A Funny Thing Happened at Wal-Mart Today

When you expect something from a known brand the size of Wal-Mart, you get shocked when something out of the ordinary happens.

Today, as I checked out at Wal-Mart, the checker actually complemented me on my shirt.  She told me that it was the right color.  For those of you that know me, you know what that means. For those of you that don’t know me, I was wearing a Oklahoma State University shirt as I usually do.

I told her that I appreciated the comment since I was a recruiter for students at OSU.  Then she told me about her 15-year-old son that was pretty smart and is considering attending OSU for an engineering degree. After some more idle chat, the transaction was over and I was on my way.

This was by far the longest conversation that I have ever had with an employee at Wal-Mart. The lack of employee interaction with customers at this business has often been a source of disgust with me. It is the reason I often wish that I had spent my money elsewhere.  Not this time. I was actually happy that I shopped at my local Wal-Mart today.

How do you feel about the customer service at Wal-Mart? Do you find yourself surprised when you receive good service at Wal-Mart? Leave a comment below and let me know about your experiences.

My last trip to the chicken nugget store

Here are a few tips for you the next time you want to take my order.

1. When another employee yells, “You got a customer!” You should probably drop everything and see what is going on.
2. When you walk up and politely greet me, you might want to let me know that you are ready to take my order instead of just staring at me until I ask you if you can take my order.
3. When you take my order you should let me know it will be awhile before it is ready.  Then you can start your spring cleaning over again.
4.  When another employee takes the initiative to ask if I received my condiments, you don’t need to yell from the back, “I PUT SOME IN THERE!”  When in reality, you gave me four packets of sauce and I ordered 20 chicken nuggets.

Yep, you just needed to come to the counter in a timely manner, let me know you would love to take my order and that it will be a few minutes until it is ready.  Then make sure that I received everything that I needed. Oh yea, you don’t need to have everyone yelling back and forth.

Now that wasn’t difficult was it?

Have you had a customer service nightmare before?  Make a comment below and let me know where it was.

Season Ticket Renewals

On February 12 I received an email about renewing my Oklahoma State University season football tickets.  I was intrigued! Just that week I visited an OSU message board that asked when everyone would be receiving renewal information in the mail.  A few days later, it was in my inbox.

The email had no information about renewals other than to say that I could perform the renewal online and a few words promoting the 2010 season opponents.  At this point, you might assume that all the information you need will be on the website.  You would be incorrect.

Once I logged on to the Ticketmaster website for OSU, it showed me the invoice to renew my four pack of tickets in the new Wild West Zone. It listed a total amount of $1,400 and had a Pay Now button next to the amount. That was it. It did not say what I was buying or give me any kind of breakdown on that price.

I wanted to look at the cost to sit in other sections of the stadium but the OKState.com website only listed 2009 season ticket prices. So, I emailed the ticket office and asked them to direct me to a someplace that might list the cost. Within an hour and a half, they emailed me back with a link to a seating chart of Boone Pickens Stadium that had been updated.

While I appreciated the prompt reply, the image was so hard to read that I actually had to copy and paste it into a document and increase its size dramatically to actually see the information.  The chart I wanted updated, with a line item denotation of every seating category on the website, had not been updated and would have been much easier for me to examine.  Instead, it was very easy for me to see what it cost to buy season tickets in 2009!

This became an issue since it stated that these same four pack of tickets cost $1,200 for the 2009 season. That’s strange. Did I not just read that this season they want $1,400 for the same tickets? Hence, the ticket office got another email from me a few minutes later.

This email thanked them for the prompt email reply and informed them that the website lists the cost of these tickets to be $1,200 not $1,400. I asked them which price I would be paying for these identical tickets.

Once again, the OSU athletic department responded promptly.  This time it only took them 15 minutes. This email told me that the price of four tickets in the Wild West Zone would be $1,200. I was jumping for joy!

Then they informed me that seat cushions are included on my invoice at a cost of $40 per seat. Additionally I had a $10 processing fee per seat.  These additions brought my total up to $1,400.

Pleasantly, they informed me that I could let them know and they would be happy to remove the seat cushions from my invoice on the website.   How nice. I bet they sell a lot more of those seat cushions when they automatically add them to the invoice. I would prefer them to ask me if I would like to add a seat cushion.  The sticker shock is not pleasant.  A $1,200 or $1,240 invoice would have been much more agreeable with me.  I resisted the urge to immediately email them back and ask if I could have them remove the $10 per seat processing fee.  I doubt they would have found that as humorous as I did thinking about it.

