What Is Up With All The Bad Customer Service?!

Okay, so as I've previously referenced, I've worked a lot of retail and therefore a lot of customer service. Bad customer service, or to be more clear, flagrantly bad customer service really lights me on fire. I mean, I would admit, it's a pretty short fuse from here to fire, but I digress. In the past week, I've had some exceptionally bad customer service experiences. I won't name names or anything, but I will say I could easily solve their problems for them if they would just do the simplest of tasks: PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR CUSTOMER. In both instances, I reached out via email regarding a product issue. In one case, I ordered two of something, and only received one; in the other instance, an item broke and I needed to seek an exchange, but you had to email the company for return authorization. In both cases, it took...
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The Joys of Managing A Little Free Library <3 (Truly)

It's been 5 years since we started the Little Free Library in our neighborhood. I was a little resistant to it at first. It was my daughter's idea. She wanted it. She was also 7 years old at the time. I knew what that meant - mom was in charge. Though I have to tell you, it's been one of the greatest unexpected blessings. I was really surprised when I approached our homeowner's management company. They were thrilled to hear I wanted to manage it and offered to pay to start it up! We hosted a few events the first summer after we installed it to drum up interest, but now we mostly just post when we restock it on the neighborhood Facebook page. Actually, a year ago, we were at our neighborhood park (that's where the LFL is located) and I saw these ladies with their children taking books....
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Why Are We Prioritizing Math To Spelling?

Okay, obviously bias post coming up as a word nerd, grammar geek, and all-around lover of language it's clear which side I'm on, but hear me out. In the last few years, it's clear my state's education standards (I can't speak for others) are making math the priority. I've spoken to teachers about this and they have lamented they agree. J'ACCUSE! I love any excuse to make a New Girl reference. This show was great. I was a French minor and I love saying random French words. That happens to mean, "I accuse!" My kids are great in math but have areas of improvement with English and grammar. It hurts my ELA-loving heart. Why aren't my genes fighting harder to make their way to the top!? Daddy is great at math, but I'm in there too, guys!! Why aren't my genes represented better in this area?...
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Bosses and Bastards. What Do They Have In Common … One Might Wonder.

I'm a pretty upbeat, enthusiastic person. Many have accused me of being a cheerleader in my life. Gross. No offense to cheerleaders, but I don't have quite that pep in my step nor the ability to fake an interest in sports. Recently, I shared on LinkedIn I've had some bad bosses. I've also had some great bosses. One boss, in particular, noticed my energy and before I set foot in the newsroom on my first day, he pulled me into his office and said, "I really like you and I think you're going to do well here. Just don't let the bastards get you down." He kindly squeezed my shoulder and smiled and I went on my way. I was kind of perplexed, I had actually never heard that expression before (I understood what he meant), but off I went. Well, it didn't take too long to see what he...
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Heather Chastain

About Heather

(So, my web designer says I needed to include a bio, though I find this task silly because, if you’re here, you know me.)

I’m a writer. It’s what I do. It’s a cathartic mechanism when I need release from my anxiety. I’ve had blogs in the past; I’ve taken them down, but I never stopped writing. I simply can’t. My notes app is forever long as it’s filled with pages and pages of different topics. Sometimes I just write a few sentences. Sometimes I write paragraphs.

Recently, I've been writing long essays. My friends and others I hold dear have coaxed me into sharing my work again.

So that's what I'm doing, you wicked, pushy people. LOL

I have no desire to see my writing be anything more than an opportunity to share what I love doing most. I have no interest in this blog reaching the masses.

I thought it would be fun to call it My Spicy Disaster because that's often how I feel. A complete mess of epic proportion. So join me, if you'd like, and let's pretend we're not sitting amongst the chaos crying, but laughing instead.

Or maybe we do cry sometimes, but then wipe our tears and remember one person’s disaster is another person’s … well, who the hell knows …

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