what is wrong with people these days?
I dropped off our boat seats to a company who gave me the best price to re-upholster (warning....don't do this!) the seats, AND on top of that he told me he could have them done by the end of the next week. When I didn't hear from him at the end of that week, I had Jim contact him to ask about the status of the seats. They weren't done. (list of reasons to follow) We were promised the following week. Then we were promised the following week. THEN we were promised the following week. Between calls from myself and Jim, here were his excuses:
- "I just got the material in" (on the day that he first promised they would be done)
- "I had a family emergency, I'll have them done by 'next week'"
- "I thought I was having a heart attack, I went to the hospital and the doctors told me to rest for a few hours, so that's what I'm doing. I will have them done by 'next week'"
- "A part on my machine broke. I just got the part in and it's being fixed now. I will have them done by 'next week'"
- "My machine broke and I had to get it replaced. I will have them done by 'next week'" (yesterday actually)
Mind you, this man NEVER made a courtesy call to tell us with the status, why he had to put off getting them done, etc.
I pulled up to his building yesterday without warning, opened my hatchback, put the backseats down to make room for the seats and told this man I'm here to pick up my boat seats. Well, guess what? They aren't done!! Surprise, surprise! I told him I want the seats and the material I paid for. He told me, "Mrs. Eckert I will have them done tomorrow afternoon." I told him that I heard that story five times already, I want my seats. He again tried to pursuade me into letting him keep my seats. I was hell bent on getting those dang seats, though. I had to repeat myself about three times before he gave up. He brought the material to me and told me it was worth more than I paid for it. I took it from him and put it in the car. His 'employee' then loaded my unfinished (not even started) boat seats in the back of my car. At that point I stood directly in front of the owner of this place and told him, "Randy, if you would have just made a courtesy call to let me know what was going on, I wouldn't have a problem working with you. I come from a family of business owners and have worked long enough in my life to know how important those short calls can be for your business." At that point he told me that he was sorry but he had just spent $1800 on a new machine, blah, blah, blah....I don't care! That's how a business works sometimes! In hindsight I should have told him about the $2800 I just spent on photography equipment for MY business (lol). OH...and get this...he told me that the material he gave me was more than I needed and more than I spent to have him purchase it in the first place. I told him I would be happy to bring back whatever is leftover. He told me if I didn't he would bill me for it. HAAAA!!! HAAA!!! I highly doubt it. That man didn't even get my information other than name and number when I dropped them off in the first place. He's not seeing that fabric again. I could have had that boat sold by now. DB.
If you made it this far, thanks for listening to my vent :) After getting the seats I did go to two different places for qoutes. I should have them back no later than 2 weeks. Ahhhh.....I feel better now :)
Friday, April 30, 2010
vent
Monday, April 26, 2010
weekend review
it was a great weekend. what weekend could be bad when there is no work involved? well, at least work beginning at 6am and ending at 3pm :) Jim was sweet enough to let me sleep in both days....he's awesome!
ON THE HOMEFRONT
Friday evening was spend with me sitting in front of the computer, again. I have to admit that as much as I love photography, sitting in front of the computer sorting, posting, etc. has really taken its toll on me. it hasn't been that great for the kiddos either. they don't want to play with "mom" but I had no opportunity to spend any time with them. this has led to me missing out on a pretty significant event, which I found out about a day later....
Tyler was at his friend's house and, as boys will be boys, a great idea came to mind - or what seemed like a great idea at the time. Tyler's friend apparently has a moped. are you getting a visual yet? well, the first incident happened when Tyler's friend was driving the moped, rope tied to the back of it somehow, and Tyler holding on to the end of the rope while "riding" his rip-stick. now, if you aren't sure what a rip-stick is, let me explain....it's similar to a skateboard, only it has two wheels, not four and in order to make it move you must move it back and forth with your feet and using your hips (I think....I can't ride the dang thing lol). .....CRASH...... the second event happened as Tyler was riding the moped and bit it. according to Tyler he was going 25-30 mph, but I'm doubtful about that. so what does all of this boil down to? LUMPS and bruises all over his shins, arms, and a side. I hope CPS doesn't call me today.... ......boys....wow!
I've also listed several items on craigslist last night. within the first hour of posting I had my recliner sold :) the hardest thing to sell will be my Canon XTi with all the goodies. my fingers are crossed that it will sell within the month. I love craigslist <3
SUNKISSED PHOTOGRAPHY
I chased down the UPS lady Friday afternoon in order to retrieve my new camera and equipment. little did I know that overnight deliveries arrive to your home before noon the following day. I was home from work shortly after 3pm - figures. luckily, the UPS lady was still on base delivering packages. gotta love UPS for letting me run up to the truck and ask for my package with no problem! so, I got my camera BEFORE moving to AZ :) hip, hip, horray!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
ready for the weekend
literally words that could not be truer - I am so ready for the weekend.
no plans for the weekend except for sleeping in and photography work. I am working on my site currently, but have yet to master my Mac's photo software - I mean seriously, is it really that hard to add text to a picture? surely the software could handle that, but not me, nope, I can't figure it out! my hope is that after a good night's sleep and refreshed brain I can jump this hurdle with no problems at all. after that, my days should go much smoother.
maybe an angel will fall from the sky and install photoshop on my computer :)
......technical difficulties......grrrr.
Monday, April 19, 2010
whirlwind of a weekend
wow what a busy weekend! I had so much doing the Brooks family pictures on Friday that I took more shots Saturday morning, this time with the American Flag ~ patriotism!
Saturday afternoon Tyler celebrated his birthday with his friends. this was probably more choreful for Jim than for me ~ love you Jim! Jayce and Addison had a birthday party to attend and although I thought they should have been home to help celebrate with Tyler, it was Tyler who said that they would only annoy him anyways -ha! I guess it was a win-win situation for all! and it's not a big deal because we did give Tyler his birthday celebration (short lived) on his actual birthday.
while Tyler was running around with his friends I was able to sit down and order the pictures for OpLoveReUnited. those should be here this week and I can't wait to see how the book of 40 pictures turned out!
Sunday was a long and exhausting day, but it certainly was fun and challenging! I drove to Pensacola for a 5 hour photography workshop where I had the opportunity to shoot 4 professional models. wow! what an experience! I have approximately 700+ shots to go through today. and tomorrow are family pictures with the Allen family who have two gorgeous daughters. I may as the very protective dad to allow me to use his oldest daughter as one of my models to add to my portfolio....my fingers are crossed!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Operation Love ReUnited
Operation Love ReUnited is a non profit organization that I recently volunteered with as a photographer. The idea of the organization is to provide military families with pictures prior to, during, and after a loved one has deployed. My first shoot was with the Brooks family. Dee is already deployed and won't be returning until August, so I was only able to shoot his wife and their two children. We had a blast at Lake Caroline!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
back in the game
thanks to my friend Diane, I'm back to blogging ~ with an entire year gone and not recorded I think it's due time, don't you? the best part is I think it was wise to skip the year 2009 as it was a very difficult year for me and the family ~ some good things did happen last year, like: Jim and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary (we made it!), God blessed us with the strength it took to stick together, and my mom has progressively gotten stronger physically ~ so what's new in 2010? LOTS of things!
* we are moving to Tucson, Arizona
* Tyler begins middle school
* Jim prepares to test for MSgt
* Sunkissed Photography gets BUSY
* full-time college will be a reality for Jim and I in the fall
* we increased our family size by one dog
I'm sure there's more, but as my head aches for some peace and quiet (and the kids will be home in an hour) I will post some pics of some of the highlights of 2009....