Then they informed me that I could see a breakdown of the invoice online. Wow! That was great news! Where is that?

Oh, you just have to push the “Pay Now” button.  What? I specifically did not push the Pay Now button because I was not ready to pay for something that did not explain the cost. I think I would have called that button “View Invoice” or something other than “Pay Now”!

I think we can all agree that the OSU athletic ticket office could have been a little better prepared for the ticket renewal process.  The website was not ready to have customers look for 2010 season ticket information.

Maybe next year they can spend a little time getting the website ready before renewals go out.  This might enable them to lessen the $10 per seat processing fee.  They would not have to hire as many people to respond to my emails about the renewal process.

You have to wonder, if OSU athletics was in a more competitive business for my money, would they still be in business?  If a company tried to sell me a sandwich or a lamp in this manner, I would not be a repeat customer.  It is a good thing that you can only get OSU football season tickets from the athletic department.  Everyone’s job is safe.

GO POKES!

Welcome to Jerry’s World! A.K.A. Cowboys Stadium

I had the opportunity to follow my beloved Oklahoma State University Cowboys to the AT&T Cotton Bowl this year on January 2.  This was the second trip for OSU and my family to the Cotton bowl in the last decade.  The first trip in 2004 was mostly remembered by my family by the 2 hour wait it took to get out of the parking lot at the original Cotton Bowl stadium at the Texas State Fair. 

This time the game was at Jerry Jones new Dallas Cowboys Stadium.  This would be my first visit to the new stadium.  Because of our problems at the last Cotton Bowl we decided to get to the game plenty early so that we could avoid any possible traffic problems.  About 5 hours prior to game time, we hit the road to the stadium. Surprisingly, we had no traffic problems and got right to our parking lot.  In the parking lot they had a few port-a-potties.  The Cotton Bowl committee was so prepared for this game they even had Cowboys themed port-a-potties for the OSU fans! (Ok, maybe they were just for the Dallas Cowboys.)

No detail left untouched!

We made it up to the stadium, about a one mile walk, and headed for the OSU pep rally on the other end of the stadium.  My family brought some food to eat so we could have a tailgate before we entered the stadium.  This was when I needed one of those port-a-potties.  The problem was that I had to go on a wild goose chase to find one.

At the time, we were right outside the pep rally, so I entered it thinking they would obviously have a place to use the restroom.  I was wrong.  I proceeded to walk for miles before I finally found one in a parking lot a quarter mile from the stadium.  Lesson learned.  Go when you get the chance!

Once I returned, Erin needed some medicine for a headache.  No problem! Wal-Mart is right across the street from the stadium!  Those people at Wal-Mart know where to build.

Once we made our purchase we entered the stadium.  They had everyone get patted down in ladies only or men only lines.  The ladies only line took so long because they had to examine bags as well in the lines.  The clearly needed more lines for the women or to add an addition staff member at each line to check bags.

We easily found our seats on the third level.  The seats were closely located next to a concession stand and the restroom.    The line was fairly short and moved at a decent pace before the game.  At half time, the lines hardly moved because they did not have enough staff members working the concession stands. 

I had to get a souvenir Cotton Bowl cup while at the game.  I still have a cup from the Houston Bowl in 2001 at Reliant Stadium.  Those specialty cups give me great memories that last about a decade in some cases. 

TV Screen Stats on the Screen

During the game, you could not help but watch the mammoth big screen over the field.  It is the largest TV screen in the world!  I had a great line of sight to the field but in comparison to the TV, the players looked so small!  The only downside was that if the TV did not make it back to live action before the game started, I missed the start of the play.  That screen dominates your senses at the game.

That is a TV screen!

Another first for me at this game was going to be for me to use Twitter at an OSU football game.  At the home games for OSU in Stillwater, the AT&T service is so poor you cannot use an iPhone to make calls, get text messages, or use the internet. Since the Cotton Bowl was sponsored by AT&T, I was hopeful that Twitter could allow me to have an entirely different game experience. 

I was disappointed.  AT&T did not have enough service in Jerry’s World to use the internet.  You could send and receive text messages and phone calls but no Twitter. 

