I'm a big believer that project management can save your life, and maybe even the world, if you:

* Know what you're doing (if you don't know, you can assess and figure it out quickly),

* Are flexible and can adapt your tactics and strategy based on whatever situation you're in,

* Learn from your mistakes,

* Coach and mentor people, and be a catalyst for their success (after all, the success of any Project Manager is dependent on enabling others to be successful).

I'm not really sure where this will go, but having some direction is a start.