Women of Letters - November 7, 2020
My mother, Marj Carrie, was a dedicated letter writer. If she had a bad experience or received a faulty product, she didn’t contact the media. She would write head office by hand and put the letter in the mailbox – regular mail. Her letters were polite and specific.
Because her concerns were valid, she would normally receive a fairly quick response. Usually, it was an apology and the improvement needed. For example, a roof re-repaired if it was leaking. Sometimes she would get “swag,” like a small certificate for a restaurant if the food was reported as terrible.
Apparently there is a gene for letter-to-head-office writing, because as the cat meme goes “I haz it.” It is rare that I write because I usually enjoy great service and fine products. One time I found a piece of plastic in a carton of ice cream. I sent it to the manufacturer and they sent me a coupon for two gigantic buckets of their product. Another time I was treated rudely by a hotel manager. I wrote head office – acknowledging that their employee was crazy busy – and they sent me a certificate for a free stay.
Note: I don’t just write letters of complaint. Mostly I send cards and letters of gratitude. Heartfelt. And I do not expect anything to come of this. Why would I? They have provided a superb service or product. Even then, I occasionally get pleasantly surprised. I wrote Good Life about how awesome the gym and staff are at their Bunting location – and they sent me a box of swag, pictured below.
Son Tom did very well as the result of a letter. OK, it wasn’t a letter. It was an essay. Tom in his early teens wanted to buy a World of Warcraft game with his paper route money. I said “No” because it would affect his schoolwork. Tom persisted. (There may be a gene for that too.) Finally I said, “You write me a convincing 1,000 word essay about how having World of Warcraft will not affect your schoolwork, and I’ll reconsider.”
I thought I’d put an end to that nonsense. Tom was back very quickly with a 1001 word essay about how having World of Warcraft would actually IMPROVE his studies. I was impressed. I said, “Go for it.” You may be asking where Laur was in all of this. Likely doing dishes or helping our youngest with their homework. The word “dictée” still sends shivers up and down his spine.
I was actually pretty impressed by Tom. So much so that I faxed a copy of Tom’s essay to the World of Warcraft company in Silicon Valley. I did not expect a response. If anything, I thought they’d send him a certificate of some kind to hang on his wall. A few days later a huge box arrived. It was filled with so much stuff – the latest World of Warcraft game, a WoW t-shirt, a WoW cap, AND a job offer when he turned 17. OK, they asked him to send in his resume when he hit 17. Still!
Tom was the kingpin of all his friends for a few weeks. Did his academics improve? Nope. Did they go downhill. They were never very far uphill so it’s hard to say. Tom was a smart kid, but was completely uninterested in school. When it was parent-teacher interview night, we brought Tom with us. I’d say to the teacher, “We don’t need to hear that he needs to apply himself more. HE DOES!”
But guess what Tom now does for a living and does quite well at it. Coding. (Coding using a programming language to get a computer to behave how you want it to.) He doesn’t design games but considers coding the most fun he could ever have and is amazed that he gets paid for it!
What about my gift set from Good Life? Was it life changing? Did it make me Queen for a day? Going to Good Life for sure has changed my life positively – I have improved my strength and cardio, and learned to swim! (My flexibility and balance – well, that is quite another story.)
If it wasn’t for GoodLife I am certain I would not be able to hike up mountains in Arizona and S. Korea. I surely would not be able to do 100 k bike rides in St. Catharines.
We are about to spend a winter in Ontario. I am about to find out if the benefits of Body Pump and RPM (spin) classes extend to snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing.
A very big challenge for me is this. At GoodLife I have group exercise leaders who I consider to be my Rock Stars – they teach and encourage. With show-shoeing and cross-country skiing, I have my hubs Laur as my teacher / helper.
And even worse, he has me as his student. Lads or Lasses, think about teaching your spouse or partner how to drive. If hubs says “left,” I go “right.” And vice versa. I’m gonna blame this on genetics too! And hope we aren’t doing winter sports on cliff edges. 😊
Because her concerns were valid, she would normally receive a fairly quick response. Usually, it was an apology and the improvement needed. For example, a roof re-repaired if it was leaking. Sometimes she would get “swag,” like a small certificate for a restaurant if the food was reported as terrible.
Apparently there is a gene for letter-to-head-office writing, because as the cat meme goes “I haz it.” It is rare that I write because I usually enjoy great service and fine products. One time I found a piece of plastic in a carton of ice cream. I sent it to the manufacturer and they sent me a coupon for two gigantic buckets of their product. Another time I was treated rudely by a hotel manager. I wrote head office – acknowledging that their employee was crazy busy – and they sent me a certificate for a free stay.
Note: I don’t just write letters of complaint. Mostly I send cards and letters of gratitude. Heartfelt. And I do not expect anything to come of this. Why would I? They have provided a superb service or product. Even then, I occasionally get pleasantly surprised. I wrote Good Life about how awesome the gym and staff are at their Bunting location – and they sent me a box of swag, pictured below.
Son Tom did very well as the result of a letter. OK, it wasn’t a letter. It was an essay. Tom in his early teens wanted to buy a World of Warcraft game with his paper route money. I said “No” because it would affect his schoolwork. Tom persisted. (There may be a gene for that too.) Finally I said, “You write me a convincing 1,000 word essay about how having World of Warcraft will not affect your schoolwork, and I’ll reconsider.”
I thought I’d put an end to that nonsense. Tom was back very quickly with a 1001 word essay about how having World of Warcraft would actually IMPROVE his studies. I was impressed. I said, “Go for it.” You may be asking where Laur was in all of this. Likely doing dishes or helping our youngest with their homework. The word “dictée” still sends shivers up and down his spine.
I was actually pretty impressed by Tom. So much so that I faxed a copy of Tom’s essay to the World of Warcraft company in Silicon Valley. I did not expect a response. If anything, I thought they’d send him a certificate of some kind to hang on his wall. A few days later a huge box arrived. It was filled with so much stuff – the latest World of Warcraft game, a WoW t-shirt, a WoW cap, AND a job offer when he turned 17. OK, they asked him to send in his resume when he hit 17. Still!
Tom was the kingpin of all his friends for a few weeks. Did his academics improve? Nope. Did they go downhill. They were never very far uphill so it’s hard to say. Tom was a smart kid, but was completely uninterested in school. When it was parent-teacher interview night, we brought Tom with us. I’d say to the teacher, “We don’t need to hear that he needs to apply himself more. HE DOES!”
But guess what Tom now does for a living and does quite well at it. Coding. (Coding using a programming language to get a computer to behave how you want it to.) He doesn’t design games but considers coding the most fun he could ever have and is amazed that he gets paid for it!
What about my gift set from Good Life? Was it life changing? Did it make me Queen for a day? Going to Good Life for sure has changed my life positively – I have improved my strength and cardio, and learned to swim! (My flexibility and balance – well, that is quite another story.)
If it wasn’t for GoodLife I am certain I would not be able to hike up mountains in Arizona and S. Korea. I surely would not be able to do 100 k bike rides in St. Catharines.
We are about to spend a winter in Ontario. I am about to find out if the benefits of Body Pump and RPM (spin) classes extend to snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing.
A very big challenge for me is this. At GoodLife I have group exercise leaders who I consider to be my Rock Stars – they teach and encourage. With show-shoeing and cross-country skiing, I have my hubs Laur as my teacher / helper.
And even worse, he has me as his student. Lads or Lasses, think about teaching your spouse or partner how to drive. If hubs says “left,” I go “right.” And vice versa. I’m gonna blame this on genetics too! And hope we aren’t doing winter sports on cliff edges. 😊