How does a company spend millions of dollars to sponsor a bowl game and not take the time to make sure that your phone could fully function on their network at the game?  It blows my mind how some companies blow their money.  I would encourage AT&T to save some money on bowl sponsorship and spend that money on upgrading their phone system. 

Once outside the stadium, I was able to get the internet to work on my wife’s iPhone.  That is when I was able to access Twitter and realized that everyone else with AT&T service had the same problem in the stadium.

Mr. Orange Power

Once we made it back to the car, we easily made it out of the parking lot and down the road.  Taking advantage of all the gameday traffic cops and detours, we got back on the highway within about 10 minutes and it took us about the same amount of time to get back to home base as it did to get the stadium.  This was a huge improvement in comparison to the old Cotton Bowl stadium traffic.

In the end, the Cowboys lost the game but I am so glad that I got to see Jerry’s World.  It was amazing.  Jerry Jones has set the bar so high for professional sports stadiums that I cannot wait to see what gets built next!

Orange Tree Yogurt ~ Stillwater, OK

Saturday I visited Orange Tree Yogurt in Stillwater, OK with my wife.  We needed something to eat before the 40 minute drive home where we had dinner waiting on us.  Located at the busy intersection of Main Street and Hall of Fame Avenue, I had seen it in passing during my previous trips to Stillwater.

We were welcomed into the store with its inviting bright colors and modern seating.  I was intruiged about my visit. When I walked up to the counter no employees could be seen but shortly a smiling young lady walked out and immediately greeted us. After informing her we had never been there before, she walked with us to the beginning of the line and explained the process.

You pay by the ounce.  Thirty-three cents per ounce. You pay that for the yogurt and the toppings once you have created your masterpiece.

First we got to pick from one of two huge containers to put our yogurt in, then we picked as many of the 15 or so flavors of yogurt to fill up our cup! I loved the fact that you get to decide how much you want of every flavor. They had the flavors in banks of two and in between each you could twist those two flavors.

I got cheesecake and strawberry and filled the small container about half way.  My wife got tart and vanilla. Then the serious decisions had to be made.

The toppings section of this store was unreal.  If you have ever been to Fresh Berry in the Tulsa area or Pink Berry in California (basically all three of these are the same businesses serving frozen yogurt) the selection of toppings was much greater at Orange Tree.  They had over two dozen toppings.  From mango and almond flakes to peanut butter cups and gummy bears, they had it all.  They also had a three-tiered display of toppings in a can.  It included turtle shell, whip cream, caramel, and many more.

When we were all done, it was time for the weigh-in.  The total for our two desserts came to just over $5. We thought that was a pretty good deal compared to the $3.99 you pay at Fresh Berry for something of a similar size.

I wanted to eat in the store, so we sat down.  The chairs are very modern and once you sit down you feel a little low to the ground.  Each set of four chairs had a small table in the middle that came up to my knees.  I felt like a giant! Before I picked my seat I thought I was about to sit down in some sticky yogurt residue left from a previous customer.  I realized that all the seats look like that but my mind was at easy once I stuck my hand in the seat to test the stickiness.  Luckily they were all clean.  They just looked dirty.

After the meal I needed to step into the restroom. (This was the freaky part of my trip.)  One entire wall of the restroom was a mirror down to my waist.  I have never had a mirror starring me in the face while I was using the facilities.  This was an unsettling development.

Later, I asked my wife if the ladies restroom was set up the same way.  She told me it was set up the same and did not seem to think that was unusual for a restroom.  Clearly, this room was decorated by a woman.  I man would never put a huge mirror like that over the toilet.  (This restroom story reminds me of a bathroom incident I had one time, but that is a post all by itself for another time.)

In the end, this was a successful visit on all accounts.  My wife was even ready to bring her dad to town the next day, she had so much fun.  We will be back to Orange Tree and the good news is that they will probably still be open.

During our time in the store, we asked that same smiling employee if they stayed busy.  She replied that most nights they are packed with college kids and that the citizens of Stillwater are slowly finding out about them.  Apparently this has become a great spot to treat kids to a post game celebration.  She told us that they have a lot of youth teams come in after games.

I thought the employee pointed out a great idea to come in after a game and in fact we had just been to a Oklahoma State University basketball game that afternoon.  This was our first trip to Orange Tree, but it will not be our last.