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I love it when any business has good customer service. I firmly believe that good customer service is the most important thing that any company can instill in its employees and provide to its customers. That’s why I was thrilled at the experience I had with Barron’s this week.

A couple months back, I bought a book for Nate called Charlie Car. It’s a little board book in the shape of a car and Nate is just crazy about it. About a month ago, Charlie Car’s binding completely disintegrated, leaving our house strewn with Charlie pages. The book was only $4.95, but I was still annoyed.

So this week I went to the Barron’s web site and used the contact form to let them know what happened. Within the half hour, I had an email response PLUS a follow up phone call saying they were sending Nate a new book. Very awesome! I wish I could say that I was only ever going to by books from Barron’s ever again, but that just isn’t feasible. But they will always have a special place in my heart.

catbird :: Mar.10.2005 :: socio-pop :: Comments Off

Trimming nails in our house is always a big ordeal. Ever since that one bloody incident, Pinto can’t stand to have the clippers anywhere near him so I’ve resorted to the “one nail, one treat” system. No wonder he’s gained so much weight….

Nate has also developed an aversion to nail clipping, although for different reasons. He just likes to have his hands free to play. When he was still nursing, I could clip while he nursed. Since he weaned, I’d been getting a nail here and there while he played — completely ineffective. I talked to friends. Some do the clipping during naps in the crib, some wait until the baby falls asleep in the car. I haven’t tried either, for two reasons: one, I want him to get used to having his nails clipped and two, I’m afraid I’d wake him up and lose out on precious nap time.

Then I had a mommy “a-ha” moment. He was brushing his teeth, which he loves and only needs one hand to do. So I grabbed the clippers and I got every nail. Cool.

catbird :: Mar.10.2005 :: mommyhood :: Comments Off

I recently read an article in the NY Times about the governors of 13 states (which account for 1/3 of high school students) getting together with a plan to raise the standards in high schools. That sounds great - we all want students to be as best prepared and educated as possible. But the plan called for, among other things, more standardized testing. President Bush is quoted as saying “I’ve heard every excuse in the book not to test. My answer is, how do you know if a child is learning if you don’t test?”. Well, President Bush, how about giving teachers more resources and funding to have smaller classes and more opportunity for one-to-one interaction with students? How about better salaries for teachers so that schools can attract and hold great teachers. How about making sure teachers have the resources to handle the difficult, overinvolved parent — and the opposite, the non-involved parent.

Standardized multiple choice test only test whether a student is a good test taker. Providing the best learning enviroment for students will guarantee that they have the opportunity to learn all they can.

catbird :: Mar.07.2005 :: cat rants, socio-pop :: Comments Off